Pilot Custom Maple(kaede)

[Readymade]

My guess is that the wood absorbs oils from your hands. When unused for a long while, the wood becomes paler and feels drier.

[DylanKeefe]

Holy moly, 70% off??? I need to move to Japan, both for the culture and the great pens.

[CrimsonM]

Hello I have tried this in pen store. From brief time, the M nib is pleasant but I feel a definite feedback like its not all smooth, even writing on premium paper. Is this normal?

[Algester]

I havent written with a Medium nib from Pilot but there's feed back in the nibs like SEF Elabo, but the SM from Pilot are good it kinda helps that these nibs are near to the western "true" size the fine also has some feed back

[TassoBarbasso]

Hello I have tried this in pen store. From brief time, the M nib is pleasant but I feel a definite feedback like its not all smooth, even writing on premium paper. Is this normal?

 

I have the same feeling with all my Pilot pens. This is great for me. One of the reasons why Pilot is becoming one of my top-three favourite brands!

[BayesianPrior]

Just curious - is the section swappable with other pens in the Custom range, specifically the 742?

 

I appreciate that the sections are not identical, as the 742 has a gold trim ring. I'm just curious about size and whether the threads are compatible.

Edited November 1, 2015 by BayesianPrior

[Samthor]

Just curious - is the section swappable with other pens in the Custom range, specifically the 742?

 

I appreciate that the sections are not identical, as the 742 has a gold trim ring. I'm just curious about size and whether the threads are compatible.

In my case, not swappable. I have a Custom 742 bought in 2005 and a Custom Maple bought in 2014. Even though each has a Pilot #10 nib, the 742's section is too wide to use in the Maple.

As you see, the threading is quite different on the two sections. That's too bad.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Samthor

[bizhe]

The section of the kaede can be put into the body of a custom 74. I have done this. But I haven't screwed the cap on tightly because I'm nervous that the longer tines will hit bottom.

[FeuBleu]

Thank you for the review, it's so interesting to learn about the pen and the production process, and I really like your English!

[Calabria]

Ok, somehow I came across this thread today and since I found a seller in Japan who has it for a decent price, I ordered it with a F nib.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Pilot because their pens somehow lack a characteristic "warmth" for me, but I have high hopes for this. I love the absence of complication in the design, the simply turned barrel, the monotone nib, the minimal design. I also love what I'm reading about the wood - how it is matte and changes with use. Finally, I'm a big fan of the Con-70 which is by far the most fun converter I've tried. I'm supposedly on a hiatus from buying pens, but couldn't resist this one. I'll let you know what I think when I get it.

[Maurizio]

I have read this review multiple times and wanted one of these beautiful pens since the first time I read the original post and looked at all the nice pictures by the OP and others. Well, my darling wife bought me one of these for a Father's Day gift this year. We ordered it from Japanese seller Santa Trading via Amazon. The price was fair. We did not pay for expedited shipping so it took about 2 months to arrive.

 

The pen arrived about 2 weeks ago and I couldn't be more pleased. I'm not posting any photos because there are several nice ones here, just my experiences with the pen. The pen is a physically lovely object. The gold hardware is a nice compliment to the wood's color. I am very pleased with my grain; it's uniform with no glaring flaw areas. The wood feels "warm" and delightful to hold (only we pen aficionados can really appreciate that tactile experience so I don't advertise it) and I take it out of my shirt pocket and just hold it during my commute to work and at other times. I felt compelled to "jump the gun" and increase the darkness of the color by applying a thin coating of extra virgin olive oil, letting it sit for a hour or so, then wiping off the excess. This darkened the color and deepened the look of the grain quite nicely.

 

The pen is a very sweet writer. I ordered the medium nib. This has been previously described as "springy" which I think is an apt description. It is not a flex nib by any means nor even a "soft" nib like the Falcons (I have 3 in B, M & F), but it is a smooth writing and responsive nib. It does provide some minor line variation with just a little extra pressure, but, again if you're looking for flex, this is not the pen.

 

All in all the excellent original post here is the reason I wanted this pen, and the pen which arrived has met all of my years' long pent up expectations.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Maurizio

[TroutWhisperer]

Nice pen and a great review! Thank you!