Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Pilot Custom Heritage 91 Fountain Pen Broad Nib & Tsukiyo Body

I have never exceed in anything in my life: I make pretty lousy grades in school (not even talking about Asian standard...It's a blessing my parents haven't disowned me), I am horribly at coordination (forget about sports, I have never managed a push-up in my life. It's like I push, then nothing comes up...) and my artistic endeavor can't even match the "side hobby" of a typical over-achiever...

However, there is one thing that I kept winning, which is "fun bidding" at eBay:  Every time I see a bidding that seems mildly popular, I would chime in and overbid by what seems like 50 cent (several hours before the auction ends) and guess what? People never bid after that...And that's how I ended up with this pen. 
At a glance, Pilot Custom Heritage 91 Looks quite similar to Sailor Professional Gear with the rhodium trim, flat cap and base and the resin body. The design is simpler and the pen's body is noticeably lighter than my professional gear slim (Sapporo) even though it's noticeably longer (here is a side by side shot).  My first impression is that it's cheaper, bulkier and blander sister of Sapporo. 

Despite the slightly lighter weight, the pen is still solidly built and comfortable to hold. The resin body is reasonably tough and a little more tolerant to scratches than my Sapporo (mainly because the color is not as deep or glossy).
 
Even though the appearance is a bit uninteresting (Sailor nibs are so much prettier) , I was soon won over by the nib. The 14K broad nib is wet, smooth and soft (in a slightly bouncy and gummy kind of way) that makes writing more than just comfortable. It's great at bringing out the shading of inks but I noticed my handwriting look a lot more squiggly and childish while using it.
Close up of the trim. The pen has a screw-on cap and a very secure clip (no slit to caught on to the fiber on my shirt) and it thread on the barrel is also metal-colored (just like Sapporo...See why I don't love it?  It's like an appearance downgrade of a pen I already have and love). Thanks to the longer body, it also takes the bigger Pilot con-70 converter in addition to the squeeze type con-20, piston-fill con-50 and Pilot proprietary cartridge.
Pilot Custom Heritage 91 with Iroshizuku Tsukiyo ink
 Complete written review.  My handwriting prefers steel (or hard) nibs = = ... Overall: Not a fan of the design (I think my favorite looker from Pilot is Prera) but this is just a really reliable and  feel-good writer.
 The compulsory matching photo
 I think this one looks closer to the pen's body

5 comments:

  1. Constantly getting good grades at school can be tiresome and overrated because one day, when one chooses to be "normal" and get a mediocre grade, all of the sudden people think something is wrong ;)
    This pen seems to be a solid performer! What prompted you looking for this pen, besides the happy and lucky bidding part?

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    1. Oh, it really was just a fun bidding that I didn't expect to win. I was (am?)a frequent stalker of Engeika's eBay store and I had too much time in hand back last winter.

      I am not entirely thrilled about the purchase actually, it's a bit too soft and broad for writing (the same pen with a fine nib would probably end up much more expensive in eBay auction), a bit too expensive to used as drawing (inked with bulletproof ink) and a bit too bland to be used/admired daily.

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  2. Thanks for a lovely review. The Pilot Custom Heritage pens seem to garner a lot of attention, and I absolutely adore this color. Being a big fan of Tsuki-Yo, myself, I wanted to jump at this pen. I have been considering either a Pilot Custom Heritage or Sailor 1911. This review was very helpful in that regard. Thanks again.

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  3. Came to see how this pen (with broad nib) writes. Your handwriting still looks very nice with it!

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  4. Wow what a great blog, i really enjoyed reading this, good luck in your work. 50 Cents Custom Pens

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