Remove Nib: Pilot Custom 74?

[NewPenMan]

Is the nib and feed assembly meant to be taken out and apart for cleaning, or designed for the whole-pen flush instead?

 

Pilot Custom 74, 823..any of the cigar shaped Pilot Custom models.

[Andrea_R]

friciton fit, pull it out

[Freddy]

Is the nib and feed assembly meant to be taken out and apart for cleaning, or designed for the whole-pen flush instead?

 

Pilot Custom 74, 823..any of the cigar shaped Pilot Custom models.

'Tis absurd to disassemble in order to clean..I use a ear syringe bulb to flush and leave over night in cup o water

with water below section and nib submerged....Works very well..without need to xxxxinx up alignment of nib from repeated takin'

off and on {Oh by the way..they were not meant to be removed {by user} by the Pilot pen company}....This of course is my personal opinion / preference and yours may differ.....

Fred

Edited May 5, 2019 by Freddy

[A Smug Dill]

Is the nib and feed assembly meant to be taken out and apart for cleaning,

I have not seen a single piece of literature (instructions booklets, pamphlets, marketing collateral, etc.) published by Pilot Pen in either English or Japanese that remotely suggests that the nib and feed are "meant to be taken out and apart for cleaning", irrespective of whether a "standard" cleaning procedure satisfies a particular user as having removed the remnants of a previous fill of ink sufficiently.

 

Whether pulling the nib and feed out of the section voids warranty (should you ever need to make a claim within the warranty period) is a different question.

 

Yes, it is physically possible to pull the nib and feed out for a more thorough clean (and then reinsert them later), but please don't ask for more (technical or moral) support than that, or expect Pilot or its local distributor in your region to endorse such a course of action in the name of cleaning the pen.

[XYZZY]

.Yes, it is physically possible to pull the nib and feed out for a more thorough clean (and then reinsert them later), but please don't ask for more (technical or moral) support than that, or expect Pilot or its local distributor in your region to endorse such a course of action in the name of cleaning the pen.

I think it's reasonable to ask for technical and moral support for nib removal from a bunch of hobbyists on an internet forum. But naive to expect Pilot, their distributors, or their retailers to support that. Brian Goulet occasionally does videos describing this sort of thing but is always clear that it voids the warranty.

 

Anyhow, the Pilot nibs and feeds are removable on most of their pens. That's doesn't mean that you should need to fully disassemble every time you empty the pen. If nothing else, that's a small amount of mechanical wear that will build up over time and result in a less tight fitting nib & feed. My first FP is a Kakuno that is only 9 months old. I used to fully disassemble after each fill and it's pretty loose now. I assume that I could do that enough that the nib and feed will fall out on its own while writing, the only question being how many times I'll need to remove it before it wears that much.

 

Cost of the pen matters, too. If I yank the nib and feed from a Kakuno on every cleaning and reduce its lifespan to two years, well, no big deal.

 

Maybe premature death of a $15 pen is worth appeasing one's OCD with the knowledge that not a single molecule of dye exists after cleaning. Just be honest with yourself that you're doing it to appease your OCD, because that level of cleaning isn't normally needed between every fill.

 

Now some practical advice: buy a sink strainer to prevent the nib from falling down the drain. Because you will eventually pull that nib, and you will eventually drop it.

[A Smug Dill]

I think it's reasonable to ask for technical and moral support for nib removal from a bunch of hobbyists on an internet forum.

It's the framing, which is evident from the O.P.'s wording, that concerns me. By "meant to be", I take it that he/she ultimately wants taking the nib and feed "out and apart" for cleaning to be a safe (by design) and/or "right" thing for any random, faceless user of Pilot Custom fountain pens to do.

 

As both you and I have elaborated, such an action is:

• not supported by any official documentation or statement by Pilot, which has sole say over the design intent and care instructions (to the user) of its Custom pen models; and
• not risk-free, both to the construction integrity of the pen and to the consumer protections afforded by product warranty.

When I said, "please don't ask for more technical or moral support than that", I meant don't look to fellow users and community members to make it safe or "right" to do what the O.P. wants to do. Andrea_R already explained that the nib and feed are friction fit and can be pulled out; that's the how. We can't be relied on to make doing so safer; the O.P., if he/she decides to go ahead anyway, will have to learn by experience how to gain purchase of the nib and feed and how much force to use to pull them out of the section on his/her Custom pens, and it may involve "learning by making mistakes", instead of being given more detailed instructions (i.e. technical support) for "safe" removal. As for moral support, I can say I've done it on my Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with FA nib (which I ultimately threw in the trash), so it's not like I hypocritically condemn anyone for doing so, but only that I'll never assure someone it's the "right" thing to do, and never be keen to make them feel better (or "justified") about wanting to remove the nib and feed for cleaning. We're in no position to endorse what he/she wants, but we'll be happy for him to share his/her experiences after either success or failure in getting what is wanted.

 

Hobbyists have done lots of foolhardy things, risky things, unnecessary things that are not endorsed by parties with the "authority" to endorse such things. Some hobbyists and their property have survived unscathed; some haven't. I'm happy to tell others what I've done in that vein, but that's not the same thing as offering technical support to improve their chances of success in doing what they want to do.

