Pilot Prera

[Maja]

Got my Ivory Prera fountain pen in the mail a few days; shipping from Japan to my doorstep only took 4 and a half days! The pen is very well made and has a very smooth M nib (which is more like a Western F nib---no big shock to me). It's a tad smaller than my M200, but it is nicely balanced pen when posted, and it is not too short for my hands (when posted). I'd call it a vest pen, if I wore vests

Thank you again for the review, KCat and thank you Taki for telling us about this great fountain pen value!

[Taki]

Got my Ivory Prera fountain pen in the mail a few days; shipping from Japan to my doorstep only took 4 and a half days! The pen is very well made and has a very smooth M nib (which is more like a Western F nib---no big shock to me). It's a tad smaller than my M200, but it is nicely balanced pen when posted, and it is not too short for my hands (when posted). I'd call it a vest pen, if I wore vests

Thank you again for the review, KCat and thank you Taki for telling us about this great fountain pen value!

Congrats, Maja! I am thinking about getting an Ivory one eventually, too

[artaddict]

Yesterday I finally got my Pilot Prera - Ivory, fine nib.

 

At first I thought, so what? Another smooth writing budget Pilot.

 

But then I began to notice how nice it felt in my hand, how it has a solid but not heavy feel, how the cap clicks securely closed, how the resin seems as classy as my Sapporo. Writing also seemed to get even smoother as I wrote.

 

I put my Ivory Prera and Black/Rhodium Sapporo side by side, and boy do they make a handsome pair! They're similar in size and are both classic colors. These are now my two favorite modern pens to look at.

 

I'd like to take pictures but husband took my camera to the Canary Islands (Astrophysics Conference).

 

Thank you KCat & Taki for calling my attention to this little jewel

Edited June 17, 2007 by artaddict

[coco]

I bought 2 for my girls (pink and blue) and they both love them...one prefers cartridges, which is easy, but I was struggling try to fill the other one via the squeeze converter it comes with (I don't know what it is about me and squeeze converters--despite reading instructions and attempting to follow them faithfully, I can't seem to fill pens very well via that method). Then I re-read this thread and saw Taki's comment that any standard pilot/namiki convertor should fit, which is great news! I'm off to buy several, including a Prera for yours truly.

[Taki]

To double check I just put one of my twist converters for VP (Pilot CON-50 or Namiki 69899) into a Prera, and it does fit

Edited June 17, 2007 by Taki

[artaddict]

I got an old squeeze converter that's longer than the one in the 78G, and it didn't quite fit in the Prera. So I just switched with the 78G.

[mr T.]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. But is the Prera also suitable and usable for left handed people? Does it also tolerate all kinds and brands of fountain pen ink when used with a converter?

[saintsimon]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. ...

 

Here you go:

http://www.cyberpens.co.uk/Pilot-Prera-Fou...-Pen_ABT8S.aspx

[mr T.]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. ...

 

Here you go:

http://www.cyberpens.co.uk/Pilot-Prera-Fou...-Pen_ABT8S.aspx

 

Thank you Saintsimon. Indeed good to see that Prera's are coming to Europe. Looked at the website and saw however that these Prera's were without a converter. Thats essential when there is not a supplier of Pilot fountain pen products (where one can buy cartridges) around. About the problems with the Pilot range in Europe see this topic.

Edited June 17, 2007 by mr T.

[Taki]

mr T., I'm sorry to hear that Pilot products are not e asily available near where you live. However, Preras are not available from B&M stores or Pilot dealer in the U.S., either. I think most of the people got Prera from online resources (cyberpens.com, Ujuku in Japan, jpens.com or eBay). Also in Japan Prera does not come with a converter. If someone got it and came with a converter that's the seller's courtesy.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Taki

[artaddict]

Here's a picture of the Prera (ivory) beside the Sapporo (black):

[John Cullen]

Thanks all for the great pictures! Having these posted on FPN is even better than getting the pen catalogues. I wish I could see every pen out there is such detail and with a writing sample of different nib sizes. Seriously, thanks.

