Detailed Description

Up for Auction is a mint Pilot MU701, better known as a Murex. A sleek and sexy pen with the space-age integral nib that was popular in the 1970's, back when the Concorde was new and cool

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Not long ago I had the chance to talk with one of these Pilot designers who worked on the Murex. He said that it wasn't the Concorde nor the Parker that inspired them, but ancient goose quill pens. They were trying to recapture the sleek white tips of a quill into a modern pen. The problem with goose quills was that they quickly wore out. Our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson was forced to keep a large flock of geese on his farm at Monticello just to keep him in stock with quills. The Murex was suppose to solve the problem of the quill by making a pen that was nearly impervious to damage; able to withstand normal pen wear for centuries. Makes you wonder what Jefferson would have given for one of these.

Probably the most famous of these integral nib pens is the Parker T1. Both the Parker and the Pilot were released at about the same time, and the debate still continues on who released theirs first. Parker fans point out the earlier press releases while Pilot fans point out that the Murex was being designed before the T1.

Parker decided to use Titanium for their material, which was a big mistake. The metal was famous for its use in the Apollo space program and was beginning to be used in commerical airplanes, and Parker sought to make a pen with this strong, light wheight metal. What they didn't count on was just how difficult Titanium is to work. Parker lost money on each pen they sold, and Parker soon dropped the line and cut their loses.

Pilot, on the other hand, chose a special surgical stainless steel, which seems to last forever. I've found dozens of these pens in the last 10 years, and I have never found a broken or cracked one. These were made to last.

Pilot created a whole series of these pens including a black stripe one and a full-size Senior model. But this is the original model and highly sought after by collectors today.

If you look closely the clip is the same as some of the early Namiki Vanishing Points, known as Capless in Japan. I've heard from some of the retired Pilot people that the two departments had fights over who actually designed the clip, but the problem was that a few of the engineers had worked in both departments.

Another slick feature is the spring dome section mounts that grip the cap perfectly. The engineering involved with this pen is staggering. The pen never fails to grab attention, and you will find yourself placing this pen at the front of your daily rotations.