PilotCustom 912 Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Extra Fine Nib (71615)

This pen with the FA nib is overall amazing. I’m knocking off a star because for the money it doesn’t feel as substantial as I feel it should be and other fountain pens by Pilot in this price range do but that’s always subjective.The pen looks great. The resin is really high quality and shines beautifully. The silver trim matches the rhodium plated gold nib. I like the flat ends and it’s about a centimeter shorter and a few millimeters slimmer than a Custom 823 but a little fatter than a Falcon and certainly better feeling.Like every Pilot I know of, the cap is 1.75 turns to open and close.The nib is the real star of the show here. It is truly flexible unlike the Pilot Falcon’s nib. Do not confuse the Pilot Falcon pen for the Falcon (FA) nib. They are similar but also very different. The Falcon pen has a soft nib with a little flex. The FA nib on the 912 is truly flexible. It will flex and open it’s tines when using your normal writing pressure regardless of whether you are writing cursive or not. This nib melts when you write giving your handwriting a unique look. It’s the softest nib I know of, softer than a Noodlers Nib Creaper or a Pilot Falcon. That said, if you want a fine line it’s not hard at all to achieve by just making sure you use a light touch. It’s hard to explain how but both line variation and fine lines are equally easy to achieve without much concentration.If you’re looking for a true flex nib that you can also use as an everyday writer then this is it. I have come across no other pen that actually delivers on the promise of a flex nib like the 912 with the FA nib. Noodlers doesn’t come close. The Falcon pen is soft but not quite there. Vintage pens will do it but short of those this is your best bet.

I did a whole lot of research before deciding on the Pilot Custom 912, so I had a pretty good idea what other people's complaints have been. After several weeks of using the pen I'm happy to say I have no complaints at all, and it's a great writing experience.Before I hop into the details, I want to note that I have only used Pilot Iroshizuku inks on Rhodia paper with mine. The ink you use has a big impact on your writing experience with any pen, especially pens with flexible nibs like this one.Writing with the Pilot Custom 912 has been nothing short of the smoothest, most comfortable fountain pen experience I've had. The finish of the pen is excellent, and the 14k FA nib is soft and glides across the page. The line variation is good, but not crazy. It can do about equivalent to a Fine at its thinnest, to a Broad when you press down. You definitely get a softer flex that's more responsive to pressure than you would with a steel nib, but with a little less sudden spring back when you release. Some folks report feed issues like hard starts and railroading, but I have not encountered either issue, even when intentionally trying to replicate them.The pen fills with the Pilot CON70 converter, which is very divisive in the fountain pen community. Some folks hate it. Again, I have absolutely no issues with mine. The CON70 has been the easiest converter I've used. It is as simple as putting the pen in the ink bottle, pushing the button on the converter a few times and it's full. It's fast and it's not messy and it just works for me.Overall the Pilot Custom 912 FA is a classy looking pen that is extremely well built and writes like a dream. It's not a pen for a beginner in the hobby, but it's a great upgrade if you've already been using Noodler's or FPR flexible nibs.

I just got this today and have spent a couple of hours testing it out and comparing it to my other pens. I’ve come to the following conclusion:1.) It’s a soft writer if you don’t press it with barely any force. Essentially just using gravity. If you use more force the scratch becomes more pronounced. Also, I’m using regular paper so it’s not super smooth but still not so porous that it sucks up the ink. Doesn’t feather much.2.) The Pilot likes a thinner ink. I used the Noodlers Heart of Darkness which is a bit thicker with anti-feathering characteristics and it actually writes worse with more noise and flow issues than with Noodler’s Blue Black ink.3.) The flex becomes easier and softer after writing with it some. I’m thinking it will soften a bit more over the next few hours writing.4.) The design is blah at best. It’s just not a good design with the resin (feels like crap plastic so just call it what it is). The black is a semi-gloss semi-matte-lackluster and the shiny chrome rings and clip don’t feel or look substantial against the dull black barrel and cap. Feels cheap to the touch and holds very lightly. With more weight the flex might work better under controllable pressure. Here you have to press down with conscientious weight to get decent flex.4 Stars overall but knocked down a point for the cheap feeling considering it’s $234 price tag. My Waterman Carene amber and gold looks 10 times better and writes a lot smoother. Even my Conklin Herringbone looks better made and feels better being held than this plastic Pilot.So 3 Stars.

Great fit and finish and the pen is very light. The soft versions are definitely a more comfortable writing experience compared to stiff steel nibs. I have the soft fine that is really a joy to use. It is stiff enough for everyday use with a nice fine line for small writing but that can be flexed for line variation if you want. Writing posted is no problem at all since the cap posts deep and it barely affects the balance.The CON-70 converter is also a big plus with its large ink capacity, and writing for extended periods of time is no problem. This and my TWSBI 580 are going to be my main pens for note taking in school.Once again, great pen!

