Pilot 78G+ = The New 78G?

[truthpil]

Hi Everyone,

 

Last year a pen starting popping up for sale in China that looks like a legitimate reincarnation of the discontinued but beloved Pilot 78G. The interesting thing is that this new pen, the Pilot 78G+, seems to only be for sale in mainland China. At first I thought it was another knockoff like the Wing Sung 659, but then I saw this on the official Pilot website for China. Scroll down to see a detailed comparison of the 78G and 78G+.

 

In short, the major differences are that the 78G+ comes in 2 new colors (bright blue and bright red) and an EF (0.28~0.3mm) nib is finally available. If these EF nibs are nice, this would mean no more having to put a Pilot Penmanship EF nib in a 78G body. Also, the CON-20 squeeze converter has been replaced by the new CON-40 piston style.

 

Before I take the plunge and buy one of these new pens, I wanted to know....do any of you have one of these and how does it compare to the original 78G?

 

http://www.pilotpen.com.cn/upload/fckimage/image/1(14).jpg

http://www.pilotpen.com.cn/upload/fckimage/image/2(2).jpg

 

 

 

[Algester]

it maybe a CHina only thing but at this point I forgot the model's name that would succeed the 78G

[amberleadavis]

Does it come in an italic?

[rochester21]

Quite strange. Is Pilot trying to accommodate the need of a very cheap, but "serious" looking pen in the China region? I wonder if these are still made in Japan, as i know Pilot did produce some cheaper models in other places than Japan.

 

If i had to take a guess, i would say that both the old and the new 78G are roughly the same. Although in the beginning i was very impressed with the 78G(much like everyone else) i have sold and used quite a few of these and the quality of the plastics used was disappointing(although the nibs were great). I had problems with leaky pens, especially after removing the nib and putting it back because the section would become loose, for instance.

 

So, for long term use, i would actually recommend a more expensive model from Pilot, like Prera or even a basic "Pilot Custom"(no numerals) which can be had for a modest amount.

 

Otherwise, as far as dirt cheap pens go, it`s still the chinese ones that have the best price/quality ratio. For example a Baoer 388 and Pilot 78G have equally good steel medium nibs, however the chinese pen is much better built than the 78G.

Edited February 14, 2017 by rochester21

[Barkingpig]

I am pleased I have a BB & B in the "expiring" edition. They are a wonderful stub nib for the price, altho not very attractive they surprise you with the nib's performance.

[truthpil]

Does it come in an italic?

 

According to the website, the BB stub has been discontinued but they've kept the B stub. However, I can't find any with the B nib for sale, but that may be because italic nibs are not popular for Chinese writing. I'm sure the EF will be a big hit here.

 

Quite strange. Is Pilot trying to accommodate the need of a very cheap, but "serious" looking pen in the China region? I wonder if these are still made in Japan, as i know Pilot did produce some cheaper models in other places than Japan.

 

If i had to take a guess, i would say that both the old and the new 78G are roughly the same. Although in the beginning i was very impressed with the 78G(much like everyone else) i have sold and used quite a few of these and the quality of the plastics used was disappointing(although the nibs were great). I had problems with leaky pens, especially after removing the nib and putting it back because the section would become loose, for instance.

 

So, for long term use, i would actually recommend a more expensive model from Pilot, like Prera or even a basic "Pilot Custom"(no numerals) which can be had for a modest amount.

 

Otherwise, as far as dirt cheap pens go, it`s still the chinese ones that have the best price/quality ratio. For example a Baoer 388 and Pilot 78G have equally good steel medium nibs, however the chinese pen is much better built than the 78G.

 

My experience is similar to yours. My 78Gs are the only pens I've actually worn out and they look terrible now. One of the nibs just died on me, which is why I'm shopping for another.

 

The one thing I like about the 78G over the cheaper Chinese pens is the fine-ness of the nib. I have yet to find any Chinese pen that writes as smooth and consistent a fine line as the 78G with an F nib. Every Chinese EF nib I've used so far hasn't come close.

Although they often write smoothly, the line is always broader than the Japanese F. I've also found that the gold-colored 78G nibs seem to be smoother than the nibs that come on the Prera or Metropolitan. I don't know what that is.

[AL01]

Interesting. As you know, the Chinese market is extraordinarily big. this could be done for them only.

 

For the pen... Parts may be from Japan and China. Like laser units. (Laser optics from Japan, casing and assy. in China.)

[truthpil]

Yeah, I suspect they are made mostly in China. All the packaging is in Chinese. I'll order one in a few days and see what the quality of the nib is like.

 

In China they are priced higher than the remaining old 78Gs. The 78G+ goes for around US$11 (80RMB) while the 78G for around a dollar less.

[Inkantadora]

Thank you for the details from the pilot CN site.

 

Just bought a fine and an extra fine in blue and black respectively after seeing your posts and a few others. Will post a review in two weeks when I get them (didn't want to spend more on shipping to France...).

 

My husband has the tinyest handwriting and had stopped using FP years ago when he started working because he didn't really find something fine and smooth enough (and didn't put in the time to do research on it).

 

I read that the best would be a Hero 237-1 Accountant, but they are hard to find. So when I read that the 78G fine is quite nice, and realized that the 78G+ is a 0.28mm, it seems to fit the bill.

