Pilot Metropolitan

[suharsh]

Congrats on your first FP. Great dedication for the review. I have two Pilot Metros ... for the price they are awesome value ... almost unbeatable. I didn't have the skipping problem ... looks like it is gone for you. Along with JS's shayari you could also have sung it and attached the audio

 

Keep writing dost!

[vikalp11]

Thanks Suharsh.

Hahaha....I'll stick to just writing with my fountain pen....I look good at doing that....not singing

Your Dost,

Vikalp Luthra.

[vikalp11]

Guys, thank you so much for your involvement in this thread. I have an update for this thread: I purchased a new ink, whose brand name is Krishna Ink. This is an Indian brand and I came across this brand after reading a review by Mr. Mehendiratta, on his blog site. I liked the review and ordered from The Pen World, for Rs. 200. I inked my Pilot Metropolitan with this ink. The review is in the picture.

 

Let me know your views too.

I'll observe the difference between the Pelikan Royal Blue and this ink, as the Pelikan ink caused skipping issues due its dryness issue.

Edited September 17, 2016 by vikalp11

[senzen]

Finally got a Metro, in black, I couldn't stand doing battle with a Platinum Cool every single time I tried to use it any more; it's a very nice pen, impressively so for all of $11.99 USD. The design immediately struck me as very elegant and more importantly, it starts without issues, the nib is smooth and Sailor Souten is coming out nice and saturated; I did press a little on the tines as it was coming out a bit light at first. It's comfortable to hold, I have no problem with the step up, which was something I was worried about. It feels more solid than my Professional Gear, which only cost more than 13 times as much, although of course the Sailor's nib is a few steps above.

 

Got it with a con-40 which seems to work fine, this is my third Pilot converter, they all seem to have to be jammed into the pen. There is a distinct "plop" when you uncap it and there is some ink around the feed. Honestly if it proves to be reliable, and ink evaporates less than on Lamy Vistas or Mujis, this pen is a no brainer. The M nib is still quite thin, thinner than Sailor's 21k H-M nib.

 

I can't say I care for the other colours or animal patterns, and I know there's always the Cocoon, I can only dream of what a Metro demonstrator would be like; this is my third happy Pilot pen purchase, it inspires a lot of goodwill for an even better pen, something I can't say about Platinum.

[JaysonHarrington]

SO far the only ink I have used in my Metro is the black Pilot Namiki standard fountain pen ink cartridge's... I have had no issues... I have a bottle of Noodler's basic black that I will be testing in it... Right now I have that loaded into my Jinhao x250's.... I have the same bulb/sack converter for the Metro...

[RockingLR]

I too started out with metro's and they are fantastic pens. I wish they were a tad lighter, but other then that they are excellent daily writers and I take one to work. I won't cry if i damage or loose it at work and it's a great experience to write with them They set the bar high when it comes to comparisons of other pens! I just wish pilot made some with the older "flat top" design but ah well it's the nib that matters most!

[ENewton]

I too started out with metro's and they are fantastic pens. I wish they were a tad lighter, but other then that they are excellent daily writers and I take one to work. I won't cry if i damage or loose it at work and it's a great experience to write with them They set the bar high when it comes to comparisons of other pens! I just wish pilot made some with the older "flat top" design but ah well it's the nib that matters most!

 

Have you tried the Prera? It has the same nib as the Metropolitan, in a lighter body and with a flat top. Capped, it is quite a bit shorter, but it posts easily.

[RockingLR]

I've contemplated it for sure! I didn't know they had the same nib.....hummmmm...my horizons might be expanding in the pilot world. I find the pilot ss nibs to be my favorite, even over some of the vintage pens i've bought. I just hesitate to get the gold Nibbed pens purely because well, i don't need flex soft writing and for the price might as well stick to the "cheapie" SS nibs. It's hard to pay more for another pen when i love the SS nibs of the pilots....I think i may have to buy one or two and have a "battle of the best" between my metro's and the prera's hahaha. Demonstrator pens have been intriguing to me. I can't decide if I like them or not.

