Thoughts On The Pilot 78G

[TheAkwardNinja]

There isn't many stationary stores around here. A town of 300.

[oldmatekev]

I had to give a nod and grunt of surprised praise for my broad 78G the other day.

 

It had been sitting unused for at least three months when I decided to give it a whirl. I was expecting some start up issues, or for the ink to have evaporated so I went to the top of the page to make a few squiggles to get it going, I was prepared to drop the barrel and tickle the converter.

 

It wrote straight away, not even a millimetre of skipping, and juicy too. I was impressed enough to consider getting a round nib one as well but I'm off buying new pens for now.

 

I like the weight, which is feather-light really. I like the feel, I like the look, but there's something un-inspiring about the line it makes.

[KBeezie]

They're very nice pens but a bit of a hassle to acquire. Unless you're buying them four or more at a time

 

I'm a little confused about this. Are you talking about stock-wise or just obtaining them? JStationery (east coast US) had all 4 colors, in all 3 nib sizes for 10.50, Speerbob (east coast US) has most of them for around 19.99, and if you wanted to get them from overseas instead there's a number of sellers selling them at around 12.99.

 

@OP : If you want to try for a Extra-Fine you can fit the Pilot's Penmanship nib into the 78G or Metropolitan.

 

 

I was referring to how relatively hard it is to find them in brick and mortar stores, compared to other pilot pens. I live in New York City, and I still prefer shopping at my local stationery and pen stores over purchasing things online. Furthermore, whenever I looked for them online, they were mostly out of stock. I did not know about Jstationery. Also I think it worked out to be cheaper to buy them four at a time.

 

Not even sure brick and mortar is really all that relevant for such a niche, around here the ONLY thing you can find is maybe a couple cross/sheaffer/parker pens in a Staples (ie: really depends on location).

 

I certainly wouldn't rely on a walk-in store to be the indicator of whether or not a 78G is a hassle to acquire since a very large percentage of other pens are going to fit that criteria too when you revise your statement to such limited parameters (specific city, specific buying location).

Edited May 24, 2014 by KBeezie

[ac12]

When I was in college, I valued the lightness of the pen, especially when taking a LOT of notes.

For me, a HEAVY pens gets tiring to use for long periods of writing. I would much rather use a light pen to take notes with. And it is not just one class, but several classes over the day. So for that the lighter 78G wins over the Metro/MR.

 

My 78G has a dry M nib. But making a dry nib wetter is not difficult. You just have to make sure you load the pen with the intended ink before you start making the nib adjustments, and go slow, a little-at-a-time until you get the ink flow that you want.

 

For college, I would get the F nib. It lets you write more on a page and also handles the small equations and notes better than a larger nib.

 

And with the low price, I would get 2 or 3 of them. You always need a backup pen. I carried 2 Parker 45s in college, a primary and a backup.

 

Actually, I would NOT let my fountain pen to anyone who did not know how to use a fountain pen. When I went to college, many years ago, there were very few people who used a fountain pen, and only a few more that could write with one. So I would give the ball pen to anyone who wanted to borrow a pen.

[isellpens]

We have been selling the Pilot 78 G for years and it's been a popular little pen. Shipping is only $3.00 for orders under $75.00.

www.isellpens.com

[Aurko]

 

 

 

Not even sure brick and mortar is really all that relevant for such a niche, around here the ONLY thing you can find is maybe a couple cross/sheaffer/parker pens in a Staples (ie: really depends on location).

 

I certainly wouldn't rely on a walk-in store to be the indicator of whether or not a 78G is a hassle to acquire since a very large percentage of other pens are going to fit that criteria too when you revise your statement to such limited parameters (specific city, specific buying location).

 

 

That's a fair point, and it really shouldn't have been relevant to an online community like this. That was my mistake. I suppose I'm very spoiled by New York City, and the Fountain Pen Hospital (there's a lot of other smaller decently stocked pen sellers here. I have a list of about 15, some of which have since closed).

 

However, the second part of my comment was based on my online experience. When I bought my set of 78G pens, I could only get them shipped from out of the country on ebay (and shipping took almost two months), which is generally more of a hassle than I like generally. The sites that I knew at the time either did not have the pens in stock, or did not sell them at all. That said, if they aren't as much trouble to get as I once believed, I would definitely recommend them.

[Sasha Royale]

I used a Parker 45 through college. Refilling with a full cartridge is quick. A Parker 45 has been in my pocket since. (40 years)

 

I would not hesitate to get the Pilot 78G for college, though I cannot vouch for the its long-term durability under rough use. What is

a faster refill than switching cartridges ? Having a full second pen. At $15 per 78G, I would take two to class.

 

Best of luck.

[swain]

I somehow found a black 78g in my possession recently and was stunned. The medium nib is as smooth as 18K Pelikans, etc., and other relatively expensive pens, including vintage Sheaffers.

