Thoughts On The Pilot 78G

[KBeezie]

They're very nice pens but a bit of a hassle to acquire. Unless you're buying them four or more at a time...

 

I'm a little confused about this. Are you talking about stock-wise or just obtaining them? JStationery (east coast US) had all 4 colors, in all 3 nib sizes for 10.50, Speerbob (east coast US) has most of them for around 19.99, and if you wanted to get them from overseas instead there's a number of sellers selling them at around 12.99.

 

@OP : If you want to try for a Extra-Fine you can fit the Pilot's Penmanship nib into the 78G or Metropolitan.

Edited May 21, 2014 by KBeezie

[TheAkwardNinja]

Wait, this penmanship pen, tell me more..

[KBeezie]

Wait, this penmanship pen, tell me more..

 

It's a little cheaper than the 78G (around $7 via the link above), a bit longer, it's cap makes it look sort of like a squid in my opinion (but not quite as much as the Plumix), comes in black or clear, and it's nib is a Pilot Extra-Fine (looks like a 3x EF compared to Lamy) and it's nib can be put into a 78G, Metropolitan, etc.

 

Here's a review of it:

 

Edited May 21, 2014 by KBeezie

[TheAkwardNinja]

I can't imagine the line on an Extra Fine Pilot pen.

[Algester]

Pilot basic pens have interchangable nibs but you have to buy them... it all depends on flavor Plumix has a calligraphy nib, Metropolitan and 78G have your standard nib selection, Penmanship only comes in EF and F I believe

[kidde]

Stationery Art gets overlooked on 78g pens. They don't have as wide of a selection of 78g's, but the ones they have are less than $7.50. In my opinion these Pilots are very well made. I'd say to buy a $6 Penmanship for note taking and a few 78g's in the nib of your choice for writing.

I have each of the nibs offered for these pens, EF,F,M,B,BB. The B and BB are stubbs. I find the BB too wide to write with in general. All of the others are smooth and medium wet writers. Out of about 12 pens all work very well. I've had no issues with Pilot pens.

 

Paul

[KBeezie]

Pilot basic pens have interchangable nibs but you have to buy them... it all depends on flavor Plumix has a calligraphy nib, Metropolitan and 78G have your standard nib selection, Penmanship only comes in EF and F I believe

 

78G also has a broad stub available (it's called broad, but it's like a 0.7 stub).

[I like mango cheesecake]

Pilot basic pens have interchangable nibs but you have to buy them... it all depends on flavor Plumix has a calligraphy nib, Metropolitan and 78G have your standard nib selection, Penmanship only comes in EF and F I believe

yes, I have used the Plumix nib on this pen and gotten a 1.5 stub on it. The Plumix nib is stainless steel, whereas the 78G nib is a gold colour, and so is the trim. I found that my pen wrote rather dry with the Plumix 1.5 so I switched it back to the stock B stub I had on it.

[Lorna Reed]

Stationery Art gets overlooked on 78g pens. They don't have as wide of a selection of 78g's, but the ones they have are less than $7.50. In my opinion these Pilots are very well made. I'd say to buy a $6 Penmanship for note taking and a few 78g's in the nib of your choice for writing.

I have each of the nibs offered for these pens, EF,F,M,B,BB. The B and BB are stubbs. I find the BB too wide to write with in general. All of the others are smooth and medium wet writers. Out of about 12 pens all work very well. I've had no issues with Pilot pens.

 

Paul

Stationery Art only has three 78Gs in stock - Blue, Green & Red. All with M nibs, and no Preras. Looks as though they may be discontinuing fountain pens. Anyone know for sure?

[KBeezie]

Stationery Art only has three 78Gs in stock - Blue, Green & Red. All with M nibs, and no Preras. Looks as though they may be discontinuing fountain pens. Anyone know for sure?

 

In stock of all 4 colors with fine nibs here : http://www.jstationery.com/fountain-pen/pilot-78g-fine-nib

And in stock of all 4 colors with the broad stub nib here : http://www.jstationery.com/fountain-pen/pilot-78g-broad-nib

(they're also in stock of all 4 colors in medium as well)

And in stock of the Penmanship : http://www.jstationery.com/fountain-pen/pilot-penmanship-fountain-pen

 

When I got the two 78G from them about ... a month back I think, they had the green in broad, but not the teal, and had all the fine, so since it was at one point out of stock then in stock again since that time, I would say they're not discontinued if they're able to replenish their stock. They're probably just not that popular up against a Pilot Metropolitan, especially since some US-based sellers are actually trying to get $20 for the 78G (ie: SpeerBob), when the metal metropolitan is $5 less than that price point. (not sure what the pricing is for a Pilot MR over in the UK)

 

I don't know who would regularly have the 78G on the UK side.

