My first gold nib pen and it did not disappoint at all. Pilot is my favorite brand with steel nib pens, so I had to spring for their gold nibs. Within the Custom 74 lineup, there is the 74, 742, and 743 which detonates the body and nib size. I have smaller sized hands so I decided to go with the 742. The box it comes in is the same as every Custom series: a sleek black box with a velvet finish on the inside. After spending forever to decide between the 15 different nib options: I landed on the infamous FA flex nib.
The pen is made of a high gloss black acrylic, with gold plated trims around the body. The cap is a twist cap that takes about 2 turns to come off. The width of the grip section is average, perfect for my small hands.
The pen comes with a regular cartridge filled with pilot black ink. It also comes with a Con 70 converter, which is easy and simple to use: filling ink with the click of a button.
One of the most well known nibs in the fountain pen world: the Pilot FA nib. It’s regarded as the best modern flex nib. Made of 14K gold and cut outs on the side for softness, the nib is very bouncy even when writing regularly making for a lovely writing experience.
This nib has some of the most variable writing. Reverse writing goes from an extra fine, to a BBB with flex. I also own an FPR Ultraflex, which this pen is often compared to. The pilot starts off with a finer line and doesn’t flex as much, while the FPR flexes much more but starts off at a wider width, closer to an M. The pilot is also much drier compared to the fire hose of the FPR. Some people have reported experiencing railroading with the pilot #10, but I never experienced anything.
Here is a longer writing sample on Leuchtturm1917 paper. The writing is slightly thicker due to the absorption being higher than Midori MD above.
This was my first gold nib pen and definitely won’t be my last. I’ve been trying to learn calligraphy and this pen is a nice alternative to dip pens as I can use it on the go, at school or at work.
pen to paper 
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