Pilot 65th Anniversary Pen

[rokurinpapa]

[Pilot 65th Anniversary Pen (Pilot65)　Limited Edition ]

[brief introduction] This is my sixth pen review in English.

 

Pilot launched Limited Edition Pilot65 in 1983 to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of its Foundation　(1918).

6500 pieces were produced and sold out with favorable review.　This pen was the first firebrand of limited edition

pens in Japan. This Pilot65, like Waterman LeMan100 that were released in the same year,1983, has been in fact

appreciated as a legendary masterpiece in Japan*. Afterwards Pilot 65 was inherited to standard series, Custom 67

with cartridge and converter system.

 

* In the booklet about Pilot65, the president of Pilot, Mr. Katsuro Yamaura stated: Pilot65 was a confident product

with combination of good taste like old ages' hand-made work and up-to-date technology. Pilot had concentrated

its 65years' technology* on the Pilot65 and had realized the quality enough for a lifelong companion.

 

* In the booklet, the following events were introduced as major technology related to Pilot65.

 

1916　 Development of welding technology of iridosmine.

 

1926 　Development of urushi lacquer technology over ebonite(patent from US and Japanese Government.)

 

1929 Completion of 4kinds of special nib by which we can choose the taste of writing.

 

1930 Invention of blue black ink that can avoid settling naturally. (patent　 from US ,UK, France, Netherlands

and Japanese Government.)

 

1941 Development of injection molding machine. Adoption of synthetic resin as parts　 of fountain pens for

the first time in Japan.

 

1954 Development of tip fill feeder that has revolutionize fountain pens to avoid dripping and to inhale ink

from the low level of the hole.

 

Pilot65 is now rather rare pen, but I happened to find a used Pilot65 for sale at 9th Pen Trading in Tokyo held this

April in 2009. The pen was used and the paint was peeled off in the black part of the filling system, but the state of

the pen seemed good in general and the price was reasonable. So I got the pen. Perhaps this pen is not famous

outside Japan. I would like to introduce it to you.

 

1 First Impressions (8/10) – The box is suede like cardboard .On the inner side of the lid golden Japanese characters

meaning the fountain pen to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of Pilot and English characters"PILOT65" were stamped.

The size of the "65" is big surprisingly. The exterior of the box is old and worn-out. When I opened the box, there were

the Pilot65, a special bottle of Pilot ink, a card and so on. I disappointed that there was no booklet about Pilot65.Later

I got a copy of the booklet from a fountain pen lover who once worked for Pilot. The pen itself seemed as if it was new. I feel

happy to have rather rare pen in hand.

 

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/rokurinpapa/Pilot%2065th/P1020470.jpg

 

 

 

 

2 Appearance & Design (10/10) - The shape of the pen is so-called balance type. It is said to be innovated by Sheaffer

in 1928. Shortly afterwards, Pilot made original balance type fountain pens and they became most popular as Dunhill-Namiki

brand pens during 1930's. Pilot65 is reprinted edition of the then popular shape*. The pen is made of black AS resin and

golden parts (the clip and rings) are plated by 22k gold. The surface of the body except the cap top, cap end, barrel end and

grip section was worked by exquisite wave patterns.

 

* Shigeki Chiba who worked for Pilot as a designer stated :People had been bored with very fast change of the times

when the economic had grown rapidly. So we think design should be make people feel warm or give people a feeling

of warmth and we should go back to the basics of design. Pilot65 was designed by this basics and the shape of

Dunhill-Namiki brand fountain pens was adopted. ( Source: p217, "Mannenhitsu no Tatsujin"(Masters of Fountain

pens),EI Publishing Co.Ltd,2006)

 

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/rokurinpapa/Pilot%2065th/P1020473.jpg

 

http://i928.photobuc...th/P1020474.jpg

 

The cap end ring was garnished by Nindomon *, "65"and serial number of 4 fingers(1 to 6500). Regarding the Nindomon,

Pilot explained that it was a symbol of culture suitable for Pilot65. I do not know why it was a symbol suitable for Pilot65.

