Info On A Vintage Pilot

[alfredop]

Recently I have found the vintage Pilot shown in the following photos. Any idea about the model name and the production time?

 

 

 

 

Alfredo

 

 

[Seiryuu]

Looks to be made around 1930-1939 based on the nib engraving.

[Arstook]

Interestingly, the nib has a heart shaped breather hole found in a lot of pre-war and wartime fountain pens, makers such as Parker, Sheaffer, Pelikan, and Eversharp.

 

Is the nib gold? There's a very interesting article by Richard Binder on WWII and the fountain pen (http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/history/wwii_effects.htm) which notes that gold was red flagged as a critical war resource by Japan in 1938. As a result fountain pen makers in the country resorted to making pen nibs with steel until well after the war. The Japanese war industry and rationing began much earlier than in the European theater due to its invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and invasion of China in 1937.

Edited May 24, 2018 by Arstook

[Arstook]

Recently I have found the vintage Pilot shown in the following photos. Any idea about the model name and the production time?

 

 

 

 

Alfredo

 

 

 

Ah, I think I found out what the pen is. According to this website, it is a 1950s lever filler fountain pen. "When collectors buy a Pilot fountain pen from the 1950s, they will have a device with a 14-karat gold nib. Also, the pen has the Pilot name embossed on the end as well as a gold clip and a bright gold band around the base."

http://vintagepencollectibles.com/Pilot_Pens.html

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by Arstook

[Seiryuu]

 

Ah, I think I found out what the pen is. According to this website, it is a 1950s lever filler fountain pen. "When collectors buy a Pilot fountain pen from the 1950s, they will have a device with a 14-karat gold nib. Also, the pen has the Pilot name embossed on the end as well as a gold clip and a bright gold band around the base."

http://vintagepencollectibles.com/Pilot_Pens.html

 

 

 

 

1950s lever filler Pilot's have the MADE IN JAPAN mark under the nib size. Pre-war (and wartime, but you'll be hard pressed to find a 14k wartime nib) have it above. Pre 1930 they had a different engraving format from the one pictured here (they had several, but I'm unsure how to differentiate them).

Edited May 24, 2018 by Seiryuu

[alfredop]

Thank you for the informations, I am happy to know that I have a pre-war pen.

Alfredo