Choice Between Pilot, Platinum Or Sailor

[ThrawnsPen]

So perhaps I'm a bit too eager but I'm looking for a good workhorse that's classy. I've narrowed it to the Pilot Custom 74, the Platinum 3776 Century and the Sailor 1911s. I've read the 3776 is fussy...any idea what to pick?

[Driften]

They can all be good pens. What sort of nib were you thinking of getting? That might help narrow down the selection. There are also other things different about the three depending on which Sailor 1911 you are looking at. The standard size 1911 is the smallest of the three pens in length. The 3776 Century is thicker then the 74 or the standard 1911. The 1911 Large is more of the size of the 3776 Century.

 

The 74 FM nib is around the same line as the MF on the 1911S. The 3776 SF nib is finer then the 74 nib I have. The 74 M nib I have is really wet and about the same as a European M.

[mongrelnomad]

They are all exceptional (though I'd argue from experience that the 3776 is the least fussy of them all).

Edited May 16, 2017 by mongrelnomad

[prashant.tikekar]

Among all these, I have Pilot Custom 74 and Sailor 1911 Profit standard. I don't have Platinum 3776 Century, but have seen it in person and definitely Platinum 3776 Century is better among these as it has large grip diameter, large nib and slip and seal technology which prevents drying of ink if unused for longer period. So I will recommend Platinum 3776 Century though I don't have it.

[mke]

I have all three, the 3776 is a bit dry for my taste. I don't know if this still can be changed - if not, I am a bit dissapointed. I have no experience with the 3776 Century, however.

Personally, at the moment, I like the Sailor best, despite the H-F nib being a bit scratchy. My Sailor doesn't dry out - not at all.

 

If you can't decide or if you get a recommendation for each one, why don't you buy all of them ?

[jar]

Revise the question to read "In what order should I buy my Pilot Custom 74, Sailor 1911S and my Platinum Century #3776?" When that is the question the answer becomes simple; "Buy whichever is first available in the color and nib combination that strikes your fancy at a price you think reasonable."

 

You will own all three eventually anyway.

[ManofKent]

Revise the question to read "In what order should I buy my Pilot Custom 74, Sailor 1911S and my Platinum Century #3776?" When that is the question the answer becomes simple; "Buy whichever is first available in the color and nib combination that strikes your fancy at a price you think reasonable."

 

You will own all three eventually anyway.

Sound advice

 

Don't forget the CH91 as well...

 

Seriously - they're all good pens available at a very good price. My preference is Pilot, Sailor, Platinum, but I couldn't say one was significantly better than the other, just personal preference.

[ThrawnsPen]

Fantastic, thank you everyone! My three pens now are Pilot (two metros and an old Elite), so maybe I should branch out? I'd probably want a medium as well since I have two fines and an EF (which is my problem child lol). The Platinum intrigues me. I suppose in a medium would it be too dry?

[tinta]

I'm extremely happy with my Sailor 1911 Standards. They fit my small hand & sport excellent nibs. At one point I had seven of them, but now down to a more manageable three pens.

No experience with Pilot or Platinum, but I've read a lot of positive comments about them all.

If you have the means, why not try out all three Japanese brands?

[rollerboy]

My opinion based on my preferences and my experience with the brands:

 

If you want a soft nib, then go for the Pilot SF, SFM, or SM depending on your width preference.

If you want a firm fine go for the Sailor.

If you want a firm medium or wider go for the Platinum.

[Arkamas]

Revise the question to read "In what order should I buy my Pilot Custom 74, Sailor 1911S and my Platinum Century #3776?" When that is the question the answer becomes simple; "Buy whichever is first available in the color and nib combination that strikes your fancy at a price you think reasonable."

 

You will own all three eventually anyway.

