Pilot Birdie Fountain Pen Review ...

[Zomba]

I have a Birdie OB, an oblique broad nib. I love it for notes and for signatures. The nib felt a bit scratchy at first, but it has gotten smoother as I used it more. It's a pity the pen has such a small diameter, While it is fine for a note or writing a check, the Birdie is just too small to be comfortable for extended writing. I can comfortably write a couple of paragraphs, but its smooth sides and small diameter make my hand cramp if I have much to write. I would love to find a pen that had the same nib in a much bigger diameter.

 

It must be good though, I keep hoping to get another and can;t find one.

 

Zomba

[dogpoet]

Well I like them.

[Fawate]

I bought some Birdies for me, as they were selling for a very low price. According to my memory, they tend to be dry performers, but with a little tweaking, can become very good pens. Maybe it was me, or perhaps a bad lot but I am in my third sample and they all tend to crack at the plastic barrel, near the nib. In fact, the pen develops two distinct cracks, each one aligned to the sides of the nib. Perhaps the plastic used is too brittle, or my pens left the assembly line with the nibs seated too much. I don´t know.

[pimli]

I was surprised to read that the Birdies were going extinct, because I live in the Middle East and found Pilot Birdies (with the squeeze-ink sacs) at the supermarket, and there seemed to be lots and lots in stock. At 19 QR (around 5 USD) it seemed like a reasonable starter pen, so I got one in a fine nib to check it out.

 

My first impression when I wrote with the Fine was "Wow they really weren't kidding when they said it was fine." Almost like writing with a .38 tip.

 

The medium nib is the one I carry around more often. (Yeah I came back for another one. ) As mentioned elsewhere, the ink from the medium does dry pretty quickly, more so than the fine. So it's handy for quick notes. It's so teensy though that I worry about misplacing it.

 

No problems about the barrel cracking so far.. Oh and I'm a leftie, and it seems 'normal' enough writing with it that I wonder what all the fuss about lefties and FPs was all about. So yay for the Birdie.

[Underskoterskan]

I don't find it very flexible. It's a simple steel nib. My only experience with flexible nibs comes from dip pen nibs, so it's not really flexible in comparison.

 

I agree, I don't find the nib flexible at all, but then again I usually use gold nibs with a lot of more flex in them. The Birdie is a nice pen, but it's simply too thin for me.

 

Regards

Undersköterskan

 

[dogpoet]

That's my biggest problem with the Birdies myself, Underskoterskan: if they did the same nib in a fatter body, it'd be damn near perfect.

[thibaulthalpern]

It's a pen meant to write short notes with and usually when you're out and about.

[andy1m]

I owned one Pilot Birdie about 20 years ago when I was in secondary school. It had been lost long ago. I read somewhere in this forum that said it is still available in Singapore at the Mustafa Shopping Centre. So I'm going there to get a few.

[holgalee]

That's my biggest problem with the Birdies myself, Underskoterskan: if they did the same nib in a fatter body, it'd be damn near perfect.

 

I modified some grips to counter that the skinny pen problem: http://toyingwithlight.wordpress.com/2008/...hmellow-outfit/ :roflmho:

[agchristie]

is there anywhere one can still get the pilot birdie with a fine nib??? Or anyone selling or willing to sell one of these? Or can one exchange the nib on the birdie to a fine one??

merci

 

[andy1m]

I was in Singapore and found the store selling Birdie (Mustafa Shopping Centre). Many stock on display, red, blue and black but only M size available. Only bought one. I prefer F nib.

[eeepc]

You can still get them in Bangladesh. I bought 4 of these (fine nib), for 350 taka(5USD) each. Although I promptly destroyed one of the nibs while trying to make the nib smoother :-(.

[dogpoet]

Ouch! Still, at least you'll know better in future.

[truthpil]

I have a Birdie OB, an oblique broad nib. I love it for notes and for signatures. The nib felt a bit scratchy at first, but it has gotten smoother as I used it more. It's a pity the pen has such a small diameter, While it is fine for a note or writing a check, the Birdie is just too small to be comfortable for extended writing. I can comfortably write a couple of paragraphs, but its smooth sides and small diameter make my hand cramp if I have much to write. I would love to find a pen that had the same nib in a much bigger diameter.

 

It must be good though, I keep hoping to get another and can;t find one.

 

Zomba

 

These can still be found around the Internet and I'm thinking about getting one to have a cheap oblique stub.

 

Does anyone who has one of these know if it's possible to remove the nib and put it on another pen, kind of like how you can do that with the other lower-end Pilot pens (78G, Prera, etc.)? The pen itself seems like it will be too small for me, so I'm hoping to transplant the nib.

 

Thanks!

[antichresis]

Hey, TruthPil. Mine is stuck on the feed. It seems to slide-on to the feed (like Lamy) but mine are too stiff/tight to be pulled out in all the years I've had them. Very dry too. I am unaware of any pen that you can transplant the nib or the feed to, sorry.

[truthpil]

Hey, TruthPil. Mine is stuck on the feed. It seems to slide-on to the feed (like Lamy) but mine are too stiff/tight to be pulled out in all the years I've had them. Very dry too. I am unaware of any pen that you can transplant the nib or the feed to, sorry.

 

Thanks anti! From the pictures online that is what I had suspected, but the feed looks a lot like those on current pens so I thought there might be a chance. I was really hoping this would turn out to be an oblique version of the Plumix nib!

 

Do you like the pens and use them much?

[antichresis]

Can't say I do. They look nice but they're too small for my hands. Ok if I post them but still way too thin for long writing (even for just a one hour exam). I may have a lemon but the pen also seems to clog and/or doesn't fit my writing angle. Upstrokes barely lay down ink after awhile (after a day or two of filling)

[truthpil]

Can't say I do. They look nice but they're too small for my hands. Ok if I post them but still way too thin for long writing (even for just a one hour exam). I may have a lemon but the pen also seems to clog and/or doesn't fit my writing angle. Upstrokes barely lay down ink after awhile (after a day or two of filling)

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I just removed this pen from my wishlist. =P

[antichresis]

OH just to be complete, mine is an F nib bought NOS. No experience with other widths.

[dogpoet]

As this thread has been bumped, I'd just like to say that my own Birdie has really grown on me over the eight years since I last posted. I still have it inked up lying on top of a pad on my bedside table for scribbled nocturnal notes, and it's the only pen I've kept consistently in use the whole time I've owned it apart from the obvious heavyweights (Lamy 2000, my first P51, Rotring 700). Lovely little thing.