PILOT"CUSTOM 743 / Black" (nib : Falcon)

This is a high quality pen that feels good in the hand. It's classic black and gold. The cap screws off and posts nicely, and the pen feels balanced when you do post or even if you don't. The star of this show is the Falcon nib, which is soft to write with normally and flexes beautifully - though not a lot. It goes from extra-fine to approximately medium-broad when you flex it, and that's enough for normal sized writing. Because it starts off as extra-fine, there's some slight feedback when writing normally. If you like a glassy-smooth writing experience, you may want to try before you buy. I've gotten used to the feedback and appreciate how small I can write (which is my tendency) without the lower case Os or Ds filling in. In retrospect, since this pen can be had with such a wide variety of nibs, I might have gotten this with a soft medium-fine instead of Falcon and might have gotten the Falcon on another pen, but I guess that means I'll have to buy another one at some point. Oh well! LOL

I have bought yet another Pilot fountain pen, the 743 with FA nib. I recently purchased the 742 FA, which is a similar beast, but softer, and far more easily flexed. As an artist, I value the line variation both pens provide. That said, they are very similar and very different. The 742 (with the smaller version of FA nib) is probably the one pen I would keep if forced to give up all the rest. It is extremely soft and flexible, which I love, but requires more care to make sure it does not flex when one does not want it to flex. If I were able to keep two pens only, this Custom 743 with FA nib would be the second. It is like a smoother, less flexible version of the 742 FA, BUT with serious flexibility if you want it. In other words, it will flex significantly, but requires far more pressure than the smaller (742) version of this nib to do so. I don't understand why anybody would want to fool around with changing the feed; Pilot seems quite capable of making pens that perform as intended. If the feed is inadequate, one might want to use a different tool for the purpose at hand. Horses for courses, I suppose. After buying several gold tipped pens for drawing (all Pilot), I have come to the point where I can expect a particular type of performance from a nib I have never used. For example, prior to this purchase, I already owned a 742 with a soft fine nib, and a 742 with an FA nib. I surmised, prior to purchase, that this pen would fill a niche between the two in terms of performance. I does just that. If you can afford one and want one, get one. Life is short, and this pen is nothing short of spectacular.

I have the 743 with an FA nib, as I like a lot of bounce out of my Nibs. In reality, the nib has a fair amount of flex, on par with some vintage semi-flex Nibs (think Pelikan 100). However, the feed can not keep up with flexed writing for calligraphy. If that is your intent, you'll want to get an aftermarket ebonite feed for it. For what I wanted, though, is something that is soft enough to show natural pressure variation when writing due to a lot of bounce. It fills that role perfectly. This pen reminds me a lot of my Mont Blanc 146 with Calligraphy nib, but the Pilot is honestly a tad smoother. Sure, the Mont Blanc looks and feels a lot nicer, but the pilot is 1/4th the price and honestly writes as good (if not better). It's perfect for what I wanted, and could not be happier. I may end up getting a second with an aftermarket feed for sketching. The larger nib in the 743 I find superior to the 912 nib. They use different alloys, and the 743 as a more reseliant gold alloy and is a little harder to spring. But due to the size, the flex isn't really compromised. In my opinion, the 743 is a far superior option than the 912 in looks, pen size, and nib size.

Super well built. Nib dances across your page. Perfectly calibrated ink flow. Won’t puke ink everywhere. It’s just too heavy for me to use as a drawing tool. Returned mine but will work great for someone liking heavier pens and semi-flex nib.

Great pen great price can’t go wrong with this timeless classic, top performance!

While I am not a 'flexy' writer (I'm ... a semi legible writer just wanting to add character to the semi-legibility: value added!) I've wanted a 743 with FA for a while. The 743 is an extremely comfortable pen for long writing sessions - beautifully balanced, with just the right amount of heft. But - it is not available through U.S. retailers. I'll acknowledge that I was wary, purchasing this pen through Amazon ... But I was equally fatigued at the prospect at ordering from reputable sellers in Japan (because when things happen to go awry, it can be very time intensive and fiddly). The 'Pilot Store' looked like a legitimate Pilot Store ... so I clicked 'checkout'. From what I can see - all is good. On arrival, the plastic Pilot box was a bit wonky (top off the hinges), but the nib is as hoped. Moreover - I am not seeing the railroading others complain of (on the other hand, I may lack the skill required to get to the point where railroading can happen). All in all - very pleased. Looks legit, and is a pleasure to use.

