Pilot Crystal Demonstrator - Nib Swap

[penholdloop]

the nib on this pen is real scratchy, is it possible to replace the nib on this pen with that of another pilot?

 

thank you!

 

[Algester]

Pilot Crystal... I'm pretty sure they swap with the Cocoon/Metropolitan nibs so thats a start

[ac12]

For Pilot F nibs, you need to use a SMOOTH paper.

The finer the nib, the more sensitive it will be to a less than smooth paper.

Edited May 31, 2016 by ac12

[fpnet]

The Pilot Crystal is scratchy, not a nightmare, but not impressive, writes with a Very fine line and has a big line variation with pressure. The middle ring can be removed for a more comfortable grip. The pen seems sturdy even though some people said cracks appeared on them - It seems very durable to me.

It is Not compatible with Pilot Metropolitan feed or with the  nib ( same as Kakuno, Explorer, Prera, Plumix, Puckish).

The Pilot Crystal has different nib from the Metro and different feed.

[awa54]

Often a scratchy nib is caused by misalignment of the tipping. If you have access to a 10 power loupe, or a cell phone camera with a good macro mode, then look at the tip straight on to check that the tipping pellets align with each other perfectly.

If they are even slightly misaligned, that will need to be corrected for the pen to write well.

Often it's as easy as bending one tine up or down very slightly, until both are aligned (making sure that the nib maintains good contact with the feed), but it can be more complicated and could require resetting the nib and feed (also not rocket science with most Pilot pens that use friction fit feeds), though occasionally feed related issues can be solved by just moving the nib in relation to the feed without any disassembly required.

 

If the tipping looks good, then the "penny trick" can sometimes cure a nib with sharp inside edges, this consists of gently "writing" both down strokes and cross strokes across the columns of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of a US penny (older, pre-1982 copper coins are somewhat more effective than the modern copper plated zinc coins, since the metal is slightly harder). Using a variety of angles and a little pressure during down strokes helps with the effectiveness of this process, but you should never bare down hard on the nib, as this risks damage to the pen.

 

As mentioned before, the finer the nib, the more chance that coarse, or low quality paper will feel rough as you write on it, especially if written with firm pressure. 

Ink choice also affects this, a nib that feels great with conventional ink can often feel pretty abrasive when using many iron gall inks (and yes, there are conventional inks that feel "dry" and iron gall formulations that are nice and smooth).