Pilot 2A review

[Ged]

I got this pen off Ebay, AU$23 from Winscombe Hill Collectables. I'm not affiliated with them in any way They were easy to deal with, packaged the pen well, and had an accurate description.

 

This is my first review, so anything I may have left out, please let me know! I've happily stolen headings from other reviews here.

 

First Impressions:

 

It comes in a plastic case with a clear hinge top. Sturdy, and despite being older than me, looks ok. No ones going to mistake it for a hundred dollar pen box, but it works, and doesn't scream cheap either.

 

Appearence and finish:

 

The pen itself is well... a pen. It has understated good looks, that while won't turn heads, will probably leave people with a positive impression. The cap is a dull brushed gold color, with a charcoal plastic body, and a brushed gold colored metal cap at the bottom of the barrel. There is no ring, the word PILOT is inscribe on the barrel near the cap. The cap clip is reasonably stiff with enough flex to go over most materials, including denim pockets, although that might be a tight fight. The body itself looks quite sleek uncapped, the grip and barrel look like one piece.

 

Weight and Feel:

 

The body seems to be made entirely of plastic. The metal button at the end of the breel adds a balancing weight to the pen. Unposted it feels fine in my hand. Posting adds a bit more weight to the end of the pen, but not a huge amount. I don't find it tiring posted, which is unusual for me! The barrel itself is not too wide or too thin (but I have big hands), approcimately 1cm in diamter at its widest, about 0.6cm around the grip. Uncapped the pen is just under 12cm long. Posted it is about 16cm long.The 'balance' seems to be right posted or unposted.

 

The cap itself is not very heavy, but doesn't feel cheap either. Closing the lid completely gives an audible 'snick' sound. It feels very secure capped. It's not liable to fall off when posted either.

 

Filling system:

 

The filler is a rubber sac between two metal clips. Fairly standard looking. The filler works well. The sac is dark colored, so it is difficult to tell how much ink is in the pen. It does appear to be nearly full, based on how much ink is ejected, after 3 or 4 presses though, it certainly hasnt run dry after writing some 10 A4 sheets with my tiny writing!

 

Nib:

 

Gold colored, with quite a large area visible. I do not think it is plated, and am unsure as to what tipping material it has, or what metal the nib is made of. It has a nice streamlined look and is stamped:

 

PILOT

Made in Korea

Super

Quality

 

I rinsed the nib in mild detergent solution before first use. Filled with Skrip Sepia and wiped. It wrote as soon as the nib touched the paper. Since then it has never been difficult to start. I left the pen uncapped for about 3 minutes, and it started up with only a slight hesitation. Properly capped though, it has never failed to start on the first touch. The line produced is quite fne, about 1mm in width. The nib is fairly rigid, pressing down doesnt appreciably alter the line width, although I didn't press down very hard! The nib is beautiful to use. The line produced is wet, but not wet enough to smudge while writing quickly. I've been using it on fairly cheap notepaper and there has been no feathering and no scratchiness. I can pull the pen down the page and produce a nice line with no 'dry' areas.

 

Overall:

 

Can you tell I love this pen? The weight is perfect for me, and the nib and ink flow are amazing. For the price, I'll be suprised if I can find a smoother writer. Out of the box, this pen has been writing smooth and without problems. My only con would be the capping system. A little care is need to slide the cap on, as the metal cap slides snugly over the plastic grip, I get the feeling the cap could scrape the grip area if one was a little uncaring. Otherwise though... I can't think of anything bad to say about it! If you get the chance to own one of these, I'd suggest doing so without a hesitation! The price is right and the writing is great.

 

 

Pictures to come soon!

Edited March 10, 2007 by Ged

[Phthalo]

Nice review!

 

Sounds like you'd really enjoy a Pilot 78G next - one heck of a sweet pen.

[Ged]

My goodness... you're feeding my addiction instead of curbing it! A red or green 78G is looking mighty tasty. I think I'll start a list of pens to get and get sooner rather than later.

