I’m no longer sure how old this pen is.

When I was at the 17th Mitsukoshi Fountain Pen Festival I showed this pen to the clerk at the Pilot Pen area. A few seconds later a different lady grabbed the pen and passed it to the Pilot repair expert. The guy examined it and reported to the different lady. A minute later my fountain pen was two years younger than I thought it was. It’s either two years older than I am, or it’s the same age as I am.

Either way, I like this pen a lot and it’s made me rethink the style of nib I like.

The 1964/66 Pilot Capless.

Perhaps because the first Fine nib I ever used was on a Chinese Golden Star/Hero fountain pen I bought in Albania, I’ve been unimpressed with F nibs. My writing style is fast, loose and semi-legible and the Golden Star F nib seemed scratchy and dry, especially on cheap paper. It was, at least to my sentiments at the time, not much different than using a ballpoint pen.

The gold Fine nib on the 1964/1966 Pilot Capless, though, is terrific. It is smooth and a lot of fun to use. It seems made for Pilot Blue-Black ink, but lately I’ve been using Maruzen Athena Blue-Black in it.

Even on cheap paper, the nib is smooth, and although I’m a big fan of the “faceted version” of the pen, I find I haven’t missed mine at all since I stopped using them. When I start reusing this pen, though, after a period of non use, I quickly realize why I liked it and look for excuses to use it.

A close up of the nib and feed on the 1964/1966 Pilot Capless.

The nib from a different angle.

I like that, although it’s thin, it doesn’t have the large clip of the other versions. I’m able to hold the pen the same way I hold all my other pens. This makes it easier to write small. The pen uses the older Con-W converter which, oddly, holds slightly more ink than the more modern converters.

My main complaint is that, because of its age, the pen tends to leak ink. It doesn’t drip out of the pen, but it does get all over the mechanism of the pen. Also, because of its short tube, the Con-W never feels 100% secure on the pen. I also have to be careful to align things correctly.

Since I got the 1964/66 Capless, I’ve been experimenting with fine nibs and pens from different companies.

My handwriting is still terrible, but at least it’s small and compact.