Pilot Custom 74

[troglokev]

 

Paper: Rhodia Dot Pad

Ink: Montblanc blue

Edited February 24, 2013 by troglokev

[pen2paper]

Thank you for this review.

I have this pen. Understated appearance, but what a performer.

[troglokev]

Thank you for this review.

I have this pen. Understated appearance, but what a performer.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the review.

The soft fine really is a nice nib. It was the best of the Pilot nibs that I tried, and they were all very good.

[Mags]

I am curious if any left handed overwriters have experience with this fountain pen. I hold a fountainnpen so the nib points down to bottom of page not to top, slant the page and write away. Round nibs, semi flex and stub nibs work for me. The serious italix/obliques get me in to trouble or are very scratchy.

 

This pen intrigues me and may require a store visit for a dip test.

[pen2paper]

Mags, not sure what to say to fulfill your specific requirements, except that troglokev captured the springy aspect of this nib.. not a true flex pen, but more of a cushy springiness.. which might suit you perfectly, But, before you go to the expense, agree with you - do a testdrive in a brick and mortar, pen show, or meet-up.

They may not have this specific model, but may have the same nib on another model, like the 823 piston filler.

If you do follow through, please share your findings for those who write as you do ; )

Edited February 25, 2013 by pen2paper

[troglokev]

Another nib that Mags might try is the Waverly, which has a slight up curve at the tip. I read somewhere that that one was good for left-handed people. I think you need to spring for the 742, 743 or the 912 to get that particular option, though.

 

Richard Binder also makes one as one of his specialty nibs, I believe.

[dspeers58]

I bought this pen along with a Platinum soft-fine and I have to say that while I like the Platinum 3776 Fine better than the Pilot Fine, the soft-fine of the Custom 74 seems a bit nicer than the soft-fine on the Platinum. Both are nice pens, but I have to agree, the soft-fine nib on the custom 74 is very nice.

[rokurinpapa]

Welcome to Japan. How do you like Zenkoji temple?

I have Custom748 with SFM nib. I love this kind of soft nib.

 

rokurinpapa

[troglokev]

Welcome to Japan. How do you like Zenkoji temple?

I have Custom748 with SFM nib. I love this kind of soft nib.

As always, Japan was interesting, fun, and sometimes just a little bit weird. Zenkoji was all of that!

 

I wonder if you could explain Yoshiko san and Mitsuko san for me sometime...

 

 

The Pilot soft nibs are really nice to write with. It seems a little strange that a Japanese company makes them, because I find them a little imprecise for kanji, which may be because I still need to closely follow the standard form in order to read my own writing. Native writers seem to be a lot more relaxed about shape (calligraphers even more so: there are few sake bottles that I can read, even before drinking the contents!).

 

I guess that if you learned with a brush, the softness would add a certain familiarity to the feel of a pen.

Edited March 3, 2013 by troglokev

[steb]

I've also been interested in the soft nibs from pilot and platinum so enjoyed your review. Also an over-lefty so curious to hear any replies to mags question. FWIW I have no problems with the very semi-flex nibs from noodlers and fountainpenrevolution but without a B & M store nearby this is rather more spend...

[rokurinpapa]

Welcome to Japan. How do you like Zenkoji temple?

I have Custom748 with SFM nib. I love this kind of soft nib.

As always, Japan was interesting, fun, and sometimes just a little bit weird. Zenkoji was all of that!

 

I wonder if you could explain Yoshiko san and Mitsuko san for me sometime...

 

 

The Pilot soft nibs are really nice to write with. It seems a little strange that a Japanese company makes them, because I find them a little imprecise for kanji, which may be because I still need to closely follow the standard form in order to read my own writing. Native writers seem to be a lot more relaxed about shape (calligraphers even more so: there are few sake bottles that I can read, even before drinking the contents!).

 

I guess that if you learned with a brush, the softness would add a certain familiarity to the feel of a pen.

 

 

Zenkoji temple has a close relationship with cows by a tradition : led by a cow I go to Zenkoji temple (Goslings lead the geese to water,in English)

 

These two cows were donated by Morinaga dairy industry. Yoshiko stands for Zen(goodness), Mitsuko stands for Ko(light).

Ji means a temple.

 

I think Pilot must be conscious of taste of a brush used by calligraphy when they make soft nibs.

 

rokurinpapa

Edited March 3, 2013 by rokurinpapa

[troglokev]

Zenkoji temple has a close relationship with cows by a tradition : led by a cow I go to Zenkoji temple (Goslings lead the geese to water,in english)

Thanks for the link: it all makes sense, now, apart from the English translation, which has fallen out of usage since Japanese dictionary writers heard it in the Meiji era. 牛に引かれて善光寺参りで、Custom 74を評論してRokurinpapa様に啓発された。

Edited March 3, 2013 by troglokev

[pienaar]

I think this is the highest end pen I might get. I think is such a good looking pen.

[pictogramax]

All of Pilot nibs I tried have been great for me. Haven't had the opportunity to try Pilot's Soft Fine (yet), but I have Platinum's 3776 pen with Soft Fine nib and it's great. As I see some are interested in both here, I'll jump in with a post I made on it. I put both the writing sample and a drawing, to illustrate the springy character of Soft Fine nib:

 

"I made this drawing on purpose, to illustrate the qualities of PLATINUM 3776 SOFT FINE nib and demonstrate it’s springiness. While not a flex nib in the vintage sense of the term, it still can provide some line variation, especially in the finer register of spectrum. You can easily pull the hairlines with it (as seen in the spots on the scarf and wrinkles around the eyes) and push it to some extent (like deeper folding in the drapery). Someone might jump at this with a “you can get more line variation from Noodler’s AHAB or KONRAD“… and while it is true considering just the extreme width of the line, PLATINUM is so much more pleasant to work with, supple to spread as much (or as little) as it can and always prompt to snap back. On top of all that, it’s a solidly built and truly reliable pen that never failed to start or perform. Makes me wonder how higher-end NAKAYA pens perform if this entry level pen is this charming.

 

http://www.pictogramax.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PICTOGRAMAX-ESQUISSE-DE-JOUR-2013-05-03.jpg

 

The original blog post can be found here: http://www.pictogramax.com/2013/05/04/spring/