My Fountain Pen Education: The Pilot M90 Limited Edition

Mabeloos is the smart one as it turns out. Not that I didn't know that already, mind you. She has been an online friend and pen compatriot since the start of this blog. Back in 2009, she did a guest review that up until a few weeks ago I had forgotten existed. Looking back on it now, I remember thinking how insane she was for spending so much money on a pen. Today, I am jealous of her prescience. What was that review?

The Pilot M90 Limited Edition.

With a production run of only 9000 units, the M90 was released for Pilot's 90th anniversary in 2008 and was a nod to the original Pilot MYU which was released in 1971. If I only knew then what I know now I would have been one happy camper to pick one of these up for $180.

The MYU has been popular since its release despite not being manufactured since the early 1980's. That made the M90 a hot commodity and they sold out in no time. Luckily for me, my friend Thomas has one in his collection he allowed me to test.

I was wrong in my Pilot Murex post (and have since made the correction) that the Murex was the first of the line made by Pilot in 1971. The shorter Pilot MYU actually came first, with the full-sized Murex following in 1977. The MYU is just as highly regarded with its sleek portable design, durability, and beautiful integrated nib.

The M90 kept the majority of the original MYU design intact, with just the name on the clip, clip design, and blue stone in the cap differing according to Russ Stutler. The model Thomas sent me has one more slight difference: a nib ground to 0.20 mm (a true Japanese EF) by renowned nibmeister Mike Masuyama.

Like the PO nib in the Pilot Heritage 912 the firm steel nib of the M90 took some getting used to. This may be the firmest, finest nib I have used in a fountain pen to date. And honestly, it was difficult to write with. I think if I used it all day, every day I would find the sweet spot but I had a tougher time writing with it than I did the Murex. That said, that only knocks this pen down to a 9 out of 10 at worst. It is a marvel to hold and use and I would love to add one to my collection.

Thanks as always to Thomas for allowing me to test out some of his collection (there is more to come), and thanks to Mabeloos for being ahead of the curve and teaching me a thing or two along the way. You can find more from Mabeloos at her website The Jadecow Sketches.

My Fountain Pen Education: The Pilot Murex

From the first time I laid eyes on a Pilot Murex I knew I HAD to have one. Then I read the history around this storied pen. Then I checked their availability. Then I checked the price. And then I realized it will be a long time before I own a Pilot Murex.

Luckily for me, I have some amazing friends. Not only did Thomas hook me up with the Pilot Custom Heritage 91 and 912 that I reviewed last week, he also sent me the Pilot Murex shown above. Knowing that my podcasting partner Myke Hurley had never seen or heard of this pen I sent him a link to the Murex to check out. My headset was promptly filled with OMFG-type expletives and then he said something I agree with completely: "If Apple made a pen this is what it would look like."

The orgins of the Murex date back to 1971 (Correction: The MYU actually came first, followed by the Murex), making it the second greatest creation introduced to the world that year (behind me of course). Pilot created this pen for the Japanese market only, and the stainless steel, portable design was a big hit. The Murex line was only in production for a little over a decade, with only a half dozen or so different models. Since they were made for such a short period of time and were so popular there is quite an aftermarket for these pens today.

Russ Stutler is the king of all things Murex and runs a website devoted to the same. I gathered a huge amount of information from his site so be sure to check it out. And wear a drool bib.

My experience with the Pilot Murex has been nothing short of wonderful. The build quality is everything you would expect it to be. Thomas' model is dated 9/1980 and is in pristine condition. The Fine nib (they were only available in Fine and Medium) is firm and writes a much drier line in comparison to the Pilot Custom Heritage 91 with the 14K EF nib (I used Pilot Blue Black ink in both for consistency).

I will never, ever commit to using one pen and one pen only for the rest of my life, but if I did, the Pilot Murex would be in the running. That a pen several decades old still looks this good and writes this well is a testament to the design prowess of Pilot.

For a holy-grail type of purchase I think I will keep my eyes peeled for for a 1971 produced Murex. I imagine the cost would be outrageous but I can't imagine a more fun goal to shoot for.

This Thomas guy is going to cost me a lot of money.

(To save a lot of replies in the comments section I have a review of the Pilot Myu 2008 Limited Edition coming up later this week, so stay tuned.)

