Pilot 55 Information

[RayCornett]

I was gifted a Pilot 55 which I will probably use as more of an EDC safe pen. Does anyone have any specific information on this model? I can barely even find it mentioned through Google.

Pilot 55 imprint on barrel. Made in Japan. Gold tone "super quality" nib. The metal part of the converter comes out but the sac stays. The is also a hole in the end of the barrel. Is this normal or was something there that has come off? How is the nib removed for cleaning.etc.? What were the production years? I did see one post on another site saying they used theirs 20 years ago and relocated it and are using it again.

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[jde]

Pilot 55 imprint on barrel. Made in Japan. Gold tone "super quality" nib. The metal part of the converter comes out but the sac stays. The is also a hole in the end of the barrel. Is this normal or was something there that has come off? How is the nib removed for cleaning.etc.? What were the production years? I did see one post on another site saying they used theirs 20 years ago and relocated it and are using it again.


Hey Ray,

I've not seen this specific model before—Pilot has had many, many versions of this style of pen over the years. These Pilots can be nice little writers, even with steel nibs.

But I can suggest two things: 1st, the nib in this type of pen is not usually removed, and so your cleaning of it will be ultrasonic if you have that, or lots of soaking, flushing and patience. 2nd, the squeeze converter in your Pilot should remove with the sac remaining inside the metal. (You fill the pen by dipping the nib in the ink and squeezing the metal, slowly several times until you see no bubbles in the ink bottle from squeezing.) Have you tried removing the sac? Not sure if it's salvageable. I would recommend you seek out Dillon Ang over in the FPN Japanese forum for any repair tips. He can probably tell you how the nib might be removed if really necessary, or more about the converter.

Nice little gift!

--Julie

[RayCornett]

I happened to also contact Pilot yesterday. Pilot knows nothing about the pen whatsoever.

[RayCornett]

Let me clarify. Pilot USA knows nothing of the pen. Each country that produces Pilot pens is an affiliate and produces their own makes and models. So if it is made in Japan like mine I have to get information from the manufacturer in Japan. The thing about that is, the Pilot Japan website seems to mainly cater to their investors.

[AltecGreen]

Let me clarify. Pilot USA knows nothing of the pen. Each country that produces Pilot pens is an affiliate and produces their own makes and models. So if it is made in Japan like mine I have to get information from the manufacturer in Japan. The thing about that is, the Pilot Japan website seems to mainly cater to their investors.

The majority of the Pilot fountain pens were made in Japan. Most likely the Hiratsuka plant. You can check the date code on the nib. If it starts with an 'H' then it was made at the Hiratsuka plant. A 'T' would indicate Tokyo. Modern pens have a different code 'A' or 'B'. Other than Japan, there are Indian and Korean made Pilot fountain pens.

As for info, if you contact Pilot try their Pilot Pen Station Cafe/Museum in Ginza, Tokyo. They have a repair shop their and would be more likely to have info rather than corporate.

You would be better off trying one of the experts. You could ask Stan, the moderator, of the Japan forum on FPN. Unfortunately, he is on travel this week. There are others like Mr. Eizo Fujii of Eurobox (http://www.euro-box.com/) but I'm not sure people like that would appreciate a random cold call about pen identification.

Another possibility is to contact Dale Beebe, http://www.pentooling.com/, He has the black version of your pen for sale. He might know something more.

It's very hard to find information about the pen you have. References in English about Japanese pens tend to focus on the rare and exotic vintage pens. You can easily find information about pens like the Buddhist Sutra pens from the 1970's but pens like yours tend to get ignored. In pen collecting, pen ephemera like ads and catalogs are like gold. This is where you would find the information you seek. I would wager your pen is from the late 60's to early 70's.

You could check the date code on the nib and it would give you a year. These pens disassemble from the back. How the pen is secured varies from the different models of this era. You'll most likely have to make a custom tool.