Is the Pilot Custom 74 F supposed to be scratchy?

[LBS]

Is the Pilot Custom 74 F supposed to be scratchy?

 

I use 4 Pilot Kakunos. They are wonderful. The two M write like butter, very very smooth. The two F write with authority, not butter but not at all scratchy. Stiff might be a good description.

 

I have a Pilot Lacuna F that writes pretty well. It's not scratchy and not smooth. It gets the job done.

 

I have a Sailor 500 F that is hard to describe. It is not smooth but not scratchy. I guess it would be called feedback. It feels really good to write with.

 

The Pilot Custom 74 F feels scratchy. It doesn't feel like the feedback that the Sailor 500 has.

 

I inspected the tines with a loup and they are aligned properly.

 

This is my first gold nib pen and I'm not sure how different gold really is from steel.

 

Is this what I should expect from the Pilot Custom 74?

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by LBS

[Leo_Luz]

Pilot Custom 74 F nib was my first gold nib pen too. I bought it last month and had the same problem than you.

I even created a topic about that issue (and I wrote my solution on it).

 

My solution was pull out the nib and feeder, dive them on a glass of dish soap and water and let it rest for some minutes. After that I washed it with water and assembled the pen being careful to not put my fingers on the surface that feeder and nib touch each other. It worked to me!

 

I read some articles and posts about using a brass sheet to open a little the tines to help the ink flow but I was very concerned about screw up my pen.

 

There is a post that talks about washing the pen too:

 

[LBS]

That makes sense, that there could be some oils on the pen from the factory.

 

I did not flush it or clean it before using it. Neither did I with any of my other pens. I just assumed that adding ink was all that was needed.

 

I'll try cleaning it and see how it performs.

 

Thank you.

[Leo_Luz]

5 hours ago, LBS said:

That makes sense, that there could be some oils on the pen from the factory.

 

I did not flush it or clean it before using it. Neither did I with any of my other pens. I just assumed that adding ink was all that was needed.

 

I'll try cleaning it and see how it performs.

 

Thank you.

I tried to just flush the pen and it didn't worked. It only worked to me after pulling out the nib/feeder.

[sgphototn]

It's my policy to flush out every pen I get, new or used using an ammonia solution with a few drops of Dawn. That way I'm assured of getting a clean nib, feed, and ink reservoir.

 

I do it to a Pelikan M1000, Yard-O-Led Grand Vic, and inexpensive Delike Alpha brass pens alike. The cost doesn't matter - everything gets a cleaning flush. The only exception would be a pen from an established nibmeister/repairer who has already cleaned the pen.

 

That way I know where 'the problem' doesn't lie.

[ParkerPenGuy]

I bought one about 4 years back. I appreciate a little feedback in my pens (I'm a big fan of XF) but, what I was getting out of my custom 74 medium was absurd. Felt less like writing and more like engraving paper. I tried several inks and the only one that was even mildly tolerable in the pen was Emerald of Chivor. I sold the pen shortly thereafter after trying for several weeks to find some way to enjoy it. Turned me off of Pilot Pens entirely. I'd rather have a bic ballpoint as scandalous as that sounds 🙄

 

---------

Thomas

[Leo_Luz]

32 minutes ago, ParkerPenGuy said:

I bought one about 4 years back. I appreciate a little feedback in my pens (I'm a big fan of XF) but, what I was getting out of my custom 74 medium was absurd. Felt less like writing and more like engraving paper. I tried several inks and the only one that was even mildly tolerable in the pen was Emerald of Chivor. I sold the pen shortly thereafter after trying for several weeks to find some way to enjoy it. Turned me off of Pilot Pens entirely. I'd rather have a bic ballpoint as scandalous as that sounds 🙄

 

---------

Thomas

I never tried the C74 Medium but ok.. C74 Fine has more feedback than a Preppy F(03).

 

Talking about Pilot... Did you ever tried a Pilot Metropolitan Medium (or 78G+)? It has a smooth nib (smoother than Platinum Preppy or Lamy Safari).

Edited January 13, 2021 by Leo_Luz

[TheDutchGuy]

Personally I write with hardly any pressure and to me, my Pilot and Sailor F nibs feel wonderful. Tactile, yes. Pleasant feedback, yes. Tooth or scratch, not at all. But other people using those pens sometimes do find them scratchy because they push harder, or because they have different expectations of how a nib should write.

[MuddyWaters]

1 hour ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Personally I write with hardly any pressure and to me, my Pilot and Sailor F nibs feel wonderful. Tactile, yes. Pleasant feedback, yes. Tooth or scratch, not at all. But other people using those pens sometimes do find them scratchy because they push harder, or because they have different expectations of how a nib should write.

Have you tried the EF or PO nibs of pilot, dutchguy?

 

 

[TheDutchGuy]

5 hours ago, MuddyWaters said:

Have you tried the EF or PO nibs of pilot, dutchguy?

 

EF, yes. PO, not yet.

[MuddyWaters]

1 hour ago, TheDutchGuy said:

 

EF, yes. PO, not yet.

 

Your thoughts? I may open a separate topic on this.

[TheDutchGuy]

Japanese EF is too narrow for my motor skills. The line wavers. Having said that, if you can handle the line width and the feedback, then, well... wow. Sailor, Pilot and Platinum rule the narrow-nib universe IMHO.

[ENewton]

18 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Personally I write with hardly any pressure and to me, my Pilot and Sailor F nibs feel wonderful. Tactile, yes. Pleasant feedback, yes. Tooth or scratch, not at all. But other people using those pens sometimes do find them scratchy because they push harder, or because they have different expectations of how a nib should write.

 

I also write with hardly any pressure, and my observations are similar to yours, except that my Pilot nibs, even the extra fine, do not have enough feedback to mention.  Then again, while my three Sailors (fine, medium, and broad) are all gold nibs, my three Pilots (extra fine, fine, and medium) are all steel nibs.  Do Pilot gold nibs have more feedback than Pilot steel nibs, in your experience?  

[Leo_Luz]

1 hour ago, ENewton said:

 

I also write with hardly any pressure, and my observations are similar to yours, except that my Pilot nibs, even the extra fine, do not have enough feedback to mention.  Then again, while my three Sailors (fine, medium, and broad) are all gold nibs, my three Pilots (extra fine, fine, and medium) are all steel nibs.  Do Pilot gold nibs have more feedback than Pilot steel nibs, in your experience?  

Pilot Custom 74 Fine has more feedback than Pilot Metropolitan (or 78G+) Medium.

[TheDutchGuy]

3 hours ago, ENewton said:

Do Pilot gold nibs have more feedback than Pilot steel nibs, in your experience?  

 

I’ve very little experience with Pilot’s steel nibs, so I’m unable to answer that.

[LBS]

I gave the nib a good wash under running hot water, also the feed, and it does feel different now. Not scratchy at all. There is some feedback but not at all like the Sailor procolor.

 

Is this common for gold nibs? I didn't clean any of my steel nib pens before using them and they all wrote very well.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Very often reading here, it's normal for all nibs....that or flow problems.

One is supposed to flush the pen in sometimes manufacturing gunk didn't get cleaned off/out at the factory.

 

I've been very lucky not having any trouble with 5-6 new pens I bought.

I normally buy old used pens......vintage or semi-vintage.