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Pilot 912 Minuskin Modified Falcon Nib


ALeonardoA

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Hello,

 

I wanted to share my impressions on the Pilot Custom Heritage 912, with a modified Falcon nib by Greg Minuskin.

 

I'm neither a calligraphy expert nor a flex-nib expert so this review is from the perspective of a more novice user, therefore I would like to caution the reader to take my input for what it's worth.

 

There's plenty of information out there on the Pilot 912 in general so I won't go into much detail, suffice it to say that the pen is well-constructed, solid and elegant; it's the bee's knees in my book. I don't have any experience with the original Falcon (#10 FA) nib so unfortunately I cannot compare this modified nib with it.

 

From what I understand, Mr. Minuskin's modifications to the FA nib include re-tipping it to a "needlepoint" size, added flexibility and increased ink-flow, presumably by altering the feed. Understandably, Mr. Minuskin did not want to reveal the specifics of his modifications when asked and I can respect that.

 

Using this particular pen can be a bit of a challenge for someone who is not used to calligraphy or flex-nibs. The needlepoint nib requires a very light touch and when not flexed it really does feel like a needle. Sometimes it feels like you have to almost hover the point over the paper to prevent it from catching, especially on the upstrokes. After practicing with this pen it becomes clear that mastering posture, speed, rhythm and pressure is paramount for good results. My experience has been that writing with the pen a certain way (the wrong way) will increase the occurrence of railroading, trembling lines when not flexed, dry starts etc. However, when concentrating on using the correct methods these issues rarely occur and the pen really begins to shine.

 

I don't have any trouble flexing the nib while writing, meaning it does not feel too soft or too rigid and it definitely becomes more flexible the more it is used, as is to be expected from a new nib. I wish I had experience with vintage flex pens in order to compare but I don't, so please keep that in mind while considering my observations. The line variation from my rough measurements go from ~ 0.3 mm to ~ 1.6 mm. Line grading is a bit of a subjective thing but if I use a well-known vintage pen seller's system this would amount to a XF - BB/BBB.

 

Mr. Minuskin put it best when he described this pen as a bit of a "race-car," meaning that just because I know how to use a pen (or drive a car) doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to know how to use this particular flex-nib (a race-car). Without previous experience you're going to have some "clutch-grinding" and "stalled-engines" and maybe even a "wipe-out" on the corners if you've got a heavy foot, so to speak. However, if you're more from the cautious and patient side of the fence and tend to be a quick learner you shouldn't have any major issues even without much flex-nib experience. Start slowly and cautiously and the more you practice the more you'll find your skills improving. If the prospect still seems daunting there are always very inexpensive and excellent dip pens for calligraphy to get used to flexible nibs, and honestly if your goal is strictly artistic calligraphy, dip pens would probably be a better choice anyways. If you want a new, higher end, stylish, well-constructed fountain pen with a flexible nib it's hard to overlook this one. It wasn't exactly cheap, but this doesn't mean it's not worth the price considering that it's a relatively higher-end pen to begin with and one-of-a-kind after being individually modified by hand. Whether that is worth the price or not is entirely a matter of opinion, but since this is my opinion here and since I've already purchased it :P I will say that it is worth it indeed (for price information check Mr. Minuskin's website).

 

I've included a writing sample. Consider that this was made from someone who is not an experienced calligrapher or flex-nib user but I do have experience with design, drawing, decorative writing and cursive (thank you Italian primary schools.) As you can see there is room for improvement but for me the process of learning and improving is where all the fun is anyways. The hardest things for me have been obtaining smooth, non trembling lines when the nib is not flexed, avoiding railroading and correct proportions/consistency of letters. The line is *very* fine when not flexed and the point is needle sharp so it's definitely a challenge to obtain good results. Now and then my finest lines end up looking like a seismogram during an earthquake. However, I've already seen improvement from when I first started using the pen so I'm confident I will continue to improve with more practice. I hope this review will be of use to somebody and thanks for reading.

 

post-127576-0-37938500-1455865302_thumb.jpg post-127576-0-34820500-1455868004_thumb.jpg post-127576-0-19710800-1455868021_thumb.jpg post-127576-0-81927300-1455868050_thumb.jpg

 

Further notes:

* Pen comes with a CON-20 converter instead of the CON-50 or CON-70. When asked about the converter Mr. Minuskin told me that when it comes down to ink flow the CON-20 is actually the better choice, and I have read about other people having ink-flow problems with the other converters so for now I will stick with it. Apparently there is something about those more complex mechanisms and how they function that reduces the flow of ink, which seems to be an important issue with flex-nibs. I might purchase one of the other converters or refill a cartridge with Iroshizuku ink just for experimenting in the future.

