Pandora's Box

Once the lid is open we all know it is just not possible to close the box and pretend nothing had happened.

I —and many others— succeeded in implementing a different nib in a Twsbi Diamond and there is no way back. I did that with a Pilot no. 5 nib in 14 K gold. It not only worked well but also looked beautiful—the rhodiated nib matched perfectly with the silver accents of the pen.

A Twsbi Diamond 530 with a 14 K medium nib.

Pilot manufactures that nib in eleven different variations, which allow us to create eleven different chimeras. One of the most interesting might be a Twsbi Diamond 530 with a music nib. Indeed a good match—the high ink demands of the double-slit nib are supplied by a big ink deposit and a beautiful piston.

A Twsbi Diamond 530 with a 14 K music nib.

Another options I have explored are Sailor’s. The junior nib fits wonderfully on the Twsbi. The result is a nice looking demonstrator with a smooth 21 K gold nib. The only problem is the lack of color coordination between nib and decorative elements—clip, rings, etc.

A Twsbi Diamond with a 21 K medium fine nib.

Other Twsbi users have tried other combinations. Pelikan nibs from models 200, 400 and 600 seem to fit well and are easily available in the market. And those come in a variety of styles including oblique points.

So, we all opened the box and the field is ready for our experiments. Twsbi company, on its side, might want to supply more exciting nibs on their already interesting pens. But if Twsbi did not try, we users have already open Pandora’s box. We are already working on it, doing our best. And with good results.

(Pilot Decimo – Sailor Yama-dori)

Bruno Taut
(Madrid, February 28th, 2011)
[labels: Twsbi, Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor]

Chimera

The universe of stylophiles is often divided in two groups: those who consider themselves as users and those who take pride in their condition of collectors. A lot has been written on the matter and, at the end, personal preferences –how each of us enjoyed this hobby— are what really counts.

It is also true that the attitude towards pens is very different for these two groups. The collector aims at having that perfect pen, untouched from the moment it went out of the production line. They glorify new old stock (NOS) pens, and keep them uninked. The user, on the other hand, wants to ink and to write, and a poorly performing pen, that the collector would never test, is always a source of frustrations.

Then, how far can a user go to make an efficient writer out of any pen?

The chimeric Twsbi with the Pilot nib (a 14 K gold number 5 in M).

The secondary chimera: a Plot Custom 74 with the Bock steel nib made for Twsbi.

Recently, I became the owner of a couple of modern pens: a Twsbi Diamond 530 and a Pilot Custom 74 Demonstrator. Playing around with them—well, you always learn something new from nibmeister Yamada—I saw that both nibs could easily be exchanged. So… why not?

Both chimeras, side by side.

Now I am using the piston filler Twsbi with the 14 K gold Pilot nib. And that makes a great combination. The feeds, though, cannot be swapped as their diameters are different. But this causes no troubles in the nib performance.

The real Pilot Custom Heritage 92 with a FM nib (courtesy of Kinno-san).

At the end, I am having a “de facto” Pilot Custom Heritage 92 —the Pilot piston-filler demonstrator equipped with a 14 K gold nib in size 5— out of an inexpensive and reliable Twsbi Diamond.

Some people –a friend of mine among them— might not like my experiment... But my chimera rocks! After all, I am not damaging any historical artifact and I only improved the performance of my pen.

Yeah, today I am a user.

My thanks to Mr. Yamada.

(Sailor Black Pocket Pen 21 – Sailor Black)

Bruno Taut
(Madrid, February 19th, 2011)
[labels: Twsbi, Pilot, estilofilia]

Heritage 92

Para Kinno-san, amigo.

Pen review: Pilot Custom Heritage 92.

A common complaint among stylophiles fond of Japanese pens is the lack of exciting filling systems in modern pens—cartridge/converter is the system of choice among Japanese companies. The primary exception to this rule are the oversized and expensive Namiki eyedroppers. In recent years, however, some self-filling pens have shown up in the market. The plunger filler Pilot Custom 823, and the piston filler Sailor Realo were these newcomers among the three big Japanese companies. The much smaller company Katoseisakusho also produces some piston fillers, but those pens are seldom spotted in stationary shops in Tokyo.

