Pilot Custome Heritage 92 - A Total Disappointment

[malte]

Since all the reviews of this pen tell how awesome they are, i though i'll buy one

 

and i'm really disappointed of it...

 

when cleaning it after filling it up, i had the blotting paper stuck on the sharp corners of the feeder

now this is something that can be avoided if you know about it and clean it a bit more carefully, still no other fountain pen i own has that problem...

 

when i started to write with it, it felt and looked somehow inconsitent. i don't really know how to describe it but it just didn't look and feel right. now this could be only this one pen i got or maybe because i'm spoiled by my M800 but it makes this pen less desirable to me...

 

so after i finished the ink in the pen i started to clean it...

i can't get the ink out between the innner and outer cap that got in there, and there's a ring between nib/feeder and the grip section also filled with ink and not cleanable. the ink behind the piston (just a little but visible due to black ink) i got cleaned out by removing the piston with my TWSBI wrench (thank you TWSBI ).

there may be ways to remove that inner cap and that little ring but i'm too scared to break the pen and it's probably not that easy.

 

now when i reassembled the pen, i found a crack on the piston knob/cap, big enough to be visible...

i thought that was a TWSBI problem and i never read in any reviews that pilot has problems with that.

btw my TWSBI 580 and ECO do not have a single crack and they were used a lot more than the pilot pen.

 

well, i cleaned the pen as much as possible / as i could and it will now collect dust (i probably can't even sell it thanks to the crack ).

so my second pen in use will be my lamy 2000 again since that pen is way more reliable and a better writer than the pilot ch92

[Chrissy]

I think you could still sell it on eBay, as long as you mention the crack is there. It has a gold nib that many would be interested in having as a spare or a replacement part.

[viju]

Try contacting Pilot customer care. Send an email to them about the crack and ask if they can provide a solution. Doesn't matter if it is under warranty or not, reputable companies like Pilot should be able to help. I have heard good things about Pilot service and sending email will cost nothing.

[Pactagon]

You can avoid the ink in the grip section by dipping the nib in ink only a little past the breather hole to fill so the hole on the underside of the feed is submerged. Your M800 should also be able to do this as long as there's already a bit of ink in the feed. If it's still sucking air, waiting a few seconds with the nib in ink should allow enough ink to rise into the feed to create the seal you need to fill from the tip.

 

btw, nice profile pic.

[malte]

that pen is a bit over month old and for what i paid, i somehow don't want to sell it for half or less of what i had to pay a month ago

 

i'm in south africa and i had to import the pen (they're not selling it here) so i doubt that they will help me with the crack

 

maybe i was just unlucky with this pen since i only hear good things about them but i thought i should let others know what can go wrong with it (and it looks like EVERYTHING went wrong with my ch92)...

[malte]

You can avoid the ink in the grip section by dipping the nib in ink only a little past the breather hole to fill so the hole on the underside of the feed is submerged. Your M800 should also be able to do this as long as there's already a bit of ink in the feed. If it's still sucking air, waiting a few seconds with the nib in ink should allow enough ink to rise into the feed to create the seal you need to fill from the tip.

 

btw, nice profile pic.

 

the m800 doesn't have that ring in between and it's not a demonstrator so no problems with the m800.

but having a design like that for a demonstrator is imo sort of a failure...

and thanks, one punch man is one of my favorite animes

[Mech-for-i]

Well I believe in general anyone used to Pelikan , or for the matter most European fountain pen would find Japanese fountain pen, especially the Pilot and Platinum very challenging so to speak , in fact that pretty much the case with almost all East Asian fountain pens ( aka Chinese, Japanese, Korean and part of S.E. Asia ) since they were primarily designed to write a different form of a language. I used to had a 92, but gift it to my sister ( she asked for it ) and I can understand your issue with inks getting in those areas, its to me somewhat a design fault but I live with it. Though I for the years I use it had no problem with the piston or the barrel / section cracking on me despite disassembly and cleaning.

 

Which nib grind do you have. Pilot nibs can be kind of too hard and too firm for most people who are accustomed to a cushioned writing like say a M800

[jar]

 

the m800 doesn't have that ring in between and it's not a demonstrator so no problems with the m800.

but having a design like that for a demonstrator is imo sort of a failure...

and thanks, one punch man is one of my favorite animes

Finding ink in strange places that cannot get easily cleaned out is NOT a flaw or problem or issue with the pen. Demonstrators are meant to show you what is happening inside your pen. They do just that.

 

It could be an issue with the owner not knowing what a demonstrator is supposed to demonstrate.

[malte]

Well I believe in general anyone used to Pelikan , or for the matter most European fountain pen would find Japanese fountain pen, especially the Pilot and Platinum very challenging so to speak , in fact that pretty much the case with almost all East Asian fountain pens ( aka Chinese, Japanese, Korean and part of S.E. Asia ) since they were primarily designed to write a different form of a language. I used to had a 92, but gift it to my sister ( she asked for it ) and I can understand your issue with inks getting in those areas, its to me somewhat a design fault but I live with it. Though I for the years I use it had no problem with the piston or the barrel / section cracking on me despite disassembly and cleaning.

 

Which nib grind do you have. Pilot nibs can be kind of too hard and too firm for most people who are accustomed to a cushioned writing like say a M800

 

 

i got the pen with a medum nib. it doesn't really feel hard or firm (like the lamy 2000 nib) it's more like the lines are not consitent/vary in thickness, especially with strokes from right to left or from bottom right to top left...

if that's the case with most asian fountain pens, then i rather stay with european pens

but isn't TWSBI also asian? i have/had no problems with their nibs, in fact i think my 580's nib is one of the best steel nibs i own and better than the pilots gold nib.

