Ode To The 74!

[max dog]

Pilot Custom 74 with soft fine-medium nib. Ink is Montblanc Royal Blue

And the optional high capacity con 70 converter is a bonus.

Edited January 24, 2017 by max dog

[Arkamas]

I recently got a black Lucina and I've considered whether or not to go for a 74 in the future, but it feels like it may be pointless because of the Lucina, and a Platinum 3776 will likely be my next venture in that area as well. Part of me wishes I had gone for the 74 but I've actually been quite happy with the Lucina. Either way I love Pilot's nibs! Perhaps fairly further on when my collection turns from building to fleshing out...

[Frank66]

I do not have a Custom 74 but I so much want to add one in my collection, preferably with a SF nib. I have written with the pen once in a pen store, and it felt so well balanced. I love pilot pens, I have 2 Lucinas, one with M and one with F nib, but they are rather smaller pens. For me, writing experience with them has not been as memorable as with the Custom 74. Congrats for the new pen acquisition.

[Bluey]

Agree with your post. I have the SF but wish I had have got the SM or SFM. The pen body, though, is a little too conservative

 

Surprised you still have the "FM" sticker on

Edited January 24, 2017 by Bluey

[JunkyardSam]

Hey Arkamas! I have many Pilot Custom & Custom Heritage pens and I just recently got a Lucina. I suppose nibs can vary, I wouldn't say the Lucina is representative of the writing experience of a 74!

 

The Lucina has its own value. My nib is very firm - and the F nib is a little wider than any of my other Pilot F nibs (gold or steel.) Also, my Lucina is shockingly smooth compared to the rest of my Pilot collection. Normally Pilot pens have what I would consider "muffled feedback" (compared to the "direct feedback" of a 3776 Century) -- but this Lucina is incredibly smooth. Even writing with pressure it still gets hardly any feedback. This is unusual for Pilot, and it makes the Lucina its own special pen in my collection.

 

Also - my Lucina is a surprisingly wet writer. Most of my Custom/Heritage pens were very dry and required adjustment - a couple wouldn't even write on arrival before adjustment - they were so dry. My Lucina feels more like how SBREBrown describes Italian pens. A wide®, wet, smooth line.

 

The 74 will feel very different. It's larger pen, so there's that -- but also the nib will be softer and will yield more to pressure. The line will likely be finer... And it will be drier out of the box. It will likely have a little more feedback than your Lucina. And if you leave it as dry as it comes - it will likely produce a light Japanese EF line without pressure which changes to a Japanese F line with a little pressure.

 

That said - a 3776 Century is a great next pen, too. But 3776 nibs are firmer than Pilot nibs. Since you already have a firm nib, maybe go wiht a 74 or 91 so you can experience a soft gold nib. Maybe get an SF!

[Arkamas]

Interesting. I have my Lucina inked up with Noodler's Bulletproof Black and it may be less wet than with other inks. I've noticed it in my other pens as well. Otherwise I use Parker Quink (soon to be replaced with Namiki), as well as Diamine (my ink collection is actually quite limited).

True, regarding size; It's smaller than I was initially expecting. (That makes the 74 more intriguing now, actually)

Between the Lucina and the Metropolitan, I've experienced a fairly similar feel, though I don't know that the Metropolitan can be compared with others either.. Thus far I've favored medium on either and my Platinum Balance has a fine nib, which I don't mind, though it wasn't originally intended and it seems to have a slightly softer nib as well. I actually have a Pilot Vanishing Point on the way (snagged for a fairly good price) with a fine alloy nib, so we'll see where that goes.

 

Hmm... This could make for a more difficult decision than I thought. They're both gorgeous pens. I'm considering the 3776 in bourgogne with a medium nib. But that black 74.... Or deep red

This is a conundrum...

 

How soft are the soft nibs on the Customs? Is it like a Falcon or not quite so?