Overall, the 78g is ridiculously light and likely would not survive abuse. But for USD12 the experience of that smooth nib makes the pen a steal.

[Kuscer]

I've heard great things about the 78g's

[arcadeflow]

I have a lot of complaints about the 78G, but you can get it to work fine and the nibs can vary from ok to awesome (maybe with regular use they all become awesome) and it is the best pen for the lowest amount of money I ever bought, the Petit1 disenchanted me after I noticed how terrible it is when you want to flush and change inks. If you get water in those Petit1 feeds, they will stop the ink flow, you have to let them dry for a couple days or wait a couple days with that cartridge inserted until is dilutes in that wet felt feed. So I bought 3 more, one of each color I did not have yet. But my first one is still the best, smoothest medium nib. They are very easy to fix, modify, clean, but yes, they are too light. But I can write fine with light pens. The size is small but is decent enough for my big hands (not huge). I recommend them for people wanting a cheap workhorse pen, but use Pilot ink so you don't run into any flow problems (specially if you are a beginner).

[Christi0469]

I prefer the weight and slip-on cap of the Metropolitan as well as the general fit and finish, but the B and BB stub 78Gs are loads of fun. The Pilot fine nibs are a little too fine but are a good choice if you have to use cheap paper.

[Thuja]

I love 78Gs, I think I have six at moment all bought off Ebay. I use them as my everyday writers even though I have quite a few higher end Pilots as well. I love the F nibs and B is also really nice, I haven't had any problems with mine.

[ac12]

I got both of mine from Todd at isellpens.com.

So you can buy the 78G from a US dealer, and avoid the overseas purchase hassle.

The pen is only about $13. Just buy one with a F nib and see how you like it.

Your hardest decision will be what color to get

[arcadeflow]

Did you guys have any problems with inks? Which worked fine and which did not?

[ajoffe]

My first fountain pen was a 78g, which I bought about 7 years ago. I still have it and use it from time to time. Great little pen for throwing around and the nib on mine (medium) is super smooth.

[eduardp]

They are amazing pens for almost no money. I have all three usual nibs and still thinking to buy the BB. The M is amazingly smooth, smoother than my modern Pelikan M200. And they are light which helps in long writing sessions. I also have the Metropolitan but is not the same feeling, it's heavier and the finishing is not so nice.

[Kuhataparunks]

Wait, this penmanship pen, tell me more..

Oh my Goodness, get the penmanship nib and swap it... It writes a really clean FINE line, but only get it if you like very very fine nibs(some people hate them; I like them a lot).

[Kuhataparunks]

I must give credit, the 78G is great, but not for my personal preferences... It's a bit too light for me imagine a pen made of the plastic from a plastic bottle. It feels very cheap, albeit feather-light. But the F nib I got was indeed smooth.

 

Speaking of lightness, the pilot varsity($4.00 fountain pen) feels a lot more substantial than the 78G.

 

I tried the Metro, and got annoyed with the posted cap falling off so many times.

 

Then I went a step above and got a Prera, and I have no regrets! I'm a student and use an ivory colored Prera with the EF(penmanship) nib and Asa-Gao ink. The ivory and purple-blue go together very well.

 

A Prera is $8 more than the Safari, and you can also swap out the Penmanship EF nibs on it. On amazon they're about $30 for the solid color ones, those are Japan made and not $70 like the US ones.

 

TL;DR: there are so many if not too many options. Have fun choosing, or you could establish a hobby and collect them all !

Edited September 23, 2014 by Kuhataparunks

[maverink]

+1 love my white prera with m nib super smooth n compact got it from rakuten mktplace

[shethkapil]

For some reason I find Pilot 78g to be one of the most admired and by far the best inexpensive fp ever.....

I bought my first when I ws not much into fps, now I own a couple of them, and though I have some expensive pens this one is the most used and most dependable. It's been with me in all various weathers of India. It's been with me when I go on tours, and many more. I have used all my inks with it, I show it to all my non fp/fp user friends and every one likes it. I have taken it to most of my meetings, sometimes in my edc pouch sometimes in pocket. I use it to sign cheques, take quick notes, jott down numbers ( fine nib serves the purpose perfectly here), write my journal and cards(broad nib here) and write letters too( medium nib here) . I never had much knowledge of fps when I was in school or else this pen would have been used then. It's not the smoothest nib I have but I won't ask for it at that price. Some people feel it looks cheap,I think black and green look very cool and not cheap. It is not very dry if one selects the ink well. I use lamy, Parker quink and pilot ink mostly with it.

My thoughts on pilot 78g is it's a sweetheart pen, one that I would like to have with me and enjoy it always. :-)

Edited October 16, 2014 by shethkapil