Guest Review: Pilot Custom 74

(This is a guest review by Joseph Pang)

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Unlike many fountain pen users, I have the luxury of living near some of the finest pen stores in the country. For those who haven’t been to a good pen store yet, let me fill you in. Being able to go to a brick and mortar location to see pens in their display cases, try out new nibs, and look at hundreds of bottles of inks is still one of my favorite things to do on the weekends. There is one disadvantage; it is extremely dangerous for your wallet.

On my most recent spending spree I picked up the Pilot Custom 74, the most beautiful fountain pen that I have ever seen. When I think of the ideal fountain pen, a few things come to mind: a screw-on cap, simple yet elegant styling, the ability to use a converter, and a comfortable section. The Custom 74 has all of those qualities and more. Aside from the nib, the pen seemed to be custom tailored to my preferences right out of the box.

My handwritten review briefly recounts the experience that I had with the nib. When I first brought the pen home and loaded it with ink, I was disappointed. The nib was a little scratchy and the ink flow was inconsistent. Upstrokes and sidestrokes in one particular direction were nonexistent (a common problem for this pen). After applying some of the very basic nib tuning techniques that I have learned over the years, I had the pen writing like what I had dreamed it would be from the start. The line is wet, smooth, and consistent.

If I had to point out a shortcoming of the Custom 74, it would be the durability. Because the pen is plastic, it is prone to cracking. This means that you do not want to drop the pen on a hard surface like tile flooring, as I found out the hard way. My pen will be making a trip down to Pilot USA to get a new cap in the near future. I have never really worried about dropping my Lamy CP1 or Kaweco AL Sport, as I know they would survive the fall just fine. Ironically, I have never actually dropped those pens.

So, should you buy one? If it helps you out at all, I am in the process of buying a second one in blue. The nib will take some getting used to for those who have never used a gold nib before. In my experience, steel nibs are stiff whereas gold nibs have some flex and spring to them. For $160, the Custom 74 is priced near pens offered by Edison, higher end Pelikans, and maybe even Mont Blanc if the right deal comes along. For that price, it really comes down to what is right for you. If you can find this pen for cheaper, perhaps $100, I think that it is a no-brainer. If you are like me and cannot resist the good looks of this pen, go for it; you will not be disappointed.

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Pentel TRF91 Tradio Fountain Pen Review

Can expectations get in the way of a product review? I think the answer is yes, but I try not to let any preconceived notions jump onto the page and screen. I do try to be honest about my true feelings for a product though, whether good or bad. So, my honest, preconceived thoughts of the Pentel TRF91 Tradio Fountain Pen before reviewing it? I thought it would be terrible.

That is one of the reasons it took so long for me to order it - I didn't want it to be a waste of money. I did like the looks of it, and was generally happy with the similar Pentel Tradio EnerGel Combo Pen, so I bit the bullet and bought one. And you know what? It is better than I expected.

What we have here is a true entry level pen. There are six barrel color choices but only one nib option - medium. It is made to be used with both short and long international cartridges so you could probably find a compatible converter as well. The design is comfortable with just enough style points to set it above more run of the mill pens.

The surprise factor with the Pentel Tradio Fountain Pen is the nib. I don't have many other M nibs to compare it to, but this one is unbelievably smooth. I think this is what fountain pen people refer to as "glassy" - there is little to no friction or feedback when the nib hits the page. It is as smooth of a writer as you can get.

The one gotcha with the Tradio is when posting the cap. It goes on firmly, or so it seems, but as you write it works its way up the barrel until it is loose. The Tradio Energel did the exact same thing. If you write with the cap posted this might be an annoyance.

Will the Tradio Fountain Pen move ahead of the Lamy Safari as one of the best entry level fountain pens? No, and it is not even close. The Safari offers way too many options to ignore. But the Tradio can hold its own performance-wise, and if you are searching for a good looking, good performing entry level fountain pen you could do much worse.

Ohto Dude Fountain Pen Review

There are a wide variety of fountain pens available in the entry-level price range of around $20. Some on the lower-end of that price scale are excellent (the Platinum Preppy and Sailor HighAce Neo for starters), as are ones on the higher end like the Lamy Safari. While there are many good choices, there are poor ones as well, and unfortunately the Ohto Dude falls into the latter category.

The Ohto brand has always appealed to me from a design perspective. Their barrel design ideas are interesting, and they generally pull them off very well (the Ohto Rook being the lone exception). Where they have been lacking - more times than not - is in the area of performance. Most importantly, where the nib meets paper.

I should have learned my lesson with the Ohto Fine. That nib gave me serious problems at the time, and the cost of repair would be greater than the original price. I was hoping the unfortunately named Dude would be better. It was, but only marginally.

What I have repeatedly experienced with Ohto fountain pens is the nib digging into the page. I don't mean that it is scratchy when I write - that is a different feeling - I mean that it is almost gouging the page. This made for a poor and inconsistent writing experience.

I have learned my lesson with this pen. Ohto ballpoints and rollerballs are good pens but I am going to swear off any future Ohto fountain pen purchases.