3 Japanese Cigar Pens- Opinion

[Honeybadgers]

I'd say the ruthenium-plated 21K gold F nib on my Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black feels about the the same in softness stakes as the Pilot #10 14K gold F nib on my Pilot Custom Kaede. The 21k gold Naginata Concord nib on my Sailor Profit (aka 1911L) is certainly not soft, let alone mushy.

 

 

my 21k M maroon realo is much softer than my 21k F realo. It's really weird. the F actually feels very unpleasant to press on, and the M has some actual bounce. No idea why, but they are very distinctly different feeling nibs.

 

the M feels about as soft as a #5 pilot F 14k.

[A Smug Dill]

Alas, I can't compare the 21K (yellow) gold F nib on my Sailor Pro Gear REALO against the black 21K gold F nib on my Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black, or any other nib for that matter, at the moment anyway, so I don't know if it's particularly stiff.

[Honeybadgers]

it's definitely a firm nib. You shouldn't really be flexing them. But they don't spring if you give them a little pressure.

[rudyhou]

i own all 3 - pilot custom 74, platinum 3776, sailor 1911. they all great pens. the most noticeable difference is the nib feel. pilot has the smoothest feel on paper, while both platinum and sailor got 'feedback' to their nibs. i enjoy the performance of these 3 pens, but if you prefer 'feedback' on writing, then stick with platinum and sailor. if you prefer a smoother writing feel, then pilot is the way to go.

 

it is difficult to compare pilot custom 74 with custom 823, as both are at a different category. custom 74 is a slimmer and lighter weight pen, compared to custom 823 that is larger in size. custom 74 uses a no.5 nib with many sizes/types of nib offered, while custom 823 uses a no.15 nib but with only 3 choices on nib size. custom 74 also uses a converter system, while custom 823 uses the plunger filling system.

Edited February 20, 2019 by rudyhou

[CoolBreeze]

If money is not an issue, The 823 beats the 74. It's a larger and nicer feeling pen with a magnificent nib. I have used a friend's and it was great. I had a 91 (74 with flat ends) and didn't like it. It is a skinnier pen which I didn't like and the nib tines came very tight together. Upstrokes were very dry and down strokes were very wet - it definitely has some flex. My medium also wrote like a broad or double broad. That's just my experience and I didn't enjoy it.