Pilot Fountain Pen Custom 742, Black Body, FA-Nib

Beautifully crafted, the body is well polished with a gold trim, paired with a light yellow gold nib. The FA nib is an interesting nib. I’ve been using this pen for a while now, paired with the Con-70 converter. (It’s a No.10 nib on the 742.) As far as I know, the FA nib was originally limited to the Asian markets and developed for writing Asian cursive, which often relies on wider downstrokes and brush-like expression. The nib offers decent flex, giving you a nice amount of line variation, which I really enjoy. That said, it’s worth noting that this isn’t a “true” flex nib in the sense of something like a Magna Carta Mag 600—it won’t give you the same dramatic range or vintage-like softness. Think of it more as a softer nib. Don’t over-flex it, and be prepared for a bit of a learning curve if you want to get the most out of it. For occasional expressive writing, it’s a fun nib. Without flex, it behaves much like a Pilot fine or extra-fine, so it’s still practical for everyday use, although you may find yourself writing a bit slower due to the flexiness. The nib has a quick snap back, which makes it responsive and helps maintain control when moving between light and heavier strokes. I use it posted, and the pen feels well balanced in the hand. I also recommend pairing it with high-flowing inks; I’ve used it with Iroshizuku inks and didn’t have any issues with flow even when flexing. At these Amazon Japan import prices, it’s very well worth the money.

*The pen itself: 5 stars. **Beware of purchasing this pen from external sellers here because mine was factory sealed however the Pilot box was obviously used and for a different pen (also didn't come with any warranty/registration papers). No regrets though because the pen came in perfect condition. After receiving this pen I immediately put my Pilot/Namiki Falcon (elabo) for sale! The falcon nib is softer and more flexible compared to the Pilot Falcon, and holds more ink in the CON-70 converter. If you can adapt to the writing style (very light pressure most of the time) than it makes an excellent every-day writer with line variation (not a "wet-noodle" however). If you want this pen just for calligraphy purposes you must write slowly otherwise you will get railroading. Also, this pen is VERY ink dependent. I find that this pen will only perform very well with Noodler's Heart of Darkness. Because the ink is very wet, it will make your lines closer to a medium than a fine however even when flexing and writing quickly I rarely get railroading or dry starts with that ink. All other inks I've tried suffer when trying to attain line variation and writing at normal paces (Noodler's black, iroshizuku inks, waterman inspired blue, etc). It's a shame because the pen is fantastic with a shading ink like Waterman Inspired Blue, but I found after writing for some time the pen will dry start and you need to push some ink through the feed with the converter to get it really going again if you flex it a lot. Of course if you're doing calligraphy this is probably not a huge problem, but if you're at a meeting it's going to look strange if you start twisting the barrel off your pen. These dry starts/railroading issues are known for these falcon nib pens so I don't detract any stars, especially because Heart of Darkness is my go-to black ink and it allows this pen to perform perfectly albeit it widens the pen's lines a bit, however it's not a problem for me because when flexing the broad lines are more broad to match. In summary, great pen if you use a compatible ink. I'm sure there are more I just have not tried that are excellent with this pen. Also, in terms of how the pen looks: it's basically a black/gold custom 74 with slight differences. There are many youtube video reviews where you can see more than a picture of course.

Very fine nib & Works well on cheap paper.

This pen must be appreciated for what it is and what it is, is balance. It is not the modern flex, it is a fine fountain pen with a very soft nib to add some uniqueness to your writing. Do to its ink flow you can use railroading and the nib running dry as an art form, do not complain about what it is not, praise what it is. If you rate less than 5 stars you did not do your research, if you want a wet noodle get a Waterman 52. If you want a truly unique pen get either a Pilot Custom 742 or 912 in a FA Falcon nib. On the quality of the pen itself, it is rather light, the length seems good for it's size. The converter takes some getting used to, you basically need to push the plunger as fast as possible. On the end of the pen the gold band feels a little loose not that it would ever come off but perhaps the cavity it fits into should be shallower. The cap screws on in one complete turn, it does not however slowly get more rigid it s basically full turn and done. The cap has no problems coming off that I have seen so far.

La pluma está bien pero tiene un problema de diseño al utilizarla con el plumín FA (mismo caso para la 912, 743 u 823) y es que el alimentador no suele poder suministrar suficiente tinta cuando flexionas. La solución es comprar un alimentador de 2 o 3 canales (flex nib factory, en Amazon no lo encontré) específico para ella. Otro inconveniente es la limpieza del con 70 que siempre aparece tinta cuando ya pensabas que estaba limpio.

ne vous attendez pas à une plume ultra flexible, c'est une plume ultra fine avec un débit humide mais vous ne ferez varier l'épaisseur du trait que de façon minimale MAIS l'écriture est un pur plaisir ultra ultra fine conçu à la base pour écrire sur le mauvais papier des cartes postales japonaises ... alors sur du clairefontaine....je recommande le stylo et l'encre noire pilot take sumi...même 15 js sans l'utiliser....rien ne sèche ni se bouche....on peut écrire en minuscules capitales ou style libre..... cette plume est vraiment spéciale sur la photo on peut voir la forme en bec d'oiseau qui donne cette caractéristique de fermeté

It was a gift to another, but they liked it.

The pen is good, the delivery is bad, I needed to chase the parcel that was not delivered at home as planned, but after contradicting delivery information (It will be delivered today, oh no tomorrow, oh no it was delivered yesterday.) only the supplier could get to know where it was after all at a delivery point.

Ich fühle mich angekommen, ja "zuhause " mit dieser Coarsefeder von Pilot! Sie ist am Federkorn flacher geschliffen als die Platinum century coarse, und die flachere Auflage der Pilot 742 Coarsefeder fühlt sich für mich persönlich angenehmer an. Von der Linienbreite ist es wie eine BB feder, wobei die rotring artpen BB noch breitere Linien erzeugt, meine Pelikan 14k BB schmalere und die Kaweco BB noch schmaler ausfällt. In der Art, wie die Pilot Coarsefeder schreibt, lässt sich vergleichen mit der Platinum 3776 Coarse, sowohl in der Linienbreite, als auch in der Varianz der Linien. Doch durch die "kugeligere "Form des Federkorns der Platinum Coarse feder liegt die Feder weniger "flach " auf dem Papier, und erzeugt so etwas schmalere Linien. Eingefüllt hatte ich die Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, und mit dieser Tinte "flitzt " die Pilot Coarsefeder nur so über das Papier! Ich hatte auch eine "trockene "Tinte (kyo no oto Nurebairo)ausprobiert:die Pilot Coarsefeder schrieb immer noch glatt, jedoch mit etwas Anschieben. Mit der Take-Sumi Tinte schreibt die Pilot 742 Coarsefeder MEGA BUTTERWEICH fast ohne irgendein Feedback-(an dieser Stelle Dank an den Nibmeister: echt klasse gut gemacht!!!) Mir persönlich macht die Pilot Coarsefeder enorm viel Spaß: große Überschriften, herausstellen von Wörtern und Buchstaben bishin zum variantenreichen Zeichnen. Eine Beobachtung von mir: die Menge an Tinte, die die Pilot Coarsefeder zu Papier bringt, und daher der Con70 Konverter innerhalb 1Tag leer sein kann!Wenn Sie draußen Zeichnen oder unterwegs viel Schreiben wollen, sind Sie darauf angewiesen, Reservetinte in irgendeiner Form mitzunehmen!!!