Pilot/Namiki Nibs

the following photo shows the size of different current Pilot/Namiki nibs,



here is a old photo without the #30 nib

Size	Weight
3	0.38g
5	0.53g
10	0.62g
15	0.70g
20	0.78g
50	2.03g

Namiki #20 nib is the same size as Pilot #15, but with different shape and
feed. Namiki nibs usually carry the PP-F hallmark as follows,



Most Pilot/Namiki nibs have date code stamped in the format of "XMMYY", "XMYY", "MMYY" or "MYY"

X is a alphabet, e.g. "A", "B", "a", "b", "H", "T" ...
"H" was the Hiratsuka factory 平塚工場, and "T", Tokyo factory 志村工場 (opened Dec 1935, renamed to Tokyo factory May 1966, moved Nov 1978), was closed for some time. these two alphabets are no longer use today. "A" and "B" mark the different welding machines in the Hiratsuka factory.

MM or M is single or double digit denotes the month.

YY is the year, e.g. 09 is 2009.

some older nibs would also has the old JIS mark.

more info:
Bruno Taut: Datation of Japanese Pens. II. Pilot Nibs
Bruno Taut: Datation of Japanese Pens. III. Pilot’s Pen Bodies
http://taka215.blog63.fc2.com/blog-entry-65.html,
http://www.lionandpen.com/Dutcher/JIS.html

since 2010, the first alphabet is omitted.

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from the catalog of Namiki, there are several varieties of Namiki nibs,
Two tone 18k #50: for Emperor collection and Chinkin collection (large size)
Two tone 18k #20: for Yukari Royale collection and Chinkin collection (medium size)
Two tone 18k #10: for Yukari collection
Single tone 18k #50: for Urushi collection (large size)
Single tone 18k #20: for Urushi collection (medium size)
Single tone 14k #10: for Nippon Art collection (FN-5M)
Single tone 14k #5: for Nippon Art collection (FN-35SM)

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Pilot Custom

we have a new member for the Pilot Custom family, the Custom Urushi with #30 nib,

from the left, Custom Urushi, 845, 823, 743, 742, 74, 912, 91 and 92






the higher end models have thicker bands and trims.

the nibs:

model	gold	size	color	EF	F	SF	FM	SFM	M	SM	B	BB	C	MS	PO	FA	WA	SU
Urushi	18k	30	two tone				Y		Y		Y
845	18k	15	two tone		Y				Y		Y	Y
823	14k	15	single tone		Y				Y		Y
743	14k	15	single tone	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y
742	14k	10	single tone	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
74	14k	5	single tone	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
912	14k	10	single tone rhodium plated	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
91	14k	5	single tone rhodium plated	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
92	14k	5	single tone rhodium plated		Y		Y		Y		Y

all can use the CON-70 converter except 823 and 92.

the dimensions are as follows

Model	length (mm)	pen length (mm)	diameter (mm)	weight (g)	pen weight (g) with CON-70 except 823 and 92
Urushi	155.0	140.2	20.0	42.94	24.91
845	146.3	132.2	15.9	28.31	16.75
823	148.4	131.2	15.7	28.68	18.87
743	148.0	131.6	15.7	25.51	15.77
742	145.8	127.9	15.7	23.74	14.82
74	143.1	125.6	14.7	21.22	13.26
912	140.5	125.1	15.7	24.28	15.33
91	137.9	122.8	14.7	21.29	13.26
92	136.8	122.2	14.7	19.95	11.99

the diameter are measured at the pen cap band.

Comparison of the feeds for the #30, #15, #10 and #5 nibs,