78g Review - Black Broad Nib

[dgturner]

I love Stub and Italic nibs myself! There is also BB nib of this pen, but is hard to find. If anyone knows where I can buy it, please, tell me.

 

FPN member Speerbob sells them on EBay (I have one "watched", to make it easier to find when I decide to ignore the "no more pens" edict from SWMBO). Here is a link to a Blue Pilot 78G BB).

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's where I got mine---a black B. Speerbob's pics made it clear it was a stub, so no disappointment for me.

 

USMC Mom---a cheap garage sale pen inspired me to bring out my nail clippers and files to stub and smooth it.

 

If people pay such a low price for a pen and don't like it, why not either experiment with smoothing the corners or PIF?

 

You'd be surprised what nail files can do.

[USMCMom]

Good point, Sailor, I really hadn't thought of it that way.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I tried to see your pic of the pen but couldn't. TT__TT

 

Even with that one-dollar, chewed-up garage sale special, I was sort of scared to 'amend' the nib. But that experiment went so well I took a toenail scissors to a pen that cost three times as much (a whole three dollars!!!) and cut the tip straight across, then smoothed it a bit.

 

It's now one of my best writers. Beginner's luck, maybe?

[USMCMom]

Since I've never attempted surgery like that, I would need a whole lot of beginners luck! LOL

[jpeck]

Like many others said in this thread, B and BB are indeed stub/italic nibs.

Pilot designed the pen that way. It's not that they left the sharp corners by poor quality control.

Any reputable dealers will state that they are italic nibs upfront.

Too bad if you didn't get that info before you purchase.

I hope you can return it for a normal M nib or just for a refund.

 

 

The 2 Pilot 78G pens I ordered, arrived today. I've inked one of the two and I agree with watch_art ... I'm not impressed. Actually, I'm disappointed. Although i prefer heavier pens, I knew this would be a light weight pen, so that was no surprise. What was a surprise, was the nib. I ordered a broad nib, but this doesn't write like any broad nib I've ever used. The pen doesn't write very smoothly and the corners of the nib are sharp and could probably cure someone from allowing the nib to roll a bit, when it tears the paper.

 

While it's true ... this is a very inexpensive pen, it doesn't carry the name of an unknown. I think Pilot should care about all of their pens enough to pay attention to the nibs. If someone knew what they were doing, the nib could probably be greatly improved, but I can't help but wonder ... is a pen that carried a less than $10 price tag, worth what it would cost to have the nib worked on?? Guess it depends on how much you love the pen and if someone would even be willing to bother with it. LOL

 

Please excuse the lousy picture, but I can't get it to come out any better with my cell phone. I'm going to have to get a decent camera some day!

 

http://i881.photobuc...CMom/photo2.jpg

[USMCMom]

Well, I did a little bit of what you were talking about, Sailor and it's writing SO much better!!! Didn't use the nail clippers, as the thought made me a bit nervouse (LOL), but I used the fine side of an old emery board. I'm actually getting to be quite pleased with it. Thanks, Sailor!

[watch_art]

YAAY!

[USMCMom]

YAAY!

 

LOL ... Yeah, figured I didn't really have too much to loose if it didn't work out. I didn't have any fine sandpaper, so I used what I had on hand. Probably not the "right" stuff to use, but ...

[Sailor Kenshin]

YAAY!

 

LOL ... Yeah, figured I didn't really have too much to loose if it didn't work out. I didn't have any fine sandpaper, so I used what I had on hand. Probably not the "right" stuff to use, but ...

 

 

I think 75% of what I have in my pen repair kit is 'nail stuff.'

 

I'm thinking of taking a different model of that $3 pen and grinding the nib into a stub this time---with another nail tool. I don't have an Arkansas stone.

[fabrimedeiros]

I love Stub and Italic nibs myself! There is also BB nib of this pen, but is hard to find. If anyone knows where I can buy it, please, tell me.

 

FPN member Speerbob sells them on EBay (I have one "watched", to make it easier to find when I decide to ignore the "no more pens" edict from SWMBO). Here is a link to a Blue Pilot 78G BB).

 

Nice to know! I'll order 3: one M, a B and a BB. Many thanks for the information!

 

Fabricio

[xuan87]

anyone know what kind of stub is it? like, is it a 0.9mm stub, 1.1mm stub etc. i really like the line variation that this nib produces but it's abit dry for me, hence i'll like to buy another pen with the same kind of stub/italic but i'm unsure about the width, this being my 1st stub/italic pen.

 

Edit: I saw speerbob's listing for the B nib and he said that it's like a 1mm calligraphy nib.

Edited September 21, 2010 by xuan87

[watch_art]

anyone know what kind of stub is it? like, is it a 0.9mm stub, 1.1mm stub etc. i really like the line variation that this nib produces but it's abit dry for me, hence i'll like to buy another pen with the same kind of stub/italic but i'm unsure about the width, this being my 1st stub/italic pen.

 

Edit: I saw speerbob's listing for the B nib and he said that it's like a 1mm calligraphy nib.

 

you could always hack the feed to make it write wetter. or I could send you mine and we could trade. i made a video on hacking feeds, too. you could watch it and do it yourself. it's really easy.

[xuan87]

anyone know what kind of stub is it? like, is it a 0.9mm stub, 1.1mm stub etc. i really like the line variation that this nib produces but it's abit dry for me, hence i'll like to buy another pen with the same kind of stub/italic but i'm unsure about the width, this being my 1st stub/italic pen.

 

Edit: I saw speerbob's listing for the B nib and he said that it's like a 1mm calligraphy nib.

 

you could always hack the feed to make it write wetter. or I could send you mine and we could trade. i made a video on hacking feeds, too. you could watch it and do it yourself. it's really easy.

 

actually i suspect it might be the ink i'm using too (Platinum carbon ink). it's the only ink i've used in the pen, so i'll play around with the pen abit more 1st. thanks for the offer though.

[Silvermink]

And all for $10 from stationeryart.com. That's spelled with an E.

 

As opposed to art that doesn't move.

 

I have a 78G B and it's pretty nice, though it's a little sharper than I'd like for everyday writing. Given the comments I've seen on them, I think mine may be an unusual case in that respect.

[bitterwonder]

I am sure you know, but when drawing you can vary the angle of your pen's nib to get different line width. A pen held vertically will yeild a line different from a "normal" hold.

[watch_art]

I never hold my pens vertically. That's uncomfortable to me. After I hacked the feed on mine a bit, and filled it ED style with Sheaffer Jet Black, it's much smoother and wetter and I'm REALLY enjoying it.

[777]

Very nice review, thank you! I think I might like to try one of these someday. The pilot custom 823 interests me but this would be a good pen for my first Pilot...

 

Regards,

777

[Fabienne]

What's wrong with me? I love this pen! I love it out of the box. Mine is a B and it writes just like an italic which was a great happy surprise to me. My handwriting is impeccable with it. I might put it on a pad (it's one of those smoothing pads everyone talks about and I bought a set). but that is because I am a snob about ultra smooth things and it was a cheap pen.

 

Yes, the body is embarrassingly cheap looking I think. I don't brag about owning one, but my my my....I do get compliments on my handwriting when I ink it up with Zhivago and pen a thank, you note. So, this one is my go-to pen. They don't have to see it when I write, and I guess it is one of my secret weapons.

[AlejoPlay]

I have the same exact pen and I love it. It's in my pen case now, actually. Made me want to get a second one in another color. It's a cheap way to do italic (but I am thinking I may end up getting a 1.1 nib for one of my LAMYs instead).