Pilot Knight: A Particularly Dry Writer?

[jasonditz]

I've never had a Pilot pen before, but this week I got in on that penchalet deal on Pilot Knights, because I love a good heavy pen.

 

It feels great in my hand, and the medium nib is a good fit (I tend to go for Western fines). I'm finding, however, that it's a very, very dry writer. Like it requires a bit of pressure to start, and it tends to skip a bit when I go from one word to the next.

 

I was using Namiki Black, which I didn't have any experience with either, so I'm not sure if its just a dry ink, or a dry pen, or a combinations of the two. Any opinions on if I should try to increase the flow, or try a different ink, or just chalk it up as ill-suited to my writing style?

[Bookman]

I've never had a Pilot pen before, but this week I got in on that penchalet deal on Pilot Knights, because I love a good heavy pen.

 

It feels great in my hand, and the medium nib is a good fit (I tend to go for Western fines). I'm finding, however, that it's a very, very dry writer. Like it requires a bit of pressure to start, and it tends to skip a bit when I go from one word to the next.

 

I was using Namiki Black, which I didn't have any experience with either, so I'm not sure if its just a dry ink, or a dry pen, or a combinations of the two. Any opinions on if I should try to increase the flow, or try a different ink, or just chalk it up as ill-suited to my writing style?

 

My Pilot Knight was always a wet writer. (The nib lives on as an M alternate for my F-nib Metropolitan.)

 

If it were my new Knight I would hope that my initial cleaning of the nib section had failed to remove all the manufacturing oil and debris, and so I would give it one more thorough cleaning before I did anything else. I don't know what your own new-pen cleaning regime entails, but apart from the usual hygiene I would scrub what I could get to with a soft-bristled toothbrush and soapy water. When dry I would take a piece of .002" brass shim stock and floss between the tines, just to make sure I had done all I could to rule out the possibilty that manufacturing gunk was retarding the flow of ink. But then you've probably taken all these steps already.

[Algester]

its kind of weird how a NOS pen still has machining oils... but ok... else it's time how to make a wet writer

by doc. stephen brown

[jasonditz]

 

My Pilot Knight was always a wet writer. (The nib lives on as an M alternate for my F-nib Metropolitan.)

 

If it were my new Knight I would hope that my initial cleaning of the nib section had failed to remove all the manufacturing oil and debris, and so I would give it one more thorough cleaning before I did anything else. I don't know what your own new-pen cleaning regime entails, but apart from the usual hygiene I would scrub what I could get to with a soft-bristled toothbrush and soapy water. When dry I would take a piece of .002" brass shim stock and floss between the tines, just to make sure I had done all I could to rule out the possibilty that manufacturing gunk was retarding the flow of ink. But then you've probably taken all these steps already.

I'll give that a try, thanks. My usual "new pen" regimen is just running water through it. Works 99% of the time. Guess in this case I should've been a little more fastidious. Maybe I should stick this fellow in the sonic cleaner and see if anything comes of that too.

[79spitfire]

I have 2, they both are wet writers. Mine work amazingly with Noodler's inks, and I really like Red-Black in mine.

[Bookman]

its kind of weird how a NOS pen still has machining oils... but ok... else it's time how to make a wet writer

by doc. stephen brown

 

I should think that the initial cleaning of a NOS pen would rightly be more aggressive than the cleaning of a recently-made pen. I'm no scientist, but just to play it safe I would assume machining oil didn't evaporate like water: it wouldn't just disappear over time, leaving no trace. And assuming that, I would deduce that if the feed left the factory with a coat of machining oil, it would remain there indefinitely until cleaned off. And I would further assume fresh oil would be more easily cleaned out than dried or drying oil. In jasonditz's situation I would clean the nib section aggressively to rule out the possibility of manufacturing gunk clogging the works before I started adjusting the nib to improve flow.

[ink-syringe]

Mine is a fantastic writer. Great nib. Nice and juicy but still clean. I thrown mine around and it is always ready to rock right out of the pack.

 

I dislike overly-heavy pens but this one is okay b/c 1) the weight is evenly distributed.

 

2) A good third of the weight is that cap with the monster clip (i love that crazy thing) and I am don't post the cap on any of my pens unless I have to. Uncapped the pen isn't that heavy really.

 

I have it filled with a out of production Sailor seasonal ink that is so lovely I might go try to find more of it.

[jasonditz]

After a more aggressive cleaning it wrote a bit better, but still skippy. I did the nib adjustment in the video above and that got it writing pretty well.

[Jackson]

Given that the usual price for a Prera is $57, the Pen Chalet's current $24 price for a Knight is a steal. asa-gao flows through my new M nib Knight free, easy and flawlessly -- well pleased. Glad I picked up one of their half price M205's too--another steal.

[jasonditz]

Given that the usual price for a Prera is $57, the Pen Chalet's current $24 price for a Knight is a steal. asa-gao flows through my new M nib Knight free, easy and flawlessly -- well pleased. Glad I picked up one of their half price M205's too--another steal.

