Pilot Penmanship

[phillieskjk]

This pen has been reviewed before, but I just wanted to give anyone considering one or needing an extra fine nib another viewpoint to check out!

First Impressions (5/5)
The pen arrived from Jetpens in a small baggie. It is a fairly attractive pen, I got the clear demonstrator version, and came with a standard Black pilot ink cartridge. The plastic of the pen feels less brittle, and much thicker, than something like a Platinum Preppy or a Pilot Petit1.

Appearance (4/5)
The pen is long and thin, looking almost like a desk pen. There is a significant amount of space in the back of the barrel of the pen past the where the cartridge ends, making the pen even longer. The cap of the pen is tiny, just slightly longer than the nib, and has two small fins on it to keep the pen from rolling. The nib is simple, and steel colored, with “PILOT SUPER QUALITY JAPAN <EF>” stamped onto it. The style is very understated and utilitarian, and in a way beautiful for that. One slight problem with the Clear Cap is that ink can stick to the top of it and be visible through it.

Design/Size/Weight (4/5)
The pen is very light, but it’s length and ergonomic grip make it comfortable in the hand, and well balanced. The cap can post, but it is so tiny, short, and light, that you wouldn’t notice either way. The barrel of the pen is airtight, so it can be converted to an eyedropper if desired with some Silicon grease and an optional O-Ring.

Nib (4.5/5)
The nib is unsurprisingly, extraordinarily fine. The extra fine nib from pilot is perfect for note-taking, cheap paper, and math. The nib is not quite as smooth as some of the larger nib sizes from pilot, but for an extra fine nib I was pleasantly surprised at the smoothness and ease with which it wrote. In terms of flow, the nib is on the dry side, but it isn't something you notice when you are writing with it, if that makes any sense. I had to go back and think about it, because although being dry the nib never skips and is still exceptionally smooth for the width. One major plus of this nib is that it can be swapped into a Prera or Metropolitan if you want an Extra Fine nib in one of those pens.

Filling System (5/5)
Not much to say here, it’s a simple Cartridge/Converter system. The pen comes with one cartridge, and can be fitted with a Con-40 or Con-50 if you so please. The ink lasts much longer than it does in most pens because of the extreme fineness of the nib.

Cost and Value (5/5)
This is a great pen at a great price, and can be found in most places for $6-$8. Many people buy the pen just for the nib, to then be fitted into a Prera or Metropolitan, and it would be a steal if pilot offered just the nib for that price! Instead, you get an entire pen around it, and one that provides a very pleasant writing experience.

Conclusion (28/30)
I would strongly recommend this pen to anyone who needs a very fine nib on a budget. It has a great nib, perfect for swapping if you have a nice body like the Prera’s, but if you don’t the body that comes the with the Penmanship is still durable and good-looking.

Edited May 15, 2016 by phillieskjk

[Out0Mind]

Great review! I bought five of these and had the same general feeling. Great nib on a cheap pen at a good price. I don't mind losing it, but it feels solid, and nice for leaving around the house or office. I don't mind letting other people use them, and keep one at the door for signing for packages and the like.

[Gofixmix]

I love this pen.

Nice review, thanks, more people should know about it.

 

The name "Penmanship" might be unfortunate. It's great for all kinds of precise microscopic operations, drawing, obviously Japanese signs type of stuff, not so much for smooth Western writing...

 

(Although when I got tired of that bit of scratchiness I run it few times on the polishing stone, it writes really smoothly now, wetter, but with bit thicker line, so it's a trade off)

 

Crazy price/quality ratio.

[Aramchek]

I'm one of those who bought it for the nib, which is remarkably nice to write with considering how thin a line it produces and how cheap it is. Since I bought it for the nib it never even occurred to me that it might be used as an eyedropper so it will probably get its nib back now that I know of that possibility!

[Gofixmix]

I'm one of those who bought it for the nib, which is remarkably nice to write with considering how thin a line it produces and how cheap it is. Since I bought it for the nib it never even occurred to me that it might be used as an eyedropper so it will probably get its nib back now that I know of that possibility!

Oh yes

 

No o ring necessary. Just be careful when the level of ink gets too low. Which might be sooner than it seems, because of the shape of the pen. It will burp

I want to test it properly before I put waterproof black ink back in. But it seem OK, it never burped before the ink was too low or since I refilled the pen.

[senzen]

Good review, mine started scratchy but eventually became smooth; it didn't get along with Edelstein Mandarin but works great with Iroshizuku Ama Iro. The nib is so much finer than anything else I have, it always takes me a bit to get used to it, it's like writing with a needle.

