Anyone Modd'ed Their Pilot 78G?

[pokermon]

I've seen the vid of the guy widening the feed to get his 78g to write "wetter" but has anyone tried to add flex to this nib? It seems somewhat springy so maybe a good candidate for some flex? I'm new to fountain pens and so far have acquired a 78g, a Jinhao 750, Twsbi 540(birthday present), Montblanc 146, and a few platinum preppys.

 

It seems the feed/nib and easily removeable so would grounding down the area behind the tines and between the shoulders give it some flex? I'm looking for a pen that is semi-flex to flexy, and searching vintage has been a bit hard trying to compete with other bidders on fleabay.

 

Would like others to chime in on any other modifications they've done to the 78g. I really like this pen and since its so affordable its worth experimenting with and not worry too much about messing up a rather easily replaceable pen.

 

-Tommy

[Malcy]

I've seen the vid of the guy widening the feed to get his 78g to write "wetter" but has anyone tried to add flex to this nib? It seems somewhat springy so maybe a good candidate for some flex? I'm new to fountain pens and so far have acquired a 78g, a Jinhao 750, Twsbi 540(birthday present), Montblanc 146, and a few platinum preppys.

 

It seems the feed/nib and easily removeable so would grounding down the area behind the tines and between the shoulders give it some flex? I'm looking for a pen that is semi-flex to flexy, and searching vintage has been a bit hard trying to compete with other bidders on fleabay.

 

Would like others to chime in on any other modifications they've done to the 78g. I really like this pen and since its so affordable its worth experimenting with and not worry too much about messing up a rather easily replaceable pen.

 

-Tommy

 

I took the awful broad nib out of the 78g, replaced it with a superfluous TWSBI medium nib and sold it on ebay. Sorry but the 78g didn't impress me at all and I think that you will waste a lot of time and effort trying to make a flex pen from it.

 

There really is no substitute for vintage flex. A couple of dealers of vintage flex are Deb at Goodwriterspens and Mauricio at Vintage pen. If you fancy the find it yourself approach then many ( but not all) Swans on ebay UK have flex.

 

Modern flex, which is completely different to vintage flex is found in various Noodlers pens and the Pilot Falcon.

 

There are a few other options such as reground nibs by the likes od Richard Binder and other nib experts and a pen maker in Spain who makes his own flex nibs for his pens but are priced accordingly.

[pokermon]

I've seen the vid of the guy widening the feed to get his 78g to write "wetter" but has anyone tried to add flex to this nib? It seems somewhat springy so maybe a good candidate for some flex? I'm new to fountain pens and so far have acquired a 78g, a Jinhao 750, Twsbi 540(birthday present), Montblanc 146, and a few platinum preppys.

 

It seems the feed/nib and easily removeable so would grounding down the area behind the tines and between the shoulders give it some flex? I'm looking for a pen that is semi-flex to flexy, and searching vintage has been a bit hard trying to compete with other bidders on fleabay.

 

Would like others to chime in on any other modifications they've done to the 78g. I really like this pen and since its so affordable its worth experimenting with and not worry too much about messing up a rather easily replaceable pen.

 

-Tommy

 

I took the awful broad nib out of the 78g, replaced it with a superfluous TWSBI medium nib and sold it on ebay. Sorry but the 78g didn't impress me at all and I think that you will waste a lot of time and effort trying to make a flex pen from it.

 

There really is no substitute for vintage flex. A couple of dealers of vintage flex are Deb at Goodwriterspens and Mauricio at Vintage pen. If you fancy the find it yourself approach then many ( but not all) Swans on ebay UK have flex.

 

Modern flex, which is completely different to vintage flex is found in various Noodlers pens and the Pilot Falcon.

 

There are a few other options such as reground nibs by the likes od Richard Binder and other nib experts and a pen maker in Spain who makes his own flex nibs for his pens but are priced accordingly.

 

 

Thanks for the input. My interest in the 78g is that it's cheap to mess around with. I have considered some noodler's pens, mainly the Konrad, but I'm hesitant to buy another pen since I just purchased 2 montblancs and a vintage Waterman. I believe the waterman has a flex nib. I just want to fiddle around with what I have, and I like the idea that the 78g I currently have is converted to an eyedropper.

