Pilot Corporation (founded as Namiki Manufacturing Company) · Tokyo, Japan · 1918–present

Vintage Pilot fountain pens

Ryosuke Namiki was making gold nibs in Tokyo by 1915, and in 1918 he and Masao Wada founded the Namiki Manufacturing Company. In 1938 the company took the Pilot name. Its most famous pen is the Capless of 1963, a fountain pen with a nib that retracts, which gained its click action in 1964 and has been sold in America as the Vanishing Point since around 1970. In the 1960s and 70s Pilot also built short pocket pens, like the Elite S and the stainless steel MYU, whose nib is part of its body. The Custom range began with the Custom K in 1971, and the Custom 74 of 1992 is named for the company's 74th year. Pilot's Namiki brand covers its maki-e lacquered pens, which are made at the Hiratsuka factory.

6 pens we cover.