Ordered this Pilot 912 FA as an Amazon Warehouse Deals item, listed as in very good condition. What I received was a scratched up Pilot 912 body in which someone had installed a cheap steel nib engraved with "Iridium- Germany." Needless to say, the pen is being returned. Really unhappy with the situation.

TLDR version:The Pilot Custom Heritage 912 FA is a refined and versatile fountain pen that's well worth it's high price, but it isn't suitable for casual users.Longer version:If you're looking at this particular pen, you probably already know about soft nibs, flex nibs, and customized grinds, like Spencerian, so I won't get into the various differences. People with far more knowledge than I have consistently said that the Pilot Custom Heritage 912 FA is the modern soft nib that most closely approaches a true flex nib and it's a favorite for customization.For those who don't know about nib types, do read up on it and watch video reviews, explanations, and examples. This is NOT an ordinary fountain pen and it may not be what you need or want.I liken the 912 FA to a power tool. It's powerful and versatile in the hands of an adept, but it can make a mess in the hands of a beginner. An ordinary, rigid nib on a good pen will give you a uniform stroke and will be very forgiving of variations of pressure and angle. Not this pen. It is designed to react to differences in pressure and angle to create variations in line intensity and width. This means that if you intend to use it to write uniform strokes like with an ordinary nib, you can, but YOU have to be precise and consistent. With proper control, this nib writes approximately like a Japanese fine nib. You can write thinner with zero pressure, but the ink flow becomes inconsistent and too light. A friend of mine has this pen with a Spencerian customization and it can write like a Japanese extra fine nib with a steady ink flow with zero pressure. But that's a $100 customization on top, not the base pen. This pen will lay down ink according to how you use it. Use it badly, it will write badly. Use it well and your handwriting will look like art... even "technical" handwriting like mine suddenly looks elegant.I'm using mine with iroshizuku tsuki-yo ink (midnight teal) and it performs superbly on high quality paper. I got railroading once, and it was clearly my fault, not the pen's. On lesser paper, it's easy to lay down too much ink and make a mess or end up draining the ink too fast for the nib to keep up and end up with a dry nib or crazy railroading. I haven't tried it with other inks, but I wouldn't recommend cheap inks with this pen. It's very demanding of the ink and paper and you want premium quality for both to get the desired results.I've heard some people complain that the nib is "scratchy", which would not be surprising with such a fine tip, but I didn't find this at all. I suspect that those who found it scratchy were applying too much pressure on non-downward strokes. If you apply pressure ONLY on downward strokes, as it is designed to work, this pen writes very smoothly, at least with appropriate ink and paper.So, if you want a pen that's easy to use without much thought or preparation, look somewhere else. This pen makes you work for your results. My favorite for normal writing is the Pilot Vanishing Point, but there are plenty of good, cheaper alternatives. Unless you're already trained, the Custom 912 FA will require you to study and practice different handwriting techniques than you're used to. It's almost more like using a thin brush than a fountain pen. The precision of this pen requires a nib that is delicate (because it can do delicate work). If you don't use it properly, you CAN damage the nib, possibly beyond repair. You might want to practice with cheap, disposable flex nibs first. Definitely don't give this pen to a child or to someone who will use it like a Sharpie!As for appearance, it's ironic that such a refined pen would look so nondescript. It's unassumingly elegant, but barely noticeable. It would be nice if Pilot made it in other colors and trims. It deserves to look as good as it is. As it is, people who don't know this pen will probably say, "You paid $250 for THAT?"It does come with the CON-70 converter, as advertised. It's worth saying because a lot of Pilot pens are advertised as having one converter, but come with another. This converter is very easy to use and has a lot more capacity than the other Pilot converters. But this pen uses a lot more ink than one with a standard nib, so you may not get a longer run on a fill. You would certainly suffer with a CON-40!When you combine it's stringent requirements on paper and ink, the fact that it's delicate, and it's price, this is unlikely going to become your every day carry pen. But it's also unlikely to be your first fountain pen (nor should it be!!!), so you probably already have a favorite EDC pen. If not, plan to get one.If this is the right kind of pen for you, then I highly recommend it. Simple appearance aside, this pen is a jewel.

Tl;dr: the pen is great, need to use Iroshizuku ink to have a proper feed. I tried multiple ink from other brands, Noodler's, Waterman's, Parker's, etc, none of them worked.The pen is wonderful, the nib is incredibly flexible and it is incredibly fun to write with. It did took me several hours of writing to fully get the handle of this pen. However I did found out that though this pen have great hib. Its feed can not keep up with the nib if you use any other ink than Iroshizuku. The nib sing a bit during writing, I don't really mind it as it still feels rather smooth. Other than that, its light weight, relatively study construction makes it a great pen.

Great pen. Delivered on time. Product is as described. Buyers must know a little bit about using flex nibs to enjoy this Pilot pen.

I have three Pilot pens which are among the best I have. I have Montblancs, Watermans, Pelikans and other high-end fountain pens. Pilots are excellent, at about half the price of comparable pens.

The pen came with badly damaged nib, which is un-useable, I do not understand how did it get inspected as Used-Very good condition.