Pilot pens are manufactured by Pilot Pen Corporation, founded in 1918 by Ryosuke Namiki and based in Tokyo, Japan. Pilot Pen Corporation (often referred to as just ‘Pilot’) earned a reputation of one of the leading pen manufacturers and occupies a strong position on the market of writing instruments. Precisely, it is the 3rd largest pen manufacturer in the USA and the largest pen and pencil manufacturer in Japan. Pilot Corporation has a large number of branches all over the world and with a clear conscience can be called one of the forerunners of the pen industry.

Pilot pens are first of all known for their simplicity and cheapness. Pilot is always striving for more capacity, writability and comfort of Pilot pens. It experiments with the shape and design of the barrel and the grip. To be more exact Pilot Pen Corporation endeavors to get the ink flowing at a high rate and thus to be best used on thicker paper. Consequently, Pilot pens are famous for having the high rate of ink flow, the smoothest release of ink, and above-average ink capacities at the same time.

Pilot ballpoint pens are known to everyone. There several models the most famous and widely spread of which are the following: BP-S and BPS-GP (they are refillable ballpoints with or without rubber grips); Rexgrip (a well-known ballpoint pen with a rubberized grip); Dr Grip Equlibrium (a comfortable well balanced refillable ball point pen, that is retractable and has large rubber grip).

Pilot fountain pens are also quite varied. Pilot Varsity is a non-refillable (disposable) Pilot fountain pen that is an item of practically every pens collection. V-pen is also a non-refillable fountain pen that is quite popular among pen collectors. Vortex a nice model that is pocket sized, but refillable. Capless (or the Vanishing Point) is a Pilot fountain pen with a retractable nib. There are other Pilot fountain pens with some lacquering designs.

Pilot Corporation also has a facility, known as The Pilot Ink Company, that manufactures ink for Pilot fountain pens (and not only for Pilot). Black ink and blue ink (and some other colors) is available in the United States in Namiki-branded bottles.

Among Pilot pens there are also gel ink rollerball pens. The most popular models are: G1 (a refillable gel ink pen with or without rubber grip), G2 (a retractable, refillable gel ink pen with a rubber grip), G2 Pro (a retractable, refillable gel ink pen, available with a rubber grip and metal accents), G6 (also known as Alphagel, a retractable, refillable gel ink pen with a rubber grip that covers most of the pen surface), Super Gel (a single use gel ink pen).

Despite their mass-production, Pilot pens are still a must for every pens collection.