[malte]

Finding ink in strange places that cannot get easily cleaned out is NOT a flaw or problem or issue with the pen. Demonstrators are meant to show you what is happening inside your pen. They do just that.

 

It could be an issue with the owner not knowing what a demonstrator is supposed to demonstrate.

 

yes

but you should be able to properly clean the pen or not?

i don't have any spots on the twsbi 580 or eco where i can't clean out the ink.

[Chrissy]

Demonstrator pens regularly have parts where ink goes and you can see it without being able to clean it out.

 

If you don't like to see any ink anywhere in inaccessible parts, then maybe try an opaque pen in some models.

[inotrym]

It's a bummer you got a crack. If you can't get it fixed, perhaps you can transplant the beautifully decorated Pilot nib into the TWSBI?

 

At least that's what I would do.

[Olya]

That Pilot nib you have on the 92 is rather soft, quite softer than on Sailor or Platinum pens, even though it isn't marked as a soft one. The feel of it is bouncy, whilst it is the most buttery smooth out of the big 3's nibs. The gold n°5 Pilot nib also gives the most shading (out of the big 3 in that price range - I have it in a CH91). Due to softness & shading it can give a variation in line, or at least it appears as such. I don't know in how far that applies to your pen. Sailors and Platinums have a much different feel, they are both nails but every one of the big 3 has a distinct but different type of feedback/ butteryness.

 

TWSBI is an Asian/ US brand, produces in Taiwan, but uses European nibs (not sure, Jowo, Bock?).

 

Demonstrators have the dis-/ advantage that you see where ink gets, in all nooks and cranies.

 

A crack is not good though, I'd contact the seller or Pilot if I were you.

[jar]

 

yes

but you should be able to properly clean the pen or not?

i don't have any spots on the twsbi 580 or eco where i can't clean out the ink.

Nope. Of course not. That is simply pen dependent and not a flaw by any stretch of the imagination. What you see is what happens in that model and make of pen.

 

AbE: on "cleaning" a fountain pen.

 

The concept of totally flushing a fountain pen to get all of the old ink out is a very, very, very, very recent aberration. For most of the history of fountain pens cleaning the pen meant wiping the outside down with a damp rag. When you refilled the pen you either just used the same color or watched the color change from the old to the new as you wrote. No one ever flushed a fountain pen. People simply used fountain pens.

 

In the few cases where different color ink was needed (like accounting) there were separate pens dedicated to only the one color ink and usually only red, blue and black. In very rare and limited conditions green ink might be used.

Edited November 21, 2017 by jar

[akrohn2010]

Interesting point, Jar. Hadnt honestly occurred to me that mixing inks isnt necessarily a bad thing: certainly not for the pen, maybe for the bottle of ink you want to preserve.

 

Id echo what others have said - ink gets in places and stains/hidden bits of ink are a part of the hobby, especially in demonstrators; but definitely contact Pilot about that crack. The worst they can tell you is no. Then Id definitely put that nib into a Twsbi!

 

Finally - the inconsistency you feel in writing is probably due to the softness of the nib, as others have suggested. I have a CH91 and its still taking me some adjusting compared to my other nibs. Keep using it and youll adapt to it; thatd be my advice. Its hard to judge any pen too fully on a day or two of use. Ive ended up loving pens I didnt like at first (hello TWSBI mini) and not liking pens I loved on day one (goodbye Pilot Metro) after I used them for a while.

 

~AK

Edited November 21, 2017 by AK-47

[senzen]

Wow, really sorry to hear about this, I've had it in my wish list for some time, in fact haven't got it because I stumbled on a Lamy Studio and then a Pelikan m205. It's a cautionary tale for those of that have to buy from far away places. I've had a Pelikan m600 Fine 18c for a long time, it's a lovely pen but my much more recent Sailor Professional Gear Medium has an even better nib, although at this level it's hard to say one pen is better than the other. The 92's design only works for me in black, I'd like a clear demonstrator but the black ends with the rhodium accents mean three colours in a pen, a big no no.

[Mew]

Comparing Pilot Custom Heritage 92 to M800 isn't exactly fair to begin with. I would compare it with M200 or at most M400.

Secondly, you may be applying too much pressure for the line width to vary as much as you are saying it does.

Thirdly, Pilot does not recommend disassembling their pens and sending it back to them for any problems. Your pen is in warranty, but warranty is void now since you disassembled it.

[Shaggy]

I love my CH 92 for the soft nib. I think line variation is a good thing.

 

As to the obsession with cleaning pens, I agree it's a recent thing. My father used fountain pens for decades and never did more than run the nib under water every year or so.

[Driften]

I have never had any issues with my Pilot 92 including ink getting to a place where it should not go. It's a nice pen, not as nice as my Pelikan M805 but still nice. Any brand can put out a bad unit.

[malte]

i'm not really trying to compare the pilot ch92 with the pelikan m800 i just mentioned the m800 because that's the best writer i own (well it's the only higher end pen i own ) i also don't try to say that the pilot pen is the worst pen ever, rather that it does have flaws that i didn't know of or ever heard of. as i said before, maybe i was just unlucky with this particular pen...

 

someone mentioned that i can't judge a pen after 1-2 days. i agree, that's why i only wrote this post after i used the pen for a bit over a month.

 

i normally don't use much pressure while writing and the pen writes a bit more consistent when used with more pressure (unfortunately not my writing style)

 

as for the cleaning, i get it that there are different views on it so i shouldn't really see it as a flaw.

 

and the crack on the piston knob: well i try my luck with an e-mail to pilot and see what happens.

 

would you rather contact pilot japan or should i try my luck with pilot south africa (please note that they don't sell the ch92 in south africa)?

 

@pseudo88 if you go for a pelikan M200 or M205 you better try it out first, i ordered a M205 medium nib and it arrived with a fine nib stamped as medium...