 

My experience overall is still probably a bit limited as well since I'm not quite deep enough into the FP world.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Arkamas

[max dog]

Agree with your post. I have the SF but wish I had have got the SM or SFM. The pen body, though, is a little too conservative

 

Surprised you still have the "FM" sticker on

The one in the picture is actually a second one I ordered on line from Japan for $80. It will be a gift for someone. With the ball clip and black/gold trim it certainly is conservative, but for me its good for the office. Would love the dark red one, but they are not available with the soft nib unfortunately. Edited January 25, 2017 by max dog

[jar]

 

Hmm... This could make for a more difficult decision than I thought. They're both gorgeous pens. I'm considering the 3776 in bourgogne with a medium nib. But that black 74.... Or deep red

This is a conundrum...

 

My experience overall is still probably a bit limited as well since I'm not quite deep enough into the FP world.

 

 

 

The third from left is the Custom 74 and the second from the other left is the #3776 Century Bourgogne

http://www.fototime.com/67F4897AB99DEDF/medium800.jpg

[Bluey]

 

Hmm... This could make for a more difficult decision than I thought. They're both gorgeous pens. I'm considering the 3776 in bourgogne with a medium nib. But that black 74.... Or deep red

This is a conundrum...

 

How soft are the soft nibs on the Customs? Is it like a Falcon or not quite so?

 

My experience overall is still probably a bit limited as well since I'm not quite deep enough into the FP world.

The Pilot Custom in SF/SFM/SM/SB is slightly softer than a Falcon pen, much softer than the Platinum 3776 soft nibs, but not as soft as the Pilot falcon nib(FA).

Ergo, from hardness to softness order = Platinum - Pilot Custom SF/SFM/SM/SB - Pilot Falcon/Elabo - Pilot Custom FA nib.

 

I would get the Platinum in SB though or the sapphire Pilot Falcon in SM. They have more interesting nibs in both feel and appearance, plus both pen overall are more attractive than the somewhat boring looking Pilot Custom series.

 

 

 

The one in the picture is actually a second one I ordered on line from Japan for $80. It will be a gift for someone. With the ball clip and black/gold trim it certainly is conservative, but for me its good for the office. Would love the dark red one, but they are not available with the soft nib unfortunately.

It's a great office pen - very professional looking. If you haven't yet sent the gift, you could buy the red one and then transfer the nib from the black to the red. They're friction fit and remove easily after using some steam and hot water for gentle persuasion.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Bluey

[Arkamas]

The third from left is the Custom 74 and the second from the other left is the #3776 Century Bourgogne

 

Ah, perfect, thanks. Personal collection?

Though I'm not sure it helps my stalemate at all.... Decisions for later. I still have two lovely Pilots to indulge for some while before I add any more to my collection.

[max dog]

The Pilot Custom in SF/SFM/SM/SB is slightly softer than a Falcon pen, much softer than the Platinum 3776 soft nibs, but not as soft as the Pilot falcon nib(FA).

Ergo, from hardness to softness order = Platinum - Pilot Custom SF/SFM/SM/SB - Pilot Falcon/Elabo - Pilot Custom FA nib.

 

I would get the Platinum in SB though or the sapphire Pilot Falcon in SM. They have more interesting nibs in both feel and appearance, plus both pen overall are more attractive than the somewhat boring looking Pilot Custom series.

 

 

 

It's a great office pen - very professional looking. If you haven't yet sent the gift, you could buy the red one and then transfer the nib from the black to the red. They're friction fit and remove easily after using some steam and hot water for gentle persuasion.

That sounds tempting. Will have to think about that

[max dog]

I recently got a black Lucina and I've considered whether or not to go for a 74 in the future, but it feels like it may be pointless because of the Lucina, and a Platinum 3776 will likely be my next venture in that area as well. Part of me wishes I had gone for the 74 but I've actually been quite happy with the Lucina. Either way I love Pilot's nibs! Perhaps fairly further on when my collection turns from building to fleshing out...

