Pilot Fountain Pen Custom Heritage 92, Clear Body, FM-Nib (FKVH-15SRS-NC-FM)

This is a fantastic deal. All the usability features of a top of the line fountain pen: A great piston-filling system that is easy to clean and fills completely, a gold nib, a cap that seals well and posts securely, a smooth writing experience, and it looks and feels nice. Not fancy, either, which means nobody notices it or thinks twice about it. When I started looking into fountain pens, I should have just gotten a few Japanese market Custom Heritage 92 pens and called it a day. The nib even flexes a little at a low angle, but actual line variation is pretty subtle. Not as nice as a Falcon in that respect, but the Falcon doesn't have this great piston-filling mechanism! My only complaint is that my copy (fine nib) seems to be writing pretty dry, but maybe I need to clean it out better - I haven't heard of anyone else having that problem.

1. Overseas market pricing and shipping worked in a most timely fashion as regards the delivery of this item. 2. This pen has been my at-home workhorse since it's arrival. The writing experience: balanced, responsive, smooth. There may be some "baby's bottom" going on, but the experience is so good that the minor nit doesn't get in the way of pure enjoyment -- and such nits, these days, one can either solve as part of the care of one's tools, or allow the influence of one's hands to work out an agreement with the pen, which may be what has happened here, for I'm scribbling with it, testing it, while working on this review, and It's really working well (Moleskine folio, DA indigo ink). 3. As industrial fine art, the Heritage 92 as gorgeous as it is tough, and perhaps the dimmed inner sleeve of the cap fends off sunlight if left out on a desk or in a pencil box by a window -- the Heritage 92 Traditional seems to me a pen very much about working -- and comfortably for long hours - in many conditions. 4. The clear demonstrator with the piston filler is quite engaging as well as practical; however, I feel a bit HQ bound with the dependence on the bottle -- I'd rather have cartridges when away. There are cures for that of course, and so 5. What the Heritage 92 has also done for me -- and really because it just feels so good when writing -- is somewhat "capture" me in the Pilot line, and along those lines, there are of course cartridge-converter offerings. Dumb things important to me when selecting this pen (as a total newbie with pens) were a) screw-on cap because often, I just want to carry the pen in a jacket pocket and do not want a slip-on or snap-cap to get jostled off, b) gold nib, which I feel a little more responsive than steel, and MF because I want that line that is sharp but not too thin, and while there's some guess work in mail order, I think I guessed well with this one. As noted, the "Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Traditional Fountain Pen" is the pen I select most often for journaling and desktop journalism because it has been the most natural feeling instrument in my lineup.

Excellent quality pen, spectacular nib, smooth piston mechanism, well balanced writer

(ROUGHLY 5 years later) It's time for number 2! There's only one left on here and I couldn't find it anywhere else. I LOVE this pen. Unfortunately, so did someone else ... and it's no longer with me :( So, I'm back for another. 5 years later. I could spend hundreds or thousands. I could try others. I don't care to. I'm a messy writer. This pen works great because it provides a lot of feedback if I write one way or smoothness if I apply a slightly different pressure so it's good for business or sloppy notes :) Seriously. I've looked around. By the time you buy the converters and figure in the weight and balance, in my opinion I found this to be the best starter after trying some junk. For me though, I think it will also be the end. I see no need for another. I do use the take-sumi iroshizuku ink exclusively with it. --------- I'm fairly new to fountain pens. I've used multiple in the past but they've always been scratchy and spotty. I run a home business and wanted something better than my cheapo pens so decided to give this a shot on a whim, thinking I wouldn't care much for it. That wasn't the case! This pen is relatively smooth and very easy to write with. From cheap dollar-store notepads to Moleskine notebooks, it writes nicely without bleeding through the paper. It looks quite nice too, especially beside the bottle of take-sumi ink. Aside from writing great, it's very pleasing on the eyes and adds a little style to my desk.

Piston fillers generally best serve my needs. For me they are more convenient than cartridge/converter pens (they hold more ink) but don't have some of the problems I've encountered with higher capacity pens like the TWISBI-700 vac filler that has a nasty habit of "burping" ink blobs on the paper when the ink gets down to about 1/3 capacity. This pen is one of a small number of Japanese piston fillers. I'm indifferent about the aesthetics of a demonstrator, but like that I can very easily see how much ink is left and what color it is. And the 14K F nib on this pen is wonderful. It's not scratchy at all, and has just enough feedback from writing to make control easy. It's not a flex or semi-flex pen by any means, but it still allows for some line variation, which has the effect of giving some character but still allowing one to write fast. I've got it inked up with Pilot/Namiki Iroshizuki Shin-Kai (Deep Sea) and like the results a lot. Haven't completed the first filling, though, so I don't yet know if it's going to burp on me. If not, this will be among my favorite pens.

