At the first sight, this pen somehow reminds me to bamboe roentjing (spiked bamboo) — a symbol of paramilitary forces established by Indonesian people, including wide spectrum of political parties, to defend the newly-proclaimed Indonesian independence in 1945. This is not a myth! Under Japanese occupation, the Indonesian people were professionally taught to make and use takeyari for civil defense. After the independence, Indonesian people had a very minimal amount or weapons, and continued to use bamboe roentjing.
Pilot Murex and its predecessor — Pilot Myu — are famous stainless steel fountain pen with the integral nib produced during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Pilot Murex was produced in 1977, as a full-sized steel fountain pen integrated with with textured section, flat steel, nib and a spring type clip adjusted to any thickness of pocket fabric. Its model number is MR-500SS, and it is also displayed in the Pilot Pen Museum (Pen Station) in Tokyo since it represents a new line. On the cap the black letters “MR” (for “MYU-REX”) plus the Pilot name are engraved. This model was designed for comfort and effortless writing.
Stutler mentions that Pilot Myus and Murexes were only sold in Japan, intended for the Japanese market — explaining the high value and difficulties to find in other countries. Even in Japan they are nearly impossible to find since Pilot no longer makes them. But they are such tough pens, the ones that do turn up are usually still in great condition. These are workhorse pens. Stutler has asked Pilot if they ever considered making these pens again — but the answer was a no. Pilot did finally produce a new limited edition and different Myu in 2008 called the M90.