Received My Custom 74 - Not What I Expected

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I've received my Fine nib Custom 74 from Japan. I wanted something with similar thickness to a Medium nib Metropolitan and read online that Pilot's gold nibs are bigger than their steel ones. This was confirmed by looking at Goulet Pen's Ink Nook comparison, the Custom 74's fine nib actually seems a bit wetter/wider than the Metro medium.

 

Anyway, that's certainly not the case in reality and I find the pen rather dry and boring, in terms of the ink that's being put on the page. The supplied Namiki Black cartridge is actually wetter than my Noodler's Black (with the Noodler's, the pen was ultra dry and not fun to write with).

 

I don't really want to sell it and lose money so I'm looking for a "better" ink for this pen, since I like how easy it is to write with, there's almost no resistance at all when gliding it over the page.

My preference is towards Diamine as they're available with free int'l shipping on eBay. My preferred color is a relatively dark blue, but I'm open to suggestions.

Reason I post this here and not on Inky Thoughts is because I thought it'd be easier to find fellow Custom 74 users here.

 

Thanks!

[DonM]

I'll suggest three Diamine blues: Sapphire Blue, Blue Velvet, and Majestic Blue, in order of least to most saturated. I like all three and they behave well with my Pilot fine medium nibs.

[YonathanZ]

Alas, the blue velvet seems to be the wettest of the three youve mentioned and its not available with free shipping anywhere. What about iroshizuku inks?

Edited July 9, 2019 by YonathanZ

[akrohn2010]

Iroshizuku inks are quite wet, at least in my experience and from others' posts. I have tried Shin-Kai and Tsuki-Yo. Tsuki-Yo is my favorite and is quite wet/free-flowing.

 

With Noodler's Black - do you agitate/shake the bottle before filling? I was getting very inconsistent requests with Noodlers' inks until I started agitating before fills. Now they're much more consistent in wetness and flow.

Edited July 9, 2019 by flyingpenman

[YonathanZ]

I've been using the same Noodler's Black bottle for the past 4 years (very occasional use for a fountain pen until recently) and never had to shake it before filling. It was always smooth and wet with my Pilot Metro and Faber Castell Loom.

 

The thing is, the first thing I did with the 74 was put the Pilot cartridge - it was actually too wet for me. Then I flushed it and used paper towel to clean it and refilled the cartridge with Noodler's Black (after I flushed the cartridge as well, of course) but the first paragraph was rather pale, because there was still water in the system.

 

Then I flushed it again, let it dry overnight and refilled with the Pilot this morning but it's actually not as wet as before so I don't really know what to make of this.

[Penman222]

I have had both a Pilot 74 and a 742 and I found the nib on both pens did not place enough ink on the page, especially on the upstroke. I used a wide variety of different inks but I never solved the problem and sold both pens. My Vanishing Points do not have this problem. I am current using a Sailor 1911 which seems to have a larger feed and it works great.

[mke]

Why don't you ask someone to adjust the flow? I was told that it is easy to do.

 

My Custom 823 F is also quite dry - I am using the wet Pilot Blue-Black and the result is just right.

[TSherbs]

My Custom 74 SFM nib is a near gusher, so I actually look for drier inks. Monteverde inks are known for their improved flow and have some lovely blues.

[Pensei]

All the Iroshizuku inks that I have used in my 74 have worked well. I think the Fine nib on the 74 writes wonderfully, so I wonder if something is amiss with yours. Perhaps a flush or a bit of nib adjustment. But the ink might help.

[YonathanZ]

Ive ordered a con 70 and a diamine asa blue ink bottle. The iroshizukus cost more than Id like to pay for ink right now.

 

I hope theyd make a difference.

[Bounce792]

If you want to increase flow, SBREBrown has a video with tips on how to adjust pens. Alternately, consider getting your pen adjusted by a nibmeister as others have mentioned. I have found a few Pilots to be a dry out of the box because the tines are too close.

[YonathanZ]

I was using the pen a lot yesterday and I found myself applying some force to write well and I think its wetter now, at least with the bundled pilot ink. It does skip, though, and I think it could be a bit wetter.

 

Ill wait for the diamine ink to arrive and will also clean the pen with dish soap, if the two wont help Ill look for a nibmeister. I dont want to mess with the nib myself. Meanwhile, Id appreciate recommendations for an affordable nibmeister.

 

Thanks.

[DonM]

Recalling back, I had the same issues with my Pilot 742. Running a brass shim between the tines made all the difference. You just don't know what might be left behind during the manufacturing process. And this is not a criticism of Pilot only. I've had similar issues with various pen brands. It's just the nature of the beast.

[YonathanZ]

Thanks for the tip, I saw the brass shim method mentioned in various places, however I'd rather let a nibmeister modify the nib. Speaking of which, I've found a local one.