Pilot Custom 74 vs Custom 742, 743 and 823

[cjjohnst]

I use my custom 742 with FA nib every day.I have a light hand and it is perfectly fine.The wettish characteristic of this nib lets me write at rapid speed.

[Francis_Rex]

I use my custom 742 with FA nib every day.I have a light hand and it is perfectly fine.The wettish characteristic of this nib lets me write at rapid speed

I have a 742 FA and I love the nib but it is moody thing to work with: one minute it is as wet as can be and then the flow just stops..and I find it very irritating. I am trying different inks as I saw a posting on You Tube that suggested it needs a heavy ink otherwise the tines open and the flow dries up.

 

Have you had your pen modified or have you got an ink suggestion?

 

Thanks

 

F

[bizhe]

Pilot pens like pilot ink, or other wetter inks.

[RitchieMac]

I have a Pilot Custom 912 with the same size 10 FA nib as the 742. For me it is too soft and temperamental to be used for daily writing. When I first inked the pen with other inks, it tends to railroad. This problem becomes less after I switched to Pilot blue black ink. I still have some difficulty starting off - I have adjusted the tines but have not hacked the feed (FPNer watch_art had hacked the feed with success, but I think once you do that, it's the point of no return). To start off, I have to invert the pen first on the paper to get some ink flow, and then the ink on paper will draw the ink from the feed by capillary action.

 

I use my FA nib purely for flexi writing when I have the time - it produces great line variation, what I pass off as calligraphy, which is not possible with most of my other modern nibs. Vintage flex aficionado may object to the FA nib being a flexible nib, which I have to agree somewhat, though the FA nib does produce some sort of flexi writing. It cannot be my every day carry pen, as I need to write fast most of the time (for that, a buttery smooth rigid nib is the best), but it certainly has its place amongst the spectrum of the specialty nibs.

[Francis_Rex]

Pilot pens like pilot ink, or other wetter inks.

I have used Iroshizuku Kon-Peki in it and it does flow but nowhere as consistently as I would like hence the search continues..but that is the joy of this hobby I guess.

[Francis_Rex]

I have a Pilot Custom 912 with the same size 10 FA nib as the 742. For me it is too soft and temperamental to be used for daily writing. When I first inked the pen with other inks, it tends to railroad. This problem becomes less after I switched to Pilot blue black ink. I still have some difficulty starting off - I have adjusted the tines but have not hacked the feed (FPNer watch_art had hacked the feed with success, but I think once you do that, it's the point of no return). To start off, I have to invert the pen first on the paper to get some ink flow, and then the ink on paper will draw the ink from the feed by capillary action.

 

I use my FA nib purely for flexi writing when I have the time - it produces great line variation, what I pass off as calligraphy, which is not possible with most of my other modern nibs. Vintage flex aficionado may object to the FA nib being a flexible nib, which I have to agree somewhat, though the FA nib does produce some sort of flexi writing. It cannot be my every day carry pen, as I need to write fast most of the time (for that, a buttery smooth rigid nib is the best), but it certainly has its place amongst the spectrum of the specialty nibs.

 

I think you are right: it has a place in any collection but it is not an edc pen. My Pilot Capless/VP produces an unbroken line for miles and is great for every day use but my FA I tend to use for journal entries when I have an attempt at flexi writing rather than "work".

 

i would not be keen on hacking the feed: it is a step too far (if done by an amateur like me!)

[Scribble Monboddo]

I've got hold of a Custom 74 with an SM nib via Engeika. The M means the line is nice and fat, although the tines did need a spot of realigning (nothing too technical - just a thumb-stroke). Ink-flow seems to be entirely reliable! There's a handwritten review here: http://scribbledemonboddo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/pilot-custom-with-74-sm-nib-2013.html

[AustinMalone1999]

Shawn Newton did a ''hack'' on a 742 or a 912. Basically he just pulled the nib and feed from the section and removed the breather tube. He swears it eliminated skipping and hard starts.