Great pen, great nib with flex. Worth the price Easy to use and has a decent ink storage capacity.

This 743 fa nib is an amazing luxury fountain pen. The current price at 280 is insane, but this pen is undeniably high quality incarnate. I also have a custom heritage 912 fa nib and the 743 is much stiffer baseline so its easier to write consistently as a writing tool, but difficult to properly flex. Pilot is in it's own class and for modern flex nibs the only company that actually competes well is the fountain pen revolution ultra flex gold nibs. Ultimately the 743 is too stiff for me. The size 10 nib was much softer and this one feels like a nail. I look for pens that feel both like a paintbrush and a writing tool and sadly the 743 is not it for me. Pilot also has the best in customer service and I know they will take care of me in case something goes wrong like they have in the past so I wanted to sing their praises where it's due.

Der Füllfederhalter sticht aus der Masse etwas hervor, weil er über eine (für moderne Verhältnisse) besonders bewegliche Feder verfügt. Hierdurch entsteht - gut dosierbar - eine schöne Variation der Linienstärke im Schriftbild. Das Schriftbild kann dadurch interessanter werden - wenn man sich dabei auch etwas Mühe gibt. Da die Feder ohne Druck sehr fein schreibt (auch toll), bleibt es nicht aus das man das Papier gut spürt. Ich nenne das „Feedback“, und erfreue mich daran. Andere sagen dazu möglicherweise „kratzig“, und mögen das nicht.Eindeutig eine Frage der persönlichen Vorliebe. Der Händler (Stilo&Stile) ist ein renommierter Händler aus Rom, der lagernde Ware regelmäßig zügig und zuverlässig versendet ( mehrfach getestet ). Bei mir hat das jetzt von der Bestellung bis Erhalt 2 Tage gedauert - klasse also.

The pen body is the most ergonomic of all Pilots I own. It has the nicest fit and finish. Many people have troubles with the FA nib, so I had immediate remorse after ordering it and tried to cancel. Fate deigned that I was to have it anyway, and my request didn't go through. I'm glad, because it has become my favourite pen among my 10 premium pens. It writes EF with no pressure, F with just a little, and of course has dramatic flex. I haven't had the hard-starting issues many people claim. I can only offer a few guesses to help people who might be interested in this pen still. 1. Don't use the con-70. I have used con-70 to success with PO nib, and to dramatic failure with Stub, I didn't even bother using it for the FA. Just use a con-50. 2. Don't draw those silly loops to demo the flex. You will probably go too fast, too hard, and get railroading and miss-align the tines. 3. Just write in your normal style, and press a little on the down strokes. You will get plenty of contrast in the line weight. Normal writing is much less demanding than those loops FP users like to make, and will be much gentler on the FA nibs very delicate tines. One of the reasons this has become my favourite pen is that it writes EF but is incredibly smooth, just just for EF but it is absolutely smooth. Even if I didn't care about flex, that alone would make it rank up with my favourites, including the PO nib (which is also very smooth, but is more like a technical pen in its consistency). This pen has a very bad reputation, but none of the issues about ink flow, hard starting or railroading have befallen me. I write fairly small, and I'm very pleased with the effect I can get. It is much, much softer than the Falcon/Elabo Pilot makes, which although a remarkably light pen, I find the Elabo really hurts my fingers if I use the flex too much. I have no such problem from the FA.

Amazing pen and resonable response on delivery! Took around 3 weeks, but that is because i ordered this pen just before the christmas and new years holiday. Overall i am happy with the parcel which was secure and strong cardboard, and the pen is wonderful, writes and performs perfectly!

The item met my expectations. Looks good and writes very well.

avec une plume en or aujourd'hui introuvable : souple, douce et qui ne manque jamais. Le stylo est bien étanche et ne sèche pas. La finition est impeccable. C'est mon stylo préféré ! Mais il n'est pas donné ...