Bought this second-hand off eBay for £70:

This has an RRP of roughly £160 (strangely the different sellers don’t have a consistent price for this), and also comes in blue, orange, purple and black demonstrators. It’s definitely worth the money; at this price point you’ll get a pen that easily outperforms its immediate competition (Sailor Realos and Pelikan M400s).

An ink capacity of 1.2ml sets it in good stead along Pelikan’s similarly-sized offering. The piston is the smoothest piston I’ve ever used, even compared to the Pelikans I own. The piston knob screws in firmly and doesn’t come loose when posted, but when needed the piston glides through the barrel with no hint of resistance.

The design is clearly more modern compared to the classic Custom 74 line; the Custom Heritage 91/912/92 series has rhodium furniture, a pointed clip, and flat ends. The 92 is Pilot’s smallest pen in the Custom lineup, though it has the largest ink capacity.

It sports a rhodium-plated 14k #5 nib, identical to the one on the 91, though buying a 92 means you don’t get to choose a soft nib. It pulls out easily and you could thus swap one in if you so desire.

As usual with Pilot, the nib is flawless. I did not have to tune the nib, and neither did the previous owner. It lays down a soft juicy line, and there’s even a pleasant bounce — a sort of slight give to the pressure changes during writing. It’s smooth and goes over the page easily, with no hint of hard starts or scratchiness. The feed is excellent; the pen write, and write, and keep going… until it just stops when the tank is empty.

As it is a gold nib, it lays down a slightly broader line as compared to the steel F nibs I have on my Pilot Metro and Kakuno. Despite that, it’s still considerably finer than any of the Western EF nibs in gold that I own!

It’s a very dependable everyday carry, having a solid feel to the barrel despite its small size and light weight. No worries about running out of ink, either, since it’s a demonstrator, and watching the ink slosh about inside the pen is addicting. Pens like these are why Pilot is my favourite brand: well-designed pens, no issues at all with the moving parts, and most importantly, beautiful writers.