Such was the pen scene up to this past October when Pilot released another demonstrator pen with a self-filling mechanism—the Custom Heritage 92.

The Pilot Custom Heritage 92.

1. Appearance and design. (8.5/10)
This pen is a perfect transparent demonstrator with silver accents. The 14 K gold nib is rhodiated. Shape-wise, this pen is basically a torpedo with flat ends.

The clip has a new design that departs from the classic ball-ended Pilot clip. There is no inscription on it, and the Pilot brand is signed only on the nib.

The nib inside the cap. The translucent gray sheet is clearly visible.

Inside the cap, the nib is covered by a grayish translucent plastic, probably to hide both ink stains and condensation.


2. Construction and quality. (9.0/10)
Everything fits and works perfectly out of the box. The cap adjusts tightly to the barrel end, and the piston is very smooth in its function.

The pen, posted.

The pen, so far, has little use, but its construction materials look very correct and do not show any scratch.


3. Weight and dimensions. (8.0/10)
This pen is basically a Custom 74 with a piston filling system and flat ends. The Heritage 92 is heavier than its cartridge/converter relative. It is well balanced, especially if unposted.

Dimensions:
Length capped: 137 mm.
Length open: 121 mm.
Length posted: 151 mm.
Diameter: 13.5 mm
Weight: 20 g (dry).

Custom 74 and Custom Heritage 92, side by side.

4. Nib and writing performance. (7.0/10)
This pen, as the Custom 74, uses size-5 14 K gold nibs, but only four of the eleven possible points are available on the Heritage 92: F, FM, M and B. I can see no real reasons for this policy. Pilot seems unable to combine exciting nibs with interesting filling systems.

The nib and the feed.

This unit in particular is equipped with an FM nib. Thin, smooth, and with a nicely wet flow. But also rigid and uncharacteristic. There is no problem in swapping nibs among Pilot pens with size-5 nibs other than the possible change in color.

In conclusion, good writing nib, albeit boring; very small selection of nibs.


5. Filling system and maintenance. (8.0/10)
The selling point of this pen is the filling system—a piston filler à la Pelikan. And indeed this pen looks like a Pelikan.

The piston, half way.

The piston knob.

The piston works very smoothly and holds about 1.2 ml of ink, which is only 0.2 ml more than the 1.0 ml capacity of the Pilot CON-70 converter available for most of the Custom series of pens. And this capacity is smaller than that of similar piston fillers by Pelikan or Twsbi. Being a self-filler, this pen is harder to clean than a cartridge converter, but the nib and feed set can easily be removed from the section.

A different issue is the coloration the barrel might acquire in direct contact with inks. Not much can be said as of now as this is a newly released pen.


6. Cost and value. (5.5/10)
In the Japanese market, this pen costs JPY 15000 (plus 5% tax)—JPY 5000 more expensive than the very similar Custom 74 or Custom Heritage 91. The 92’s looks and filling mechanism are more exciting, but the nib selection is also a lot more limited with no possibility to choose music or coarse or soft nibs. And should we want a demonstrator, we could also get the transparent version of the Custom 74.

If compared to other brands, Twsbi and Pelikan offer similar products. Twsbi 530’s price is less than one third of the Pilot´s; and the Pelikan M200 costs, in Japan, JPY 10000 (plus 5% tax). Both of them use steel nibs.

Therefore, I tend to think that those extra JPY 5000 are a steep overprice for a piston whose performance is comparable to that of the converter CON-70.


7. Conclusion. (46.5/60=77.5/100)
Nice looking pen, but the piston filler comes at an extra cost of JPY 5000, and is associated to a very limited number of nibs. Other than this, the Custom Heritage 92 is a nice writer with a good supply of ink.

ADDENDUM March 17th, 2011: A correction was added--the CON-70 converter has a capacity of only 1.0 ml instead of the 1.4 ml some sources claimed, and a careful measurement of the ink deposit showed a capacity of only 1.2 ml.

(Pilot Custom Heritage 92 – Pelikan Turquoise)

Bruno Taut
(Madrid, November 11th, 2010)
[labels: Pilot, Pelikan, Twsbi]