There are some pens that most people will agree has some sort of special notoriety. I am reluctant to use the term grail, but perhaps that’s the best description. At any rate, the Pilot Myu is one such pen. The reason for this is twofold, in my opinion, the first is obviously the design and I’ll touch upon this later. The second reason is due to the fact that it’s no longer in production and it’s not everyday that you come across it. I’ll say now, the hype (or whatever you want to call it) is definitely deserved for this pen.

Design

This is definitely the talking point of this pen. This is one of the few pens that has an inlaid nib, though it goes to a greater extent than the likes of the Waterman Caréne and the Sheaffer Pen For Men (aka Legacy Heritage) as it’s more like an ‘integrated’ nib. Montblanc had a bit of a stab at this design in their earlier days with the 12 and 22 models (perhaps others too). Essentially, if Concorde was a pen, it would be this.

The difference being that with an inlaid nib, the nib is just part of the section, while the integrated Myu nib is one piece with the entire pen, not just the section. Perhaps picture comparisons will make it more obvious.

There is a show I like – Peep Show – and in one of the episodes, a person is asking one of the main protagonists to design a bathroom that looks “modern but also traditional”, which is a sort of conflicting statement; a bit like asking for a cat-dog (enter the Chihuahua). Anyway, it’s a conflicting desire, yet this pen sort of embodies this sentiment. It is sleek and very minimalist, which makes me want to describe it as a conservative design, but then I think about the nib and that’s the farthest thing from a black and gold cigar shaped pen with a standard nib. So there you go, Mark Corrigan, we have an example of modern meets traditional (even though the pen now would be deemed vintage).

Basically, photos explain the design better than words can. Just look at it, it’s stunning.

Nib

Another talking point of the pen, though it is sort of integrated (get it?) with the design. Despite what the price may suggest, as I will get on to later, this pen isn’t a gold nib, but just a standard steel nib. Nothing wrong with that – modern Pilot pens are excellent writers even with steel nibs and their vintage line is no exception.

The nib lays down a nice line and is very consistent. There isn’t much line variation (though some can be seen) to have, though even if the nib was softer and had more give to it, the nature of the nib and the rarity of the pen itself would make me hesitant to apply any pressure anyway. I’m not looking for anything fancy in the nib, I quite like it being a stiff nib in all honesty. Reverse writing isn’t an option, however Also, given that this is a fine nib I was quite surprised as people often comment on how Japanese nibs tend to run finer to their western counterparts, I’d say this is a fairly standard fine nib by modern/western standards.

Filling

Pilot converters annoy me no end. Due to the size of this pen, you are limited to certain converters, and I haven’t been able to test them all out – but I know the Con-20 fits and I think the Con-40 (or 50) will fit. I tried to get a Pilot cartridge in, but I was very reluctant to push it in too much (and I think I was using one from the V5 pens, so I may have had difficulties because of that).

Feel

This is an all metal pen, so there is the risk of it getting slippery if you’re writing in the heat/for a long time, but it’s not something I’ve really experienced. Because of the integrated nib, it means you can hold the pen anywhere to write, which is nice.

This is a small pen and it posts really well. I can just about get away writing with it un-posted, but the size is much better if you decide to in my opinion – and I am not usually someone who likes to post their pens. For this reason, I actually prefer the Pilot Murex – soooo….. If anyone is looking to trade, hit me up; I’d be very interested to sort something out.

Price

These pens were dirt cheap back in the day, from what I can work out. If you’re lucky you’ll find one of these pens with the original price sticker on it – for example – 3,500 Yen (which works out to about £28). I paid £150…..which definitely isn’t due to inflation! The main reason for this is because of the rarity of the pen and the fact that it’s quite high in demand; when one of these go up for sale, it’s snatched up quite quickly. Simple supply and demand, init.

Would I Buy It?

I have no remorse on this purchase, even if it was more than 400pc the original price.

If Not This, Then What?

The Pilot Murex or M90 (which is the 90th anniversary re-release of the Myu) are the two obvious examples, though they are also difficult to get ahold of. The Murex is a bit longer in size (and in my opinion has a better aesthetic/choices, though you often won’t have the luxury of choosing the design of the Murex because of its rarity).

You could go for another pen with an inlaid nib, such as the Caréne or Sheaffer Legacy models mentioned above. They come with a gold nib, which is an upgrade but because of this they will have their own mark up.