It may imply the analogy about the diffusion of pens from Egypt to Japan. There is no other decoration without 2 lean rings

of the cap end and barrel end. The clip is a simple ball type.

 

* Nindomon The direct translation into English is "honeysuckle pattern" and it is derived from an ancient Egypt.

The design

spreaded via the Silk Road to Japan where it became very popular during the 7-8c (Asuka and Nara periods).

For example, this pattern was used on Tamamushi no Zushi(national treasure, a kind of indoors work with roof

to enshrine image of Buddha decorated by iridescent beetle wings) in Horyuji Temple that was inscribed on

the world heritage list in 1993 as the oldest wooden structure in the world.

 

This pen has nothing novel, but to the contrary it has nothing old after 25years. I agree to Pilot's lasting design concept.

 

 

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/rokurinpapa/Pilot%2065th/P1020476.jpg

 

3 Weight & Dimensions (10/10) – The length of this pen is almost the same as that of Montblanc 146, measuring

142mm long capped, 127mm uncapped and 161mm posted. The maximum diameter of the barrel is 14mm. It weighs

about 20g. As Pilot stated that they considered the thickness, balance and weight of Pilot65 through and through

in the booklet, I feel that it fits my hands almost perfectly.

 

4 Nib & Performance (10/10) – This pen comes with a 14k monotone gold M nib (M, B were available.). The size of

the nib is almost the same as No.10 of Pilot that is attached to Custom 742, Bamboo, Custom Maple, 70thAnniversary

and so on. Pilot stated that they finished the nib with the taste of warmth.* The most impressive thing is that the nib

is bended under unusually and pretty flexible. The taste of it is quite different from ordinary Pilot nib. Very smooth, like

skating on ice and I have a feeling that the nib sticks to the paper. The line it puts down is only a bit finer than that of

my Waterman Leman100M and Parker Duofold True Blue M. I use this pen to make a note on business occasionally

using Pilot Black. I always appreciate the goodness of this pen afresh when I use it.

 

*In the booklet Pilot stated : they welded sphere of iridosmine, alloy that wears well, in the tip of the nib. Iridosmine

is made of iridium and osmium and it is the only way adopted by Pilot in the world. 6million letters were able to be

written by this nib. Osaka Eiichi who was a technical adviser of Pilot and a famous authority of making fountain pens

examined the nibs and adjusted them one by one in personto have the taste of warmth. The feeder is tip-fill type

and the ink can be filled by dipping only the hole of the nib.

 

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/rokurinpapa/Pilot%2065th/P1020475.jpg

 

5 Filling System (7/10) – It comes with a Push Button type filling system and holds 1.5ml ink. When I tried the system

for the first time, it was easy to fill it up with ink. But it was hard to exhaust ink. I found the system had trouble. So I

made it repaired .To my joy, the cost was only 1000yen (about $10), and now it has been working well. The system

resembles converter Con-70, but it is fixed and can not be stripped. Accordingly, ink can not be cleared thoroughly. So

I prefer Con-70.

 

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/rokurinpapa/Pilot%2065th/P1020477.jpg

 

 

 

6 Cost & Value (9/10) - The list price was 38,000 yen 25 years ago in Japan, about $380 at current

rate. I bought this used pen at about 60 % of the list price. The state of the pen is rather good. There are

no scratches or flaws. But the trouble of the filling system is regrettable though the repair cost only 1000yen.

In Japan 65th pen(NOS) is rarely put on the market.　The contract price at that case in auctions is usually

higher than 50000yen lately. So I think I got a good deal probably.

 

7 Conclusion (Final score[54]: 9.0)- Mr. Koichi Furuyama ,the author of the above mentioned "Mannenhitsu

no Tatsujin" and a leading painter using fountain pens, has given his opinion that he likes the period during

several years from Pilot65 to PIilot70 the most among the history of Pilot because Pilot sticked to writing

sincerely then, not to have intension for ready sale. I agree with him. I think Pilot65 embodies the spirit of

Pilot and it is one of our ultimate fountain pens from the viewpoint of writing instruments. If you are a

fountain pen enthusiast and find this legendary Pilot65, I recommend you to obtain the pen without hesitation.