[etaylor33]

I came to say pretty much the same as enewton. The Prera has the same nib as the Metro. I liked my F nib so much I bought a second one with a M nib. It is shorter and much lighter than the Metro. When posted it's a good length. It is a bit more expensive than the Metro, but I don't know why. It's a good looking pen, flat at either end. Look around, I believe you can still get one for upper 20's. My opinion, you can't go wrong with a Prera, or most Pilots.

[Honeybadgers]

Finally got a Metro, in black, I couldn't stand doing battle with a Platinum Cool every single time I tried to use it any more; it's a very nice pen, impressively so for all of $11.99 USD. The design immediately struck me as very elegant and more importantly, it starts without issues, the nib is smooth and Sailor Souten is coming out nice and saturated; I did press a little on the tines as it was coming out a bit light at first. It's comfortable to hold, I have no problem with the step up, which was something I was worried about. It feels more solid than my Professional Gear, which only cost more than 13 times as much, although of course the Sailor's nib is a few steps above.

 

Got it with a con-40 which seems to work fine, this is my third Pilot converter, they all seem to have to be jammed into the pen. There is a distinct "plop" when you uncap it and there is some ink around the feed. Honestly if it proves to be reliable, and ink evaporates less than on Lamy Vistas or Mujis, this pen is a no brainer. The M nib is still quite thin, thinner than Sailor's 21k H-M nib.

 

I can't say I care for the other colours or animal patterns, and I know there's always the Cocoon, I can only dream of what a Metro demonstrator would be like; this is my third happy Pilot pen purchase, it inspires a lot of goodwill for an even better pen, something I can't say about Platinum.

 

 

Make sure the nib and feed are seated VERY firmly. if not, it'll leak.

[senzen]

 

 

Make sure the nib and feed are seated VERY firmly. if not, it'll leak.

 

Thanks for the info! Has not leaked so far, there is some ink on the nib, which I attribute to a tight cap, not a problem for me.

[senzen]

Glamour shot!

 

[minddance]

Wow, a dry pen with a dry ink (4001)? Impressive. Do you press hard when you write? Or is the paper very absorbent?

[Tom Kellie]

~ Thank you very much, vikalp11, for starting this thread.

Your generous sharing of handwriting samples is especially appreciated.

The Krishna Bronze Leaf ink is attractive. I hope that it's continued to perform well for you.

Reading the wide range of comments here increases my interest in Pilot Metropolitans.

Until reading this, I hadn't known that two types of converters were available.

Such older threads retain value for anyone considering a different type of pen.

Tom K.

[Donald2]

Hi everyone.

I would like to share my views on my new and first fountain pen : The Pilot Metropolitan.

 

First impressions at the shop were good. The pen felt solid in hand. It wrote well with no pressure.

I had researched a bit before purchasing this pen. Earlier I wanted to buy the Waterman Hemisphere, but that was out of budget. The pilot metropolitan perfectly fitted in my budget and writing requirements. Hence I purchased it. The shop is Shukla & Co., located at Fort, Mumbai.

 

I have attached pics of the pen, which also have my reviews in them, which I wrote in my diary. Ink used is Pelikan Royal Blue 4001.

Please let me know what you all feel about it.

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Are you the guy on the left or on the right?

I also own 2 Metropolitan fountain pens. One in each nib size. A fine and a medium nib one. I haven't used them yet. They are sitting in their boxes in my cabinet. I own a shitload of fountain pens. Over 150+ plus fountain pens.. Most of them are the Chinese made Jinhao and Japanese made Platinum Preppies, a bunch of Noodler's, 78G's and 78G+'s, a few Pilot Elites and Preras and a half dozen Vanishing Points that haven't been inked up or used yet and a dozen and a half Chibi mini fountain pens that I bought from JetPens. I