 

Agreed. I have a C74 and 3776 - both excellent pens, and perhaps a Sailor Profit Standard is last on my Big 3 list. You can't go wrong with Japanese pens. I will say the sf nib on my 3776 is my favorite thus far. I wish I could've got my C74 with a sf nib but it only seems to be available with it in black. Obtaining separate nibs otherwise... I do tend to smooth my nibs as well, mainly on the Japanese fine nibs.

[ThrawnsPen]

My only fear is a pen that's too dry. Platinum runs on the finer side right?

[Arkamas]

My only fear is a pen that's too dry. Platinum runs on the finer side right?

 

In comparison to the other two, yeah a little bit from what I've seen. If you prefer western fine nibs you may prefer a medium nib with Platinum though I've only used fine. I prefer fine nibs with western and Japanese and they are about as broad or fine as I like to go overall, and I can work with ef western nibs in between that. I've found Japanese medium to be just a bit too broad for me except in the case when I use Noodler's Black ink.

I've smoothed my C74 and Platinum nibs on some micromesh and my C74 also came too dry for my taste so I had to find a way to make it wetter and I came across one of Stephen Brown's videos for doing just that. Doing your own nib tuning like this can be a new area to get into but it's relatively simple. You may want to try these two methods on a cheaper pen first (call me a hypocrite because I first did this with my C74, not after closely watching what these guys were doing, but it turned out fantastic) and you should be aware that smoothing can void your pen's warranty. Just a thought.

All things otherwise, the C74 and 3776 from my own experience are great pens from end-to-end. The C74 can use a CON-70 converter with greater ink capacity than most and the Platinum converters are by far my favorite of any for their design and ease of cleaning(no glued threads). The slip and seal feature of the 3776 is also a great little addition that also has satisfying closure because of it. Both are famed, classic cigar-style pens.

[Driften]

Revise the question to read "In what order should I buy my Pilot Custom 74, Sailor 1911S and my Platinum Century #3776?" When that is the question the answer becomes simple; "Buy whichever is first available in the color and nib combination that strikes your fancy at a price you think reasonable."

 

You will own all three eventually anyway.

 

 

I agree! I have all three and like the Sailor best, followed by Pilot, and last Platinum. That said I only have the 3776 with the SF nib that just is not doing it for me right now. I might think different if I had the Medium in that pen. In the other two brands I like the FM/MF nib best.

[Mrpink]

Sailor.

[deacondavid]

For Pilot, I do not have a Custom 74, but that is because I leapt past it into the deep end with Vanishing Points, the Custom 743 and the Custom 823.

 

I do have a Sailor 1911S and a couple of Platinum Century 3776s.

 

Of the three, I favor Pilot nibs over Sailor and Platinum, but they are all great pens.

 

I tend to favor finer nibs, so your preferences and mine may not mesh. Platinum nibs (at least the Ultra Extra Fine and Extra Fine nibs, which are what I have on Platinum) tend to be stiffer than Pilot or Sailor nibs. Sailors tend to be somewhere in between Pilot and Platinum. Again, all three make great pens and I have had no trouble with any of them.

 

In my experience, Platinum's nibs tend to be a bit finer than the same type from the other two, but not by much.

Edited May 16, 2017 by deacondavid

[Bluey]

You've mentioned so far that you already have several Pilots so I would make th e choice between Sailor and Platinum. The writing characteristics are mostly the same within a brand, so another Pilot won't give you anything different unless you're going for something like the Capless or a soft nib(if you haven't already got one).

 

My observation so far is:

Pilot: the most meh out of all 3. They are softer and generally wetter than Platinum and Sailor. Have not only the most variability in their design compared to the other 2, but also in their consistency. Very slightly wider than Platinum and Sailor, but this is likely because they are also wetter (for example, the Pilot EF is most similar to a Platinum or Sailor fine)

Platinum: usually very stiff, have the most feedback and are more towards the middle in the wetness/dryness scale, like Sailor. The converters are dodgy and need instant greasing. Tends to dry up quickly when the cap is off (don't day dream with this pen! Gaze out of the window for for 20 seconds and the nib will need a little scribble to get it going)

Sailor: very slightyl towards the dry side, but nowhere near as dry as Pilot is wet. The smoothest of the 3 but they have a narrower sweetspot making writing similar to a mechanical pencil with a well worn lead. Any titling to one side results in the nib catching on the paper, but this is far from unpleasant and is actually something that makes it unique compared with other brands. The nibs tend to be slightly finer than their equivalents in both Pilot and Sailor(the difference between EF and MF ain't that great, but they are with Platinum and Pilot).

