PILOT METROPOLITAN FOUNTAIN PEN REVIEW

The Pilot Metropolitan is a pen I've held off from for several years before buying one last summer. I have a couple Pilot Prera's, which are decent writers, but I never really cared much for them. So I figured I'd think the same about the Metropolitan, (or MR as they are called in some places). Spending a couple months with one proved my bias wrong...

Despite being a relatively cheap offering, the Pilot Metropolitan is a serious pen. It can hold its own, even outside that 15-25$ price range. But especially in that economy price range, which is quite a competitive one with a bunch of interesting alternatives, the Metropolitan is perhaps one of the strongest from the bunch. 

Starting off with the cigar-shaped metal body. The MR immediately has the edge on many sub-25$ counterparts in terms of durability. That doesn't mean plastic pens like the Lamy Safari or Kaweco Sport aren't sturdy, but the metal build on the metropolitan does give it a more 'premium' feel.

The brass cap and barrel have a matte metallic coating that has a very pleasant 'soft' feel in the hand. The center of the pen has a wide decorative band, which has a slightly textured pattern etched or printed on it. I opted for the 'bronze lizzard' colorway, which is a bronze-grey body with a lizzard-pattern on the center band. Along with the long, slender clip, the metropolitan is actually a really refined-looking pen, especially in the more subdued colorways. 

Sizewise, the metropolitan measures in at a fairly average length of 13.8cm (5.4 In) closed, and 12.6cm (5 In) open. At 26g capped, it's a well-weighted pen without being too heavy. It's balanced both posted and unposted. For a reference, that's almost identical to the Lamy 2000, both in size and weight. But of course it's in no way comparable in terms of design and functionality (and price!).

L to R: TWSBI Diamond Mini, Hero 616, TWSBI Eco, Faber-Castell Loom, Lamy Safari (Vista), Pilot Metropolitan

The outside may be metal, but on the inside you'll still find a plastic section. It feels cheap compared to the rest of the pen, and you can see the seams from where it was moulded. But then again, we're talking about a price point where you shouldn't expect absolute perfection. The section has a well-defined tapered shape to it. 

The step behind the section is quite high and a bit sharp. Depending on how you hold the pen, it can be either bothersome or downright uncomfortable. Of course if you hate the pre-formed section on the Lamy Safari, chances are you'll still find this much better. 

Worth pointing out is that there are two versions of the Metropolitan, a Japanese and a European model. They differ only in one area, but it's important to know because otherwise you won't be able to ink up your pen: the European version is made for standard international cartridges and converters, while the Japanese version uses the proprietary Pilot system. I wasn't aware of this until I actually bought one, so it could be wise to double-check before you buy. It was pointed out to me by an observant reader that US stores (or at least most of them) sell the Japanese version!

Pilot is a Japanese brand of course, and you probably know what that means: great nibs! Japanese nibs are usually a bit finer than european counterparts, which makes them ideal for a lot of people that prefer to write smaller (or just prefer finer nibs). 

I'm personally more of a broad nib fan, which is probably why I have so little Japanese pens in my collection, but there's no denying that Pilot does something very right when it comes to manufacturing their nibs. 

Reliability is key with most Japanese pens, and indeed the metropolitan starts right up after the first inking and every single time you pick it up, regardless of how long it had been unused. The steel nib has a nice flow, considerably towards the wet side, and lays down a consistent, crisp medium line. As I said, Japanese nibs usually run slightly finer, the difference with this pen is slightly more nuanced, but I'd still consider this medium on the finer side (especially considering the rather wet flow). If you want a really fine writer, there's also a version with a Fine steel nib, but it's not available everywhere.

It's not the best pen in the world, and it has its flaws, but at an incredibly low price of just 15 USD/ 19 EUR, the Pilot Metropolitan is basically too good to pass up. It's easily one of the best beginner pens I can think of, and I'm pretty sure even the more seasoned pen addict will enjoy them as well.

Note: La Couronne Du Comte is a sponsor of this blog, I received a discount on this purchase, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared here are completely my own! This review does not contain any affilate links.