 

* As mentioned earlier I do have some railroading issues here and there but definitely less so with what seems to be more proper posture, speed, pressure, etc. This leads me to believe that it's not so much the pen's fault as much as how it is being used. Again, this is a persnickety tool and as with most performance or precision tools good results come from precise and proper use. It won't magically write better for me just because it is designed to; that's up to me.

 

* For practice purposes I've been using Rhodia's Dot Pad with Pilot's Iroshizuku ink. This combination seems to work very well but I will experiment with different paper in the future.

 

 

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Great review - many thanks. The modification seems quite interesting and worth the trouble. I have mixed experiences with the Falcon but this specimen would have solved most problems.

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Great review. And it appears that you are getting along very well in adapting to your demanding pen. Congratulations on the beginning of what looks to be a great friendship.

ron

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EoC had a conversation with Mr Masuyama about this kind of modification - as EoC has the same pen. Part of what came out of that conversation was the understanding that increasing the flexibility by reducing the thickness of the FA nib(1) weakens it and also does not improve the snap-back or recovery after flexing. The rationale behind regrinding to a finer point is only to achieve the hairlines that are normally seen on a pointed dip pen. It may appear that line variation has been widened by the first modification, whereas it may be more accurate to suggest that it is the regrind that creates this instead.

 

After much thought on the matter EoC decided against having the pen modified, even though Mr Masuyama was happy to accommodate. The lifespan of the pen after such modification is likely decreased.

 

@ALeonardoA, the shaky lines are in large part a function of speed. If you slow down your strokes to the point where you are drawing the letters then the shakiness increases. Practice will lead to quicker, smooth, confident, shake-free lines.

 

 

(1) - it would appear from the images that Mr Minuskin has not altered the shape of the nib, and EoC must conclude that he has achieved the claimed increased flexibility by shaving the material away on the flat underside of the nib to create a thinner nib.

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Hello Empty_of_Clouds,

 

Thank you for the input and for the advice on achieving improved thin lines; practice, practice, practice! It seems that once the movements become second nature the speed will increase naturally and start to smooth them out. I think you bring up some very important considerations in your post.

 

The regrinding of the nib is definitely the primary factor in the increased line variation, no doubt. I can not say with certainty whether the added flexibility has any impact on line width since I don't have an unmodified FA nib to compare it with, though I would be mildly surprised if it had no effect whatsoever.

 

It only makes sense to me that removing material from the nib is going weaken it to some degree; that's the price to pay for increasing its flexibility from its original state. It would also make sense that because of this the life-span of the nib might be reduced and even make it more susceptible to damage. I'm not an expert on these matters so I can only speculate. Frequency and manner of use will also affect its lifespan, which can be said for any pen.

 

As for how Mr. Minuskin achieved the increased flexibility of the nib I really wouldn't be able to say. Again I don't have an unmodified nib to compare it with and I'm not an expert on nib modification and nib-work to begin with. I can't make any definitive conclusions myself without his confirmation so I will defer to other people's experience and opinions.

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Hello,

 

I wanted to share my impressions on the Pilot Custom Heritage 912, with a modified Falcon nib by Greg Minuskin.

 

 

Hi ALeonardoA,

 

Thanks for the review. Here's my take on this pen with Mr. Minuskin's modification:

 

The Pilot Custom Heritage (CH) 912 with the FA "Falcon" Nib (P/N FKVH-2MR-B-FA) has street retail price of US$149. Mr. Miniskin takes the same pen, works on the nib & feed, and sells it for US$345. That's a mark-up of $196 or 232%.

 

In my experience, importing a CH series pen from Japan to the U.S. costs less than $15 for EMS tracked & insured shipping (that's all), and it take about a week to the East coast. So the shipping from Japan doesn't cost a whole lot more than USPS tracked/insured CONUS shipping from Mr. Minuskin.

 

Given the above numbers - I'll let you decide if the modified CH912/FA-nib pen is worth it...

 

Here's what I did instead:

 

The CH912 is the third smallest pen in the CH series, plus I'm not big on Rhodium plated nibs and furniture. I wanted a larger pen, but I still wanted the FA nib. Also, I wanted the larger Pilot FA nib. The CH912 has the Pilot size #10 FA nib, I wanted the larger Pilot size #15 FA nib. A larger nib and feed will have more contact surface area, therefore the ink flow will be better too.

