Pilot Elite Review (1970S)

[AL01]

Great review, AL01! What did you ask when you sent it off to Pilot? And how did you contact Pilot Japan? I have only been able to get ahold of Pilot US. I have a couple hard starters that I'd love to use more if they worked better.

 

I just contacted Pilot of USA and told them of the issue I was having with the pen. I believe Pilot can only give the pen a complementary clean up, (I don't think that includes disassembly and polishing, but I could be wrong).

 

Because the pen was vintage and was never sold in the USA, Pilot of USA will send the pen to Pilot of Japan. While my memory of the whole event is fuzzier now than it was when I made the review, what I can say is that Pilot Japan tuned the nib for Western writing, (it was waaaaay to smooth and wet), and that the pen came back cleaned inside out, (I know this because the trim ring was initially loose. After repairs, the ring was tight, and the pen looked brand spankin' new!).

 

I hope that helps, and I KNOW that Pilot will do a good job repairing your pen.

 

... AND it will cost less than sending it off to the cheapest nib-meister around.

[DCirjan]

I also love the vintage pocket pens ... I bought a sailor one on ebay, totally on a whim, and the nib was quite impressive for a lower end model. ...

[hu-327]

I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of the inlaid guilloche ones, if you have them on hand currently. I think the spring-loaded (?) clips on these pens are very nice.

Hu - any nibmeister can handle a hard starting pen for not much money.

 

 

I've jumped into the world of pilot and other japanese pocket pens headfirst, bought about 50 of them from Japan and am slowly restoring and re-selling them. It's amazing how similar they all are, pilot platinum and sailor, and how they have barely changed in 40 years.

 

They did have a lot of more interesting finishes. I have ones with cherry blossoms, inlaid guilloche, and ALL of them have hinged clips too. Gold content ranges from 14k to 18, 21, and platinum even has some 22k models (that are rock hard, stupidly enough)

 

A few are quite flexible, but most are merely quite bouncy. The pilot SCRIPT 14k inlaid nib is quite a nice writer.

[AL01]

I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of the inlaid guilloche ones, if you have them on hand currently. I think the spring-loaded (?) clips on these pens are very nice.

 

+1

[Marlow]

I have the version with the sterling cap in what I think is an EF but it's very scratchy and the point is so tiny I can't even see it properly with the illuminated magnifying lamp. I love it for size, shape and style - just need to sort out that nib and it will become my permanent carry to replace the Rotring 600.

 

Edit: Just used my new reading glasses + the magnifier, identified the problem, spent a few mins drawing pen-weight pressure figure 8s on a 12000grit micromesh and it now writes with just the amount of tooth I like so the Rotty 600 can get back in its box!

Edited June 2, 2019 by Marlow

[Honeybadgers]

I'd be interested in seeing some pictures of the inlaid guilloche ones, if you have them on hand currently. I think the spring-loaded (?) clips on these pens are very nice.

 

 

Guilloche was too strong of a word. More chased metal.

 

 

Here's a selection of what I have on hand. I'm keeping the one with the fine chasing, it's some small in house brand I believe, but it uses a platinum cartridge, and it's got a lovely, soft 14k nib.

 

They can have bright, vibrant barrels too. silver body when capped but a vibrant turquoise or pink or red or robin egg blue section

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[hu-327]

Thanks for the pictures! And is that chemistry in the background I see? Recalling some not so fond memories of high school chem courses...

[AL01]

UGH I CAN'T STAND CHEMISTRY...

 

But if ya like it, then tha's coo'.

 

[Honeybadgers]

I'm a biochemistry major

 

Most people hate chem (even chem majors) because it's just taught horrendously. There's nowhere near enough practical, interesting applications involved in education.

 

I didn't get back into it until I started watching hobbyist chemists like NileRed, cody's lab and Nurdrage on youtube. Even now, In class, I have to remind myself of the amazing stuff that chemistry actually does while I headbutt the badly explained instructional component.

 

I did aggressively headbutt the calculus side of my degree before jumping into the actual chem and bio, so I'm only doing basic chem right now, chem 163 this summer, and finally jumping into Ochem and microbiology all next year to finish my associates and transfer.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[KyleClapton]

I just tried Elite95 last month. It is nice pen. The feeling is good, very smooth nib, very good balance in my hand. But I think if it can contain more ink, it will be much much better.

Seeing your review makes me want to try Elite too.

[Honeybadgers]

I just tried Elite95 last month. It is nice pen. The feeling is good, very smooth nib, very good balance in my hand. But I think if it can contain more ink, it will be much much better.

Seeing your review makes me want to try Elite too.

 

 

Unless you're lucky enough to find a SF or FA marked one, the writing experience will be broadly identical to your E95S. Same balance, weight, feel, everything.

