Pilot 78G Lovers

[shethkapil]

Hello Friends,

 

After using Pilot 78gs as a EDC and owning all 4 colours and all nib types, I am keen to know what all of you here opine on it. Good bad fair or whatever just express it and drop in your personal 78g images if you can. I have been using them and liking them since quite some time. Here are 2 of mines in the pic...

[Flounder]

I have exactly one, with a fine nib. I like it a lot, mostly as a note-jotting pen, as my hand does get a little stiff if writing enything longer, the pen being so thin. I really appreciate the longer-than-typical section. Great cartridge design too.

[da vinci]

I have 2, both in black, one fine one broad (stub like).

 

IMHO these pens are excellent value for money.

[amk]

Lovely little pens. I see you have them sitting alongside a No Nonsense, another robust and inexpensive pen. Both are good choices.

 

I stupidly passed up a Pilot 78g with broad nib last time I was in Calcutta - it was sitting lonely in an art shop window, with only paint brushes for company. Should have got it!

[Dr.Grace]

Since you asked, I will opine. I don't happen to like the 78G. I'm not a Pilot basher, as I have quite a few other Pilot pens, like theVP, the Custom 74 and Custom 823, which I love. The biggest problem I found with the 78G is that the converter nipples on both of mine started leaking. Replacing the converters didn't help. I had to convert to eyedropper. The other problem is that the nibs weren't especially smooth and easily got misaligned. Too much trouble for me.

[dothgrin]

I like the 78G, and have four in a fine point, but now that they are higher in price even on eBay, I'm opting not to buy some medium point 78Gs. I had one "bad" nib, did a little sanding, and ended up with a nice fine to EF Asian standard type of nib (hard to explain what happened, but it produces a really nice line. Thus, I take it and a black one filled with X-Feather as my carries when I am around town. Dr.Grace, what I have found is that a syringe refill of the cartridges is the trick for these. I have never been fond of the converters except the Con-50.

[shethkapil]

@amk yes you are right, the other one is a no nonsense and the demonstrator is a sailor junior.

[amk]

Thanks shethkapil, I didn't't recognise the Sailor! it's an attractive pen. How does it write? Another of your EDCs to guess from the picture?

[nuts88]

have one with bb nib and love it!!!

[shethkapil]

Thanks shethkapil, I didn't't recognise the Sailor! it's an attractive pen. How does it write? Another of your EDCs to guess from the picture?

[shethkapil]

The sailor writes superb. It's in between medium and fine. The other ones are two pilot 78gs in black and green, and a sheaffer no nonsense in orange.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have:

 

The black B/stub

The burgundy Medium

A green Medium

A teal Fine (or is that the other way round?)

 

So clearly, I like 'em!

 

All of them write a little dry and have been very slightly shimmed and modified to write wetter. Now they are great, inexpensive ($10) everyday pens. One of them is filled now, with a custom mix of pinks and De Atramentis Aubergine.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Sailor Kenshin

[tinto]

I recently got one in B, and it is very scratchy. I can't even make a single line without skipping.

 

Very bad experience. Good thing it was not expensive, and will be my first patient for my experimentation as a nib tuner.

[Nomad]

I have half a dozen in all nib sizes that I bought years ago when for some reason it was cheaper to buy a whole bunch than one at a time. This was when they were really cheap, maybe $3 apiece.

 

They are exactly what they were designed to be: cheap, plastic school pens meant for school kids. For me, they're too thin and too flimsy. And their thin nibs are mediocre. The mystique that has grown around these kiddie pens baffles me.

 

Yes, they're made by Pilot. But at the prices I see them going for now, you're much better off getting a Pilot Metropolitan.

[Nyanzilla]

I recently got one in green with M nib. The nib is very smooth, maybe even a little smoother than that in my Custom 91.

But the ink flow initially was quite poor. I used a thin knife to slightly widen the ink channel in the feed. And now it writes with a perfect wet flow.

 

Apparently mine seems to be an export model as it takes the standard international cartridges. So I don't have to purchase the proprietary Pilot cartridges which are not easily to get here.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Nyanzilla

[Blackhorse]

I've got three...two stubs and a fine. All are 'good' writers. I got all 3 via HisNibs and as these were therefore pre-inspected and adjusted they are smooth. I like 'em for what they are...cheap pens that write well and make no excuses. Would I trade my Platinum 3776 Bourgogne, my Pilot Custom 74 or my Lamy 2000 (etc.) for one? Heck no! But for their cost they are phenoms. Especially nice as a Stub!

[brunico]

I recently got one in B, and it is very scratchy. I can't even make a single line without skipping.

 

That's very bad luck. I've had a dozen similar nibs (from the Plumix) and have never had a single problem. How do you get on with your other italic nibs?

 

 

And their thin nibs are mediocre. The mystique that has grown around these kiddie pens baffles me.

 

Yes, they're made by Pilot. But at the prices I see them going for now, you're much better off getting a Pilot Metropolitan.

 

The Metropolitan has the same "thin," "mediocre" nibs as the 78g, only without the gold finish, so I'm not clear why you think a Metropolitan would be an improvement.

Edited June 27, 2015 by brunico

[beanbag]

I have a 78G, but I don't like it mainly due to cosmetic reasons. I don't like the screw caps, it feels flimsier than my Metros, and I think the colors with the gold band are kind of tacky. I mainly got it for the BB italic nib, which is either crappier, or more difficult to use than the B italic from a Pilot Plumix.

[tinto]

 

That's very bad luck. I've had a dozen similar nibs (from the Plumix) and have never had a single problem. How do you get on with your other italic nibs?

 

I have little experience, but my two Lamy 1.1 nibs work really nice, as smooth as any B nib. I received a Goulet tuning kit this week, so I will practice and try to fix this nib and a Kaweco Sport in M. Yes, I've had bad luck with the cheapest pens. Lamy, at least, has been a fine experience.

[brunico]

@tinto - The Pilot should be smooth, but it is less forgiving than the Lamy to rotating the nib. Might be worth checking before you try to fix it.

 

@beanbag - The BB is cut exactly the same way as the B, only wider. So I think more difficult to use, rather than crappier.