Platinum 3776 is my favorite all arounder but they perform differently. The Pilot Custom 74 has a super smooth nib and it writes great on cheap paper where less smooth nibs can feel scratchy. My Platinum 3776 puts down a nice line but has just a bit of feedback but I prefer it for journaling because the feedback helps me to writer neater. They’re both great at this price level, so I recommend everyone just buy both!
I can't choose a favorite between these two pens. I prefer the Custom 74 with a fine nib and I like to use it with rich saturated inks, but it performs well with shady inks also. I prefer the 3776 with a medium nib. I think it makes shady inks look fantastic.
I just saw a video of someone talking about all the abuse content providers get and since I love your work, love your content, I wanted to say thank you. I very much appreciate everything you do, especially your honesty.
The Con-70 converter is a royal pain to clean. Even after disassembling and rinsing it, there will be still be ink trapped in the part where the agitator goes into the depressor button. I have to use a paper clip that I shape into a U and use that to unscrew and open that top piece (Take a close look with a flashlight and you can see the two grooves to fit the end of the U screwdriver). The Con-40 has a smaller capacity but there are no problems with trapped ink.
I tend to limit my purchases from PenSachi to items that just aren’t sold in North America because retailers simply can’t get them and I would rather go to a reliable enough source than try to navigate EBAY. I get a certain satisfaction from supporting the Mom and Pop operations over the megaliths like Amazon looking to swallow them whole. Also, places like Nibsmith and Applebloom offer free tuning and smoothing which can make up for the price difference given how even expensive grail pens can have a lemon nib or one you find you want adjusted. Having experts check that nib before it ships out saves both time and money. Not to mention if you want that slip and seal cap and the comfortable weight of that Century #3776, just without the feedback you can have it expertly tuned to fit your tastes for free. The exemplary customer service from Goldspot has filled with me with joy. It’s not just that they let me keep the bottle of ink sent in error while sending the bottle I wanted for free. It’s how lovely they were when I called about the problem. More than polite they were warm and friendly, just delightful. I also applaud how Goulet is dealing with Noodlers over the current controversy. That’s putting ethics above income. I also like supporting my favorite RU-vidrs who’s codes can make for extra discounts. And I flat out love buying from Gourmet Pens. She always includes such sweet handwritten notes as does Emi at Pen Venture. As for this matchup, I lean more towards Pilot, but I’m glad I don’t have to choose. The only nib I didn’t care for so far was the Sailor Zoom because I didn’t like changing my writing angle. I had Gena at Custom Nib Studio convert it to a cursive italic which I enjoy enormously. I’m a huge fan of her journaling nib which Esterbrook sometimes uses and Goulet pens sometimes offers. It’s especially helpful for someone wanting to try a cursive italic as it’s less finicky. Sort of like cursive italic for beginners. Nice and smooth. Sorry if I’ve gone on too long. I guess you’re never too old to be a fan girl.
Actually, Pilot Custom 74 fills from the small hole nearly at the end of the feed. Hold the pen nib up, and turn the convertor. You can see bubbles coming out of the hole.
I have three Platinum 3776 pens and two Pilot 74s. I think your opinion is spot on and I especially liked the adroit use of the term "swippy swap." Thank you for your well-reasoned review!
I haven’t felt the need to get a Custom 74 because I have a Falcon SEF, a 912 FA and an 823 F (really love this one!). I also have 4 Platinum 3776s in a regular and some special editions. Love them, too. That teal Pilot Custom 74 is pretty though.
I own 4 of them and love them all. My favorite pens in my collection. I have the Custom 74 in EF and F. I have the Century 3776 in EF and F. Great pens !!! My handwriting is small, so I prefer Japanese nibs..... so the EF and F nibs work well for me.....
I'm shocked, Kerry. I own both pens but have never used them side by side. I have always had the impression that the Custom 74 was significantly smaller! That MIGHT be because I also have a Custom 823 which truly is larger. -- I very much like the bounce in the 74's nib, but I usually reach for my 3776. ?? THANK YOU for the comparison!
I often stray to various different pens out of curiosity for the nibs or inks, but I shortly find myself coming back to Platinum pens and inks. They're my most consistently used pens if I include Nakaya with Platinum, and I have to admit to being a bit of a fanboi at this point. I cannot seem to fully embrace the PIlot experience, and they are probably my least used Japanese brand. I much prefer Sailor and Platinum to Pilot for some reason.
I'd personally choose the Custom 74, just because the gold plating of my Platinum #3776 started to peel off after a couple of months. I also heard that I was not the only one that had this problem. My Pilots plating still looks like new. Also my Custom 74 doesn't have a lot of scratches, my Platinum although has very large noticeable marks from daily use (posting for example), even though I treated those two pens the same.
2 of my most-used pens (for drawing cartoons) are the Pilot Custom 74 with Soft Medium nib, and a Pilot 912 with FA nib. Haven't tried the 3776, which is very handsome and classic looking, but I'm a bit put off by the videos that emphasize its "toothiness" and lack of bounce. After decades of using different fountain pens, I am finally settling into being a Pilot fan, and the Custom 74 is a great choice.