 

The Pilot CH743 is the same size as the vacuum fill CH823, both pens are the second largest in the CH series besides the larger CH845. Over the counter, the CH743 is the only pen in the CH series that has the larger #15 size FA nib. The CH743 is a cartridge/converter (CON70) pen with a 14K solid gold nib and 14K GP furniture.

 

The street price for the Pilot CH743 with the #15 FA nib is $165, that's only $16 more than the smaller CH912 with the smaller #10 FA nib. So it's a no-brainer for me, get the CH743/FA-nib.

 

Now; my experience with ink flow and flex with the CH743/FA-nib pen:

 

I found the semi-flex capabilities of the larger #15 FA nib to be just what I wanted. There's not too much flex to risk springing the nib. This allows me to pretty much use the pen as a daily writer on several types of paper. So I would not want to modify the nib for more flex.

 

The FA nib is a Western Extra Fine. On decent paper, the nib is quite fine. Any finer, and it would be dangerous to use the pen as a daily writer with various paper types - you would risk catching and springing the nib. I would not want to modify the nib for so-called "needle-point" flex. The FA nib is needle-pointy enough out-of-the-box.

 

Ink flow: This is the critical one. I found certain papers, especially clay-filled and polished high-end papers to cause some flow problems with the CH743 & FA nib. But as long as I stick with good quality 80-90g/sqm virgin bond I get plenty of flow - enough flow to allow me to flex at-will without rail-roading, and without having to slow to a crawl. Much depends on the ink, in addition to the paper.

 

I found that inks known for good flow help a lot with the CH743/FA combination. My work-horse Pilot Blue-Black ink is perfect in the pen. (This is excellent because I buy Pilot Blue-Black in 330ml bottles.) I am satisfied with the ink flow. Take your time and find a good ink and know which papers work best with the pen and ink combination when flexing. You'll be just fine without needing any sort of nib or feed modifications for flow. In-fact I would be leery of adding any more flow to the pen, you might not be able to flex effectively on some papers with more flow.

 

So is the stock CH743/FA-nib my Grail-Pen in the CH series? Almost...

 

The #15 FA nib will drop right into the CH823 vacuum filler and the CH845. The CH845 is the largest pen in the series. But unless you find a Japanese dealer that's on good terms with Pilot and you're ready to pay a hefty premium, you're not going to get the #15 nib in the CH823 or the CH845 - Pilot won't let you (Pilot is Mean).

 

I'm not a huge fan of vac fillers - too fiddly and difficult to clean. (lock-down vacs are good to fly with though.) Having to remember to unscrew the filler knob is annoying with a vac-filler like the CH823. So the CH823 is out for me as a daily writer (I do own a CH823 though).

 

That leaves the CH845. The CH845 is a little bigger than the CH743 and CH823 pens, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The Pilot CH845 is (in large-part) finished with Urushi, all other CH series pens are bare injection molded acrylic. Finally the CH845 has a street price of $339 USD. Which isn't unreasonable considering Japanese pens that have anything to do with real hand laid Urushi cost an arm and a leg.

 

So if Pilot would let the FA nib into the CH845 pens over-the-counter, I would buy one right away at the street price. I'm sure there are many thinking like me out there. Unfortunately, Pilot will not allow this to happen. So we end up without a nice pen to add to our collections. And Pilot ends up with a lot less money in their bank account. Go figure.

 

P.S., I should state that my stock CH743 with the #15 FA nib referred to above is a sample of one. There is the possibility that I'm happy with my pen because it is an outlier. I have heard others complain about poor flow and rail-roading with the stock CH743/FA pen out-of-the-box. But that wasn't the case with my pen once I took the time to learn how to handle, feed and care for it. I have vintage wet-noodle flex pens that took far more work to tame than the CH743/FA.

 

Edited by Drone
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I got the 912 because I wanted the FA nib, but unlike Drone did not like the gold furnitures of the 743 at all. I didn't find it anywhere at $149, but in the end I payed about $175, including shipping from Japan.

I must concur that, given the price and having seen the writing sample, I don't see the point of paying more for the customization.

