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After 6 months of work, here is the new version of my retractable nib pen (V5). The external appearance of the pen is like a chimera of Pilot's MYU for its titanium body and Lamy 2000 for its overall shape and clip. On the inside of the pen, the nib retracts behind a spring loaded trap door, the nib mechanism is activated by rotating the section of 3/4 of turn, clockwise. The filling mechanism is a piston filler which acts similarly as FountainBell's Bulkfiller holding a large amount of ink. The nib is a cursive italic which was ground from a pelikan BB stainless steel nib, the feed is from an old french pen in ebonite. The pen now features a more discreet trap door for the nib: The piston system is basically the same than the other versions: The ink window is a minimalistic polycarbonate round window which makes the job well: This pen took so much time to design and build out of a single titanium rod: take a look at the titanium shavings! My micro 12kg lathe/milling machine made the job surprisingly well even on Grade 5 titanium. Some tricks had to be used, mainly for drilling procedures: slowing down spindle speed, only predrill holes at 2mm (drilling using progressively larger drillbits stucks them into the work), cooling the drill is also crucial (when you don't own special harware for this purpose you have to stop drilling and wait for it to cool which takes a long long time...). Here are some special setups: Once machined, the hard part was to assemble titanium parts together... Titanium parts don't glide on each others they get simply stucked. To allow free gliding of the titanium moving parts I Had to cover them with acetal caps which required additional extra work. Here you can see the part which allows the section to turn onto the barrel: an acetal ring serves as interface between the section and the barrel: I use this pen for 3 months now and I am very pleased with. Unlike the other versions in ebonite (V1,2,3) the inkflow is more consistent, nor too wet, nor to dry. The pen is much more robust than the other versions although it is heavier it did not broke or deform when falling from my shirt pocket on concrete for example: the grade 5 titanium made it simply bounce with a few minor scratches. Hope my journey to making this pen interested you. Jeremy Link to the other pens for comparison:

I just acquired a Pilot Myu 701 that's dated 1171( November 1971). Above the date code is usually where the nib size is printed, but on this one, there is none. Every other Myu I own, which are newer than 1971 has the F marking above the date code. Those pens are from 1973-1976. Comparing the nib to a Pilot Custom Black Stripe from 1972, the line that the Myu makes looks like a F, but again, it's not marked on the pen. Does anyone have any insight as to why this is?

Don't know if anyone else saw this, but at first I thought that it's crazy that A Silver/White Stripe Myu showed up a few months ago and then this one... and then I clicked and saw... https://www.ebay.com/itm/PILOT-Myu-WHITE-STRIPE-Fine-Print-FOUNTAIN-PEN-Used-Rare-Japan/183004040721?hash=item2a9be40e11:g:OCEAAOSwuShaUahI

Well, I never thought I'd see the day... when another mysterious silver (white) stripe MYU would appear for sale. Adding to the value is that there's a black stripe MYU (500-BS) included with it. It's on Yahoo Japan, ending on 9/28 (originally it was today, but the seller extended the auction). Immediately two bidders jumped on it. One of them has a scrambled name code I recognize (l*2*u), who appears and often snaps up many of the coveted vintage Pilot pens, especially the early uncommon capless models. They're leading the charge on this legendary auction... with the price now above 220,000 JPY. With the black stripe MYU often selling in similar condition for 20,000 JPY, it's clear the silver stripe MYU is the major value here. Anyway, some serious popcorn munching. Will be very interesting to see how this plays out!

Hi All- I have a Pilot MYU 701 and the clip is loose. Is there any way that I can tighten this myself? Thanks in advance- octatonic

Hi All- I have recently fallen in love with a Pilot MYU 701. Before this, I was a modern pen guy and then got interested (of of the blue) in a Parker 51 and love the demi for its size and balance. Now I also love my MYU 701! I have a student who is Japanese and is going back for our college Christmas break. I would like to find a new Pilot M 90 with a fine nib, and am wondering two things...1. would the prices be less in Japan than they currently are on EvilBay? *Also there are currently no NOS F only M nibs...on that site) 2. Any suggestions of where I might have her look? Thanks in advance!- Octatonic

After getting a Pilot MYU on ebay without a converter or cartridge I ordered 2 new con-20 for this fountain pen. After receiving I put one in place and filled it with Akkerman royal blue. I had the feeling that the converter was not fitting properly because it was a very wobbly affair but the short barrel keeps it in place. The pen with medium nib glides over the paper as a dream and after uncapping it after a night it still looks clean and writes perfect. Only the same evening after writing just a few notes the ink was gone. I think that that is very quick or the converter was not filled right. Is there somebody who has the same experience with an Pilot MYU 701.