Well, there is no rule saying you can't have em all eventually to round out your collection.

[max dog]

I do not have a Custom 74 but I so much want to add one in my collection, preferably with a SF nib. I have written with the pen once in a pen store, and it felt so well balanced. I love pilot pens, I have 2 Lucinas, one with M and one with F nib, but they are rather smaller pens. For me, writing experience with them has not been as memorable as with the Custom 74. Congrats for the new pen acquisition.

Thanks. The soft nib on the 74 is quite nice. Definitely worth considering.

[jar]

 

Ah, perfect, thanks. Personal collection?

Though I'm not sure it helps my stalemate at all.... Decisions for later. I still have two lovely Pilots to indulge for some while before I add any more to my collection.

That image is from a comparison review I did of three Pilot Custom vs two Sailor 1911 and the Platinum #3776. Also several US and European pens as well.

[max dog]

 

 

 

 

 

The third from left is the Custom 74 and the second from the other left is the #3776 Century Bourgogne

http://www.fototime.com/67F4897AB99DEDF/medium800.jpg

That's a handsome set of pens there Jar. Thanks for sharing. Always enjoy seeing your pens from your exrensive collection. I hope you are not thinning out your collection too much. An intact collection of interesting fountain pens I think is something quite rare and very special these days.

[max dog]

Also - my Lucina is a surprisingly wet writer. Most of my Custom/Heritage pens were very dry and required adjustment - a couple wouldn't even write on arrival before adjustment - they were so dry. My Lucina feels more like how SBREBrown describes Italian pens. A wide®, wet, smooth line.

 

Sounds like the Lucina is a popular pen here. Will have to look at some videos about it. Is it one of Pilot's signature models like the Vanishing Point?

[Arkamas]

Sounds like the Lucina is a popular pen here. Will have to look at some videos about it. Is it one of Pilot's signature models like the Vanishing Point?

 

It seems like the Lucina falls more under the Pilot pens primarily found in Japan, from what I understand about it. In fact that's where mine shipped from. I came across it on Amazon (medium nib - here's a fine if you prefer) from a generic search for Pilot fountain pens and it appealed to me as a classy black/gold screw cap (my first) at just under $40. It seems like the msrp is around $80 if I remember.

In fact a YouTube search only seems to produce a few videos - two by the same Japanese guy. (I don't understand jack but the background music is rather pleasant )

Edited January 25, 2017 by Arkamas

[max dog]

Pilot Custom 74 SFM (MB Mystery Black)

Vintage Waterman 52V EF (Waterman Inspired Blue)

Paper = Rhodia

-click the image followed by + to see full size image

Edited January 29, 2017 by max dog

[Cryptos]

Your image suggests that perceptions of flexibility made need revising, as I see not much difference here between these two pens.

 

Is it really true that the soft nibs are softer than the elabo nibs? I ask because after watching master calligrapher Schin Loong demonstrating an elabo I was tempted to save for one, but now wonder if I wouldn't be better served by the other Pilot soft nibs.

 

Vintage is out of the question of course.

[max dog]

The difference between vintage flex and modern soft nib is the snap back between BBB back to EF, and of course the feed on the vintage nib keeps up with the flex much better to prevent railroading. Modern soft nibs are more sluggish, whereas vintage nibs snap back to it's fine line instantly when you flex it. I could push my Waterman 52V vintage nib for more flex, but I don't like to do that too much on a 90+ years old nib. Click on the image to zoom in and you wlll see the line variation is much more crisp with the Waterman. I find the Elabo (Falcon) SF nib has better "snap back" than the Custom 74 soft nib. I can get up to 3X line width variation with the Elabo vs maybe 2 to 2.5X with the Custom 74 soft nib. Of course the Elabo is still no match to the Waterman vintage #2 flex nib. The Waterman "spoon" feed system is like a water hose to prevent the nib from railroading.

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by max dog