With the right ink (the best amongst those I've tried have been Iroshizuku Shin-Kai and KWZ Iron Gall Blue #1) I can go from an hairline (as thin or thinner as what I see in the writing sample) to a 1mm line with a slight pressure suitable for calligraphic writing. If pushed, the nib can easily get much wider, 1,5 or even 2mm, but of course I wouldn't do that often, or at all, for fear of springing the nib. I'm not even sure I would call this "semi"-flex, since the results are very much comparable with a vintage Waterman #2 or a Zebra G dip nib, which insofar as my limited experience go, I would call quite flexible indeed.

Additionally, I haven't encountered any issue with railroading, unlike many reviewers of this pen. Of course I can make it railroad, especially if the ink is not quite right for this nib, but so long as there is ink in the Con-70, I can flex-write as fast as I can cope with. It is, truly, less wet than a vintage flex, which is what causes the railroading for many; but for me this is an advantage, as it brings out more of the inks' shading and enhances the contrast with the thin un-flexed lines.

My only quibble is that, while I could even use the pen for normal writing – as I have a fairly light hand apparently – the nib is relatively scratchy, especially on sideways strokes, for regular, non-flex, use. I am pondering trying to smooth it out, but I'm afraid to damage the nib. For this I could consider a nibmeister work, but surely not for 200$.

Edited by Feanaaro
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There has been some debate on the subject of the #15 versus the #10 nib. Nothing conclusive came of it other than that there was simply not enough data. EoC found, rather surprisingly, that the learning curve for using the FA nib was a little steeper than for using a pointed and very flexible dip pen. Others may find it less challenging.

 

As for railroading, well, there are videos on YouTube and elsewhere that show people clearly railroading vintage noodles. Most of the problems that people have with the flexibility of the FA nib likely stem from an incorrect expectation of what the nib will be able to do. There was a good article by David Nishimura that contained an advert for a Waterman's Artist nib - HERE - that gives an idea of the kind of line variation one should expect from a noodle nib (from filament to 1/32 inch or more - 1/32 inch is only 0.8mm!).

 

Agree on the ink. EoC's favourite so far is Tsuki-yo, but has Shin-kai in reserve too.

 

Surprised that yours, Feanaaro, feels scratchy. This one's does not.

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Thank you for sharing your experiences members, it's always interesting to hear what people have to say.

 

I knew about the price difference going in. eBay/Amazon sell the unmodified CH912 for $150 to $270, depending on seller (list price $400). Nibs.com (Classic Fountain Pens) sells it for $256 and they say retail is $320. Their modified CH912 by John Mottishaw goes for $366 and is modified differently than Greg's (John told me himself). Goulet Pen Co. sells the unmodified for $224 and it's sold out. I hope you can see where I'm going with this; value and worth are subjective. Someone paid $320 dollars for this pen, without a modification. Someone paid $150. And I'm pretty sure someone else paid less than that. C'est la vie mes frères.

 

I believe it to be worth it because it's an excellent pen to begin with and because it has been modified by a well-known and experienced "nib-meister" to perform even better than the original. It's also worth it because I want to support these local craftsmen's work. Furthermore, contradicting statements from dubious sources notwithstanding, California does indeed "know how to party"... :roller1: ...

 

Feanaaro, if you're using my writing sample as a determining factor, don't : ) I'm not an experienced calligrapher or flex-nib user (yet!), as I have already mentioned, and I was being conservative in my estimates because I'm not trying to show off and I don't want to mislead people nor do I want to ruin my nib. Not to mention that when dealing with minute measurements, low resolution images like mine are going to be deceiving. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a .2 mm and .6 mm line (let alone from two different images) just by looking at them and I've examined plenty of measured lines in small pictures to convince me of this. Then again, my vision isn't what it used to be.

 

I've included another writing sample just for kicks because I knew that the first wasn't so great. And guess what? The second sample isn't that great either! But I can say that the thinnest line I've gotten is approximately .2 mm when laying it down fast and light, which is slightly less than half the width of one of those Rhodia dots. The widest line I've gotten (while gritting my teeth) is close to 1.8 mm. Can it go wider? Perhaps. Do I want to try? Nope. If the regular FA nib can achieve the same I'd be very surprised. Unless I'm mistaken, the modified nib is literally ground down to a noticeably finer point so I guess I don't understand how it could lay down a fine line of equal width to the original, but anything is possible and as always, I could be wrong.

