PILOT Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, Silver Barrel, Classic Design, Medium Nib, Black Ink (91108)

maxmasa31 United States

The ideal pen for beginner fountain pen users

I'm fairly new to the world of fountain pens. I own starter pens from Kaweco, Pelikan, Lamy, Platinum, and other companies, and for the dollar value, I've found the Pilot Metropolitan to be the best deal out there for any fountain pen aficionado. One of the first things you'll notice is the build quality of this pen. I own the Classic Design silver Metropolitan and it is a beautiful pen. The body is made of brass with a coated brushed silver finish, so the pen has some heft to it and the stainless steel accents and clip give it a premium look and feel. I've received compliments on this pen and I've had a couple people think this is a much more expensive writing instrument than it really is. The body is smooth and round, so if you remove the cap and leave the body sitting on a desk, it will roll. However, the cap, which snaps on with a nice *click*, has a clip, which prevents it from rolling if you have it capped or posted. Then, I also like how the Metropolitan comes with an ink cartridge AND an ink converter for people who want to use their own ink. I can't think of many (any?) pens in this price range with an included converter. I'm not a fan of the bladder-type converter (I prefer the Z24 piston converter on my Lamy Safari), but it works and that it even comes with one is great! I've just been using the Pilot Namiki IC100 Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge, Blue/Black, 12 Cartridges per Pack (69102). Moving onto the real reason anyone would buy a fountain pen--the writing experience. Because of the pen's heft, the Metropolitan is wonderful to write with--posted (cap on back of pen) or unposted. I write with it unposted, as I fear the metal-on-metal will leave a scratch around the barrel of the body, but the few times I've written with the cap posted, it's felt nicely balanced, unlike my Lamy Safari, which feels uneven if posted. The nib is a Japanese Medium which I've found to be equivalent to the Fine nib on my Kaweco Sport Classic. It's a stainless steel nib, so it has little-to-no flex, but is an average writer (in terms of ink flow) with very little scratchiness and it wrote well right out of the box with no skipping. What's great about the Metropolitan, though, is that the nib also interchangeable with the Pilot Penmanship Fountain Pen with Ergo Grip - Extra Fine Nib - Black Body, which I bought from a third-party site for less than $10 and I now have a Metropolitan with an Extra-Fine nib that writes very smoothly! Now, I'm sure a few people read these reviews to see how this compares to other pens in this price range, and I can say that it's sort of in a class of its own. The Platinum Preppies are practically disposables that cost less than half the Metropolitan and the Kaweco Sport Classics and Lamy Safaris are at least $10 more. Still, for those who must know, I think the Metropolitans write about as well as the Preppy (but with a much nicer body, build, and finish), better than the Kaweco Sports, but not as well as the Safari. My favorite pen is the Safari, but I can't say that I feel it's worth $10-15 more, especially without a converter, which makes the Metropolitan a fine deal indeed! From its fit and finish to the little touches (swappable nibs, included converter) and how smoothly it writes, I couldn't be happier with the Pilot Metropolitan--it's a pen that definitely punches well above its weight. Most fountain pen users own several writing instruments and I highly recommend this as an addition to anyone who wants a fantastic everyday pen. Now if only they'd make

Alixander K Rex United States

In love with this (beginner)

I compared the size to the two most common stationary. I also show this on basic printer paper for those who might not have the proper paper to see how it works on such. I recommend doing research instead into a good quality paper for fountain pens though. You can find affordable options in the communities forums on reddit etc, or youtube (the comments sections can have others finds as well). I am new but have done a lot of research to try to find my best deal for a reasonable price being a beginner unsure how I'd like the difference as many others recommend getting a cheaper option if new. I definitely have been won over and am officially going to declare a fountain pen fanatic! As I'm sure you too will once you treat yourself to this purchase. I love both of the pens I purchased so I figured I'd compare them. The two pens were both purchased on Amazon and are such, "Jinhao X159 Black Acrylic Fountain Pen # 8 Fine Nib Gold Trim for Writing and Calligraphy with Refill Ink Converter" (from the Lanxivi Store) and "PILOT Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Classic Design, Medium Nib, Black Ink (91107)" (from the PILOT store). I used the same ink to better review in a controlled setting. I used "Platinum Carbon Ink Bottle 60ml - Black" (Brand: PLATINUM). Be sure to get the honey browser add on because at the time of purchasing there was a great discount for a few dollars! how wonderful. Review: These pens are exactly as I had found in my research to be.The Jinhao is a bit heavier and of course, as you can see, larger. Because of this, people say those with larger hands will prefer this one and it is best used for shorter writings or signatures. The PILOT is smaller and light, perfect for longer writings and those with smaller hands (easy fix is to keep the cap on the back). Personally I have come to see their reasons in saying these things but I personally like both equally and have smaller hands. So, don't let these things deter you from just giving things a try. I got two different types of tips to see the difference. It seems both can be a bit inky but I imagine this will be a bit better once I get the proper papers to write on. Both are wonderfully smooth, glid wonderfully. I highly recommend both and you too should give different types of more inexpensive kinds a try to see what you prefer. ____The shipping for all was fast and well. ____The pictures I included are done with and without flash to best try to pick up the details. (I initially forgot to include the ink used, which is: https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-carbon-bottle-black-japan/dp/B0028MTSFQ?pd_rd_w=Wo2SR&content-id=amzn1.sym.deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_p=deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_r=NGC4YVT02T9K211E7CFT&pd_rd_wg=mf4HH&pd_rd_r=915e427e-74da-4bed-ae71-8d74f869ae7e&pd_rd_i=B0028MTSFQ&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_4_t ) Update note: After using them for some time, I have noticed that this one takes a bit to warm up (I have to put it up right to let the ink start it) whereas my others are always ready to go and smooth. This one dries out too and has been the first I've needed to clean and in general most finicky. Its style is scratchy (as is expected for a fine nib) but I thought I'd mention that. The other glides and I think I favour the med. nib over fine despite it bleeding more. Both tend to bleed and that might be the quality of paper (I look to change and let you know. of the quality of ink, which i also plan to research into)

Amazon Customer United States

Classy Beginner Fountain Pen!