 

[HollyGolightly]

I use mine with Noodler's Lexington Gray- primarily for sketching purposes. I like it's design for that- it's durable, I don't worry about messing up a fancier pen if I toss it in my case with my other arty supplies, and that extra fine line is to die for, even in some of my uber cheap sketchbooks.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your fine Review!

 

After my dreadful experience with two Pilot 78Gs, I was leery about the Penmanship. But that proved to be unfounded - your findings are in harmony with mine.

 

I have two, and use them primarily when I have colour-coded marginalia to do. Not too sure if I'd use a Penmanship for long-haul writing, but why not give it a go? (I'd rather my Estie with an EF nib.)

 

If I know I'll leave the pens idle for a while, I rinse the cap with water then cap the pen, which will keep the internal humidity high. I add a whisper of silicone to the lip to improve the cap seal to an even greater extent.

 

For some of my more recent Ink Reviews, a Penmanship was used for lines & labels, so atrocious written samples with various inks on a range of papers can be seen.

Search: "FPN Sandy1 ink review pilot penmanship"

 

Bye,

S1

[phillieskjk]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your fine Review!

 

After my dreadful experience with two Pilot 78Gs, I was leery about the Penmanship. But that proved to be unfounded - your findings are in harmony with mine.

 

I have two, and use them primarily when I have colour-coded marginalia to do. Not too sure if I'd use a Penmanship for long-haul writing, but why not give it a go? (I'd rather my Estie with an EF nib.)

 

If I know I'll leave the pens idle for a while, I rinse the cap with water then cap the pen, which will keep the internal humidity high. I add a whisper of silicone to the lip to improve the cap seal to an even greater extent.

 

For some of my more recent Ink Reviews, a Penmanship was used for lines & labels, so atrocious written samples with various inks on a range of papers can be seen.

Search: "FPN Sandy1 ink review pilot penmanship"

 

Bye,

S1

 

What problems did your 78g's give you? I've had a couple and I love them!

[Sandy1]

 

What problems did your 78g's give you? I've had a couple and I love them!

 

 

Hi,

 

Yes, many Members had glowing comments about the 78G + F, but the pens I received were scratchy, resisted my attempts at tine teasing & smoothing, and had problems with uneven flow.

 

For that sort of thing, Americans have the idiom, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.'

 

As the Penmanship hasn't fooled me, I support it as a very modest high performance narrow nib pen for whatever tickles your fancy.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited May 24, 2016 by Sandy1

[phillieskjk]

 

 

Hi,

 

Yes, many Members had glowing comments about the 78G + F, but the pens I received were scratchy, resisted my attempts at tine teasing & smoothing, and had problems with uneven flow.

 

For that sort of thing, Americans have the idiom, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.'

 

As the Penmanship hasn't fooled me, I support it as a very modest high performance narrow nib pen for whatever tickles your fancy.

 

Bye,

S1

 

That's unfortunate about the 78g's. Have you tried putting a penmanship nib and feed in the 78g?

[Sandy1]

 

That's unfortunate about the 78g's. Have you tried putting a penmanship nib and feed in the 78g?

 

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for identifying yet another nib-swap opportunity!

 

As these things go, I'm perfectly happy with my Penmanships as they are; and they are very well suited to their assigned tasks - especially that they are highly resistant to dry-out when handled as mentioned. I speculate that the 78G would be more prone to dry-out than the Penmanship. Dry-out / virga is a right nuisance with a narrow nib, which must deliver a clean crisp line as soon as the nib touches the page.

 

To use another stateside idiom, "If it aint' broke, don't fix it."

I certainly see the value of your suggestion for those who would use that pen+nib combo for continuous writing, rather than the stop-start of adding marginalia, and do not care for the prescriptive grip of the Penmanship and prefer a pen with a clip.

 

OBTW, as my Penmanships have clear barrels, I write the name of the ink in the pen on a sliver of paper, then slip that into the barrel.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited May 26, 2016 by Sandy1

[senzen]

Glamour shot! Didn't manage to take a sideways shot, I bent the nib upwards just a little by pressing gently on a paper on a table, writes even better, with Perle Noire.

 

 

It says super quality and they ain't kidding.

[minddance]

Scratchy and dry. Probably a very slight opening of the tines could smooth things out abit but that might change the line width. Well, can't have everything - at this price. I know many Chinese like this pen and bought this but many eventually moved on to other pens.

 

Perle Noir centainly eases things up