PILOT Custom 845

[Pen2009]

How is the tactile feel of the urushi finish? Is it very different from other materials such as MB's precious resin (), celluloid, and etc?

How durable is the urushi finish? Do you think it would wear out after some years of use?

 

The price seems reasonable at JPY 37,000 (about $400). http://item.rakuten.co.jp/penroom/pilot0110/

Edited July 4, 2009 by Pen2009

[Idiopathos]

Thanks in large part to the excellent review above, I have bought an 845 and it is everything the review and my experience of Pilot/Namiki/Dunhill pens have led me to believe.

 

The barrel, section and cap are beautifully made and reassuringly coated with urushi. The metal 'furniture' looks substantial, unlike some of the thin, pressed, flash plated, base metal found elsewhere in the market.

 

The converter, which I know well from Dunhill pens, is the best.

 

And the nib is as good as any I have used and better than the very large majority.

 

So, thank you again for the review!

 

 

[Doug C]

Beautifully and cleverly written.

 

I also agreed with the CON-70. There is something hypnotic about this converter that makes piston fills superflouous....

 

 

[Blade Runner]

 

Does ink stick to the sides of anyone's CON-70? That was a constant problem with mine, and I sometimes had to tap the barrel several times to break that tension to get ink down to the feed.

[Pen2009]

Does ink stick to the sides of anyone's CON-70? That was a constant problem with mine, and I sometimes had to tap the barrel several times to break that tension to get ink down to the feed.

I used to had that issue even though CON-50. It seems the new one has some left-over coating from the factory. After filling the converter a few times, it seems the converter exhibits less tendency of that symptom.

[effrafax]

Yeah, the CON-70 is approximately a million times better than the CON-50.

Do you know how come the CON-70 is better than the CON-50? The basic mechanism is the same; but, there is a big difference in ease of use.

 

Just to clear up any confusion, the "basic mechanism" is actually very different on these two. The CON-50 is a classic screw piston. The CON-70 works on a pump action, much like a (true) Vacuumatic.

[Idiopathos]

Strange.

 

I just looked inside the cap of my new 845 and there is what appears to be a ring of dried glue around the first 1/8". It looks a bit like glass fibre or the sort of stuff you use to insulate your loft. Is it dried urushi, I wonder?

 

Whatever, does anyone else have this phenomenon?

[Pendel]

Strange.

 

I just looked inside the cap of my new 845 and there is what appears to be a ring of dried glue around the first 1/8". It looks a bit like glass fibre or the sort of stuff you use to insulate your loft. Is it dried urushi, I wonder?

 

Whatever, does anyone else have this phenomenon?

 

I think this means that your pen is missing a small soft ring of material that is glued into the cap, probably to protect the Urushi if the pen is posted. Mine has the material.

 

Pendel

[Nero]

Hello Keith,

 

can you take a picture of your cap? I don't think that you have a defective pen. Mine have the same fibre ring in the inside of the cap.

 

Regards,

 

Nelson

 

Strange.

 

I just looked inside the cap of my new 845 and there is what appears to be a ring of dried glue around the first 1/8". It looks a bit like glass fibre or the sort of stuff you use to insulate your loft. Is it dried urushi, I wonder?

 

Whatever, does anyone else have this phenomenon?

 

[Idiopathos]

Hello Keith,

 

can you take a picture of your cap? I don't think that you have a defective pen. Mine have the same fibre ring in the inside of the cap.

 

Regards,

 

Nelson

 

Strange.

 

I just looked inside the cap of my new 845 and there is what appears to be a ring of dried glue around the first 1/8". It looks a bit like glass fibre or the sort of stuff you use to insulate your loft. Is it dried urushi, I wonder?

 

Whatever, does anyone else have this phenomenon?

 

Thank you very much, Nelson. I'll try to take a photo (even though I'm camera-illiterate) soon.

[Pendel]

I am gone traveling and have left my 845 in the office. I will be back in 10 days, and if you guys have not sorted this out by then, I will be glad to post the picture of the ring inside the cap. It certainly does not have the appearance of loose glass fiber, and has no strands sticking out.

 

Pendel

[Nero]

I am sorry, but I don't know how to describe it in words. There are not loose fibers, but there is something "glued" there. I tried to take a picture, but it is difficult with my camera. Here is the best one after clarifying it a lot. Note that the "fibers" are black and not white, that is just the light reflecting. By the way, I have two pens and both look like this.

 

http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/60/4561060/1024_6661363061616361.jpg

Edited August 1, 2009 by Nero

[MYU]

I checked mine and it has this as well. My opinion? Intentional and by design. Why? I think Pilot did this as a precautionary measure for when the cap is posted. Although urushi lacquer is super tough, this padding would help avoid any possible scratching. It's an "extra" precaution, because this pen is the flagship... Pilot doesn't want to risk any barrel scratching.

 

You've got to love this company for their amazing attention to detail.

 

As a small aside, I showed off an M90 to someone at a dinner party, who had a 100 year Montblanc anniversary pen at hand and exclaimed how the M90 wrote "so much better" than the Montblanc. He was clueless about FPN, but is no longer.

[michael_s]

My 845 also has this ring of felt.

 

I think it prevents the bottom of the cap (the part that tapers inward) from marring the top of the barrel when twisting the cap onto the pen. I don't think it helps much when posting.

 

And yes, the 845 is one of my favorite pens

 

-Mike

Edited August 1, 2009 by michael_s

[Idiopathos]

I am sorry, but I don't know how to describe it in words. There are not loose fibers, but there is something "glued" there. I tried to take a picture, but it is difficult with my camera. Here is the best one after clarifying it a lot. Note that the "fibers" are black and not white, that is just the light reflecting. By the way, I have two pens and both look like this.

 

http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/alben/60/4561060/1024_6661363061616361.jpg

 

Brilliant, Nero! This is exactly how my 845 looks. Thank you very much, indeed.

[rogerb]

Yes, lovely pen...I am rather sad that I traded mine....ESPECIALLY as it, and a Visconti Wall Street LE, went walkabout while in US Customs.....AND my postal insurance appears to be worse than useless :bonk: :mad:

[Pendel]

Yes, this is it. The same ring as mine. I guess with use some of the "felt" fibers will lift up a bit.

[MYU]

I double checked mine, Michael. It looks to me like there is a slight gap between the cap and barrel when the pen is capped, but there's no gap with the cap posted. So, I'm still of the belief it is a scratch deterrent for when the cap is posted... although again, it's likely overkill given the resilience of urushi. Either way... we're all in agreement that it is normal, as nobody has spoken up or shown their pen without this ring.

Edited August 1, 2009 by MYU

[kazoolaw]

Brilliant, Nero! This is exactly how my 845 looks. Thank you very much, indeed.

 

 

So does this mean that you agree that the ring is supposed to be there?

And that you're now going to try and unring the bell in your posts about the seller of this pen, here and on Pentrace?

gary

[MYU]

Gary, his posting has been set invisible here... no need to bring it up again. As for other forums, that's beyond our jurisdiction.