 

Sailor gets my vote because they are the most unique and pleasure to write with. Followed by Platinum then Pilot. The Platinum 3776 has some gorgeous colours so you must check these out. The design of the Pilot Custom 74 and Sailor 1911 are really sleep inducing as they are usually Ford Model-T-ish with their wide range of colours.

Edited May 17, 2017 by Bluey

[adichew]

Hi,

 

I've had nothing but good experiences with Platinum pens, at least those that come aligned with well-shaped tipping (but the chance of a dud is there with all pens). This holds true for the few Preppies that I came across early in my fp-using days, as well as both the 3776 Chartres Blues in M which I've had the pleasure to own over the past three years.

 

While they do indeed write on the dry side with a bit of feedback, I have not generally found any flow problems or any need to lick my nib to restart the pen after a moment of thought, as I have found with some of my previous pens. Furthermore, I have found the nibs to deliver a smooth and uniform writing sensation, whether writing left to right, right to left, or even upwards, as when drawing an arrow.

 

While this sounds like the minimum expected of any round-tipped pen, it is more than can be said for the Pilots I have owned. I have found the nibs on both the Celemo and the Custom 74 extremely reluctant to write backwards or upwards. You may only feel some resistance, but very soon, the ink supply to the tip dries up entirely and you are left with white grooves instead of lines. Despite a local nibmeister's best attempts to modify the nibs to my liking, it has been impossible to remedy this problem, resulting in my needing to sell off both my Pilots in frustration. This despite me finding the C74 better balanced and more restrainedly designed than the 3776. Perhaps some might say that Western scripts are only written in one direction, but I don't think a circle or a curved arrow is too much to ask of a S$150+ pen, to say nothing of the ability to write in multidirectional East Asian scripts.

 

Yes, the Platinum nib is toothy, but I do not much object to the tooth, as I find it keeps the pen in control. Besides, the writing experience remains smooth in its own way. Yes, the ink flow is on the dry side, but after a good flush with Rapido Eze and then lukewarm tap water, it is consistent and uniform. Yes, the Platinum 3776 may or may not be as well-balanced or have as much aesthetic appeal. But it is well-balanced enough, and I'd rather have the freedom to cross my T's backwards or draw a curved arrow.

 

Just my 0.02 (I haven't tried Sailor so I reserve comment.)

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by adichew

[lovementos]

I used to own all three, with fine nibs, but sold only the Pilot Custom 74. I think that says a lot about what I think . I sold it because I found it too soft for my tastes.

 

I used my 1911 almost everyday for a year and a half or two, inked with Sailor Kiwa-guro, and had to force myself to give it a break. So right now, I've got the 3776 inked up. Never had a problem with the 3776, maybe I'm just lucky?

Edited May 17, 2017 by lovementos

[clazbill]

I have Pilot Custom Heritage 92 with a FM (Fine-Medium) nib. I also have two 3776 pens, one with a SF nib and the other is an UEF nib. When my hand is a bit heavy on the pen, the SF nib feels out of harmony with the writing. Today I've been using it with the lightest of hands and it's been amazingly wonderful. The UEF on the other hand is a stiffer nib and it just shrugs off whatever writing pressure I use. Using the UEF with the lightest of hands makes wonderfully thin lines.

 

Anyway, I'm looking to buy a 3776 with a regular Fine nib next, because I like the stiff nature of the UEF.