When you dive deep into a series, some items can be hard to find. Take the ‘elevated’ 5000 yen tier QUATRO series for example: fountain pens, rollerballs and ballpoints aplenty; nary a listing for the sharp for many moons.
I was beginning to think I’d never find a pairing for my gold and navy QUATRO ballpoint when I spied a listing for a Pilot Réserver sharp instead…
In a twist of fate I had purchased a Réserver a couple of years ago without knowing 100% what it was. The sharp squared off profile was super alluring, along with the seller’s close-ups of the oh-so-classy etched name on the golden side below the clip.
Receiving it I was struck by equal bouts of admiration and consternation. It was a very nicely made design. But it was only in person that I could fathom its purpose as a pocket book style mini pen with a milled twist knob that pushed out a standard D1 refill.
Truthfully, I find this class of instruments more useful as a pen than a pencil and thought: one is enough. But as an opportunity to pair up with my lonely QUATRO, I didn’t hesitate to snap it up on Mercari this time.
Here I’ve paired up the two Réserver siblings to complete the original set. I discovered the sharp was just as daintily perfect as the ballpoint, although there is a difference in the thickness of the inscribed markings.
And while the pen used a twist knob, the knock on the sharp was a slim metal plug, somewhat similar in format to the one on Zoom 707sh. No eraser, of course.
Overall I am very happy with the Pilot Réserver series. I have seen it listed with other accent colors including black and burgundy red. I don’t have any catalog references but the Pilot refill on my ballpoint model says ‘81.12’. I hope someone in the community knows more about them and can shed more light on them.