Pilot Custom Grandee

[Dan Carmell]

I just picked up a Custom Grandee on eBay. I'd offer a photo but the new embedded photos don't seem to allow me to copy them to my desktop, so here's a link to the auction page:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310198239517&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1684wt_1095

 

I just couldn't resist that cap band! But I can't figure out where this model would have fit into Pilot's early 1970s model line-up. I took a look at Stan's website and didn't get any clarity. The clip appears to be the same--or nearly so--as the slightly later Delux, but the nib is different.

 

And, in reference to the cap band: "22KAGM"? I'm guessing the equivalent of 22 Karat gold-filled but I'm not sure.

 

Anyway, nice pen at a good price, I think. I have emailed the seller, who I've bought from before (like, last week, blush!), so he may have information but any other info from this knowledgeable crowd would be appreciated!

 

Dan

[stan]

I just picked up a Custom Grandee on eBay. I'd offer a photo but the new embedded photos don't seem to allow me to copy them to my desktop, so here's a link to the auction page:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310198239517&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1684wt_1095

 

I just couldn't resist that cap band! But I can't figure out where this model would have fit into Pilot's early 1970s model line-up. I took a look at Stan's website and didn't get any clarity. The clip appears to be the same--or nearly so--as the slightly later Delux, but the nib is different.

 

And, in reference to the cap band: "22KAGM"? I'm guessing the equivalent of 22 Karat gold-filled but I'm not sure.

 

Anyway, nice pen at a good price, I think. I have emailed the seller, who I've bought from before (like, last week, blush!), so he may have information but any other info from this knowledgeable crowd would be appreciated!

 

Dan

 

Hi Dan. Coming to the show?

It is 22K gold filled. Some time ago I asked Pilot what AGM meant and they could not give me an answer. Searches on the internet have been fruitless. It might have to do with thickness (usually very very thin), application process, or a marketing effort to show their gold is better than that of the competition. If anyone out the there knows for sure or has any guesses, please let us know.

[Dan Carmell]

No LA show for me, Stan. Thanks for the info on the KAGM. So did the Delux replace the Custom Grandee in the line-up?

 

best, Dan

[nvbrennan]

Certainly the clip looks a lot like the deluxs. What a great find, I'm imagining with the the breather hole on the nib it will make a lovely writer. Do tell us how it writes (mainly cause I'm very jealous - in a nice way). Enjoy!

[kernando]

Hey guys, is that model really just Pilot Grandee like the cap band says, without Custom in there? I have a Pilot Custom Grandee that most people think of, keyhole clip and second breather hole in the nib, just black plastic for this one. The nib is dated for 1988.

 

Oops, I just missed bidding on an Eversharp.

[Dan Carmell]

Hey guys, is that model really just Pilot Grandee like the cap band says, without Custom in there? I have a Pilot Custom Grandee that most people think of, keyhole clip and second breather hole in the nib, just black plastic for this one. The nib is dated for 1988.

 

Oops, I just missed bidding on an Eversharp.

 

I think that's very possible--the only reference to "Custom" in the name is in the seller's description, which is pretty minimal. Now, this pen is 15 years older than yours, so model changes are more likely than not, but the different clip and nib is telling, I think.

 

Thanks for info and sorry you missed the Eversharp!

 

Dan

[stan]

Hey guys, is that model really just Pilot Grandee like the cap band says, without Custom in there? I have a Pilot Custom Grandee that most people think of, keyhole clip and second breather hole in the nib, just black plastic for this one. The nib is dated for 1988.

 

Oops, I just missed bidding on an Eversharp.

 

The base of the cap reads PILOT CUSTOM. It is usually called the Custom Grandee as it has the same Pilot insert in the top jewel and was contemporaneous with the Pilot Custom. It uses the same clip as the slightly later Deluxe, of which the standard models were priced a notch higher than the Custom. The nib was new for this model although very similar, though slightly smaller, ones were used on other models.

 

The first true Custom Grandee with the keyhole clip debuted in the late 1970s. The nib is almost identical to the Pilot Custom above with the exception of use of a smaller circular breather hole. There were no other similarities to either of the two earlier models.

