Pilot 78G review

[brothiel]

@sbrebrown would you get the 78G or the Noodler's Piston filled? Just looking for some cheap pens to ink up.

[sbrebrown]

@brothiel They are both good pens. I have the Pilot 78G with a B nib, which is broader than the nib on the Noodler's piston-filler. As I like broader nibs, I prefer the Pilot. Then again, considering the price, the Noodler's piston-filler is a very nice pen.

[mkglobetrotter]

A pity these pens aren't readily available!

What do you think of Iroshizuku Momiji? I've only tried Kon-Peki, but I'd like to try some other colours.

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Indeed: jetpens now appears to has removed them completely! Momiji I like. It's the only Iroshizuku ink I own, but it is extremely well behaved. It's just a bit of a typical colour, not very vibrant, but somewhat restrained (which is not a bad thing, if one needs an ink that's colourful but not too flashy). You like Kon-Peki?

[mkglobetrotter]

@sbrebrown Kon-Peki sounds like Momiji in the sense that it's well behaved, not very vibrant and sort of restrained. I do like it, but I probably won't purchase a bottle of it (I only have a sample) as I'm trying to explore different and unique ink colours.

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, that confirms my impression: I think I'll leave it at this one bottle of Momiji :-).

[mkglobetrotter]

@sbrebrown So I managed to snag one of these pens! I'll let you know what I think when it arrives. :)

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Nice! Broad nib?

[mkglobetrotter]

@sbrebrown Yes. I had contemplated getting a double broad, but I already have a pen with the same nib width (1.5mm). I don't have a 1mm nib, so I chose broad. Should be fun to do calligraphy with it! :)

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, you can use it for calligraphy: clearly, it won't result in a huge script at just 1 mm, but it will work!

[mkglobetrotter]

@sbrebrown So I've been using the 78G for a few days, and I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised. While I do find the pen to be a bit too light and too thin, it's great for calligraphy. The nib is pretty smooth! I do wish the nib had some tipping, though, so that I can hold the pen at any angle; it's sometimes picky about that. Thanks for convincing me to get this pen! :)

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a smooth nib - but the pen could have been heavier.  Then again, for this price...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a smooth nib, but the pen could have been heavier. Then again, for this price...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a smooth nib. I too prefer heavier pens. Then again, considering the price of this pen...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter @mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a smooth nib. I too prefer heavier pens. Then again, considering the price of this pen...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter @mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a smooth nib. I too prefer heavier pens. Then again, considering how inexpensive this pen is...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a pretty smooth nib. I too prefer heavier pens, though. Then again, considering how inexpensive this pen is...

[sbrebrown]

@mkglobetrotter Yes, this is a pretty smooth nib. I too prefer heavier pens, though. Then again, considering how inexpensive this pen is...

[BDM450]

Overall, your FP reviews seem extremely positive.  Do you tactfully ignore the bad pens, or do you just never get bad pens?

[sbrebrown]

@BDM450 Generally speaking, I'm fairly enthusiastic about these pens - and I haven't dealt with many bad pens. However, I recently got a Sheaffer Award and that one... Well, wait till you see the review of the Award :-).

[fb8568]

This pen will broken easily, I bought one for school, within 2 days my schoolmate broken it

[sbrebrown]

@fb8568 That's why I never lend my pens to people ;-).

[fb8568]

@sbrebrown Some morons didn't think it is a turning cap, she just put it our.

[sbrebrown]

@fb8568 Yes, that sucks; IF I lend someone a pen, I always tell them, "The cap screws open, like THIS." Just to make sure they don't ruin my pens.

[fb8568]

It seem to be recently they don't come with a box

[harl3yjan3]

thanks for this, helps to know the 78g Broad is quite different from the other size nibs - if you can find one!

[sbrebrown]

@harl3yjan3 Indeed! Nice pens, so if you can find them, you won't regret picking one up!

[mobi0bred]

Hi Stephen,

I enjoy your video reviews very much. I have become a regular in watching. I like that you include both high-end and "economy class" pens in your collection. The latter one definitely helps the newbies in the world of fp-users.

Here a suggestion: Have a go at the Hero 616 Large. These are Parker 51 clones from China (Hero actually has evolved out of a nationalized Parker factory). Dirt cheap but good writers. I have no affiliation with Hero whatsoever, just using them.

Cheers

M.B.

[sbrebrown]

@mobi0bred Glad you like the videos! Yes, I've been checking out these Chinese brands, it would be interesting to get some...

[retro51fan]

Thanks for the review---well-done! I have a red version of your Pilot 78G and enjoy writing with it, although I wish Pilot had used metal cap rings, rather than painted-on rings...but for the price, I guess that'd be asking too much! Quick tip re: filling the squeeze converter (at the 07.13 mark, you explain how to do this)--try waiting a few seconds (3 or 4) in between squeezes, in order to allow the ink sac to fill more efficiently. Looking forward to seeing if the eyedropper conversion works!

[sbrebrown]

@retro51fan That's a good tip, thanks! So far, the eyedropper conversion is holding up (and with a good flow, too)!  I'll keep you posted!

[retro51fan]

@sbrebrown You're welcome...and thanks! :)

[jdrykx]

anxiously waiting for the waterman carene contemporary gunmetal review;)

[sbrebrown]

@jdrykx Will be up soon :-)!

[TheScarletSonata]

Thanks for the review! I have one with a fine nib (and yes, it's a normal spoon nib) that would be my main note taking pen if it held more ink! Please let us know how the eyedropper conversion comes out, I'd love to let your pen be the guinea pig. :)

[sbrebrown]

@TheScarletSonata So far, the eyedropper conversion is holding up :-). I'll upload a video of the conversion process in the near future!

[crazyhamster51]

Can i use normal american fountain pen ink???

[sbrebrown]

@crazyhamster51 Sure, you can! I just thought it would be interesting to combine Japanese pens and ink.

[redforrori]

Another brilliant review! I think this pen is FAB for the price--and that is some pretty ink! I haven't tried Momiji yet--I may have to.

[sbrebrown]

@redforrori Indeed, considering the price, this is one funky chicken!

[pauldavid30]

hi ...I have one pilot 78g with bb nib it writing very nice and smooth really love it (you can check on my video :P )

[sbrebrown]

@pauldavid30 Looks nice! I didn't even know there were 78Gs with BB nibs!

[pauldavid30]

@sbrebrown thanks you very much , at first I need to have B nib but the shop did not has ....so I buy the BB nib and it really surprise to me by the line variation and the especially the narrow line.

[sbrebrown]

@pauldavid30 Indeed: it shows some nice line variation!