[KrazyIvan]

I love my Pilot 78G in broad. While I have not done anything to the nib, I did sand the barrel and cap to give it a matte look.

[pokermon]

I love my Pilot 78G in broad. While I have not done anything to the nib, I did sand the barrel and cap to give it a matte look.

 

Can you post a pic? I'm not sure why I'm so intrigued with this pen even though I have others that are nicer in almost every way, size, filling mechanism, nib, etc.

[chiaroscuro]

I love my Pilot 78G in broad. While I have not done anything to the nib, I did sand the barrel and cap to give it a matte look.

 

Can you post a pic? I'm not sure why I'm so intrigued with this pen even though I have others that are nicer in almost every way, size, filling mechanism, nib, etc.

I second that request. Did the "gold" rings on the cap come off easily?

[XiaoMG]

I don't know for sure, but my 78G nibs take a set too easily (i.e. they stay bent) for them to be easily turned into flexible nibs. This makes them easy to turn into upturned nibs or into downturned posting nibs, but I think flexibility is not going to be an easy trick for them.

 

As for the matte finish and modding, please look at this thread. The second page has a few 78Gs. I also was experimenting with nib color swaps, but didn't have much else to contribute here.

 

 

[pokermon]

Thanks Xiao! You just satisfied my little tinkier need with the 78g. Going to give it a matt look tomorrow or the day after. I'll try to post a pic when I'm done.

[ebluegrass]

I don't know for sure, but my 78G nibs take a set too easily (i.e. they stay bent) for them to be easily turned into flexible nibs. This makes them easy to turn into upturned nibs or into downturned posting nibs, but I think flexibility is not going to be an easy trick for them.

 

As for the matte finish and modding, please look at this thread. The second page has a few 78Gs. I also was experimenting with nib color swaps, but didn't have much else to contribute here.

 

 

[ebluegrass]

I put a matte finish on one of mine and am really pleased with how it turned out. Getting the rings off were a bit of a challenge but no big deal. Have fun with the 78G. I rather like my broad nib as well for whatever it's worth.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

PS. I did leave the section with a shiny finish for some contrast.

Edited October 8, 2012 by ebluegrass

[pokermon]

As promised, some images of the new brushed 78g with and without flash. I also left the section gloss for some contrast, and I was too lazy to drain it of ink since I think working near the feed might get some dust into the nib and I would have to clean it.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_131713-1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_131744-1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_131811-1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_131945-1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_132015-1.jpg

[JemC]

I'm glad this thread popped up. And thanks, Xiao, for linking to your old thread. I really enjoyed seeing the excitement build as more people hopped on the bandwagon.

 

I was about to put my 78G's into storage before today. Of course after reading the thread I had to pick up some scouring pads and try it out. I definitely agree that it makes cheap shiny plastic pens look less of a trifle.

 

I ended up trying a cross-hatching pattern on my red 78G. It turned out less than optimal, so I smoothed back out a bit with a magic eraser.

 

I think a Platinum 3776 will be my next victim.

[KrazyIvan]

There is mine:

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7756005942_094a74ce0b_c.jpg

Pilot 78G mattification by IvanRomero, on Flickr

[lovemy51]

As promised, some images of the new brushed 78g with and without flash. I also left the section gloss for some contrast, and I was too lazy to drain it of ink since I think working near the feed might get some dust into the nib and I would have to clean it.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_20121008_131713-1.jpg

awesome work!

[pokermon]

As promised, some images of the new brushed 78g with and without flash. I also left the section gloss for some contrast, and I was too lazy to drain it of ink since I think working near the feed might get some dust into the nib and I would have to clean it.

awesome work!

 

Thanks! Really appreciate the kind words. Gonna frost up some platinum preppies I use for work next.

[pokermon]

A preppy I just did to remove the logos.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_0547.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_0546.jpg

 

Guess I should've left the barrel uninked so it would show better. Sorry for the crappy quality, took it with my iTouch since no camra around.

Edited October 9, 2012 by pokermon

[lovemy51]

A preppy I just did to remove the logos.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_0547.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh131/pokermon919/IMG_0546.jpg

 

Guess I should've left the barrel uninked so it would show better. Sorry for the crappy quality, took it with my iTouch since no camra around.

i can't really see the work. thx for showing it, tho'. i'm still taken by the modded pilot.