CUSTOM Series: Continuing to serve all styles of handwriting

CUSTOM Series was born out of PILOT’s more than 100-year history of manufacturing fountain pens.
CUSTOM means a made-to-order product.
In other words, derived from the meaning of ‘serve orders placed by users’.
Even now, CUSTOM Series is still evolving to remain serve every user’s style of handwriting.

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CUSTOM Series was born out of PILOT’s more than 100-year history of manufacturing fountain pens.
CUSTOM means a made-to-order product.
In other words, derived from the meaning of ‘serve orders placed by users’.
Even now, CUSTOM Series is still evolving to remain serve every user’s style of handwriting.

1971

CUSTOM K Series

K-500SS / K-500KS / K-1000SS

A fountain pen that possesses a unique writing touch. The aim with CUSTOM K Series (the first-generation CUSTOM) was to create a pen that would be perfect for individual people by incorporating a sense of personality into its style and design. As a series designed to express individuality, three different types of materials with distinctive characteristics were used. There were four nib types: EF, F, M, and B

(Photos, from left)
・The stylishly-finished K-500SS, for which black chrome plating was applied in a vertical stripe etching on stainless steel by utilising an original PILOT technique.
・Wood from painted maple (Acer mono) trees was used for the exquisitely wood-grained K-500KS.
・The sterling silver, chequered K-1000SS

1972

CUSTOM

K-500RS

Introduced onto the market as K Series model with a black resin body. Was available with EF, F, FM, M, and B nibs.

1978

CUSTOM
Grandee Tomo

KG-700RS (later 1000RS)

Featured a gold clip with a slit on a black body that evoked tradition and elegance. The seven-nib lineup comprised EF (extra fine), F (fine), SF (soft fine), M (medium), B (bold), OB (oblique bold), and MS (bold/soft). Having previously been integrated with the neck, the nib was now a separate unit.

1985

CUSTOM67

FK-1000R

At the time of PILOT’s foundation, Dunhill-Namiki Fountain Pen had served as the catalyst for spreading PILOT name across the world. Following on from the 65th anniversary PILOT65 fountain pen that had emulated Dunhill-Namiki, the CUSTOM67 appeared on the market in traditional form, in a design that has led to the current CUSTOM74 Series. The following year, 1986, nibs and body colours were added, giving users a wider variety of choices.

1992

CUSTOM74

FKK-1000R / FKK-1500R later FKK-1200R (MS, C)

A series that aimed for a writing touch that was better suited to the Japanese, among whom the tendency to press down heavily on the paper had generally become the norm due to the widespread use of ballpoint pens. Prepared for soft writing based on a heavy-handed writing style, the CUSTOM74 Series achieved a smooth writing touch. There were eight types of nib at the time of its launch, to which three more were added six years later in 1998, plus three more for the current 11 types.

1993

CUSTOM742

FKK-2000R

CUSTOM743

FKK-3000R

Based on CUSTOM74, larger No.10 size (CUSTOM742) and No.15 size nibs (CUSTOM743) were adopted to achieve a more stable writing feel. To match users’ needs, other types of nib have been gradually added to the three types available at the time of the pens’ launch. In 2004, the current 14 types (CUSTOM743) and 15 types (CUSTOM742) became the largest lineups in CUSTOM Series.

2000

CUSTOM823

FKK-3MRP

Equipped with a plunger-type ink suction mechanism that is capable of drawing in a large amount (1.5 ml) of ink directly into the barrel. A new mechanism was thus added to CUSTOM Series and the demands of fountain pen users met.

2002

CUSTOM845

FKV-5MR

The fountain pen that helped PILOT inherit the tradition of the Luccanite lacquering method (by which lacquer is applied to machined ebonite) developed by the company at the time of its foundation. Launched as the top-of-the-range product in the CUSTOM Series.

2009

CUSTOM HERITAGE91

FKVH-1MR

The clips and nibs were rhodium-finished and all in silver to simplify the body design for the younger generation.

2016

CUSTOM URUSHI

FKV-88SR

A large fountain pen with a soft writing touch, featuring a black lacquer finish on a body of machined ebonite. A gem of a fountain pen that offered a distinctive writing touch that enabled users to delight in a ‘give’ reminiscent of PILOT’s first No. 30 size nib. A top-of-the-range product on par with CUSTOM845.

* Symbol of PILOT fountain pens, CUSTOM fountain pens are (with some exceptions) given model numbers that represent PILOT anniversary years. The ‘74’ in CUSTOM74 indicates that it was launched on the 74th anniversary of PILOT’s foundation.