“pilot 77? never heard of you.”

From Luis Store comes this unusual fountain pen – a Pilot 77.

Terrie and Rose Pua, owners of Luis Store, say that this pen was part of Pilot’s budget line during the ’60′s. As always from Luis, their vintage pens are “new old stock”, brand-new, never been used, tucked away for decades after being purchased by their father, Luis Pua, who founded the only store in the country devoted to fountain pens in 1943.

The pen has an unusual nib; triangular, supported by a plastic base, marked simply “Pilot” in all-caps. The tines are very close together and seem almost one unit.

Markings on the barrel say, “Namarco Pilot 77 Made in Japan”.

A search of the Internet yielded no information on this pen. One might tend to doubt its authenticity – could it be some sort of fake using the Pilot marque?

But a comparison of the fill system with a Pilot E from the ’70s shows that they both have the switch-fill system invented by Pilot and, far as I know, used only by them.

The cap is some kind of inexpensive metal, colored gold, marked “Pilot” on the base.

It also comes in a soft peach coral and robin’s-egg blue, colors reminiscent of the ’60s and ’70s and a valuable clue to dating this pen.

While not a terrific writer, the nail nib does give some line variation, making it interesting enough to use daily as a “road warrior” with pizzazz.

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