Pilot Namiki Falcon Or Justus 95?

[watch_art]

Shawn, the term Justus needs further qualification. I reviewed the M nib Justus 95. It is also available in F and FM nib grades. No, I was not being shy with the nib, and I think I have a good feel of how much the stress the nib will be able to bear, so my review reflects my feeling and findings.

 

Some others have reported better flex success with the F nib. YMMV.

 

but bottom line, my M Justus is among the top few dozens of nice, pleasant, reliable and hassle free writing pens that I currently own. The writing feel and nib is incredible, you get a similar joy when writing with an early M800 nib for example.

 

That's interesting that there would be so much difference from nib to nib. Thanks for clarifying.

Even so - regardless of the nib, soft or not - the pen is a delight.

[Aramchek]

Good choice. Got a falcon and sold it, bought a Justus and can't put it down!

So Pilot aren't content with their old methods of making us addicts and designed a pen that seeps superglue through the barrel I presume?

[Brotzmann]

You are essentially describing the FA nib from Pilot. With a light hand, you will be very happy with it. Just dont expect it to be a waterman's no 7 pink nib that's all.

 

ETA: I just read the whole thread to see that you already bought a Justus 95 and are quite happy with it. Which nib size did you get?

I got the Fine nib.

[josephchow42]

You are essentially describing the FA nib from Pilot. With a light hand, you will be very happy with it. Just dont expect it to be a waterman's no 7 pink nib that's all.

 

ETA: I just read the whole thread to see that you already bought a Justus 95 and are quite happy with it. Which nib size did you get?

 

I got a custom 742 with a FA nib. It gives very delightful line variations with a light hand. The thing bothers me (and many other people as well) is that the nib is very nice and flexible. You can feel the promise of nice extreme flexibility when you write with the nib, but the feed design simply under delivers that promise. It railroads from time to time. I found using wetter ink relief the problem but I hope Pilot could come up with a better feed design

[hari317]

 

I got a custom 742 with a FA nib. It gives very delightful line variations with a light hand. The thing bothers me (and many other people as well) is that the nib is very nice and flexible. You can feel the promise of nice extreme flexibility when you write with the nib, but the feed design simply under delivers that promise. It railroads from time to time. I found using wetter ink relief the problem but I hope Pilot could come up with a better feed design

I have a 743 FA since 2008 i think. FWIW the pen has performed superbly with Pilot Blue Black ink. I agree with you that it is not designed for the extremes.

 

maybe you can give the Pilot ink a try and see.

Edited November 19, 2013 by hari317

[watch_art]

for the FA nib I think that the pilot b/b may be perfectly suited - from my experience it's a fairly wet, runny ink. at least in certain pens.

[josephchow42]

I have a 743 FA since 2008 i think. FWIW the pen has performed superbly with Pilot Blue Black ink. I agree with you that it is not designed for the extremes.

 

maybe you can give the Pilot ink a try and see.

 

Thanks for the advice. I did try Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo with my 742 and the performance is decent. Only railroads when going to the absolute extreme flex. Currently using it with J'herbin Rouge Hematite.

With that ink it suffer more often from railroading but give me better shading and more controlled ink flow for most of the time. I am not using the pen for super flex so it works for me.

 

In conclusion, I love the FA nib for what I use it for, but just wanted to point out the railroading to the OP in case he is interested in that~ And if Pilot ever comes up with a better feed design, it will unleash more potential of the fantastic FA nib.

[Ezio Auditore]

I like my metal bird...

 

http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af137/iamtrap/image-8_zps9f436515.jpg

 

Absolutely beautiful handwriting. Did you get the Spencerian customization? Cause I've been eyeing the pen for a while and saw the video demonstarting that customization.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Ezio Auditore

[musashi]

They are both wonderful in their own right. The Namiki Falcon is an artists' pen. Those who love flex in their nibs might adore the customization that can be done with their Falcons.

 

However, I would say you have made the right choice with the Justus 95. I love having the control over how soft or hard the nib flexes. Like the previous post, I have been continuously using my Justus since I bought it. Since your main requirement is just a "slight line variation" then the Justus 95 would suit you very well.

 

Congratulations on your purchase!

[Mtrap]

 

Absolutely beautiful handwriting. Did you get the Spencerian customization? Cause I've been eyeing the pen for a while and saw the video demonstarting that customization.

