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.

Guest Review: Sailor HighAce Neo Fountain Pen

(This is a guest review by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape.)

I am a fountain pen noob. Just to make everyone clear that I am in the beginning stages of branching out into fountains pens. The Sailor HighAce Neo is only the third fountain pen that I have tried with the prior successes of both the Platinum Preppy and the Lamy Safari fountain pens. Both of those were good pens but I wanted something similar to the look and feel of standard gel pens. Once I saw the Sailor HighAce in orange I was hooked. I had to have it due to its thin uncharacteristic size of typical fountain pens and the affordable price. Plus the fact that I have an obsession with the color orange.

I would have to say if you like fine micro tip gel pens like the Hi-Tec-C, the F nib on the Sailor HighAce Neo is where it’s at. I was in love with this pen with the first stroke that I made, it was so fine and precise. I was surprised how quickly it started to work the second I inserted the blue-black cartridge. There was no need to wait for the ink to load to use this pen or to test the nib out on a scratch piece of paper. It was good to go from the very start. The Sailor HighAce Neo has the option of using a cartridge or the converter. I went with the cartridge since it’s simple to install and there is no ink mess to deal with.

The appearance of the pen alone makes if look more expensive then it really is. The body of the pen is made up of satin plastic resin with the cap made from lightweight aluminum. One of the more interesting features of the pen is quality click sound the cap makes when you close the pen after each use. Knowing the cap is closed on a fountain pen is key here to avoid the ink from drying out as well as preventing any unwanted messes with any stray ink from the nib. Posting the cap on the back of the pen makes another satisfying click into place allowing you to know that it is secure. When posted, the cap provides a fine balance and weight to the pen that feels just right in your hand.

Another great feature of this fountain pen is that fact that there is little to no bleed through on many different types of paper I’ve tried. Most other fountain pens that I have seen are restricted to using a certain type of paper due the bleed through. The Sailor HighAce works perfectly in this capacity and with the ink flowing off to the page without having to worry about the page behind it.

One of the problems that I have with this pen is that the lightweight aluminum cap can be easily scratched up if you are not carefully with it. Putting the pen in your pocket with a pair of keys would not be recommended unless you like the worn look of scratches. Another slight problem is the glossy black plastic grip that could use a bit of texture to it. It can be a bit slick to grip onto for long periods of time but for the most part works fine.

The Sailor HighAce Neo is definitely the fountain pen that I would highly recommend to any beginner fountain pen user out there. If you are attached to micro tip gel pens and want to try fountain pens, then this pen is your first stop period. At $16.50 on Jetpens, this really is a great affordable option to branch out into the world of fountain pens.