Edited October 22, 2009 by rokurinpapa

[jlepens]

Nice review.

[dandelion]

A great review of a great pen (which I hadn't encountered before this review). I like the pattern and the illusory simpleness. Thanks also for all the background information on the pen.

[HenryLouis]

Is it the same converter as in the 845?

[CarolinaWriter]

What a beautiful pen -thanks for sharing the background.

[dannyboy]

I did not know about this pen until your review which gave me many fine details about the model. Thank you for your thoroughness and honesty. A very fine review.

[rhodes]

You put as much, if not more, information and research into your reviews than anyone else on the forum. Thanks for another fascinating read!

[rokurinpapa]

Is it the same converter as in the 845?

 

The filling system of Pilot65 resembles Con-70,but it is not a converter. It can not be removed from

the body.

 

rokurinpapa

[Nikolaos]

one more really good review! This is a very nice pen that always gets a lot of attention from bidders when it comes up on sale on yahoo JP.

 

nikolaos

[georges zaslavsky]

superb, simply superb

[MYU]

Rokinpapa, this is a fabulous review--thank you for the effort! I'd not known about the 65th anniversary pen, and I'm sure most of us haven't due to the local market only distribution. It's interesting to learn that this is the first anniversary commemorative pen for Pilot. I really like the scalloped lines (wavy pattern) in the body and the ornate cap band. A nice good solid weight at 20g. I've got a Pilot Scholar which is comparatively very cheap, also having an engraved pattern in the barrel (opposed scalloped lines demarcated by spaces) and gold raised dual cap band. But it is very light and clearly not a high end pen (the inlaid nib indicates it was made in Korea).

 

Thanks for transcribing information from the pamphlet, as it very interesting to see Pilot's self proclaimed milestones. Bravo!

 

~Gary

[hari317]

A very nice review Rokurinpapa, thanks for telling us about this jewel, when ever I see and use a Pilot I can feel the pride that the makers have in making the pen. Each pen is like a labour of love.

 

Thanks!

Hari

[Immoteus]

Thank you for the wonderful review. I've been aware of the 65th Anniversary pen, but I didn't know this was their first LE. It's comforting to see some of their designs withstand the tests of time.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Immoteus

[Flourish]

Ohhhhh soooooo preeeeettty! Perhaps in a week or so shall treat myself to a new pen of its caliber.

[rokurinpapa]

It's interesting to learn that this is the first anniversary commemorative pen for Pilot.

~Gary

I didn't know this was their first LE.

 

Exacty speaking, Pilot made 60th Anniversary pen named "Sansha Teiritsu" in 1978. The meaning of it

is that three parties should be in triangular position. It is Pilot's motto.Three parties indicates a maker, the

sellers and the buyers.In a word Pilot has stated that the ideal way of products is that they can make the maker,

the sellers and the buyers all happy. But the 60th pens were not come into the market ,only delivered to limited

shops that achieved excellent results.

 

rokurinpapa

[Shinchan]

Excellent review of the Pilot 65th anniversary. Very thorough and detailed. Thanks.

[ParkerBeta]

Another truly impressive review from Rokurinpapa. Thank you for the knowledge you impart to this forum about wonderful pens about which we would otherwise never know anything outside Japan.

[rokurinpapa]

I have found that the nib of present Pilot Custom Maple is the same as the nib of the 65th nib.

Pilot is continuing to produce this characteristic nib over 25years quietly.

 

rokurinpapa

Edited January 11, 2010 by rokurinpapa

[Ed Ronax]

Excellent review, thanks.

[mucephei]

Thanks for that review. I'd never seen or heard of this one before.

 

Every Pilot commemorative pen I have seen has been a beauty, which is why I bought an M90.