The Pilot FA nib shouldn’t be in the Pilot 742 or 743.
There, I’ve said it. It’s a very flexible nib, the closest to vintage flex of all modern nibs, but being in a cartridge/converter filler and having such a stingy feed just cripples it. Pilot, do us all a favor. Change the feed and make an eyedropper for this poorly-served nib. You should have an eyedropper in your archives!
When I first got my Pilot 742 FA, I was very impressed. After several fills, I couldn’t ignore how often it would stutter in the middle of a stroke – the ink flow simply couldn’t keep up. I think for a normal (read: non-flex addict) user, this would not even emerge as a problem. I cracked the feed when I tried to remedy the flow problem.
I pulled out the FA nib, and after several failed tries, found a Vacumatic feed that seemed to fit, and installed both in a Waterman 12.
I have taken to calling it the Frankenpen Xtreme.
The FA nib tended to stand away from a flat feed, so there was no flow. The Vac’s rounded feed worked a lot better.
And here’s how it behaves now.
Tags: Pilot
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Nice reflection. I am also frustrated by how Pilot puts their most interesting nibs on very boring pens–black Custom 74, 742 and 743.
Now, you could swap the 15 FA nib from the Custom 743 to the Custom 823 that holds a lot more ink with its touch-down filling system. Of course, the trick is rather expensive.
Nice post.
Cheers,
BT
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Does the Custom 823 have better flow, you think? Wider channel in the feed? Sigh. Waste of a wonderful nib, really. I am enjoying it so much more now that it has the flow it’s meant to have.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Looking at my Custom 823 I don’t see that it has anything but normal flow. I’ve toyed with the idea of putting a 15 size FA nib on it and have been looking to see if any can be bought individually. A lot of work on the feed I’m sure would be necessary to get it to pass through the copious amount of ink needed.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:28 am
My, my, aren’t you getting handy at pen mod. Nice to know there is hope for the FA nib.
July 4th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Leigh’s Frankenpen Extreme is simlpy awesome. I’ve tried it during the last mini pen meet and gosh….the flow can keep up with the flex no matter how hard you push the nib… Now, where do I get a Waterman 12 body, a Vac feed ,,,and an FA nib unit???
July 4th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Hi Leigh,
There’s this one Japanese store that retrofit the #15 FA nib on a Custom 823, but seemingly no one on FPN that I’ve seen have gotten their hands on one (or reviewed one for that matter).
The site is here (no affiliation):
http://www.asahiyakami.co.jp/shop/pilot_custom823/pilot_custom823.htm
me a newly minted FPN member (Soot), also a long time lurker on your blog. Thought it’s about time to say hi!
Bob
July 4th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I guess my suggestion only addressed the ink capacity problem, but not the main one of the ink flow.
Antonios Zavaliangos, when reviewing the 743 FA, http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5200 , simply suggests to slow down the pace: “…slowing down is good for better forms.”
Now, Mr Yamada –that one– also modifies feeders to put up with increasing ink flow in his modified Sailor nibs: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TB-T1CcIgUI/AAAAAAAAARA/2goV-_5Mvtw/s1600/IMG_1181-red.jpg ; http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aQ69G8Wh9To/TAFJN5ROTHI/AAAAAAAAAOA/a21gOwAP8wo/s1600/Flex-Sailor.jpg , http://estilofilos.blogspot.com/2010/06/craftsman.html
To do that, he increases the section of the air slits in the feeder–more air in, more ink out. Subtle changes, though.
I hope to catch up with him soon, and I will try to take some pics of his modified feeders.
Cheers,
BT
July 5th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Bob – Great videos at the link – thank you so much! (waves hi back)
Bruno – yes, but it gasps for ink even when I am slow. >.< I need a Pilot customer representative!
July 7th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Very interesting reflections about the FA nib that I’ve become very curious to try. Thanks for yet another insightful post!
August 20th, 2010 at 2:17 am
I filled my brand new 742 FA with Noodler’s Bulletproof today and set out to face my out-of-shape hand. By the time I had gone half a page, the ink flow couldn’t keep up at all. I have no patience for this.
To hell with slowing down. A disposable pen feeds ink better than this. If this cannot be reworked, it will be unusable.
I’m really disappointed.