Well my Pilot Elite arrived in the mail today, looking gorgeous and tempting. After flushing it a couple times I filled it with Parker Blue Black ink, and got busy writing. Unfortunately I'm not very impressed. I'm not sure if my technique is just really bad(it did take me like an entire week of shaving with a safety razor before it stopped looking like I tried to commit suicide) or if the pen is the culprit. The pen is extra fine which could be contributing to the problem. So my question to the gentlemen of the Nib is, how can I improve my writing with this pen so that I can actually enjoy being a fountain pen user before I revert back to ballpoints?
Pilot Elite Acquisition - Need Help
- Thread starter Thu'umhammer
- Start date
It may need flushed again. It could also need to be broken in. I have a newer Clear Demonstrator in F and it is a drier writer needle... Just keep at it for a few fills and see if it improves.
The extra fine may be too dry for you. We shall see.
The extra fine may be too dry for you. We shall see.
- Thread starter
- #3
And now the nib has come off, and when I put it back on it won't write. This is turning out to be lovely.
The nib came off?, do you have pictures, and what about the pen didn't you like
- Thread starter
- #5
Before the nib broke off I found that it was very hard to get much ink onto the page, and that it was very scritchy. I understand that this is probably due to the fact that it's on the fine side, but I don't see how anyone could write like this, other than maybe for the occasional art project. I'll try to take some pictures of the detached nib and post them on here in a bit.
Please do Thu'um, even with chinese cheap pens ive never seen a nib come away from the section. Btw were you filling the pen with a converter ? just curious if you were sucking ink up through the feed or filling an empty cart, in which case it can take a bit for the ink to work its way down... but if the nib snapped off and it wasnt writing i would contact where you got it from. I have lots of "F" pens and i dont have issues with writing with them
Did you get it from speerbob on ebay?
-Andy
-Andy
- Thread starter
- #8
Yeah I got it from Speerbob. As for filling it, I had flushed it and then filled the converter with ink. I wrote with it, and while it did write, it was very scritchy and hard to get a decent sentence from. I flushed it again, and then filled it with ink once more, to ensure I'd done it properly. It worked a bit better, and I wrote a couple of pages with it before the nib detached(much to my surprise!).
Email Speerbob and see what he says.
I would contact him, and tell him all that. See if he'll trade you a fine for an extra fine. Japanese fines are like western extra fines. They'll almost always be scratchy. My Pilot Vanishing Point Fine nib gives a lot of feedback and is as scratchy as I would ever want a nib to be. I love that nib, but I can only use it on high quality, smooth paper like Rhodia or, even better, Clairefontaine. Forget about using it on copier or printer paper. It will eventually catch some fibers in the nib if I try to use it on cheap paper.
Anyway, explain the problem, tell him it's your first fountain pen (it is, isn't it?), and ask if he'd consider sending you the same pen with a fine nib. Unfortunately, you're often on your own with vintage pens, but I'd be surprised if he didn't take care of you. It might cost you some shipping is all.
Good luck with it. Pilot usually represents really good quality.
-Andy
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- Thread starter
- #11
I've sent the email, we'll see what he says. And yeah this is my first fountain pen, which is why I wanted to check on here to make sure it wasn't user error as opposed to pen error.
The nib shouldn't fall out of any pen mid-sentence. I'd really recommend against the extra-fine nib, though. You'd have a better experience with a medium or fine. I didn't start liking fine nibs until I'd used fountain pens for about 4 years or so. They all felt scratchy to me. I really like them now.
-Andy
-Andy
- Thread starter
- #13
He's sending me a replacement with no shipping cost which he'll test out himself. I'd say you can't beat service like that.
He is a good dealer. There is a reason why he has good reviews and feedback 
He is a good dealer. There is a reason why he has good reviews and feedback
Bob's the man, he says he sells 4000 pens a year. Yowza!
- Thread starter
- #17
My replacement pen came today(in fine, instead of extra fine) and it writes fairly well. No quality problems here, and the line is fairly decent, although I'd probably prefer thicker. I have to give kudos to Speerbob for providing exceptional service, I'd definitely recommend him.
Give that pen some time. I used to hate fine nibs, Japanese fines especially, but now I'm finding I enjoy them. Glad it all worked out in the end.
-Andy
-Andy
- Thread starter
- #19
Now that I've spent some more time with this pen, it's really starting to grow on me. I can definitely see me appreciating fines ones I'm more experienced with fountain pens.