 

I really love my B and especially the BB Pilot 78G I have. It's a really crisp italic and so far the material has held up. I know that at some point I'll have to take the nib and out it in another pen, but that's fine by me. I care more about the nib than the rest. My only complaint is the Con-20, and even that has been updated so, the 78G+ just might be the solution for me too since I don't have any fine pens I enjoy at the moment.

 

Looking forward to trying them out! 😊😊😊

[truthpil]

Just bought a fine and an extra fine in blue and black respectively after seeing your posts and a few others. Will post a review in two weeks when I get them (didn't want to spend more on shipping to France...).

 

My husband has the tinyest handwriting and had stopped using FP years ago when he started working because he didn't really find something fine and smooth enough (and didn't put in the time to do research on it).

 

I read that the best would be a Hero 237-1 Accountant, but they are hard to find. So when I read that the 78G fine is quite nice, and realized that the 78G+ is a 0.28mm, it seems to fit the bill.

 

 

I'm glad the information could be of use to you!

I'm also looking forward to your reviews of the pens!! Thanks for being willing to do that.

 

I imagine that the fine nib will be perfect for your husband (remember, this is a Japanese fine), but I've found that the extra fine nibs write so fine that they're mostly only good for writing in the margins of books, on small labels, or other places where you need to write extremely small. I'm curious to see how much feedback the 78G+ EF will have.

 

Hope you enjoy the pens!

[Inkantadora]

I'm glad the information could be of use to you!

I'm also looking forward to your reviews of the pens!! Thanks for being willing to do that.

 

I imagine that the fine nib will be perfect for your husband (remember, this is a Japanese fine), but I've found that the extra fine nibs write so fine that they're mostly only good for writing in the margins of books, on small labels, or other places where you need to write extremely small. I'm curious to see how much feedback the 78G+ EF will have.

 

Hope you enjoy the pens!

He essentially writes in a A6 Quo Vadis agenda showing a week spread in two pages. He also writes comments in the margin of papers and books, not to mention tiny hard to read notes to me. Then if he prefers the F, he can have that option to try too.

 

On a tangent, I cannot read Mandarin but see "22k" everywhere with the 78G+. Since these pens are more expensive than the original gold plated pens, is it possible that these are actual very thin gold nibs? I read somewhere that they seem to have a springiness that the old version did not have... we will see soon enough (really getting too curious for a pen that will be here two weeks from now!).

[truthpil]

On a tangent, I cannot read Mandarin but see "22k" everywhere with the 78G+. Since these pens are more expensive than the original gold plated pens, is it possible that these are actual very thin gold nibs? I read somewhere that they seem to have a springiness that the old version did not have... we will see soon enough (really getting too curious for a pen that will be here two weeks from now!).

 

I'm certain that the nibs are gold washed at best. Any Pilot with a gold nib goes for much more. Even the Chinese pens with real gold nibs are much more than a 78G+, and those nibs are usually hard nails with not even a hint of flex. The nibs on the original 78Gs are quite thin so maybe these 78G+ has even thinner nibs which would explain the springiness.

[Inkantadora]

I'm certain that the nibs are gold washed at best. Any Pilot with a gold nib goes for much more. Even the Chinese pens with real gold nibs are much more than a 78G+, and those nibs are usually hard nails with not even a hint of flex. The nibs on the original 78Gs are quite thin so maybe these 78G+ has even thinner nibs which would explain the springiness.

Thank you!

 

I found that "22k" all over the place fishy. Makes more sense...

[Algester]

22kt gold plate nibs

[Inkantadora]

Hi!

 

Sorry for the delay. We received the pens last week and spent a few days using the pens before my review.

 

The EF is much finer than the F and scratchier but in a good way. Though I normally love super smooth nibs, I actually enjoy the delicate feel of paper when writing with the EF. Instead my husband preceded the smoother F, so after a few days we switched nibs.

 

Of and as always, they needed to be cleaned and the twines separated with a brass sheet. I even wrote with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng all week with the EF and it handled it like a champ! Today I switched the ink of my blue pen to Noodler's Black to compare to my husband's black pen which is inked with Noodler's Blackerase. The only complaint he has had is hard starts after having the pen open for a few minutes (but I think it may be due to the choice of ink).

 

In the photos below, you can see the difference between the two.

 

Hope this is useful!

[Inkantadora]

I think I might open a new thread to share this... what do you all think?😊

[antichresis]

Hi!

 

Sorry for the delay. We received the pens last week and spent a few days using the pens before my review.

 

The EF is much finer than the F and scratchier but in a good way. Though I normally love super smooth nibs, I actually enjoy the delicate feel of paper when writing with the EF. Instead my husband preceded the smoother F, so after a few days we switched nibs.

 

Of and as always, they needed to be cleaned and the twines separated with a brass sheet. I even wrote with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng all week with the EF and it handled it like a champ! Today I switched the ink of my blue pen to Noodler's Black to compare to my husband's black pen which is inked with Noodler's Blackerase. The only complaint he has had is hard starts after having the pen open for a few minutes (but I think it may be due to the choice of ink).

 

In the photos below, you can see the difference between the two.

 

Hope this is useful!

Thank you for the review, I appreciate it a lot!

[AL01]

Well, well, well.... The 78G is back from the dead!

[TSherbs]

I like these pens, but the EF would be too fine for me.

[ManofKent]

Thank you for the review and samples.