By Bibhuti Shah
Kathmandu, Apr. 2: Inscribed in its iconic blue and white trademark, Pilot Pen Corporation’s outlet, near the cross-roads of Dharmapath, is not hard to spot, despite the hustle and bustle of the city. Standing strong for 25 years, the store, run by Fair Trade Group, remains the only one in all of South Asia. The one-of-its-kind shop has been attracting both domestic and international customers since its inception.
The Corporation offers wide-ranging products of fountain pens, mechanical pencils, gel pens, marker pens, calligraphy pens, inks, brushes, glue sticks and erasers.
The price of the products starts from Rs. 10 and goes up to Rs. 20,000. The use-and-throw ball point pens are priced at Rs. 10. At Rs. 20,000, FE-25 SR pen is the costliest. The pen is made up of a classy metallic body painted in red. It comes with a glittering case and has a nib made of white gold.
In 1915, Professor Ryosuke Namiki at Tokyo Nautical College had left his job to create gold nibs. In 1918, he, along with Masao Wada, founded The Pilot Pen Corporation under the name “Namiki Manufacturing Company, after making a name for himself as a manufacturer of top-notch pens.
All pens are of very high quality. The price of gold nib pens begins from Rs. 10,000, with gold quality measured anywhere between 14 and18 carats. These pens are usually purchased as gift items.
The shop supplies pens to everyone -- from students to high-ranking officials, including government employees and ambassadors. However, tourists and businessmen are the prime costumers of the exclusive pens.
In an effort to provide taste of the top-quality pens, the company sells a lot of their replicas costing far less than the original. FriXion Clicker, for example, sells at Rs. 150, which otherwise would cost Rs. 1,500.
The showroom sells a couple of pens costing from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 every week. Likewise, pens costing over Rs. 20,000 take a couple of months to sell. The bestselling pen -- Hi-Tech Point -- costs Rs. 125. Upwards of 3,000 of these pens are sold monthly.
The ink used in costly pens doesn’t fade for years, if not decades. Such pens come with a guarantee of 10 years, and a faulty product is rarely found.
The showroom, which is also wholesale dealer, has been pulling customers from far and wide. “A few years ago, we sold pens worth more than Rs. 50,000 to a Chinese customer,” reminisced Gopal Chowdhary, Marketing Manager of the company.
The glistening shine, the perfectly-made nibs and the brightly-coloured and inks -- all helps the pens to be on demand forever. Writing with these elegant pens which also carries a wonderful legacy definitely counts as an experience.

(Shah is an intern at The Rising Nepal)