Posting The Pilot Custom Urushi

[JunkyardSam]

Hi! There are other discussiong talking about posting on urushi pens in general, but in reading those I discovered lacquer thickness can vary from one pen to another...

With that in mind, is it safe to post my Custom Urushi? (As long as I post with care, of course.)

I bought this as a workhorse pen and I'm OK with a little wear --- but I don't want to completely scratch through the coating over time if that is a thing.

I post my plastic 'resin' Pilots all the time and I don't notice any wear that causes, if any. Is the urushi on this pen MORE prone to wear & damage than a normal Pilot?

To be clear, my question is specific to the Pilot Custom Urushi, not urushi pens in general. Is it an unusually thin coating that I should be extra careful about?

Or is it similar to the urushi coating on dinnerware, designed to handle some wear as long as I am not abusive with it?

Thanks!

PS. I just got it yesterday and it exceeds my already high expectations. Thanks to those of you who recommended the pen here!

Edited November 6, 2019 by JunkyardSam

[dapprman]

I wouldn't - more because it's ebonite below the lacquer and that can easily crack under pressure.

[JunkyardSam]

I appreciate the input, but how much of this is an imagined problem versus an actual problem? I have three Osprey Milano pens. These are ebonite pens made in India and I never heard of a cracking issue so I have posted them for years with no issue or anywhere even close to an issue.

 

Granted, I know SOME people are insane with how hard they post caps and twist caps onto pens. I am not one of those people.

 

This is less to argue and more to clarify -- shouldn't the pen be OK to post as long as it's not posted with inappropriate pressure? I really want to post my Custom Urushi so I'm hoping to hear feedback from someone who has, without any significant issues.

[Lloyd]

Does the ring at the tail have an elevated ridge that the cap rests on when posted? The Pilot Custom 743 has this so no scrathes happen.

[Uncial]

You might, over time, crack the urushi (rather than the ebonite).

[JunkyardSam]

Does the ring at the tail have an elevated ridge that the cap rests on when posted? The Pilot Custom 743 has this so no scrathes happen.

 

Oh, very interesting. Yes, the Custom Urushi has a ring that is very similar to the 743.

 

The 845 has that felt liner at the rim of the cap. For some people it came off over time. Pilot did not include that liner in the Custom Urushi but that could be taken a couple of different ways, each with different meanings:

 

1. Did they not use the felt liner because they don't expect people to post a pen this large?

 

2. Did they not include the liner because they decided it wasn't needed for posting, or because it was deteriorating in older 845s?

 

The other thing I wonder about is -- for a pen we shouldn't post, it sure posts well. It feels like it was designed to accommodate posting.

[Lloyd]

Why not call Pilot customer service (USA) and ask? I've had positive experiences with them.

[bizhe]

I have been posting my 845 for about a year and the felt under the cap lip has worn off. There is a very slight mark on the urushi about 1/2 an inch below the tail ring. It is visible if I look closely, and I can't feel it with my fingernail. There is no mark on the body corresponding to the place where the cap lip felt has worn away. I still post it when I use it because that's how I like it.

[JunkyardSam]

Thanks, Bizhe - this is very useful info for me, as our pens are very similar minus the felt.

 

Just to be 100% clear, your sentence: "It is visible if I look closely, and I can't feel it with my fingernail." --- You do mean you CAN'T feel it with your fingernail? It reads like you meant to say 'can'. Maybe I was expecting a 'but' instead of an 'and' ... but it's an important detail so I want to make sure I understand you correctly.

 

I'm leaning toward posting the cap gently/carefully and just living with the resultant wear. It sounds like it isn't too terrible.

 

Thanks again.

[bizhe]

I did mean to say can't, thanks for checking. Most of the Custom pens (except the 74) post by connecting with the pen barrel in two places, which gives a very secure feeling. My pelikan m200 also has two 'rings' of wear on the tail of the barrel, because it posts in the same way. The custom 74 only posts on the tail ring, and so although it posts firmly, it can wiggle laterally.

[peroride]

I dislike pens I cannot post but urushi I make exception for with Pilot CU and Nakaya.

 

My CU has no felt inner liner and I've posted in the past when i first got it, but no longer.

 

The cap is huge and the posted length feels not as balanced as unposted for me.

 

Plus I like the unbroken thin smooth urushi and even though it looks so much like cheap acrylic I don't want to mar the finish.

 

Ask me in 5 years though when i stop babying the pen.