Review: Pilot Pocket Pen - "Mach 5"

July 5, 2009

These vintage pens are another of the very popular Japanese short/long “pocket” pens, produced throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. Vintage pocket pens have many different flavors and were available in a wide range of price tiers from the big three: Pilot, Platinum and Sailor.

I have no idea what the catalog number or official name for these pens might be. There are no markings other than the word "PILOT" with usual date with factory code. No catalog number or other special markings are evident.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2664/3689028220_483f63ae2e_o.jpg

First Impressions

8/10

This model is an inexpensive pocket pen, available in three colors and one nib size (F). It seems likely to have been influenced by Speed Racer and similar Japanese cartoons. The aluminum cap features a checkered racing flag and the number "5" (think: the Mach 5) in coordinating colors. The aluminum cap is slightly off-silver, almost champagne. The plastic clip matches the pen body color exactly and is stamped with an alternate Pilot logo, a script "P" filled with champagne-toned leaf.

Appearance & Design

7/10

This pen was probably aimed at a younger audience and was certainly offered at a lower price point than the more well-known vintage Pilots (¥1000, original sticker price). Available colors (as far as I can tell) were teal, black, and crimson. Overall detailing is clearly influenced by Japanese popular culture (for example, Batman manga, Astro Boy record) and industrial design of the time (ie this stereo system).

Most pocket pens are decorated in some way – bright body colors, metallic trim or a cap with stripes, filigree, flowers or leaves. This is no excpetion. But this model is unusual in that the colored decoration isn't pastel or frilly (I try not to say feminine). I can imagine any Japanese schoolboy would use this pen with pride. Also unusual is the sturdy spring-loaded, colored plastic clip: I've seen very few pocket pens with anything other than a metal clip. The fact that the clip is made of plastic doesn't detract from its usefulness; the clip is thick and strong. It grips well but isn't stiff.

This pen's main weakness is its finish. The aluminum cap is thin and, while gloss clear-coated, the finish is delicate. It feels like it would dent or scuff if accidentally dropped on pavement, or buried under books in a messenger bag. The body is made of relatively thin plastic and feels thinner than other plastic-body Pilot pocket pens from that era, ie the Elites and colored MYUs. Not really appropriate to be thrown in a backpack. That said, in some ways the delicate finish makes the pen seem more precious, not as disposable as, say, the Lamy Safari or Pelikano. So it's a tradeoff.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3571/3689027934_748d6db7ff_o.jpg

(with other pens: recent Pilot M90 on left; vintage Pilot pink MYU on right)

Weight & Dimensions

10/10

The combination of aluminum cap, thin plastic body and firm plastic clip make this pen extremely lightweight. Even when capped, the pen remains weighted slightly forward. I don't normally post pens, but this one I'll post happily as the cap changes the balance so little. The diameter of the pen is relatively small, about the size of a modern common Uniball gel pen: 10mm. As with other pocket pens, the cap is almost as long as the body.

Length of cap alone: 80 mm

Length of body alone: 97 mm

Length capped: 117.5 mm

Length posted: 140 mm

Nib & Performance

10/10

Pilot has a long-standing reputation for quality nibs at all price points, especially on their fine nibs. This pen model has a fine 14K, yellow-gold flighter-style nib. All are consistently, remarkably good. Extremely smooth with some surprising, satisfying spring. This is the kind of pen that makes me balk when some people say extremely fine nibs can't also be smooth. The nib is unmarked in terms of size. It was probably sold as a fine but lays down a very thin line, more like a Japanese XF.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/3688223835_cee5f09ea5_o.jpg

Filling System

10/10

A straightforward cartridge/converter pen, these pens take the common Pilot CON-20 press-bar converter and standard Pilot cartridge. While a cartridge/converter is not necessarily the most elegant filling system on the market, I give it full marks because Pilot has had the foresight and design smarts to build its pens around the CON-20 converter more than forty years. Other pen manufacturers during that era used specially-designed (naturally, shorter) converters for their short/long pocket pens, which are now very hard to find. Another reason to love it, the CON-20 is a press bar which allows it to hold much more ink than a piston converter.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3545/3689027100_0a763ea114_o.jpg

Cost & Value

10/10

The beauty of vintage pens (even playful lower-tier models such as these) is the performance to cost ratio. If you play your cards right, for about the price of a Lamy Safari it's possible to get a sweet gold nib on a similarly fun (although not kick-around) pen. Two of these pens I bought NOS from eBay, +/- $25. The third I bought used for $15. All were good deals.

Conclusion

Final score [55]: 9/10

For an inexpensive pocket pen, it has lots of great features. 14K gold nib, nice colors, playful and unusual details. It's not perfect – I wish the finish and construction didn't feel as delicate as it does – but it's a great value. Writes as well as the more well-known pocket pens, the Volex or the colored MYUs, for a fraction of the price. These three are certainly keepers.

Edited July 5, 2009 by merzig

July 6, 2009

Great review, and cool pens! I especially liked the image links. Good context.

July 6, 2009

Interesting find.

Now, most of the cheap ones are made of plastics like this one.

http://www.pilot.co.jp/MungoBlobs/SP-360FN-12C.jpghttp://www.pilot.co.jp/MungoBlobs/petit1-main.jpg

Edited July 6, 2009 by Pen2009

July 7, 2009

*gasp*

Ok, WANT. And I thought my pen-acquisition phase was over. Great review, great pics.

July 7, 2009

Thanks guys! I heart these pens.

If anyone knows anything about the name or model number of these pens, I'd appreciate a heads-up so I can include it!

July 9, 2009

those are interestingly shaped...

November 15, 2018

I have no idea what the catalog number or official name for these pens might be. There are no markings other than the word "PILOT" with usual date with factory code. No catalog number or other special markings are evident.

I love answering nine-year-old questions... This pen was targeted at the youth crowd. It was actually called the Mach 5, based on the theme of the car used by the cartoon character Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo in Japan).

Edited November 15, 2018 by Richard