Pilot Justus 95 Review

October 12, 2014

-This review is an adapted version of the one that can be found on my personal blog (www.pencilcaseblog.com). Visit my blog for more pictures, a copy of the written review and of course many other pen, pencil, paper and ink reviews. Enjoy the review! (Pilot Justus 95 review: http://www.pencilcaseblog.com/2014/10/pilot-justus-95.html )-

The Pilot Justus 95 is what looks like a pretty simple, typical Japanese fountain pen. The design can be found -more or less- on a couple of other Japanese pens, such as the Sailor Pro-Gear. Or at least, that's what it looks like at first! Take a closer look, and you'll see that this Japanese beauty is far from mainstream! Not only are there a few design elements that really stand out, what's found under the cap is like nothing I've seen before!

The overall shape is pretty much exactly the same as the previously mentioned Sailor Pro-gear. But the barrel and cap feature a very nice, classic-looking engraved pattern, something you'd expect on a vintage pen. The pattern is fairly subtle, you won't notice it from afar, but look closely and you'll see how intricate the line pattern is!

The Justus is a pretty big pen, coming close to what I would call oversized! The nib is very narrow, but long, I guess it can be categorised as a number six size. It's also quite a well-weighted pen, though this time it's not the cap that takes care of the weight. The section seems to be the heaviest part, it has metal threads, so I guess most of it is metal, with a resin layer on top. The weighted section makes it very well-balanced, even when posted (which makes it ridiculously long) it stays perfectly balanced and very comfortable to use!

The Justus is incredibly well-built and feels very solid. I know this sounds vague, but some resin pens feel brittle and cheap. This one definitely doesn't! I couldn't find any seams at all, which deserves a thumbs up! Yay!

I really like the design of this pen, I actually even like the gold trims (Which I normally never do!). The pen has a retro feeling to it, due to the engraved barrel and cap, so the gold accents fit the overall style perfectly!

But enough about the design, because let's face it: you won't buy this one for the looks! The main attraction is the 14k gold adjustable nib. The general principle is to have a nib that acts both as a non-flex and as a semi-flex writer. The desired effect is created by twisting the ring in the grip section to the left or the right. The small clip-like piece of metal will either extend or retract into the section. In extended position, it pushes down on the tines of the nib, giving it a bit more rigidity.

On paper, it all looks very promising. But you shouldn't expect a whole lot of difference between the two options. In fact, there's no real difference at all! The semi-flex nib doesn't actually get stiffer, it just requires a bit more pressure to flex. The writing performance does change ever so slightly though, mainly the flow is affected. It writes a hair wetter when in 'flex mode', which also results in a slightly thicker line width (even without any pressure! You can probably see the difference in the written review, where the first few lines of the 'overall' paragraph are written in 'flex mode')

In flex mode, you can get quite a decent amount of line width variation, however in my eyes the Pilot Falcon (Another pen that can be considered semi-flex) has a bit more springyness to it. Other than that, the nib is very enjoyable to write with, it's smooth, though with a noticeable amount of feedback. The flow is excellent, not as wet as I expected, but still capable of keeping up with ease. It never skipped or had a hard start.

The line width of the medium nib seems to be comparable to western mediums, maybe even a hair thicker at times ( probably because of the soft nib). I might have preferred a fine nib because it would most likely show more line width variation, but I really can't complain as this medium performs extremely well!

Is this a pen you should get? Yes! Pilot managed to deliver a very nice, extremely well-built pen with an equally nice and interesting nib. If you have the 300 Euros/ 315 USDollars to spend, this is a great way to enlighten your wallet!

Dries

ThePencilCaseBlog

http://www.pencilcaseblog.com

October 13, 2014

Thanks for the review! I test drove this pen in a store the other day, and I have to agree, there wasn't a huge amount of difference between "flex" mode and "regular" mode. I really like the sword shaped clip as well. I'll have to add this one to my growing list of "want and will eventually buy even if i have to sell a kidney" list.

November 1, 2014

Thanks for the review! I test drove this pen in a store the other day, and I have to agree, there wasn't a huge amount of difference between "flex" mode and "regular" mode. I really like the sword shaped clip as well. I'll have to add this one to my growing list of "want and will eventually buy even if i have to sell a kidney" list.

Haha, I wouldn't lose a kidney over it. But despite the little flex capacity, it is a pretty nice pen! The clip doesn't really work for me, I'd rather see a clip like the custom 74 on this, a bit more old-school-looking!

November 1, 2014

One of my favourites

Good balance , extremeley good nib to my opinion and fabulous Con 70 converter

November 28, 2016

Hej,

i'm really thinking about buying a Justus - i still have to decide if i prefer the Barleycorn, or the Line pattern.

First i wasn't into the gold colours at all, but it grew on me somehow ... well now i see, that the pen is also available in a Rhodium plated version?

http://www.pilotpen.co.uk/en/fine-writing/justus.html

http://www.pilotpen.co.uk/en/fine-writing/justus/justus-rhodium-fine-nib.html

I can only see the gold plated one on eBay - was the silver one already released?

Many thanks

Berg