Pilot Nibs

February 3, 2018

I am probably asking the impossible but is there anywhere I can buy a replacement Pilot nib.

I have a CH92 and a 74, the 92 with a medium nib and the 74 a fine medium, both nibs are as smooth as silk but I'd really like a fine without going to the expense of buy a complete pen to get it. The medium and the fine medium are just a bit too wide for me.

Greg

February 3, 2018

I've never heard of anyone who has ever got a separate Pilot nib. You can't actually buy them. Your best options would be to email Pilot and sweet talk them, or to buy a cheap C74.

February 3, 2018

Pilot doesnt offer any replacement nibs, and they keep pretty tight control over this. Best option would be to contact them for service/replacement nibs. They might do exchanges, but if you are hoping for extra nibs, dont hold your breath.

July 7, 2018

Further to my original post, I probably did not express myself well enough, what I was actually after is there another nib brand that could be swapped into my Pilot pens.

Greg

July 8, 2018

I'd just send the Pen to a nibmeister to have the current nib made finer. John Mottishaw has done two Pilot nibs for me (a Decimo and a Custom 74).

July 9, 2018

Thanks Shaggy, I had given this some consideration but the cost of postage to and from Australia to the USA does not make this a viable option. Postage costs would by only marginally cheaper than buying a complete new pen.

Greg

July 10, 2018

Pilot nibs are completely proprietary so there isn't another brand that you can swap nibs with, only Pilot to Pilot and so forth. So, you can try to buy a nib off amazon or something but that is most likely a bad idea. You're better off getting a new pen.

July 11, 2018

A new pen seems to be the only option.

I can only guess my type of problem will explode in time with the advent of online purchases. Years ago I bought new pens from a local B&M store, try before you buy was always the order of the day.

They did not however stock Pilot pens and nib size then became a lottery, lower prices on most brands of pens were, I hate to admit, very attractive also.

C'est la vie!

Greg

July 12, 2018

Can you buy a cheap c74 and swap the nibs, before selling it again? That’s what I’d do. You’ll lose $20 max, surely?

July 13, 2018

Fortunately I have one nib that is a fine and yes I do swap that nib amongst the Pilots I own. I really, at this time anyway, only want to buy one more Pilot pen, a Falcon and preferably an 823 fitted with a FA nib.

It is just unfortunate manufacturers don't think it is necessary to supply "stand alone" nibs or nib units. Online sales either from third party sellers or B&M stores must make up a large proportion of their sales and hence profits. As I previously stated this is going to be a growing problem for many of us.

Greg

July 18, 2018

This is why I started buying pens that are not Pilot. I bought a pen, dropped it in the first week, and I needed a new nib. I did buy a Chinese replacement nib on eBay that worked. I might have a spare. If you drop me a PM, I can check to see what I have. If I have a spare, I will happily drop one in the mail at my expense for you if I can find them.

Any nibs that I have extra should work in a Metropolitan, so, if your pen cannot use that nib, then for sure I cannot help you.

July 30, 2018

pitonyak, on 18 Jul 2018 - 10:10, said:
This is why I started buying pens that are not Pilot. I bought a pen, dropped it in the first week, and I needed a new nib. I did buy a Chinese replacement nib on eBay that worked. I might have a spare. If you drop me a PM, I can check to see what I have. If I have a spare, I will happily drop one in the mail at my expense for you if I can find them.

Any nibs that I have extra should work in a Metropolitan, so, if your pen cannot use that nib, then for sure I cannot help you.

Sent you a PM...

July 30, 2018

Responded to PM :-)

August 21, 2018

It is just unfortunate manufacturers don't think it is necessary to supply "stand alone" nibs or nib units.

That is perhaps it really isn't (commercially, contractually, legally, or morally) necessary to offer ‘spare’ parts in retail sales to end-consumers – as opposed to affiliated ‘service centres’, and/or professional repairers and nib-smiths – especially down to the individual basic components, with a view to minimising the material costs for modifying or repairing a SKU in the manufacturer's standard pen catalogue.

All the same, in the past I have been able to order spare/replacement nib-and-convertor assemblies for my Pilot Vanishing Point pens from US retailers. The PVP with the matte black barrel was not offered with the black ion-plated nibs (and, to my recollection, no other model had it as standard back in, um, 2013?), and the 2012 Limited Edition was only offered with a Medium nib, so I just ordered two nib-and-convertor assemblies additionally to arrive at what I wanted as the end-user. Problems solved!

Yes, now I have two ‘spare’ additional convertors, a ‘spare’ Fine nib, and also a Medium nib for which I personally have no use, all paid for by yours truly.

As I previously stated this is going to be a growing problem for many of us.

As a (fellow) consumer, I disagree. It's only a problem if one balks at spending more than what one fancies ‘ought to be’ the minimum personal cost for a desired outcome, as opposed to seeing not achieving that outcome as the problem itself that can be readily solved by spending money.