[Tweel]

The pen's appearance reminds me of a couple of 60's(?)-vintage Wearevers that I have, but unlike them, you've got to love Pilot's "Soopah Quality!" nibs.

 

BTW, are you sure the filler is integral? If the 2A is like the 78G, it's actually a converter. That might be the purpose of the bobbin-like thing at the top of the squeeze-bar -- a pull knob.

 

-- Brian

 

[Ged]

Thanks for the correction Tweel, I tugged harder at the converter and out it came very very slowly. I guess 30 years of storage does that to a converter!

 

I do indeed love the nib. I dont think I'll be buying another rollerball for writing use ever again (except maybe a cheapie Bic to pass off as a loaner heheh). Fountain pens on the other hand... If only I had a limitless bank balance.

[Tweel]

QUOTE (Ged @ Mar 9 2007, 07:24 AM)

Thanks for the correction Tweel, I tugged harder at the converter and out it came very very slowly. I guess 30 years of storage does that to a converter!

Interesting -- Pilot seems to have been very consistent with that converter scheme over the decades.

 

QUOTE

I do indeed love the nib.

Another "outlet" for those Pilot nibs is the Cross Solo, which they made under contract (possibly in the same factory as the 78G). They were over-produced, and are now being sold as NOS for as little as $5.

 

QUOTE

Fountain pens on the other hand... If only I had a limitless bank balance.

That may eventually end up as at least a footnote on all our headstones !

 

-- Brian

 

 

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

That's not a converter!

 

I'd actually not recommend you to pull it out, since if not sealed properly, it can cause leakage.

 

Dillon

[Ged]

Well, another edit to the OP, removing the first edit!

 

I don't claim to be an expert, but in hindsight, I might agree with Dillo. The filler has a huge opening that lets ink drain right out, no squeezing necessary. The pens been jostled a bit while moving around, but refuses to leak from either the nib or the filler, even after my removal of it. It slid back in with some effort, a very tight fit it is, much like the cap is on the grip.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I am talking about a slight seepage around the filler cage. The opening is different from the standard Pilot cartridge or converter.

 

Dillon

[Ged]

Thanks for the information Dillo, there is indeed some seepage around the filler. I squished in a bit of tissue to check and some ink is present all around. It doesn't seem to progressing any further than just below the lip of the grip section.

 

Should I be concerned about this? I've had the pen in my bag and it hasn't actually leaked ink at all, I haven't been banging it around, but the normal bounces and movement of walking/driving hasn't made glops of ink come out.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

What I do is wash the pen out, then I apply some silicone grease around the filler cage, and on the outer rim of the connector. Then I push it back in.

 

Dillon

[Ged]

Hi Dillo,

 

Pen is reselead and everyones happy. I was wondering what kind of sealer would work best and rummaging through the repair forums. Thanks for pre-empting my next question

[Tweel]

QUOTE (Ged @ Mar 10 2007, 09:33 PM)

Thanks for the information Dillo, there is indeed some seepage around the filler.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! Argh... your new pen...

 

QUOTE (Dillo @ Mar 10 2007, 07:53 AM)

The opening is different from the standard Pilot cartridge or converter.

What about the 78G? I've pulled the filler on mine time and again. No leakage, and it does have a "wide mouth" (like me :-\), although the ink doesn't run out, either.

 

-- Stoo-pid

 

[Ged]

No harm done Tweel If anything it's probably better than before, the silicone lubricant should make a nice seal, for all I know it might have had some sort of glue or sealing material before, when I pulled the filler out, I could see some whitish powdery stuff, could be scraped plastic from the filler being inserted, or 30 years of warehouse dust, or maybe a dried up glue or sealent?

 

In the end though, I learnt something, the pens writing as well as before, it's all good! Now to get off my sorry behind and get those pictures posted!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The scraped stuff is the old glue.

 

The 78G might be a cartridge/converter filler, but you have to check the size of the opening.

 

Dillon

[Ged]

Hi Dillon,

 

A few days on, and the seal is perfect. A 78G with a stub/italic is next on the list!