百樂 Pilot

From its establishment in 1918, Pilot has not only been a renowned fountain pen manufacturer, but also a dominant player in the Japanese stationery industry. However, despite its formidable reputation, the company faced a near-closure in the 1960s. Leading Pilot's remarkable comeback from the brink of bankruptcy was none other than the Elite S Pocket Pen, which we are excited to introduce today!

The regular Elite 95S pocket fountain pen comes in two versions, black and burgundy. However, there is actually another very special and almost unknown hidden version - the blue shareholder limited edition!

Previously, like many pen enthusiasts, I mistakenly believed that the first pocket pen by Pilot was the Elite S in 1968, as it was the most well-known. However, after communicating with Mr. Nobuyoshi Arakura, a.k.a. Mr. Pilot, he revealed to me the true originator of Pilot's pocket pens, which was the Sporty 12!

一般的「口袋鋼筆」筆蓋長而筆身短，Pilot於1966年推出的Short（ショート）卻獨樹一幟，除了有短筆蓋和較長的筆身，還可以伸縮。

【K金尖戰爭#4】 Sailor與Platinum分別於1969年和1970年推出21k與22k尖的短鋼筆：Mini 21和Platinum 22。同為日本鋼筆三巨頭的Pilot自然不會落後，於1970年發佈了22k短鋼：Elite S-22（エリートS-22）。

Elite S短鋼於1968年一炮而紅後，百樂乘勢推出更多Elite S短鋼筆系列，其中一條分支便是本篇介紹的Elite S-KaraKara（からから/color and color）。