Ok, so first off, I know next-to-nothing about fountain pens, but I did a search on how they work and found that this one is a good "entry level" fountain pen. It looks and feels super classy, too! It comes with a converter and one ink cartridge, so you technically have everything you need to get started using it right away - but do read the instructions! Changing out the converter to the ink cartridge is a breeze, and then your pen is ready to use! A few things I've noted and learned in using it: * The medium nib is larger than I expected. (I bought a second one with a "fine" nib, and that seems closer to medium ball point pens that I normally use.) If you have smaller handwriting, you may want to size down to a fine or even smaller nib point. * The pen weight and feel is nothing short of awesome. The weight is perfect, and writing is utterly effortless. It's metal, too, so if you're looking to cut back on plastics, this is a great option. (There is plastic in the internal mechanism and in the replacement cartridges, though. You can reduce that buy buying ink in glass bottles and using the refillable converter.) * Some reviewers said that the included squeeze-type converter is harder to use, so I bought a secondary piston-style converter separately, as I want to be able to refill it (and don't trust myself not to get ink *everywhere* with the squeeze converter!). * The ink that comes with it is pretty great. It flows easily and is dark black - but it does smudge easily until it dries, and it is not waterproof, so using a highlighter over it will make the ink bleed (and ruin the tip of your liquid highlighter). There are waterproof inks out there that can be used with the converter, which is what I plan to do in the future. If you like the ink that comes with it, you can buy more on Amazon. * Fountain pens are meant to be stored ideally with the nib side up - never down! On their side is okay, but supposedly not the best method. To carry my pen with me, I got an elastic pen case that goes around my journal, and I just make sure the tips are up when I put them in my bag. I wouldn't recommend tossing these separately into a pocket or purse, but any container that's mostly liquid-proof will do the job of preventing stains in the event of an accidental spill / leak. * The ink flows beautifully, almost by magic! Writing is therefore just a tiny bit different because there is no "drag" like with ball point pens or felt point pens. (If you don't like the ink that comes with it, you can use the converter to use your preferred fountain pen ink!) Everything I write seems just *that* much more special while using my fountain pen - and it makes writing in cursive feel like signing the Declaration of Independence! * This is a fountain pen, so guess what? Sometimes ink gets on stuff - your hands, places on the paper you didn't intend, your table... When I use my pen now, I take care to wipe it, and to check my hands before touching anything else. It hasn't dripped at all for me, but when the ink gets on a part of the nib that I then accidentally touch, it's easy to transfer. * I haven't had the pen long enough to have learned these things, but apparently you need to clean the pen every so often, take out the ink cartridge if it won't be in use for a while, and take extra precautions if you want to bring it onto a plane with you. Read up on that stuff if you're interested.

Cat United States

Best pen I've ever used!

This is my favorite pen that I have ever owned and used!!! I wrote with a few fountain pens back in middle school. I have no idea what brand they were, or even if they were refillable (probably not). Just that they were the cheap ones my parents bought for me at office stores. I have always been very particular about my pens, and was upset when those pens became difficult to find in stores. Ever since then, I've been a huge fan of the Pilot Precision Point rollerballs. They worked well for me through high school, college, and beyond. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I was browsing my local office supply store. To my delight, I came across a pack of Pilot Varsity fountain pens. I immediately recognized them as similar to the pens I used to love in middle school, so I bought them. They were just as wonderful as I remembered, and out of curiosity I looked into other types of fountain pens. In my research, I happened upon some reviews of the Pilot Metropolitan. People seemed to really love it, and I liked the sleek look and its refill-ability. So I bought one for myself as well as for my husband, since his job requires him to sign a lot of paperwork and he is also particular about pens. I also bought bottles of Iroshizuku Yama-Budo and Noodler's Apache Sunset inks for myself and Noodler's Black for my husband. I could not be more happy with this pen. It writes so smoothly, much more so than the Pilot Varsity pens. I do a lot of journaling, and I can write pages and pages in my journal without cramping up at all. It doesn't take much to get the ink flowing, and it works great on all types of paper - from the smooth high-quality paper in my journal, all the way down to cheap notebook filler paper. It does skip every now and then, and the other day I experienced a few hard starts, but overall the performance is very very good, especially for a pen at this price. It performs very well with both the Iroshizuku ink and the Noodler's Apache Sunset inks, though I think the Iroshizuku inks edges the Noodler's out slightly in performance (feels smoother overall). My husband also really likes his inked up with Noodler's Black and says that not only does it write extremely well, but he gets a lot of compliments on it because it looks so sleek and professional. I have since also tried the more expensive Lamy Safari, and I have to say that this one surpasses that pen in every way. If you are torn between the two (as they are both recommended pens for beginners), I would pick this one any day! In fact, just today I went and ordered a second Metropolitan, this time in the Animal Prints series! It is such a good pen that I feel like I need more than one, so that I can have two different ink colors to choose from at any given time!