Swapping Nibs between Pilot Pens - Part 1

Today, I decided that I should present you all with a guide on how to swap nibs between Pilot-brand fountain pens. First, the glaring question should be addressed: why would anyone want to do this? The simple answer is that it will give the user more options for nibs in their preferred pen body. As some of these pens take Pilot proprietary cartridges and others take standard international cartridges, the user may also desire to use a pen with a specific type of filling system and nib combination.

To begin, allow me to first clarify with which pens I know this modification works, their available nib sizes, their cartridge type, and where they are primarily sold.

• Pilot Prera - Fine and Medium - Pilot proprietary cart. - Japanese markets
• Pilot Metropolitan - Medium - Pilot proprietary cart. - USA markets
• Pilot Penmanship - Extra-fine - Pilot proprietary cart. - Japanese markets
• Pilot Plumix - Medium Italic - Pilot proprietary cart. - USA markets
• Pilot Plumix Neon - Medium Italic - standard international cart. - EU markets
• Pilot Pluminix - Medium Italic - standard international cart. - EU markets

Based on the look of the pen, I would assume that this modification would also work with the Pilot MR, which appears to be the same as the Pilot Metropolitan, available in the EU markets. (The other main difference is that the Metropolitan takes Pilot proprietary cartridges, and the MR uses standard international cartridges.) All other Pilot pens are either incompatible or unconfirmed.

From the above list, it can be seen that there are a lot of available combination options. The swap itself is relatively easy and can be performed in a few minutes or less. Here is a pictorial guide, utilizing a Penmanship, Plumix, and Pluminix.

First, remove the cap of the pen.

Second, get a good grip on the nib and feed and pull, gently. It may require some twisting back and forth (as though you were unscrewing the nib and feed from the section), but the nib and feed should come out together.

You will notice that, while the nibs may be interchangeable, the feeds are not entirely so, depending upon the style of cartridge that is used for the pen.

Choose which nibs you want to swap, lift them off the feed, and fit them back onto their "new" feed. Here, I am choosing to swap the Pluminix's medium italic nib for the Penmanship's extra-fine nib.

Once the nib is seated properly on the feed, fit the feed and nib back into the section, matching the middle of the nib with the middle, thin ridge of the grip. There is also a very small notch on the end of the section in front of the screw threads, which can be used to align the nib and feed with the section.

Your Pilot pen will now have its new nib installed, and you are ready to add ink and write! As pens like the Pilot Prera do not have nib units in other sizes available for them, purchasing an inexpensive Plumix or Penmanship is an easy way to acquire a compatible medium italic or extra-fine nib for your not-so-inexpensive Prera.

I hope you enjoyed this guide. Please post any questions or comments in the box below! Additionally, there is now a "guide" tag, by which you may view all guide posts on this blog!



Important links related to this post:

• Pilot Prera fountain pens, available here from JetPens.com, and here from the Goulet Pen Company.
• Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens, available here from the Goulet Pen Company.
• Pilot Penmanship fountain pens, available here from JetPens.com. General Pilot information site, here.
• Pilot Plumix fountain pens, available here from JetPens.com, and here from the Goulet Pen Company. General Pilot information site, here.
• Pilot Plumix Neon, general Pilot information site, here.
• Pilot Pluminix, available here from Amazon.co.uk. General Pilot information site, here. (Note, pictures on the Pilot website are actually of the Plumix Neon, not the Pluminix.)

I bear no affiliation to any of the aforementioned companies, and I was not compensated in any way for this post.