Left Hook Pens

Nib: #5 14k Medium

After having this pen for one year, I can safely say that it’s one of my favorites. The first ink I tried in it was Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku, which, if you like to match pen and ink is pretty spot on. The flow is excellent, even with my high angle over-writing. The pen fits nicely in my small lady hands, and feels balanced both posted and unposted. If you are able to underwrite, the #5 nib is springy enough to add a little bit of line variation. The quality of the plastic is high, and the cap threads on quite satisfyingly. The Pilot Custom 74 is a great choice for a first gold nib pen.

The Custom 74 comes with a Con-70 converter, and with the demonstrator body it looks built in to the pen. One of my favorite features of Pilot fountain pens is that the nib and feed can be taken apart so easily to be cleaned. The Custom 74 is no exception, but occasionally ink can get in between the section and the inner feed housing. This is a minor issue and doesn’t effect the writing experience at all. While the flow of this pen is wet, it’s not so wet that I find myself smudging while writing. This pen also performs well on every paper that I’ve tried.

The Pilot Custom 74 is a great pen for lefties. At $160 USD it’s more of a next level pen, but an excellent entry into gold nibs. It’s available in teal (pictured), blue, maroon, violet, clear, orange and grey. Nib sizes range from Extra-fine to broad. My official rating is five smudged fingers out of five.

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