Pilot Custom 74 In Non Demonstrator?

[DrPhilth]

On my last thread where I can be seen having a struggle choosing between pens, the Pilot Custom 74 was brought up.
Up until this point, I had believed that it only came in demonstrator models... Until I actually googled it.

I see LOTS of reviews showing the pen in a Non Demo design. But I can not find one seller that actually sells a non demo model (Except amazon sadly)
Has anyone found any sellers or personally own a non demo 74?

 

~Phil

[kpyeoman]

I believe Engeika sells them for a good price. He has a website (just type "Engeika" into Google) and if you register, you can view the member prices and the Pilot pens. Don't worry -- you won't get spam messages for signing up.

 

I've purchased several pens from him and all have been a great experience/buy. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay in shipping, but once shipped, it's very fast from Japan. I'd definitely recommend sourcing a C74 from him (I'm looking at the clear demo version he has on special myself...)

 

Oh, and of course, no affiliation with Engeika -- just a happy customer.

[DrPhilth]

I believe Engeika sells them for a good price. He has a website (just type "Engeika" into Google) and if you register, you can view the member prices and the Pilot pens. Don't worry -- you won't get spam messages for signing up.

 

I've purchased several pens from him and all have been a great experience/buy. Sometimes there is a bit of a delay in shipping, but once shipped, it's very fast from Japan. I'd definitely recommend sourcing a C74 from him (I'm looking at the clear demo version he has on special myself...)

 

Oh, and of course, no affiliation with Engeika -- just a happy customer.

 

I have just checked his site and ebay store, no Pilot pens in sight 'round those parts.

Although... very nice prices on some sailor 1911's

Does Engeika tune nibs before shipping? Because I have heard horror stories of "chicken claw scratchy" 1911's. And of course, I'd love to avoid said problem.

[Abner C. Kemp]

There are tons of them floating around ebay from reputable enough sellers I wouldn't have any qualms about purchasing them. I just searched "pilot custom 74 black" and plenty showed up. As far as fine tuning the nib, you might have some issues getting that done via ebay although there are quite a few sellers who can do this for you.

 

And, as a fellow student who recently purchased a 92. I really do suggest you have someone check out the pen beforehand. My pen showed up with very dry flow and a pretty scratchy nib. So, now theres even more money out of my pocket getting the pen fine tuned.

[telemenar]

You can also get them from Maido: http://www.mymaido.com/386-pilot-custom-74-fountain-pens

 

Which you might be able to find in person in New York:

 

New York Store (Inside Kinokuniya Bookstores)

1073 Avenue of the Americas (Bet. 40th and 41st St), New York, NY 10018

[lahlahlaw]

 

I have just checked his site and ebay store, no Pilot pens in sight 'round those parts.

Although... very nice prices on some sailor 1911's

Does Engeika tune nibs before shipping? Because I have heard horror stories of "chicken claw scratchy" 1911's. And of course, I'd love to avoid said problem.

I bought an Engeika 1911 with a Naginata Togi nib and it was scratchy. Since shipping to Japan was nearly $50 I decided to send to a Sailor-trained nib man instead. All said and done, I still paid much less than if I'd bought the pen locally. My experience is probably the exception and not the rule, many many members have never had any issues with Engeika.

[sargetalon]

I have both a demo and black Pilot Custom 74. I sold off almost my entire non-Pelikan collection a little while ago but I kept both 74's. The demo looks great but the black pen really fills in nicely when you need to look a bit more professional. Great nibs on both pens. I picked my black one up on the classifieds here. Good luck with your search.

 

 

 

 

[msolok]

I believe the solid colour 74's are for the Japanese market, and the Demos are all other markets.

 

As for Engeika not showing any Pilot/Namiki pens, you need to sign up and be a member of the site before you can view them.

[whitedot]

I don't own the 74, but have handled them at a B&M.

 

Lots on eBay from reputable/high feedback sellers.

[whitedot]

BTW: I too urge you to get the Custom 74 over the other two. The Pilot nibs are phenomenal in comparison.

[dspeers58]

pisuke2005 and kyoto.pen.store both sell the custom 74 on ebay...great prices and service. about $100, and you can find them on Amazon, for prices that vary on different models, e.g. between $120-160. They are great pens!

[sharonspens]

I have a black 74, picked up in a trade. The nib is a SFM (soft fine-medium). It writes like a dream, and handles ink very well. Currently it has Iroshizuku grey ink in it. It doesn't get into rotation very often (I have a number of pens, and it takes a while to get around to every one), but when I do ink it up I always wonder why it doesn't stay in permanent rotation. I don't know what else you were considering, but I would highly recommend the 74 on a short list.

 

Sharon in Indiana

[ziptrickhead]

I picked up my demo Custom 74 from Engeika and out of box I felt it wrote quite well minus some hard start issues when using the pen with the lightest of hands. A slight bit of pressure and it wrote very well with no flow problems at all. From what I've seen, Pilot nibs are very well made and outside of some tine alignment, they usually require very little work. What I've also found is that the nibs themselves seem to have proper tine spacing and alignment but depending on how they're fit into the section with the feed, that can skew things a bit.

 

And as much as I love my Pelikans, as a next pen I would echo what a lot of people have already said and say go with the Custom 74.

 

I think I remember seeing 74s in Kinokuniya's basement pen counter but I don't believe you'll find it at a better price than what you can get from a seller in Japan. Wouldn't hurt to visit if you would want to see the pen in person first though.

[whitedot]

I have a black 74, picked up in a trade. The nib is a SFM (soft fine-medium). It writes like a dream, and handles ink very well. Currently it has Iroshizuku grey ink in it. It doesn't get into rotation very often (I have a number of pens, and it takes a while to get around to every one), but when I do ink it up I always wonder why it doesn't stay in permanent rotation. I don't know what else you were considering, but I would highly recommend the 74 on a short list.

 

Sharon in Indiana

 

I have given in. I have MBs, Pelikans, Lamys, Parkers, Sheaffers etc. etc. etc. My Pilot 912 Soft Medium is henceforth permanently inked. Why argue!

Edited January 9, 2014 by whitedot

[Mafia Geek]

 

I have just checked his site and ebay store, no Pilot pens in sight 'round those parts.

Although... very nice prices on some sailor 1911's

Does Engeika tune nibs before shipping? Because I have heard horror stories of "chicken claw scratchy" 1911's. And of course, I'd love to avoid said problem.

 

Have a look here: http://www.fountainpen-japan.com/menu3.html

 

I picked up a Custom 74 in black with a Soft Fine nib and it's great. Some of the other ones on there are really nice looking too, the 742 or 743 is the same as the 74 only slightly bigger with a #10 size nib and #15 nib (slightly larger than the 74) and the Custom Heritage 91 is the same as the Custom 74 with flat ends and different colours. The Customer Heritage 912 is my personal favourite, flat ends with a #15 nib on it. Though really the 845 is the real killer, but too expensive.

[larnivon]

pisuke2005 and kyoto.pen.store both sell the custom 74 on ebay...great prices and service. about $100, and you can find them on Amazon, for prices that vary on different models, e.g. between $120-160. They are great pens!

 

+1 for pisuke2005 (no affiliation). No hassle, good communication and arrived quickly. I wanted a Custom 74, but didn't want a demonstrator - very happy with it so far.

Edited January 11, 2014 by larnivon