[XYZZY]

It's the framing, which is evident from the O.P.'s wording, that concerns me. By "meant to be", I take it that he/she ultimately wants taking the nib and feed "out and apart" for cleaning to be a safe (by design) and/or "right" thing for any random, faceless user of Pilot Custom fountain pens to do.

 

Oh yes. I lost track of the "meant to be". You were not wrong

[Bounce792]

I have been told that if you reveal disassembly of the pen's nib and feed unit to Pilot, your warranty is immediately voided. Whether true or not, I believe the intent is to warn that Pilot is unlikely to honor any free repair work they may be responsible for if you mess up the pen. If it happens as a result of use or manufacturing defect, they'll honor.

 

Yes, Pilot Custom pens are very easy to disassemble and fit back together very easily due to built-in grooves. You do so at your own risk and no one on this forum or Pilot USA, Japan, International is liable for what you do. Having a custom grind on the nib will, I believe, void the warranty as well as will sending it to any non-Pilot nibmeister.

 

All of that being said, if you have a problem with a Pilot pen, Pilot USA has been very good about getting my pens fixed from Pilot Japan for free. So if you have a problem, your Pilot distributor is the first stop - not a nibmeister since it's a decent chance they'll repair it for free.

 

Simple cleaning after use - you can follow Freddy's advice to stay on the safe side. Or you can risk your warranty and pen by disassembling. There's videos on YouTube from SBREBrown but he too mentions all the usual caveats. I do not endorse any course as you are, presumably, a responsible adult who can make his/her own decision based on information provided.

[pitonyak]

And do not damage your nib, I don't think that Pilot sells replacements. The first FP that I purchased was a Pilot Metropolitan and I loved it. I dropped it within the first week and damaged the nib. When I found out that I could NOT purchase a replacement nib, I started buying pens not made by Pilot. Some time later I did give in to the call of Pilot, but, still not happy that they will not just sell me a nib. Note that it is much easier to replace the nib on some of the Lamy pens then on the Pilot pens that I have looked at, which is probably why Pilot does not sell the nibs directly. I have not attempted to pull the nib on either of my custom 74 pens, but, when I realized that I did not care for the EF nib and I wanted to try a different size, I would have purchased a new nib and changed it if I could have purchased a new nib. For the Metropolitan, if I damaged the pen, well, oh well. The Custom 74, that is a bit more money.

[alexander_k]

Warranties aside (and I wouldn't know how a service department might know that a friction-fit nib and feed have ever been taken out by unauthorized parties), one of the joys of fountain pens is that one can fully disassemble them for fine tuning, cleaning or a similar benign purpose. It goes without saying that it has to be done with due care and sufficient knowledge. My Pilots are a joy in this respect, in contrast to other, quite good pens with captive components or requiring hard-to-find tools.

[Bounce792]

Warranties aside (and I wouldn't know how a service department might know that a friction-fit nib and feed have ever been taken out by unauthorized parties),

If you do it, mess it up, and then go to them for help and explain the truth.

[alexander_k]

If you do it, mess it up, and then go to them for help and explain the truth.

 

I agree, they can only determine damage and its probable causes. For most of my pens, disassembly is a risk I'm willing to take. Half of them were made by companies that to not exist any longer.

[Algester]

bah I got my CH91 section fixed when I accidentally dropped it for free no fuss no cuss took some time though 2 weeks because well logistics as our Pilot distributor can not just willy nilly send pens to Japan to be repaired

 

by that time I had already fully disassembled the pen took the nib unit out (its threaded to the section no glues involved BTW, fully dissasembled the CON-70)

 

what they arent willing to sell are the nibs so you have to be decisive in your nib choice cause that amounts to buying a new pen if you didnt like it for the steel nibs thats from the Metropolitan/Cocoon line up its easy just get a 78G and remove the gold plating and be done with it

 

for the 12K yen pens and above that you need to buy somehow

Edited June 6, 2019 by Algester

[KyleClapton]

I did pull out the Pilot custom 74 one time. It is my friend's pen and she wanted to clean it thoroughly, so I just helped her. It is not so hard to pull it out but please be very carefully when you put it back. It can harm your nib. And I also recommend you to check if your pen is still in warranty period or not as Pilot might refuse to fix your pen if they found out the nib is not as "original" as it should be.

[NewPenMan]

Im sure an experienced Pilot nib meister would know in an instant. I suspect that theres a precise relationship and position required..might be why these pens write so beautifully consistently.

 

Ive so far had no trouble using pen flush and rinsing til the water is clear.. I think I can be happy with that level of cleansing.

[Andrea_R]

Im sure an experienced Pilot nib meister would know in an instant. I suspect that theres a precise relationship and position required..might be why these pens write so beautifully consistently.

 

Ive so far had no trouble using pen flush and rinsing til the water is clear.. I think I can be happy with that level of cleansing.

No there isnt. There isnt any speific position required for the nib and the feed to fit in the collar

[aurore]

Removing nib/feed just in order to clean is an unhealthy habit. Nevertheless Pilot nibs are easy to remove - just soak well and grip well (and do not lose the rubber seal).

[Shaggy]

Im sure an experienced Pilot nib meister would know in an instant. I suspect that theres a precise relationship and position required..might be why these pens write so beautifully consistently.

 

Ive so far had no trouble using pen flush and rinsing til the water is clear.. I think I can be happy with that level of cleansing.

You probably don't even need pen flush, unless you've let the ink dry out in the pen.