Pilot Custom 742 Fa

[GClef]

When dotting and crossing my letters, the FA10 nib is not priming. It eventually happens, but only after a couple of tries.

Any suggested fixes?

Also happens sometimes on upstrokes when starting letters.

The tines are straight. I even slipped the feed out and hit the channel with an Exacto to widen it a little.

Using it without the feed just made it too wet.

I'm running out of patience with this pen.

[Margana]

My 742FA writes well for the first paragraph or so which suggests that ink already in the feed flows through normally. Then it begins skipping when new ink starts to move through the feed. Does this happen to you? I've tried all three converter models without significant improvement though a cartridge seems to work a little better.

[watch_art]

using it without the feed? Do you mean the channel tube?

[GClef]

Margana,

Yes, that's exactly what happens. Alright ink flow for a few lines, then it's downhill from there. No luck with he converter either. And I've tried all the ink I have in the cartridge and none seem to work as well as the Pilot ink.

 

watch_art,

Yes, that's what I meant, the channel tube. Saw your vid on the mod.

Edited June 17, 2011 by GClef

[watch_art]

okay.

so when you say it's not priming, do you mean not laying ink on the initial stroke? could be a bit of baby bottom? if so send to nib man and have baby butt ground off.

[Margana]

My 742FA does not have baby bottom but perhaps GClef's does.

[GClef]

My 742FA does not have baby bottom but perhaps GClef's does.

Looking w/a 16X loupe, mine doesn't look like it has a baby bottom either. The ink flows alright for a couple of sentences, then it statrts to sputter when I get to dotting "i's", crosssing "t's" & starting up strokes on letters. It'll eventually flow again, but only after repeated tries. And, I noticed that the it'll flow if I just lightly touch the paper with the nib.

[GClef]

I posted in another forum this same issue, and I'm wondering if these problems are inherent to these pens, because:

a: the feed & channel tube appears to be made of plastic, which isn't ideal for the flow of ink, other than what seems to be the thinner ink in the Pilot cartridges

b: as I've read in other posts, the pen was designed

for the short strokes of characters, rather than the longer strokes of letters.

This is my second Pilot Custom. I had a 743 with an FA15 & the same issues.

Such a beautiful pen, but annoying to use.

[watch_art]

okay. sounds like the ink is escaping up the nib, running away scared, when you touch the nib to paper because the tines spread apart too quickly to let the ink hit the paper. or something like that. i've seen it described elsewhere on FPN in better words, but who knows where it is. maybe using a consistently lighter touch and slowing down?

 

with the tube out you could try a drier ink perhaps?

[Limenweim]

Strange, I seem to have this problem as well with my Custom 74, Medium nib. I just got it today. It is a used pen, but I rinsed it properly and thought everything should be fine. It just doesn't start on certain horizontal strokes. Tried spreading the tines and running it through an ultrasonic cleaner but to no avail. The ink used was Waterman Black, which should have been fine.

 

Will try to soak it in dishwasher mixture and see how it goes.

Edited June 17, 2011 by Limenweim

[GClef]

okay. sounds like the ink is escaping up the nib, running away scared, when you touch the nib to paper because the tines spread apart too quickly to let the ink hit the paper. or something like that. i've seen it described elsewhere on FPN in better words, but who knows where it is. maybe using a consistently lighter touch and slowing down?

 

with the tube out you could try a drier ink perhaps?

With the tube out, all it did was blob ink all over the place...what a mess. Don't know if a drier ink would help.

I'm going to hit the channel tube one more time with an exacto knife and try to widen it a little more. Also, the channel on top of the feed looks like it ends just before the tip. Maybe if I carve the channel so that it's closer to the tip...

[GClef]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/DSC00382.jpg

[Limenweim]

Does the railroading happen if you write normally? And oh, my Pilot Custom 74 skipping problem was solved when I used the cartridge ink (Black). I could not try with Waterman Black in a cartridge because I couldn't find an empty one, and had to use a new one. Will give it a go when it is empty.

[GClef]

Does the railroading happen if you write normally? And oh, my Pilot Custom 74 skipping problem was solved when I used the cartridge ink (Black). I could not try with Waterman Black in a cartridge because I couldn't find an empty one, and had to use a new one. Will give

it a go when it is empty.

 

Waterman blue-black syringed in an empty cartridge. Ran out of ink in the pilot cart

[watch_art]

Maybe if I carve the channel so that it's closer to the tip...

 

 

might be a bad idea.

[GClef]

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/gclef1114/DSC00384.jpg

[Limenweim]

Strange. Looks like this kind of issues can be solved by using Pilot proprietary cartridges. I tried using Sailor Kiwaguro in my pilot pen and it skipped as if there is no tomorrow. So far, Pilot ink is the only ink that worked normally for my Pilot Custom 74. (Even Waterman, the safest and problem-free ink I know, had problems, but that was with the CON-20 converter, so I cannot be sure until I try it within a cartridge)

Edited June 19, 2011 by Limenweim

[TMLee]

Hmmmm ...

I do encounter this railroading at times but I never believed it to be more serious till I read this threadpost.

 

My experience is this :

When it starts to railroad, I Thot it ran out of ink, so when I unscrew the barrel, I see the ink in the reservoir all collected farthest away from the nib.

When I give the pen a few shakes, the ink falls down towards the nib.

And the pen works perfect.

I Thot this is only particular to a button filler.

Beyond this, I have no problems with this 742 <FA> .

 

Maybe this explains why those using cartridges have seen marked improvement.

 

Maybe this air pressure thingy PLUS perhaps a feed problem is the cause of the problem.

[GClef]

Hmmmm ...

This truly is a wonderful nib. Had an FA15 on a 743 that I got bored with and sold. Decided to bid and won this FA10 on a 742 at over $100 less than what the 743 cost me.

I won't be using the converter unless I can fill it only with the thinner Japanese inks.

[jgrasty]

Pens with flexible nibs tend to picky on inks. You may need to experiment with different blands, or send the nib to a nibmeister for adjustment (along with a sample of ink that you want to use).