'

ve currently been using my Sailot HighAce Neo, my 2 Pelikans, my Waterman Phileas, my Parker Jotter and Parker Vector fountain pens lately. I also own over 142 bottles of bottled ink. over the last 4 months. The most recent ones being over 96 bottles in Noodler's ink that I purchased during the last 3 months. I also own ink that I've had that's been sitting in my cabinet for the last 2 years like the 13 bottles of various colors of Pilot Iroshizuku ink and other various bottles of Sailor, Diamine, Platinum, Lamy and Waterman colored ink that I own. You may say that I have a little warehouse of fountain pens and inks over here. I'm trying to use them all little by little, but it's hard when someone like me have so many fountain pens and fountain pen ink on hand. There's only so many hours in a day and only so much time available to write with all of these pens. I keep saying to myself that I will not buy another fountain pen because I already have enough. Then when I see and read about a new fountain pen in the forums here that's affordable that looks nice that I never heard about that I like, I end up buying it. Most of the fountain pens that I own cost than $3 each. I have fountain pens and ink to last me a lifetime. I just need to figure out a way to use them all.

Edited February 8, 2018 by Donald2

[mdrpens2012]

Will second the comment made about making sure the nib and feed are well seated. The Metropolitan w/ Med nib I have is the first FP (out of 20 or so used over 10+yrs) that inked my shirt with droplets as the cap pulled off and I moved the pen quickly to catch the cap as it fell - thought that explained it. But then I noticed that this is the first pen that inks my fingers frequently with a drop or two. As long as I am careful with taking the cap off without excessively shaking the pen body, and watch carefully for droplets on the nib or cap barrel things go fine. As a result though this pen is kept on my desk and not in my pocket (or in a small baggie to be safe until I test it further). Have several Lamy's at just slightly higher price range and find uncontrolled inking much, much rarer; have had no other pen ink my shirt. Like the look, brass barrel, and feel of the Metropolitan price, and agree with the writing feel and ink flow on the paper and the nib otherwise. May try another, but will likely stay with Lamy at this price range.

[ErrantSmudge]

My Metro with medium nib and CON-40 also graced me with ink droplets everywhere after uncapping (the ink was Monteverde Sapphire Blue). It also stays on my desk now. I have made it my dedicated Noodler's Heart of Darkness pen, handy for situations that require a permanent ink.

 

The nib performs well, no scratchiness or flow issues. The pen is overall a dry writer and the line is finer than one would expect (this Japanese Medium writes like a western Fine). All that said, I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the feel of this nib on paper.

 

My feeling is this pen is a solid buy for most people, but for my use the ink droplets, and small converter capacity (an issue with Pilot converters in general) means I probably will stick with Lamy and TWSBI in this price range.

[Honeybadgers]

Will second the comment made about making sure the nib and feed are well seated. The Metropolitan w/ Med nib I have is the first FP (out of 20 or so used over 10+yrs) that inked my shirt with droplets as the cap pulled off and I moved the pen quickly to catch the cap as it fell - thought that explained it. But then I noticed that this is the first pen that inks my fingers frequently with a drop or two. As long as I am careful with taking the cap off without excessively shaking the pen body, and watch carefully for droplets on the nib or cap barrel things go fine. As a result though this pen is kept on my desk and not in my pocket (or in a small baggie to be safe until I test it further). Have several Lamy's at just slightly higher price range and find uncontrolled inking much, much rarer; have had no other pen ink my shirt. Like the look, brass barrel, and feel of the Metropolitan price, and agree with the writing feel and ink flow on the paper and the nib otherwise. May try another, but will likely stay with Lamy at this price range.

 

You still haven't pressed the nib and feed in deeply enough.

[Paganini]

 

You still haven't pressed the nib and feed in deeply enough.

 

Hey I just came across this post in passing. You are exactly right - at least WRT my pen! My Metro has been splashy for the last day or so since I cleaned it. I went to check just now, and, sure enough, the feed wasn't snapped all the way back in. I guess I was too cautious when I was reassembling it!

 

Thanks!