My Fountain Pen Education: The Pilot Custom Heritage

In over five years of writing this blog one thing has remained consistent since the start: Pen people are some of the nicest people on the planet. I have made some great friends, read some wonderful blogs, and most importantly, received a ton of support from like-minded individuals.

My pen friends are always eager to write a guest post or answer a question or ten. And sometimes, they are willing to send some of their prized possessions my way to test out. I know how attached I am to my pens, so for readers to send me a bit of their collection to try just blows me away.

Recently, I have struck up a friendship with a fountain pen aficionado I'll call Thomas, because that's his name. Thomas has read the blog for a while and listened to the podcast and has heard me catch the fountain pen bug something fierce. By reading and listening to my often times incoherent ramblings, Thomas felt he had a pretty good idea of what type of fountain pens I might like and should try. Luckily for me, Thomas has quite the collection and was willing to loan out a few of his prized possessions to me for review.

I am calling this series My Fountain Pen Education, since that's what this is. My experience with fountain pens has been limited so far, so getting to use, explore, and enjoy pens I may have never been able to handle without a large, upfront monetary outlay is an unbelievable treat. I consider myself very fortunate, and I hope I do these pens justice when sharing them with you.

The Pilot Custom Heritage 91 (top) and the related Pilot Custom Heritage 912 were part of the first batch of pens that arrived on my doorstep. While similar looking at first glance, there are actually quite a few differences between the two models. The 91 is slightly lighter (17g) and shorter (137mm) than the heavier (20g) and longer (140mm) 912. The most obvious difference to the naked eye is the nib size. The 91 uses a #5 nib, while the 912 uses a #10.

What are these #5 and #10 nib numbers you speak of? I'm glad you asked, because I had to look it up myself. In general, it denotes the physical size of the nib - the higher the number, the larger the nib (and I don't mean tip size like, EF or M). And as best as I can tell, it is manufacturer specific. Kmpn has a great visual on his blog of the range of Pilot nibs.

While learning that was helpful, what really piqued my interest with these two pens was the unique nib found on the 912. You can see it in the image just above. It is called a Posting nib, or PO for short. And I'll be honest with you - it scared the crap out of me! How do I use this thing? Am I going to damage it somehow?

This nib was designed for early Japanese post office cards, which required a firm, fine, and dark line to work well on their soft paper. Pilot designed this downturned nib to accomplish all of these things and still offer it today in several pen models.

It took me a while to get used to the Posting nib when writing with it, and honestly I didn't care that much for it, especially in comparison to the more standard 14K EF nib found in the 91. I actually wrote the handwritten review for the 91 first and was raving about it. I love the look and feel of the pen and was dead set on it being the one I added to my wish list.

But something happened on the way to Japan. I did the handwritten review for the 912 immediately after the 91 and something clicked between me and the Posting nib. What exactly I'm not sure, but my handwriting turned out much better. Maybe it was forgetting what the nib looked like and just putting the words down on the page in my normal style. Regardless of what it was, I was hooked.

My education would not be complete without discussing the converter in these pens - the Pilot CON-70. (Update: Thomas has informed me in the comments that the 91 ships with the CON-50 and he upgraded it to the CON-70) The CON-70 is a larger capacity converter for the Pilot pens that can handle the added size. It uses a very simple push button plunger that you depress, and upon release, it sucks the ink right up into the converter. Super simple. Peaceable Writer has a great video of it in action (and was also a benefactor of the amazing Thomas).

So, after all the praise, what are the negatives of the Pilot Custom Heritage? From a usage perspective, there really aren't any. It is a beautiful pen that pushes all of my buttons. Black barrel, silver trim, fine nib, good ink flow, balanced when posted, comfortable when not. It is a true workhorse.

The only downside is the availability. This is a Japan-only model, and no US based retailers carry them that I have seen. If you are willing to go the eBay route, there are a few vendors that carry a wide array of models and nib sizes. With shipping, a Pilot Custom Heritage will run you in the $150-$200 range depending on the options.

I am adding the 912 with a PO nib to my wish list, and not just at the bottom. This pen is rocketing right to the top spot and I am doing my shopping research as we speak.

Or, maybe I just won't send this one back to Thomas.

Just kidding!

Maybe.