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My Impressions Of The Pilot 78G


rochester21

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The pilot 78G is a surprising pen, even if my first one wrote on the dry side. After struggling a bit to separate the tines of the nib, it wrote just fine.

The medium nib generally writes like a medium-fine, but i did buy a batch that actually were wet writers, and put down a full-width medium line.

Another interesting fact is that the fine nibs are much less smoother than the mediums. Makes you think it`s a different pen all together, and i don`t recommend them.

 

Size-wise, it`s great for my tastes- 13.3 cm closed, 1.2 cm in diameter and 15 cm posted- and it posts very well. Being very light, i always use it posted.

The plastic body is not as flimsy as you would expect from a 12 gr pen, and i really like the twist-on cap, it goes well with the overall classic design.

 

As a writing experience, the 78G is really a good performer and the value for money is fantastic- mind you, i had a sailor 1911 with the 21K nib which i liked less than the pilot nib. The explanation is rather simple, as the 78G nib has a more tolerant nib, with a larger sweet spot. Also, the balance while posted is better with the pilot. There is only one aspect in which the pilot nib was inferior, as it put down more resistance than the sailor nib, but the difference is not huge.

 

As a conclusion to my short review, even though all pilot 78G nib are smooth, some need a little adjustment in order to increase the ink flow. Others might have a generous flow- it really depends on one`s luck. In any case, for 10 dollars a piece, shipping included, this is a pen that shouldn`t be missed.

This pen is so good, than it makes far more expensive pens look bad.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2v0k5m8.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/16k6vr8.jpg

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I bought a 3 pack, but asked them to give me F, M and B. I gave away all but the Broad, as they were all serviceable, but the Broad is really a kind of italic.

Writing with pen and ink, is an endeavour both stimulating and cathartic.

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+1, best $10 fountain pen in the world.

"I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original." - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809
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I actually prefer my 78 to my metropolitan ( both m) because is dry/ finer. How do you make that nib drier?

Essentially you close the slit between the tines. How you do that is tricky though.

 

I've accomplished that by crossing one tine over the other in 5-10 second intervals. I also sometimes put the nib face down and press against the tines for a little while such that both tines receive equal pressure from a flat surface. By forcing the tines down, they get closer together.

 

You want to be very careful though. Handling a nib like this may lead to irreversible damage.

Edited by Andrew H

"I hope to add some measure of grace to the world. . . . Whether I win or lose does not matter, only that I follow the quest."

 

Looking for a Sheaffer Sovereign II Gray Pearl with an EF nib.

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i still prefer my MB happily!

A people can be great withouth a great pen but a people who love great pens is surely a great people too...

Pens owned actually: MB 146 EF;Pelikan M200 SE Clear Demonstrator 2012 B;Parker 17 EF;Parker 51 EF;Waterman Expert II M,Waterman Hemisphere M;Waterman Carene F and Stub;Pilot Justus 95 F.

 

Nearly owned: MB 149 B(Circa 2002);Conway Stewart Belliver LE bracket Brown IB.

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i still prefer my MB happily!

 

Yeah, but you would expect a 200 dollar Montblanc to be brilliant; i, on the other hand, didn`t expect such a god pen for....8 dollars. And i won`t be sorry if i ever lose or damage it, because i have multiple spares in 4 different colours :bunny01:

Edited by rochester21
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Love the 48G as well. I agree there is a little variation in nib quality but I haven't found one that didn't work...unlike many of the cheaper Chinese pens which I find rather disappointing.

 

There are definitely better pens out there but when one considers value for money I think the 48G is almost impossible to beat. The B nib is a lot of fun.

 

Cheers,

NM

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry I have to disagree with everyone.I bought one of these on ebay.It writes ok but what a cheap piece of (bleep).How people are NOT disappointed with this is beyond me.It is as light as a feather and the clip is so thin and bendy it could be made of tin foil.Ha ha ,absolute rubbish.Pilot should be ashamed of themselves and give this thing away free if you buy something for more than $5.

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Sorry I have to disagree with everyone.I bought one of these on ebay.It writes ok but what a cheap piece of (bleep).How people are NOT disappointed with this is beyond me.It is as light as a feather and the clip is so thin and bendy it could be made of tin foil.Ha ha ,absolute rubbish.Pilot should be ashamed of themselves and give this thing away free if you buy something for more than $5.

I think you must've gotten one of the cheap knock-offs of the 78G. ;)

 

Seriously, I just got a red 78G in the mail yesterday with the broad italic nib, and the thing works perfectly right out of the box, unlike several much more expensive pens I've bought. My clip is also very tight, snappy, and positive. This is a terrific pen for $10. And it writes well with Aurora blue, which has been too dry in some of my more expensive pens.

http://i59.tinypic.com/ekfh5f.jpg

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I have one of these in both the F and the Broad points, and I find them both to be smooth writers. They are plastic, yes, and thus light. But they are not fatiguing to write with, either. I guess you would put them in the workhorse domain. I wouldn't let my Platinum 3776 go out the door of my house (except to Pendleton Brown to work on the nib), but I could certainly see carrying the 78G out of the house to work with me (though most securely in my bag).

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OK, I'm just following up on my earlier glowing post on the red 78G with broad italic nib. It started to fluctuate in dryness/wetness, and so I decided to work on the nib some. First I tried switching inks, but I still had the problem. Then I decided to do a little nib grinding and polishing, and unfortunately I also was futzing with inks, converters and cartridges at the same time, which was a big mistake. You don't know what's affecting what. After settling on my original ink again, and settling on an empty Pilot cartridge as my reservoir, I again did some grinding and polishing with a translucent fine Arkansas stone. The nib on this pen must be softer than my other pens, or there is little or no iridium tipping material on the broad italic nib, but it was very sensitive to the grinding process. I also found I absolutely needed to finish the process on a nail buffer to completely smoothen things out, when I don't normally have to do that because of the polishing effect of the Arkansas stone on iridium.

 

Anyway, I finally got it all right, and I ain't gonna try that particular process again in a long,long time. On a $10 pen, it almost wasn't worth the frustration.

http://i59.tinypic.com/ekfh5f.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I have a black M and green F. They are cheap and reliable, low risk pens, but they are so light that they feel like nothing. The F is very fine, writes smoothly and is not scratchy. The M is more like a F. I don't think I'll bother getting the B.

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I would just like to add an update that my polished Pilot 78G Broad is like buttah now. If I'm not careful, it will skid right off the page it's so smooth.

http://i59.tinypic.com/ekfh5f.jpg

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