 

The script ones will be softer but not quite a pilot soft fine.

 

Now the SF and FA ones are glorious. I don't have an FA yet, but the SF one I scored is pretty dramatically flexible.

 

If you're interested in the other models made by other manufacturers, perhaps with a plastic cap to be more balanced, PM me. I still have about 30 that I haven't finished restoring from pilot (14k & 18k), platinum (14k, 18k, and a few rare 22k nibs) and Sailor (21k)

[KyleClapton]

 

 

Unless you're lucky enough to find a SF or FA marked one, the writing experience will be broadly identical to your E95S. Same balance, weight, feel, everything.

 

The script ones will be softer but not quite a pilot soft fine.

 

Now the SF and FA ones are glorious. I don't have an FA yet, but the SF one I scored is pretty dramatically flexible.

 

If you're interested in the other models made by other manufacturers, perhaps with a plastic cap to be more balanced, PM me. I still have about 30 that I haven't finished restoring from pilot (14k & 18k), platinum (14k, 18k, and a few rare 22k nibs) and Sailor (21k)

Thank you very much. Yesterday I talked with my friend and he checked Yahoo auction for me of Pilot Elite.

He said he found one. I am still waiting for his message.

I think if I can't get one, I will need to pm you.

Thanks a lot!

[KyleClapton]

I just received vintage Elite Fine nib from my friend yesterday. He helped me to get this pen from an old market in Japan, but unfortunately, the pen turns out to have a defect nib. One tine is longer than the other. We have to send it to a store for repair. I hope I can get it back soon.
Here is my vintage Elite (with one vintage Platinum my friend got for me, but we are not sure which model it is)

 

[Honeybadgers]

If you want to try your hand at restoring them, they're quite easy to wet sand with some 5000, 7000, and 9000 grit sandpaper (just tape off the furniture with painter's tape) followed by a simichrome polishing with a paper towel and a light coat of car wax. And polish the nib with a jeweler's cloth.

 

It's completely transformed every pen I got for dirt cheap from nasty to nearly new.

[KyleClapton]

If you want to try your hand at restoring them, they're quite easy to wet sand with some 5000, 7000, and 9000 grit sandpaper (just tape off the furniture with painter's tape) followed by a simichrome polishing with a paper towel and a light coat of car wax. And polish the nib with a jeweler's cloth.

 

It's completely transformed every pen I got for dirt cheap from nasty to nearly new.

 

Thank you Honeybadgers, I just ordered a 10000, 15000 sandpaper from Amazon japan. My friend said with 15000 sandpaper I can smoothen the nib.

I will order the simichrome polishing too. Thanks again for the tip. I will update the result soon.

[Honeybadgers]

You might need to polish a little more with the 10,000 to get good results since it's such a fine grain. And make sure you 1.) tape off the furnitire with painter's tape and only painter's tape. It doesn't leave residue or damage anything, and 2.) make sure the sandpaper is wet. Dry sanding will pick up little bits of plastic and can cause deeper gouges.

 

15,000 is basically a micro mesh. It will remove scratchiness and make the nib quite usable, but it can't make a nib extremely smooth. It will, at most, have the kind of feedback that a modern pilot nib has, that non-scratchy drag.

 

with the simichrome, use paper towel and only a tiny amount of the polish. A little goes a long way.

 

And finish it off with a thin coat of automotive wax. That will create an extremely thin, extremely hard protective coating that will last about a year.

Edited June 26, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[Caeruleum]

15,000 is basically a micro mesh. It will remove scratchiness and make the nib quite usable, but it can't make a nib extremely smooth. It will, at most, have the kind of feedback that a modern pilot nib has, that non-scratchy drag.

 

This statement necessarily entails the question which material you prefer to make a nib "extremely smooth" then

Edited June 26, 2019 by Caeruleum

[Honeybadgers]

This statement necessarily entails the question which material you prefer to make a nib "extremely smooth" then

 

0.3 micron mylar is kind of what you use for that "hot buttered glass" effect.

 

I personally don't like it. 1 micron on a crisp italic is the most I'll go. Otherwise I prefer 12000.

[Caeruleum]

 

0.3 micron mylar is kind of what you use for that "hot buttered glass" effect.

 

I personally don't like it. 1 micron on a crisp italic is the most I'll go. Otherwise I prefer 12000.

Okay, I thought you might have something else in mind. My experience is limited, but I was more satisfied with 12.000 MicroMesh than 0.3 Mylar.

Sorry for running off topic.

I might try your advice for the surface on an older Platinum however.

[Honeybadgers]

once you pass 12,000, you're getting into personal preference. Under that, you're still in the fairly objectively scratchy world.

 

I concur that 12k is my sweet spot for most nib tuning. And for everything but italics, I find my customers to agree.