 

The issue of whether the #15 FA nib is better or worse for ink flow has indeed been argued, as Empty of Clouds mentioned. EoC is also on point when they mention railroading on vintage pens, as I have seen this as well now and then. Like I mentioned in my review, I can make the 912 railroad and make it not railroad if I want to, which tells me that usage is an important factor. Therefore, it's difficult to judge performance objectively and fairly when every Tom, Dick, and Leonardo (that's me!) get their fumbling bear-paws on a flex-nib and share their experiences... :blush:

 

post-127576-0-29128800-1456121805_thumb.jpg post-127576-0-25695700-1456122719_thumb.jpg

Edited by ALeonardoA
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I don't think anybody is trying to spoil the fun. Personally, I'm just saying that if someone is considering to buy this pen and happen to stop by here and read this, in my opinion s/he should not buy the modified version, because the standard one is good enough, and (from the very imperfect impression I can gather from pictures) indeed not really different from the customized nib. That's all, no spoiling involved.

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I don't think anybody is trying to spoil the fun. Personally, I'm just saying that if someone is considering to buy this pen and happen to stop by here and read this, in my opinion s/he should not buy the modified version, because the standard one is good enough, and (from the very imperfect impression I can gather from pictures) indeed not really different from the customized nib. That's all, no spoiling involved.

 

Hi Feanaaro,

if a pen is worth the money or not is a very personal judgement.

In my opinion the comments within a review should focus on the subject and not on monetary aspects, which seemed not to be the case in my eyes in the above discussion.

Instead of focusing on money you could had provided some writing samples for comparison.....

 

I don´t really want to discuss if a pen is worth the money or not, especially in a review thread of somebody else.

But sometimes it seems whenever it comes to handicraft many people seem to have not a realistic or fair focus.

Labor is expensive especially in industrialized countries.

 

First of all I really doubt that you can get outside Japan this pen for 150$ (US or Europe).

Goulet in the US sells it for 225$.

In Europe it is really hard to get, there are only these dubious Japan direct imports which do not take the customs and taxes into account.

As a private citizen you might get away with such a import without paying customs fees and taxes especially when the seller declare it as a gift or with a lower value.

But as a business man you don´t have this option.

Even the dubious offers I saw charge 180€ (200$) and you have to add customs fees and taxes of your country to it.

So 225$ in the US from a reputable seller seems to be a reasonable US price for me (I would consider this also as a reasonable price for Europe).

 

So Mr. Minuskin charges about 100$ more than this for his modified pen.

When I go to a car garage, they charge me here in central Europe about 50- 70 € for 1 hour labor, if you request paint work even up to 90€ a hour (I´ve choosen this example because car garage labor is something common, everybody knows it).

 

How many car mechanics are on this world...... how many Nib-Meister are on this world.

 

How many people are able to do such a nib mod?

 

Why should a Nib-Meister not be allowed to charge a reasonable amount for his very special work?

 

So when we assume that Mr. Minuskin charges a similar hourly rate than a common car repairman, for the whole modification of the nib labor of about 1,5 to 2 hours is covered with this 100$........ not very much in my opinion.

 

Did you ever grinded a nib?

 

I did, it take a while, and additionally the customers expect not only good, they expect perfect nib work from a reputable Nib-Meister.

Additionally he added flexibility to this nib and modified the feed of the pen (which can be the most tricky thing for a flex pen and can consume really much time).

 

He also had to develop these modifications, you can add this as R&D costs to the selling price.

 

Then he also have to keep his store running, office costs, internet presence, heating, power, shipping, stock pens and tools, maybe also pay staff, taxes,.......

 

When you take all this into account, charging about 100$ for such a handicraft modification within a high labor country seems to be not really much..........isn´t it?

 

If you think you can also provide such a service at a fraction of this price and still can live from it, please go on (looking at your flag you are from Italy, so labor is also expensive there).

I would be happy to see a new excellent Nib-Meister in Italy which work for rates like he would be located in India or China.........

 

 

 

But consider also this saying:

If you’re good at something, never do it for free (Joker).

;)

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EoC was talking about the pen. For the record EoC bought it from eBay for $140, brand new. EoC also considered getting it modified, because this one is more used to using dip pens that are pointier. In the end EoC decided not to. If others wish to do so, good for them. Discussing the relative merits of such modifications is useful.

 

As long as ALeonardoA is enjoying his/her pen that's the main thing.

 

The problem with some threads like this is that they present this view to newcomers that this is correct way forward. Understandable as everyone is enthusiastic about their personal favourites! However, it is only a way forward. And having more information is usually better than having less.

 

As for what Mr Minuskin charges, well, that's really no concern of EoC's, and thus please note that this one made no comment on relative costs.

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