INEXPENSIVE: PILOT VPEN

I've been putting off these 'inexpensive' reviews way too long. I know there are a lot of people that aren't big on expensive pens, so I'm sorry for keeping those of you waiting for so long! To be honest, I actually forgot about this series of reviews (stupid, I know), with all things going on right now it's becoming increasingly difficult to focus on the blog.

That being said, let's talk pens, cheap pens! 

I like fountain pens, that much is pretty obvious, but I never ventured into the world of disposable fountain pens. Why would I really? I don't mind spending money on nice pens, so why would I deliberately buy not-so-nice pens? I didn't see the point of it. 

A while ago, I came across these Pilot Vpens though, and I decided it was time to try one out. At 5 EUR, I didn't have to convince my parents that it would be money well-spent (Actually they've already come to the point where they know that their opinion doesn't matter if I want a pen. Smart parents!). 

Back home, I immediately popped the cap and grabbed a piece of paper, the result was quite unexpected. A slight grin appeared on my face, it wrote, and how! Not only did it start of straight away, with a nice flow. It was also much smoother than expected! The Pilot Vpen is probably the smoothest pen you can get for the money, I don't think you're able to get better quality for the price! As long as I've had it, it never skipped or hesitated. 

The ink fades in a pretty weird way, leaving a faint blue halo around the letters

Other than the pretty great writing experience, there's also the fact that it has erasable ink. Something I've never seen for a black ink. It's easy to be able to erase it with an ink remover pen. On the other hand, the ink is not as 'stable' as regular black ink, and definitely not as permanent as, well, a permanent ink. After a while, the ink starts to fade (only slightly though) and leaves a faint blue-green halo around the letters. I wouldn't recommend using this pen to sign important documents! 

As far as looks go, I don't have much to say about it. It's a cheap pen, and Pilot clearly chose function over form. The all-plastic build feels, well, plasticky. And the clip feels like it can snap off every moment. The graphic printed on the barrel is relatively ok though, it's simple, modern and unobtrusive.

Price, as I said, is about 5 EUR. I haven't found them on any american website though, so I don't know if this erasable version is also available in the US.

inexPENsive - Pilot Sign pen

There aren't many occasions where I use felt-tip pens, but when I do, this Pentel Sign pen is definitely my go-to pen! It is a very cheap pen, but don't be fooled by the price, it's performance is outstanding!

Before I start rambling about how great this pen really is, I should tell you how I first found out about it...
On a (in lack of a better name)  literature event, I stumbled upon this pen. But how? One might ask, because after all it wasn't a pen show by any means. Well, I found it abandoned on the ground, and since I was only ten or so years old, I piced it up out of curiosity!
Since that day - you'll hardly believe it- I never bought a new one! This is still that one pen I found almost eight years ago!

So yes, from this I think we can conclude that the quality of the Pentel Sign pen is outstanding! In all these years of -moderate- use, it has never failed to work as soon as it touched paper. The ink is dark and saturated and it creates consistent lines. Over all these years, the felt tip has retained its conical shape, and is still sturdy. The barrel and cap might not look as pristine as they -probably- once did, but all things considered, I think this is one of the best quality cheap pens you can get! It's sturdy, it works flawlessly, and it will continue to do so for a long time!

The only negative thing I have to say about this pen is the fact that it is quite unusable as an everyday writer. The name says it all, it's meant for signing things (Although you'd probably better not use it on important documents!). But as Brad from the Penaddict mentions, it's also perfectly usable as an everyday marker!

Also, as you can see, it's not exactly the pinnacle of design and luxury, even for a cheap pen, they decided to go very minimal on the design. In a way, I quite dig the no-nonsense appeal of the sign pen though!

At a cost of only 1.5 USD, you can really never go wrong with picking one of these up!

- I'd be really pleased to get some feedback from you, my dear reader! Please drop a comment telling me wether or not you like the inexPENsive pen topic, so I know if I should continue this series! Thank you!-

PS: Don't worry, I'll continue reviewing more expensive, luxury pens as well!