Good Reviews For Pilot's Custom Series

[glorfindel]

After hearing a lot of good things about Pilot (and being very pleased with the performance of Metropolitan and Cross Solo's nib) I've been dying to get my hands on some higher-level Pilot pens.

 

A bit of a research directed my attention to the custom series. Especially on 823.

So, I ordered 823 and also plain 72 from Japan.

Sure enough, right after I made the order, I came across a not-so-good review of both of these pens:

http://www.pentorium.com/2013/03/01/the-battle-between-japans-big-3/

Overall, the article seems very interesting. But it has some harsh words to say about the custom series:

 

"Whilst the VP series is excellent in almost every regard, the same cannot be said of the Custom series. Almost every Custom I have either has or had flow issues out of the box. Opening the tines helps a little bit, but whereas I am always confident my Platinums will not ever fail on me, I am under constant fear that my Custom 74s or 823 will skip and hop and fall over at any time. In fact, even after grinding and adjusting and trying different inks in my 823, it is currently unusable due to rampant skipping issues that were present from day one."

 

Has anyone else had similar bad experiences with these pens?

 

Thanks,

Andy.

[glorfindel]

Duh! Of course I meant 74, not 72.

[Icywolfe]

Custom feed is a regular feed. The Cosu and the Falcon nibs are slightly dry. Because the nibs are very wet not the feed.

[ehemem]

Not my experience at all. All of my Custom series pens have been good out of the box.

[rutherfordr]

In my experience, the Pilot Custom series pens always write extremely well out of the box.

 

In fact, the Japanese pens that I have had the most trouble with are the Platinum Century 3776 series, which is completely opposite the experience of the reviewer you cited.

 

One man's opinion is just that -- even on the Internet.

[lawrenceg]

I have all sorts of Japanese pens and I think you have to take them as you find them. I do love Japanese pens

 

I have a sailor that drives me me mad as the ink appears to stop for no reason, I have to shake it (is that character)I.

Some of the pilot customs with non-standard nibs appears to be variable (according to what I hear)

 

I bought a custom silvern whilst in Japan and it struggled to write. I sent it to Pilot in the united kingdom and they sent it back to Japan (no charge to me). Now writes beautifully.

 

I really want an 823 with a FA nib (non-standard) and will have no qualms about buying one, regardless the reviews. Any problems and I will send it back to Pilot, I believe they will sort it out.

 

good luck

[Icywolfe]

I have all sorts of Japanese pens and I think you have to take them as you find them. I do love Japanese pens

 

I have a sailor that drives me me mad as the ink appears to stop for no reason, I have to shake it (is that character)I.

Some of the pilot customs with non-standard nibs appears to be variable (according to what I hear)

 

I bought a custom silvern whilst in Japan and it struggled to write. I sent it to Pilot in the united kingdom and they sent it back to Japan (no charge to me). Now writes beautifully.

 

I really want an 823 with a FA nib (non-standard) and will have no qualms about buying one, regardless the reviews. Any problems and I will send it back to Pilot, I believe they will sort it out.

 

good luck

The Falcon nib is the largest offender of: railroading while flexing.

[Flounder]

My broad nib Custom Heritage 92 had bad skipping in several directions. Very overpolished nib. I have also read several Custom series comments complaining of skipping, on reddit I think.

[stacybean]

The 823 I purchased with a B nib has been magnificent out of the box for several years now.

Such a delightful pen, one of my favorites.

[Dr.Grace]

I frequently use my Custom 823 (one of my favorite pens) and several versions of the Custom 74 (including the Namiki Impressions, which is basically a shorter 74 with celluloid body). I have had nothing but great experiences with them all. However, I have had to increase the flow on some of them to suit my taste. Out of the box they can write a bit dry, IMO.

[Lamyrada]

My custom 912 never skips. It is a nice wet nib that flows easily, very wet.

[egretsrus]

My experience with my 823 has been delightful in every way. I followed Brian Goulet's youtube demonstration and removed the little o ring, but that wasn't because i was having problems.

[Water Ouzel]

I've got two 823's (F and Pendleton Brown-tweaked M) and a Custom 743 WA. The latter has a bit of baby bottom the which I've not yet fixed. Also three Platinum 3776 Century series (Chartres F, Bourgogne F, and a black SF), other than the last one being a bit scratchy, there are no issues with flow or reliability with any of the three.

 

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I wouldn't hesitate getting another example of any of these pens, the 823 F in particular being a wonderful pen to use.

[Algester]

bought my Custom Heritage 91 from Itoya Japan it has been good (Soft Medium)... though I accidentally drop it on my wooden floor and now there's a micro crack on the section where ink is seeping through that I can't seem to seal it...

PS: My country doesnt have Pilot service which makes it even harder to repair

[Brian C]

Yup I've experience flow issues from many of the many Pilots that I have tried. Oddly enough though I just received a brand new Custom 742 that writes great. I never have issues with Platinums.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I think you read from a hater. All of my Pilots are excellent.

[The Good Captain]

My 823, 92 & 74 are all great. The 823 is the only one I've bought from the US so was 'adjusted' to suit, before purchase. The other two bought in the UK and fine straight out of the box. Great pens all.

[arcadeflow]

Yup I've experience flow issues from many of the many Pilots that I have tried. Oddly enough though I just received a brand new Custom 742 that writes great. I never have issues with Platinums.

 

Me too, several flow issues. I found people that agreed that usually they require wet/Japanese inks to run ok. Maybe it is done that way by design, and the way people hold the pen or the kind of characters they write will show this problem or not. But since I've seen them work well too, in my opinion it is a problem in their nibs, which have very tight tines.

[Phormula]

Agree, my Pilot Custom 92 is a joy to use but only with a wet and lubricated ink. I tried several Diamine ones and it was a skipping nightmare.

[77kath]

I have several Pilots, including an 823, and they are all good writers. I tend to use Japanese inks in them.