In Praise of PILOT Pluminix

A design tribute to the plume or dip pen, the PILOT Pluminix is as cheap as they come. You take it apart and it looks like flimsy pieces of nothing. 12.5 cm posted, a mere 12cm unposted. And yet and yet the Pluminix is a small wonder.

Perfect size for small bags and pockets, lightweight (actually featherweight), takes any old cartridge, has got a great ergonomic grip and an italic nib. Palimpsest has many a time grabbed a Rhodia No.10 (the tiniest size) and a Pluminix when there was simply no time to pose the age-old “which pen – which pad” question of the nerd. When the camera bag was the only bag possible, the Pluminix was there. When the jeans’ back pocket was the only available storage, the Pluminix fitted fine. An evening out with the tiniest of handbags? The Pluminix will keep its place inconspicuously.

A translucent green it resembles a small-sized dip pen with its wider middle section and narrow tip – or a quill (a feather, a plume). The finger grip which creates a sort of dent on the section has prompted others to liken the Pluminix to a marine animal, a squid – let’s then call it a squill, if you wish. It won’t perhaps suit a writer with large hands but Palimpsest finds it quite comfortable to hold and enjoys the firm, rough nib with its pleasant italic writing.

Even the most mundane of writing looks important in italic. Pluminix’s 1mm italic nib gives good definition and is quite satisfactory coming as it is from a…squill. Shopping lists become a pleasure, scribbled notes important statements, and a signature looks simply regal. Even that first chapter of that novel looks like it may be the final version. One does need a bit of delusion in one's life. In praise of Pilot’s Pluminix, Palimpsest is a proponent of the issuing of Pluminixes to the general population to replace BICs. Call them Squills. See if it catches.