I traded my 74 but kept my Platinums. Now I'm looking at selling or trading most of the Platinums as well. I do like the Pilot 92 Custom Heritage: it is a piston filler and uses the same nib as the 74. I will say that in the fine nib, I prefer the Pilot. In larger sizes, I preferred the Platinum.
I have both pens, both have medium nibs, and I love the difference in the writing sensation with these pens… not much difference, but it is there. BTW… My Platinum Century 3776 is Chartres Blue and my Pilot Custom 74 is a Magenta.
I love my Platinum 3776 UEF nib. Line variation changes with grip. Thicker line and scratchy on strong grip, spider web like, gossamer thin line and butterry smooth on gentler grip, extremely smooth flow. Perfect replacement for ball point.
For me it’d have to be the Pilot every time. I had 5 Platinum pens at one time now only 2. Reliability issues marred my enjoyment of the brand. The 2 remaining Platinum pens are okay. Pilot have never let me down and create some amazing nibs including the awesome music nib & the FA.
The Custom 74 was on of my earliest gold nibbed pen purchases (A sheaffer intrigue was the first... not a great pen, and I can't remember if this or the VP was next - both were purchased when I went back to school at 24) and it didn't go into my regular rotation until a couple years ago when I picked up the teal body version. I put the nib from my earlier one in the teal, since it was a sentimental pen, and then sold the body with the brand new nib off. I was so used to writing with a nail at that point, that when I first wrote with the Custom 74 I was one of the ones who instantly hated it. Because of how I wrote at the time, it didn't give my handwriting an attractive character - instead it looked like I couldn't control my pressure at all, or like the effect you get with a ballpoint that has too much viscosity to the ink and leaves little blotches on the ends of downstrokes. As I have gotten older and my touch with a pen is lighter, I have grown to appreciate the bouncy quality of the nib. I really want to try a 3776, and at some point I plan to pick up the Nice Lavande, I just keep putting it off.
The Pilot 74 has a softer / more pleasant nib on paper, the cartridge is more thoughtful and more convenient when washing, but the 3776 body is slightly better. I am for the Pilot.
Great comparison! I personally love the Platinum 3776 series. I have the UEF and the soft fine. No pilots here, yet. I am branching out though, and have found some other very cool pens. I mostly use my pens for drawing. One problem I have with the 3776 is that they can sometimes not keep up with a fast drawn line. As a potential replacement pen that resists drying out and also has a very fine line... I recently found the Fine Writing International Fenestro - using an EF steel flex nib (jowo#6) from the Flexible Nib Factory. No, i'm not affiliated with them in anyway. I'm only really brining this up to say that my 3776 UEF and the flex nib have practically the same writing size, except, the flex nib always keeps up even when flexing. It also has a slightly smoother writing experience. The downside is that it doesn't flex very far - or very easy. It flexes more like the 3776 SF, but it takes more effort to flex.
Interesting video. I have a Pilot Custom 74 EF and I love it. I want to get a medium gold nibbed pen and was debating getting another 74 or try a 3776. I think I will give the 3776 a try.
My favourite thing about using a fountain pen is the variety of writing experiences, so I completely understand having both. 😁 Even though fountain pens are the only way I write (I disagree with those who use a ballpoint for things, when at all avoidable. Other writing instruments hurt me to write with, so...) I like having options. So, steel nibbed, gold nibbed, any style and width, I may have a use.😁 I no longer have my first gold nibbed pen. It was a very worn out third tier pen and frankly I preferred my Esterbrook J I'd found at the same time. My first good gold nibbed pen I still have. A Wahl-Eversharp Skyline from the 1940s. (New ink sac for $20 USD? How could I pass on it?) Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these pens! I'm really enjoying these comparisons!
I think it may be misleading to compare an M nib with an F nib. Also, considering the "soft fine" Platinum nib would be informative. What do you think?
My first gold-nibbed pen was a Pilot Elite (direct from Japan. so it is the Elite, not the Korean Elite and not the E95s) with an EF nib. I don't own any of the Pilot "Custom" lines. I do have a Platinum Century #3776 with a UEF nib. It is my second one. I misplaced my first one (still hoping to find it again someday). I do also have a Pilot Falcon SEF. (Are you sensing a pattern here?) Of all these, I suppose I most often find myself reaching for my 3776. I love, LOVE the feedback of the nib on the paper. The same goes for my Falcon, although it is a springier nib with a softer feel, but still, being a soft extra-fine, has a distinct feedback between the nib and the paper. For me, a great deal of the enjoyment of writing with a fountain pen comes from the experience of feeling the nib on the paper. Thus I almost always use EF (or finer) nibs to enhance that feedback. Right now, my 3776 UEF is the pen I find myself reaching for most often, but that may simply be because I just recently got this (replacement) 3776. I love all three of these and having to choose just one of them would be the stuff of nightmares for me!
This is unrelated - but I know you are a Kaweco Sport fan girl. I just found out about the Kaweco ART Sport - which is made of a single cylinder of acrylic. Are you familiar with this pen? Do you think it’s worth the money? They look really nice, but are getting increasingly harder to get! I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
I like the 3776 better. The Custom 74 is the one pen I regret buying. I don’t like the nib - sharp, stiff, slightly scratchy - both a boring and unpleasant writing experience. Maybe I would have liked the medium more.