 

I know people have said this before, but it is really frustrating to find pens like this that are very inexpensive and have wonderful nibs that are better than the nibs on some of the more expensive pens. I would buy one of these, but it would be too small for me to use comfortably.

 

I had a Lucina that was an amazingly smooth Fine nib that wrote like an XF. I got it on sale at Worldlux for very little. It was too light weight and the line was too thin for me, so I gave it to a student who had been complaining that many of the XF nibs he had tried were scratchy. He loved the pen.

 

Why oh why if these inexpensive nibs can be so smooth can't every expensive pen coming out of the factory be as smooth? Maybe gold is softer and so there is more opportunity for it to bend and get the tines out of whack??

 

Anywho, thanks again.

[garyc]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. ...

 

Here you go:

http://www.cyberpens.co.uk/Pilot-Prera-Fou...-Pen_ABT8S.aspx

 

Except it looks like the Pilot pens have been pulled altogether from this site (that link gives page not found, and Pilot no longer is in the index).

B*gger, I was just waiting till pay day before ordering one as well. Is there now no European source at all?

[donwinn]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. ...

 

Here you go:

http://www.cyberpens.co.uk/Pilot-Prera-Fou...-Pen_ABT8S.aspx

 

Except it looks like the Pilot pens have been pulled altogether from this site (that link gives page not found, and Pilot no longer is in the index).

B*gger, I was just waiting till pay day before ordering one as well. Is there now no European source at all?

While not actually European, www.waimar.com has a variety of Asian pens, and has been quite responsive to email enquiries (to waimar@yahoo.com) from me. They are actually located in Kowloon (Hong Kong), but their primary target market is US, thence USD pricing. They also have an eBay presence, with some prices quoted in Australian Dollars, so I conclude that they are pretty flexible.

 

I emailed them about the Prera, and when they make their next trip to Japan, they are going to look into that, and some notebooks I saw on another thread here at FPN. I anticipate an email in the next month, and a possible update to their website, if they are successful with the addition of the stuff about which I queried them.

 

Donnie

[Penache]

I have been drooling over these lovely pics and I finally got my Ivory Prera after a customs delay. It is beautiful to look at, hold and use. The fine nib is very smooth and the pen has a solid but light feel to it. I love the way the cap snaps into place. It is excellent value for money and does not disappoint in any way. So glad I got it.

 

[churl]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1212/731720937_029502b66b.jpg

 

Here are my photos of the Prera. It's a beautiful pen, and a great writer.

[artaddict]

Penache, Congrats on getting your ivory Prera -it will look good beside your Sapporo!

 

Churl - nice photos!

[Macrina]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a newbie, both to the forum and to fountain pens. I just got a Prera--it looked so pretty in the pictures!--and it is even more wonderful in the hand than I had imagined. What a great nib!

 

But, as I said, I'm a newbie, and I can't seem to figure out the Pilot converter CON-20. (My other pens are the twistie kind of cartridge converter.) I can successfully get ink into the pen, but then as I'm writing ink eventually starts seeping out of the connection between the barrel and the nib. It's like the converter goes flying around inside the pen when I pick up the pen or put it down, and eventually ink makes its way down the threads and out onto my hand. Basically, my pen is involuntarily being transformed into an eyedropper pen, and it can't handle it!

 

What am I missing? Is there a way to fasten the converter near the nib? I must be doing something wrong.

 

Any help is much appreciated!

 

Macrina

[artaddict]

Hi everyone!

 

 

 

What am I missing? Is there a way to fasten the converter near the nib? I must be doing something wrong.

 

Any help is much appreciated!

 

Macrina

 

Hi Macrina,

I don't have the converter you have so I'm just guessing - have you pushed it in enough?

Or perhaps you've overfilled it?

Yes, I'm totally guessing.

Maybe someone else can help.

[Penache]

Penache, Congrats on getting your ivory Prera -it will look good beside your Sapporo!

 

Churl - nice photos!

 

The Sapporo and Prera look so excellent together. The perfect pair.

 

Ditto on the photos, Churl.

 

Macrina, hope you figure it out. Most likely the converter isn't completely in.