Sumgai?

[hari317]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251246618284?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

Received the pen last week. Some pictures:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8387_zps0e24714c.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8388_zps39814753.jpg

 

What does it say?

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8389_zps77c48146.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8390_zps67285620.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8391_zpsf80f1522.jpg

 

This pen is from 1970 as per the nib date code. When did Pilot start manufacturing these pens? What were these pens known as? Elite or Elite Silvern? or...

 

Some comparisons with a later Namiki Elite sterling silver with the ball end clip and a Pilot Crane Silver from 1976: The older pens are smaller and slimmer. I love the two tone job on the 1970 pen.

 

Father and son?

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8392_zps4581b197.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8393_zps78fc9f67.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8394_zpsa8ed6531.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/PilotEliteInsetNibRepair/IMG_8395_zpse3ff7ce2.jpg

 

Comments on the auction and pen and inputs on the model line are welcome.

 

Thanks!

Hari

Edited April 7, 2013 by hari317

[Frank C]

Wow! That's a beautiful pen for $66. You got a very good deal. I don't know much about the pen, but it is beautiful.

[reval]

Cool! It looks like an ancestor of the Cross Verve line of pens.

[pelman]

For sure a Sterling Silver pen for $66 is a great deal Congrats Hari. Use it in good health.

[Sblakers]

Congrats Hari ! What a catch !

[hari317]

Thank you all for the kind comments.

 

Can anyone point me to a online resource where the Elite Vs silvern and the evolution of the Elite pens and the elite badge is discussed?

 

Best

Hari

[Nikolaos]

Congrats Hari!

 

That's a sumgai for sure

 

Nikolaos

[hari317]

Congrats Hari!

 

That's a sumgai for sure

 

Nikolaos

Thanks Nikolaos.

[stan]

The large silver Elite with it's black plastic brother were the first in the long line of Pilot Elite models. Andy Lambrou dates it as 1968 in his FPOJ, which seems correct. He also notes a small Elite with the same date, that in my opinion, is incorrect. But he adds, the model in question, was for export. On the net page he indicates the similar models as 1969.

 

Now the Silvern appears to have begun production in 1969 and continued through the mid-1970s. Pilot withdrew the Elite name from the pen and used it on the more commonly known line of full-size and short pens. Good marketing effort on their part.

 

When a model is introduced, sold, discontinued, left in the catalog etc. all depends on clever marketing. Dates and years will overlap and some pens will stay in the catalog long after they are probably no longer manufactured.

[hari317]

The large silver Elite with it's black plastic brother were the first in the long line of Pilot Elite models. Andy Lambrou dates it as 1968 in his FPOJ, which seems correct. He also notes a small Elite with the same date, that in my opinion, is incorrect. But he adds, the model in question, was for export. On the net page he indicates the similar models as 1969.

 

Now the Silvern appears to have begun production in 1969 and continued through the mid-1970s. Pilot withdrew the Elite name from the pen and used it on the more commonly known line of full-size and short pens. Good marketing effort on their part.

 

When a model is introduced, sold, discontinued, left in the catalog etc. all depends on clever marketing. Dates and years will overlap and some pens will stay in the catalog long after they are probably no longer manufactured.

Thank you Stan. They seem to have reintrocued the Elite badge sometime in the late 90s? with the Namiki crosshatch silver pen that I show above? I believe it was a US market pen?

[Abhik]

Wonderful pen!

[markiv]

I am a simpleton here but definitely worth much more than $66! Looks like a juicy broad nib - congrats.

[hari317]

I am a simpleton here but definitely worth much more than $66! Looks like a juicy broad nib - congrats.

You are one of the star collectors IMO my friend, I eagerly open your threads. Yes the nib is simply superb and the shaping is done so wonderfully, a well rounded foot. But, it had some complicated issues as I am sure you must have noticed from the listing picture. Nib bent and then improperly straightened, so I had to separate the nib from the section. This nib was held onto the section in a very different way from the later inset nibs. I have taken some detailed pics, let me see when i gather the energy and courage to post a thread on this topic.

 

Regards,

Hari

[nvbrennan]

btw the sticker reads "The instruction booklet is under the mount". Nice score on this one. When you asked re resources I was about to point you to Stan's site, which is excellent on Pilot models of this era. But you got the man himself instead.

[hari317]

btw the sticker reads "The instruction booklet is under the mount". Nice score on this one. When you asked re resources I was about to point you to Stan's site, which is excellent on Pilot models of this era. But you got the man himself instead.

 

Thanks Nick! yes Stan is perhaps the only English Japanese pen resources available to us.

[stan]

Thank you for your generosity. Sadly, I do little at my site except annual payments to keep it online.

 

The Pilot/Namiki Elite and Silvern models can form a great collection. I suspect there to be at least ten, and more, distinct 1970s Silvern varieties. Unless, one has the time and $$$, this is a serious collecting challenge. If i may make one observation regarding the old versus the new models, beside the clip, it is the nibs on the modern Namiki Silverns seem to be slightly more scratchy. This might be by design.

 

A major difference in the initial big black Elite models and the almost concurrent silver and Silvern models was the filling system. Almost every black Elite had a push button filling system with an accordion shaped plastic sac encased in a polished metal jacket that gave up in a short time. Pilot's designers and engineers expected too much from the plastics. I have never investigated whether they accept or can be altered to accept cartridges or traditional converters.