Edited May 21, 2014 by KBeezie

[sandy101]

The 78G looks like it's been modelled on the Parker Slimfold. It is an ideal cheap pen for carrying around school/uni as it won't matter so much if it gets nicked. The black pilot cartridge ink is not terrible either.

 

The 78G is very light - there's practically no weight to it - so if you prefer a heavier pen, then it will be no good whatsoever.

[tm3]

My thoughts

 

To me the 78g is uninspiring. It has a cheap feel to it, and the nibs are too fine and dry for my taste. The stub is too fine to give much line variation, IMO.

 

I like the Lamy Safari much better, especially the charcoal color that has kind of a matte texture. My Safari F writes wet and is one of my favorite nibs.

[RJS]

I liked the 78G when I had it, but it's now been lost/pinched. Great writer for the $7 I paid for it. I reviewed the Metropolitan today, which was $27.50 (inc shipping from US to UK, 13 cartridges, and convertor). I think it's an excellent pen. If you get the UK version of the pen, the MR, I believe it takes international cartridges as opposed to the proprietary ones the Metropolitan takes- can anyone confirm this?

 

The cheap Lamy's like the Safari seem to write beautifully, but try one out before buying if you can- triangular grips apparently don't work at all well for me, and won't be for everyone.

Edited May 21, 2014 by RJS

[TheAkwardNinja]

Yes, the MR version takes the standard international, unlike the US Metropolitan that takes the proprietary Pilot stuff.

[RJS]

Yes, the MR version takes the standard international, unlike the US Metropolitan that takes the proprietary Pilot stuff.

 

Thanks. It's just a pity Pilot try to sell it at a 100% markup compared to abroad.

[KBeezie]

Yes, the MR version takes the standard international, unlike the US Metropolitan that takes the proprietary Pilot stuff.

 

Unless you find an MR in the Asian market which oddly enough takes Pilot cartridges (Not sure why Pilot aims to confuse people).

 

 

My thoughts

 

To me the 78g is uninspiring. It has a cheap feel to it, and the nibs are too fine and dry for my taste. The stub is too fine to give much line variation, IMO.

 

I like the Lamy Safari much better, especially the charcoal color that has kind of a matte texture. My Safari F writes wet and is one of my favorite nibs.

 

It does have noticeable line variation though.

 

78G's Stub:

 

 

Goulet's 1.5

[Tumbleweedtoo]

I looked at Stationeryart.com just now and they are sold out of so many pens that I wonder if they are going out of business. They seemed to be out of so many other items too that it does make me wonder about trying to buy from them now. Has anyone purchased from them recently? I did a couple of years ago with no problems.

 

All the best,

T

[KBeezie]

I looked at Stationeryart.com just now and they are sold out of so many pens that I wonder if they are going out of business. They seemed to be out of so many other items too that it does make me wonder about trying to buy from them now. Has anyone purchased from them recently? I did a couple of years ago with no problems.

 

All the best,

T

 

Browsing thru some of the pages is like looking at a wall of "SOLD OUT" text.

[Tumbleweedtoo]

That was my experience too as I shopped. Hopefully the last person to turn out the lights will ship all of their pen orders first. :-) A hate seeing any good dealer close shop for lack of business.

 

All the best,

T

[Aurko]

 

I'm a little confused about this. Are you talking about stock-wise or just obtaining them? JStationery (east coast US) had all 4 colors, in all 3 nib sizes for 10.50, Speerbob (east coast US) has most of them for around 19.99, and if you wanted to get them from overseas instead there's a number of sellers selling them at around 12.99.

 

@OP : If you want to try for a Extra-Fine you can fit the Pilot's Penmanship nib into the 78G or Metropolitan.

 

I was referring to how relatively hard it is to find them in brick and mortar stores, compared to other pilot pens. I live in New York City, and I still prefer shopping at my local stationery and pen stores over purchasing things online. Furthermore, whenever I looked for them online, they were mostly out of stock. I did not know about Jstationery. Also I think it worked out to be cheaper to buy them four at a time.