This pen is awesome. I have been using a Monblanc Meisterstück Platinum-Coated Classique Fountain Pen (#106522) with a piston converter for 7 years straight and simply kept running out of ink in the middle of meetings. I wanted a daily use inexpensive option without having to compromise the writing splendor I researched the Pelikan M800, the Meisterstück 149 which is the flagship pen costing between $500-$900. So I finally chose this $110, Broad-nib option. I though to myself, what's the worst that can happen? Maybe the 14K nib with be scratchy and the flow will probably be spotty as could be expected from an inexpensive fountain pen. After all, this is no Montblanc. To my great astonishment, none of these prejudiced opinions held true at the first letter I wrote after directly inking the pen with Iroshizuku - Tsukushi ink. It is a fabulous pen to gift and use personally. One may even consider gifting it to a younger user that is being introduced to the world of fountain pens. The pen's design also makes you stare at it with awed eyes - the entire mechanism is visible. My only negative comment on the design would be that the cover has a built-in "smoked" section that hides the nib when you close the pen. The smooth flow and a soft and springy enough feel will provide you with a huge reservoir of ink for pages and pages of fun writing! A must have for your inexpensive daily use... Don't think twice, just buy and try it!

Initial review: First I am not a super knowledgeable fountain pen person just the basics+. I would suggest this for you first pilot gold nib over the E95s. The E95 is not as fine as this nib is. I have 2 E95s with EF nibs and one writes bigger than this CH92 in F. So if you want a fine nib this is the pen to get over an E95s. The Nib on the E95s has more bounce than the CH92. The CH92 is firm but not steel F or EF firm. Pen is a piston filler that will be much more work to clean than the cartridge converter pens. Dont see an easy way to remove the front section. I can pull the nib easily. In hindsight the Smoke looks much better than the clear. I have recently found Pilot PO nibs Posting nibs are something you should consider if you want fine lines an no variation. It was designed to write on poor quality paper. You need to go to more expensive Pilot #10 nibs so 742 or 912 can get you a PO nib as would their 823 and 743 models. These nibs are not usually in the US inventory collection, so expect it to be a grey market pen. Currently inked in the CH92 F is Diamine Sepia. Flows well and dries fast on Kokuyo binder paper. Sepia leaves some good shading. The Sarassa smooth paper can be a little too slick at times and I have seen some initial skips if using the lightest touch. Never skips on rougher paper. Sarassa paper is very glass like. I will say that I find my grip to catch the very low profile treads on the barrel. This step up is very small especially compared to the metro. The front section is shorter but with the larger #5 nib its the same distance to the barrel cap threads on my TWSBI Vac mini and metro snap. I will also say the plastic resign does not feel as premium as the TWSBI Vac Minis I own. Pilot needs to do a Prera with a gold nib that will take a Con70 converter. I am curious how well it will fly. Only ran the Diamine Sepia ink so far. Its a bit dry but still shades. Pilot iroshizuku and some Sailor pigment. I have 2 bottles Robert Oster Caffe Crema which might be the staple in this or the E95s and Iroshizuku Yama Guri.

Pilot's piston filler, I like their <Broad>14K nibs. Great pen, smooth writer.

This is a good everyday pen.

Writes great, smooth nib that does flex a little. Favourite nib in my collection so far. The filling mechanism is great. A little expensive for what it is, but thats how the world is.

Really looks very lovely indeed and purchased at a simply fabulous price compared to even online retailers and eBay.

Les stylos plume japonais sont connus pour la qualité de glisse de leurs plumes, surtout quand ces dernières sont en or. Le Pilot Custom Heritage 92 bénéficie en plus d'un grand réservoir d'encre avec un mécanisme à piston fiable et précis. Finis les cartouches et les convertisseurs spécifiques. En outre, ce modèle jouit d'une trés bonne réputation en termes de fiabilité et de solidité parmi les membres d'un site web specialisé (dont je fais partie). Le site web couvre tout ce qui touche, de près ou de loin, aux stylos plume, à l'encre et au papier. A vrai dire, on ne parle pas de problème spécifique de casse ou de fissure en ce qui concerne ce modèle. Toutefois, quand ce genre de problème surgit, il est rare qu'il ne soit pas signalé.... En revanche, certains n'aiment pas le fait qu'on puisse voir l'encre qui reste entre la plume et /ou le conduit et la section. Si cela risque de vous déranger il ne faut pas opter pour la version 'demonstrator' - complètement transparente... Il est vrai, aussi, qu'on peut voir de petites goutelettes de lubrifiant derrière le piston. Ceci est parfaitement normal (et mentionné dans les instructions internationales) mais cela peut, encore une fois, déranger certains puristes. Ces derniers points ne me dérangent absolument pas, au contraire, c'est pour voir tout cela que j'en ai deux qui sont transparents. Je confirme la qualité de leurs plumes.

A sido un regalo para mi mujer que es amante de las plumas y a sido una magnífica compra, esta encantada, va muy bien y el envio a sido de 10/10 rápido(viene de Japón), bien embalado y viene con un estuche elegante con capacidad para 3 plumas (es de plástico pero bien terminado)