10 replies to this topic

[pen-sitedave]

Modern Namiki is always a hot topic but the world of pre war Pilot/ Dunhill Namiki, as well as Platinum and lesser known brands is Rarely discussed on the boards. I know there are many collectors. Let's build a knowledge base of unusual pieces such as Namiki made for Asprey or Brentanos or French Dunhill. Let's make this forum interesting and unbiased. I'm excited to be a part of this new endeavor.
Thanks for all the work David!!!

[david i]

Modern Namiki is always a hot topic but the world of pre war Pilot/ Dunhill Namiki, as well as Platinum and lesser known brands is Rarely discussed on the boards. I know there are many collectors. Let's build a knowledge base of unusual pieces such as Namiki made for Asprey or Brentanos or French Dunhill. Let's make this forum interesting and unbiased. I'm excited to be a part of this new endeavor.
Thanks for all the work David!!!

Team effort

Having you as Advisor, with your knowledge of Japanese pens, is a coup no doubt. Hey, your statement is a bit vague. You mention unusual pieces such as "made for", but also mentione earlier pre-war Pilot as one of those lesser known things. Of course, I've nearly no knowledge of Asian pens.

Still I shot a few nice ones from some fellow's collection way back in 2003 at the Philadelphia Pen SHow (or was it '05?).

This one is a monster Pilot. Fat pen about 6" in length, getting into "Giant" category were it vintage American.

You should be familiar with. Feel free to comment.

regards

David

[Hirsch]

When Pilot/Namiki moved away from hard rubber, they went in a couple of different directions. The maki-e pens are probably the best well known. However, they also went into some interesting celluloids. The first of their celluloids was black, and according to Ron Dutcher was imported from NJ. The first celluloid that Pilot actually made in Japan was the blue. I've got an example of blue with gold "ribbons". My photography in inadequate to capture the depth of the blue in this pen. It can appear to be a black pen, then can show stunning blue as you turn it in good light.



I've only got one other pre-war Pilot at the moment, from the same series. This one is black with a platinum stripe:



While this pen has gold-filled furniture and a 14K nib, I've also owned one with what might have been nickel-plated furniture, and a steel nib.

Caution, pure unadulterated speculation follows: I think that perhaps there might have been a move away from use of gold as war grew nearer. Then again, it may have simply been a budget line.

[Readymade]

Nice pens Hirsch and David

I've a vintage Pilot that came with a 14K nib, but the celluloid's very badly ambered. It's still possible to discern a pattern in the plastic -- right now it looks like seaweed in very dirty water. Still, there's enough to make one wonder what the pen might've looked like...

I've photos in my blog post -
http://strangeknight...at-a-dark-past/

The nib's a Pilot 14K stenography nib with a "2.40" date stamp behind it, indicating it was manufactured in 1940. I asked Ron and Stan about the pen via PMs, and Ron expressed the opinion that most nibs made during WWII (1939-1945) used steel and not 14K gold, and that 14K nibs tended to be on high-end Pilot pens.

I really appreciated their comments, and I'm under no illusion that this dinky little algae-colored pen was some high-end Pilot model, even if it did look much better in the past

Well, my turn to indulge in pure unadulterated speculation: maybe the 14K nib was an optional upgrade?

[pen-sitedave]

When Pilot/Namiki moved away from hard rubber, they went in a couple of different directions. The maki-e pens are probably the best well known. However, they also went into some interesting celluloids. The first of their celluloids was black, and according to Ron Dutcher was imported from NJ. The first celluloid that Pilot actually made in Japan was the blue. I've got an example of blue with gold "ribbons". My photography in inadequate to capture the depth of the blue in this pen. It can appear to be a black pen, then can show stunning blue as you turn it in good light.



I've only got one other pre-war Pilot at the moment, from the same series. This one is black with a platinum stripe:



While this pen has gold-filled furniture and a 14K nib, I've also owned one with what might have been nickel-plated furniture, and a steel nib.

Caution, pure unadulterated speculation follows: I think that perhaps there might have been a move away from use of gold as war grew nearer. Then again, it may have simply been a budget line.

[pen-sitedave]

Hi,

Celluloid from this period did not fair well . It's very difficult to tell what it originally looked like. I've had pens with what looked like barber pole stripes. The nib is anybodies guess. It could be a replacement which is most likely. I've got a box of pens from this period and they all have steel nibs.

[penmanila]

i'm not sure if this steel-nibbed pilot (picked up last year in vietnam) is celluloid, but it has some of the prettiest marbling i've ever seen:

[DeScribe]

How much does one of these celluloid Pilot cost?

[AltecGreen]

Nice pens Hirsch and David

I've a vintage Pilot that came with a 14K nib, but the celluloid's very badly ambered. It's still possible to discern a pattern in the plastic -- right now it looks like seaweed in very dirty water. Still, there's enough to make one wonder what the pen might've looked like...

I've photos in my blog post -
http://strangeknight...at-a-dark-past/

The nib's a Pilot 14K stenography nib with a "2.40" date stamp behind it, indicating it was manufactured in 1940. I asked Ron and Stan about the pen via PMs, and Ron expressed the opinion that most nibs made during WWII (1939-1945) used steel and not 14K gold, and that 14K nibs tended to be on high-end Pilot pens.

I really appreciated their comments, and I'm under no illusion that this dinky little algae-colored pen was some high-end Pilot model, even if it did look much better in the past

Well, my turn to indulge in pure unadulterated speculation: maybe the 14K nib was an optional upgrade?

According to Ron Dutcher, department stores held pen fairs after the war for people to bring in their wartime pens with steel nibs and have them replaced with 14k nibs. It would not be unusual to find pens made during the war with post war gold nibs.

[AltecGreen]

Here are some pre-war and wartime Japanese celluloid pens from my collection.




Pilot






Sailor (the middle pen is from the 1950's)




Shiseido and Daimaru. The Shiseido in the bronze celluloid was made by the Shiseido cosmetic company. The Daimaru is the small pen in the koi celluloid and was made for the Daimaru Dept. Store.

[Kudzu]

Gorgeous pens, Ricky -- you've been holding out on me!