PenHero.com - PenGallery - Pilot Short S-150SS Fountain Pen Cream Color 1968

by Jim Mamoulides, June 20, 2025

PenHero Pilot Short S-150SS fountain pen cream color 1968

A Pleasent Surprise!

Before I head out to a pen show I always make a list of pens I am interested in finding. I’m not always a completist, but it is nice to see all the versions and finishes of a pen I am interested in, especially if I intend to write about it. In 2024 I posted an article on the Pilot Short S-150SS fountain pen and was on the lookout for more colors.

Capped, the Pilot Short S-150SS is tiny at about 4 5/16 inches (111mm) long, but that only tells the “short” part of the story. What makes this pen different than other short fountain pens from Japan is the telescoping section. With the cap posted on the end of the barrel, the section can be pulled out to expand the posted pen from 5 1/16 (129mm) long to a full size 5 5/8 inches (145mm).

Because of the telescoping section, Pilot Short pens with this feature are often called “short telescoping” or “long-short” pens. The cap proportion to the barrel is less dramatic compared to the Pilot Elite S, which is also compact when closed, but is full size when the cap is posted due to its long section and cap.

PenHero Pilot Short S-150SS fountain pen cream color 1968

The model S-150SS Pilot Short pens have a matching color plastic barrel and section with a lightly brushed plain steel barrel sleeve and cap that has a 1mm flat cap top. They have gold nibs stamped PILOT over 14K 585 or plain (where the PILOT and 14K 585 mark are on the opposite side and not visible).

At the time of the 2024 article, I knew of four plastic section and barrel colors: black, red, blue, and aqua (or turquoise) and since I did not have a blue one, that was on my list. On my first day at the 2025 Triangle Pen Show I was very happy to find a blue one in nice condition.

PenHero Pilot Short S-150SS fountain pen cream color 1968

Only a few days later, I saw this cream (or white) color Pilot Short S-150SS for sale. What a surprise! I’ve never seen a reference for this color in the limited information I have on the model.

This pen also compels me to make some adjustments on dates in the original Pilot Short S-150SS article. The date code on this pen is IM 16. Pilot’s date code, found on the top of the plastic barrel end, consists of two letters and two numbers. The first letter is the year, starting with 1960 = A. The second letter is the month, by manufacturing plant, with A-L for the Hiratsuka factory in the Kanagawa Prefecture, and M-X for the Tokyo factory in Shimura, Itabashi ward. January in each case = A or M. The number = the day of the month. Therefore, IM 16 indicates that this pen was made at the Tokyo factory on January 16, 1968.

PenHero Pilot Short S-150SS fountain pen cream color 1968

There are three cap versions: one with a plain chrome plated clip with PILOT stamped just below on the cap, a second one with a chrome plated clip stamped PILOT with PILOT stamped just below on the cap, and a third one with a chrome plated clip stamped PILOT with no markings on the cap below. Because this pen has both the clip and the base of the cap stamped PILOT, I would have thought the date would be in 1967. This IM 16 date code indicates that this second version extends into early 1968.

It’s always fun to find something new. It’s even more fun to find something that challenges what I thought I knew. This find meets both of those points. Now that I've found five colors I wonder how many more, if any, were made.

Short Japanese pens have a small and enthusiastic following. There are collectors who focus specifically on short Pilot pens. Pilot Short telescoping fountain pens were made only in five models and a few colors. It appears that they were only made for three or four years. They are overshadowed by the fancier and more colorful short pens offered in the same period. It’s the telescoping section feature that makes them interesting to me. They are a little uncommon, but not generally expensive to acquire.

I would like to thank Bruno Taut for providing a four page document that illustrates and details all the variants of the Pilot Short, including date and model information, prepared by a Japanese pen collector he recalls is named Mr. Fukuyo. Bruno Taut provided information and a photo that shows a Pilot Short pen with a cap resembling that of the Pilot Super Ultra pen of 1959 - very interesting! He also provided information on Pilot cartridges, photos of pens (showing the blue one) and scans that were very helpful in completing this article.

I would like to thank Stan Klemanowicz, who coined the term "short to long" as a general shorthand for these types of pens. He also provided information on Japanese pen cartridge development, scans of pens, information on the Sailor Mini, and information on converters that were very helpful in completing this article.

I would like to thank David Rzeszotarski, who provided detailed information on Pilot converters and many comments that were very helpful in completing this article.

Without the help of Bruno, Stan and David, this article would be much less detailed and less complete.

"Pilot Short S-150SS Fountain Pen With Telescoping Section c. 1966-1969"

"Identifying A Pilot Pen", Fountain Pen Network, September 5, 2012

"Pilot Telescoping LongShort", Fountain Pen Network, January 23, 2010

Comments on this article may be sent to the author, Jim Mamoulides

Pilot Short S-150SS Fountain Pen Cream Color 1968

A Pleasent Surprise!

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