 

I quite like the looks of the pen, especially the weird way the clip attaches to the cap. It's also nice and heavy, which is right down my alley, and the section is comfortable to hold. A Knight M is also a pretty good size for my smallish writing (more like a western Fine), and after the adjustments its a fairly smooth writer.

The only thing I really don't care for is that aerometric-style converter. I'm not even really sure what my problem is with it, because it seems to hold a pretty good amount of ink (unlike some of the Chinese aerometrics I've got).

[arcadeflow]

 

I quite like the looks of the pen, especially the weird way the clip attaches to the cap. It's also nice and heavy, which is right down my alley, and the section is comfortable to hold. A Knight M is also a pretty good size for my smallish writing (more like a western Fine), and after the adjustments its a fairly smooth writer.

The only thing I really don't care for is that aerometric-style converter. I'm not even really sure what my problem is with it, because it seems to hold a pretty good amount of ink (unlike some of the Chinese aerometrics I've got).

Pilot created a lot of confusion because of the included "converter". Most people believe it is suitable to ink, but Pilot considers it to be a cleaning converter. I only use mine to clean, I no longer try to write with it. Mine had bad finishing inside that I had to scratch plastic from it. I believe some people can use it with ink without complaints, but I don't trust it. Also, I would not trust converters that I can't see ink level to use outside home. I would replace these with at least CON-20 converters for home usage.

[Bookman]

Pilot created a lot of confusion because of the included "converter". Most people believe it is suitable to ink, but Pilot considers it to be a cleaning converter. I only use mine to clean, I no longer try to write with it. Mine had bad finishing inside that I had to scratch plastic from it. I believe some people can use it with ink without complaints, but I don't trust it. Also, I would not trust converters that I can't see ink level to use outside home. I would replace these with at least CON-20 converters for home usage.

 

I just received my third Pilot Metropolitan in the mail yesterday, the third that I've bought recently. Here is a portion of the "Use and Care Guide" that accompanied each of these pens:

 

 

 

 

I am informed and believe and thereon allege that Pilot still assumes we'll use these aeromatic converters to fill our pens with ink. Meanwhile, I prefer them to twist-knob converters. I wish more c/c pens used them.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Bookman

[arcadeflow]

 

I just received my third Pilot Metropolitan in the mail yesterday, the third that I've bought recently. Here is a portion of the "Use and Care Guide" that accompanied each of these pens:

 

 

 

 

I am informed and believe and thereon allege that Pilot still assumes we'll use these aeromatic converters to fill our pens with ink. Meanwhile, I prefer them to twist-knob converters. I wish more c/c pens used them.

 

Very interesting. I have a memory of reading some Pilot insert calling it a "cleaning converter" too, but maybe they changed their mind. Also, JetPens has a guide that shows how to use this converter with ink and call it a CON-20. I really don't understand why they won't just include a CON-20.

[79spitfire]

The Pilot Parallel had a similar looking converter, and it's instructions stated the converter was only for cleaning. The Pilot Knights I have (yes I have 2) both had the same instructions as above.

[jasonditz]

Pilot created a lot of confusion because of the included "converter". Most people believe it is suitable to ink, but Pilot considers it to be a cleaning converter. I only use mine to clean, I no longer try to write with it. Mine had bad finishing inside that I had to scratch plastic from it. I believe some people can use it with ink without complaints, but I don't trust it. Also, I would not trust converters that I can't see ink level to use outside home. I would replace these with at least CON-20 converters for home usage.

 

Interesting. Mine seems to hold ink fine. Actually seems to work quite a bit better than the cheapie aerometrics I'm used to getting with Chinese pens. The more I use the Knight the more I like that weight to it, and when I got my Levenger Verona II out over the weekend it felt way too light by comparison. I probably am going to eventually order the CON-50 just because I prefer the piston style converter though, but this is definitely becoming my everyday use pen ever since I fixed the dryness problem.

[arcadeflow]

 

Interesting. Mine seems to hold ink fine. Actually seems to work quite a bit better than the cheapie aerometrics I'm used to getting with Chinese pens. The more I use the Knight the more I like that weight to it, and when I got my Levenger Verona II out over the weekend it felt way too light by comparison. I probably am going to eventually order the CON-50 just because I prefer the piston style converter though, but this is definitely becoming my everyday use pen ever since I fixed the dryness problem.

I installed a CON-50 in my favorite 78G and bought a bottle of Pilot Blue ink, I have perfect flow, like a new pen. I had problems before, using Sheaffer Skrip in the "cleaning converter" and I had flow problems. I tried refilling cartridges and had problems too, maybe it is the ink. I will try Pilot ink in this converter too, maybe I was wrong in considering them unusable. But I would still rather have enough CON-50's or 70's for EDC pens, ink level see-through is a must for me.