 

The second Custom Grandee was a redux edition that was released in the mid-1980s. It was a completely redesigned model with no resemblance to the earlier namesakes.

 

Generally, Pilot takes its time reinventing the wheel and does not often issue completely new models. Even today, their current lineup consists largely of designs developed over the past twenty years. There are obvious cost savings in so doing.

 

I suspect sales of the Pilot Custom model with the gold nugget band model were not as expected. The design of the pen is, IMHO, ungainly and the 'stealth' (I coined the term long ago - just tooting my horn!) finish becomes shiny and slicker over time. Needless to say, that without doubt they are great writing pens with some of the nibs being flexier than most.

[Dan Carmell]

Stan, you are a wealth of information, thank you!

 

kemando, would you post a photo of your Custom Grandee?

 

Dan

[nvbrennan]

Stan knows his stuff, yah think?!

[kernando]

I don't have any pictures of my own, but it's pretty much like myu's maple one here, except it's plastic.

 

Before I wrote last, I forgot to look at the big band pen. It looks like the same nib to me, slides onto the section, wrap-around look but it only goes 180 degrees around, with secondary half moon breather hole. Now I will have to pay attention to what an older '70s Custom Grandee means.

 

This '80s Custom Grandee is slightly longer than a Custom but also slightly slimmer. So I don't think of grandee as meaning much bigger.

 

I might've bid on the Eversharp Symphony, but I didn't have to. It was black and probably went for more for my red set cost, but red is not my color.

[stan]

I don't have any pictures of my own, but it's pretty much like myu's maple one here, except it's plastic.

 

Before I wrote last, I forgot to look at the big band pen. It looks like the same nib to me, slides onto the section, wrap-around look but it only goes 180 degrees around, with secondary half moon breather hole. Now I will have to pay attention to what an older '70s Custom Grandee means.

 

This '80s Custom Grandee is slightly longer than a Custom but also slightly slimmer. So I don't think of grandee as meaning much bigger.

 

I might've bid on the Eversharp Symphony, but I didn't have to. It was black and probably went for more for my red set cost, but red is not my color.

 

 

Pilot has used the Custom moniker since 1971 and the model has morphed extensively over the past 38 years. As one story goes, supposedly Custom referred to the ability of the customer to order a pen with different nib sizes. The earliest Custom models had a thumbnail inset nib. I neglected to mention this in the earlier post and this model may have been earlier or contemporary with the Custom Grandee. It was the earliest model of Custom and had the full range of Pilot nibs for the time, e.g. Signature, Posting, Manifold, Falcon, Music, Coarse, Script, etc. The section was the same as that used on the 'E'. In this regard, perhaps there was an ability to 'Custom'-ize one's pen. The Custom with big inlaid nib came in EF, Fine, Medium, Broad. It may have come with a Music or other nib although I have never seen them. Packaging for models with inlaid nibs was different and they now had tags instead of stickers.

 

Think of Grandee in the broadest loosest terms. It is advertising!

 

I should post pictures later today that describe the various models, time permitting.

[haywoody]

...The Custom with big inlaid nib came in EF, Fine, Medium, Broad. It may have come with a Music or other nib although I have never seen them. Packaging for models with inlaid nibs was different and they now had tags instead of stickers.

 

 

I have a Custom inlaid music nib which came on a black plastic pen:

 

http://haywoody.smugmug.com/photos/703680125_eAoXh-L.jpg

 

/Woody

[stan]

I have a Custom inlaid music nib which came on a black plastic pen:

/Woody

 

This means that, without doubt, ten or more will appear for sale within the next week. It always seems to happen that way.

[haywoody]

I have a Custom inlaid music nib which came on a black plastic pen:

/Woody

 

This means that, without doubt, ten or more will appear for sale within the next week. It always seems to happen that way.

 

Ha ha, I hope so. "Pen monger, a round of music nibs for all the fellows please!"

Edited February 9, 2010 by haywoody