 

Yes, it a Spencerian grind from John. The grind is amazing and the falcon nib is really responsive. The only downside is grind like that like to catch the paper if one is not used to. And certain paper can be worst. But once you get used to it you will find it very hard to put it down.

[quabop]

Well... Thanks a lot! Now I need a Justus too...

Edited December 3, 2013 by quabop

[PAKMAN]

Hee hee! Love it when a plan comes together!

[VladDracule]

Im curious, has anybody had a justice nib modified to a Stub or CI? I have a soft nib from nakaya modified to a stub and the flex/stub combination is interesting/fun

[VladDracule]

Also another question, has anybody compared the flex capability of the Falcon with the Spencerian grind to the Justice, as well as usability in everyday writing?

[WaskiSquirrel]

For those interested, I finally received my Pilot Justus 95. I inked it up with Sailor Jentle Epinard. I'll try to put up a few pictures, but I don't have any macro lenses. I'll have to "fake it" with my iPad camera and with telephoto lenses and generous cropping.

 

Filling

 

I found that the pen was difficult to fill in this ink bottle. But, I seem to have this trouble with most of my pens in this bottle, so maybe it's the bottle?

 

Speaking of filling, I don't like converters and this pen is a converter. However, in fairness, it's a push-button converter, so that makes it cool. A built in push-button mechanism would require a blind cap to prevent accidents.

 

I've read that it takes 4-5 button pushes to fill the pen. As I noted, my choice of a first ink gave me issue, so I can't verify this.

 

Appearance

 

This pen is plain and understated. It has a barleycorn finish. I like it a lot, and I really appreciate that I can carry around a high end pen without anyone noticing.

 

The cantilever over the nib looks pretty cool. Maybe it's the physicist in me, but I like it. The control knob is quietly understated.

 

Comfort

 

I like a pen that lets me forget I'm writing as I use it. This is one of those pens. It's comfortable, well weighted, and the control knob and threaded cap do not bother me at all. The barleycorn finish makes it comfortable to hold. It's not slick or slippery, but the finish does not demand my attention either.

 

Writing

 

I really like Noodler's pens, so I'll compare this to that brand. It does not flex quite as wide as the Konrad (or maybe I'm scared), but it does flex quite nicely. I purchased a fine point, so I wonder if the flex would be as noticeable in a wider point? This pen does flex slightly easier than the Konrad within its range, but is quite a bit more stingy with the ink. This may be part of why I'm not getting the wide lines.

 

I will also note that, at least with the Epinard, I'm not getting railroading. This ink did have that issue in my Konrad. Perhaps the nib tines are not spread as widely?

 

Of course, the fun of this pen is the cantilever. So, when I adjust the writing to "Hard" the cantilever descends over the tines to limit their flex. To me a "hard" pen is a TWSBI 540. That pen has almost no flex. The Justus actually still has some flex at the hard setting, so it isn't a truly "hard" pen. But, it does feel a lot more firm in my hand. I see this more useful if I were doing some art or filling out a carbon copy...if anyone still uses those. I almost decided the setting was not useful, but then I discovered how handy it was for writing small.

 

To me, the cantilever makes the biggest difference in the feeling of the writing, and as a slight limitation on flex. I would love to tear this pen open to see how the cantilever works, but I'm afraid I would be unable to put it together again. At this price point, I don't want to take that risk.

 

Conclusions

 

This pen is overpriced. It's a wonderful, comfortable pen with nice flex, but it is overpriced. In fairness, it has this in common with most other fountain pens. One does not purchase a pen at this price point to be practical. It will take a lot of Bics or Preppies to make this equal in cost.

 

That said, from an impractical perspective, I love this pen. In fact, I look forward to trying some of my other shading inks in it, especially since they are all in better bottles. It has flex, it makes my writing look good, it's comfortable to hold, and, most importantly, I forget the instrument while I'm writing with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures may or may not follow. I'm not set up for pen photography. This evening, when I can control the light better, I'll try to set something up on my end table.

[Tas]

Pictures!

Pictures!!

Pictures!!!

please.

[discopig]

I love my Namiki Falcon, but the Justus 95 definitely seems like an amazing pen too.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I'm back with my pictures!

 

Here is the pen with two new other new friends.

 

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx142/waski_the_squirrel/IMG_0294_zps65b7afde.jpg

 

And here is my little writing sample. I made this back in the beginning of the month. I'm up to 6 fills on the pen.

 

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx142/waski_the_squirrel/music309_zps36390dac.jpg

Edited January 16, 2014 by Waski_the_Squirrel