3 ms·

I can definitely second the value of a good quality pen. I've never tried a fountain pen, but I really like my Pilot G2's with the medium-sized refills. I'm co

I can definitely second the value of a good quality pen. I've never tried a fountain pen, but I really like my Pilot G2's with the medium-sized refills. I'm considering giving fountain pens a try once my refills run out.

throwanem 6y ago
You can pick up a Pilot Metropolitan for usually between $12 and $20, and Pilot Namiki cartridges are usually between $.33 and $.50 each depending on if you get the 6- or the 12-pack. You'll probably go through cartridges faster than refills since a fountain pen lays down more ink per unit distance, but that's also a big part of what makes them so comfortable to use: thinner ink needs less force per unit flow, and also provides a fluid bearing between the tip and the paper. So it's not a huge investment to give it a try and see if you like it, is what I'm trying to say! And there's no compromise on quality involved with the Metropolitan, either; I've paid four or five times as much for Western pens that didn't work a quarter so well. For all that it's kind of a cliché about Japanese companies, Pilot really is pretty obviously fanatical about quality even in their entry-level lines, and the Metropolitan reflects that; they are by far the best steel-nibbed pens I've used, and I still prefer one for letter writing with the 1.1mm stub nib. (Also, in my experience at least, there's a good deal of adaptation early on to develop the lighter hand, and a steel nib is much more forgiving of excess force than a gold one like my Decimo uses.) Other than the lighter hand, one thing you'll definitely notice is a difference in weight; Metropolitan bodies are turned from brass, and the result is a pen that's both heavier and balanced further back than you'll be initially used to. That actually helps, since you can support the weight of the pen in the web of your thumb and find a natural balance point that lets the pen's weight, instead of your hand, provide the force. But it does also take some getting used to, and some prefer a lighter pen - part of why I ended up with the Decimo is its aluminum body, and the polymer-bodied Lamy Safari is a good entry-level option if you're concerned about weight and comfort.

throwanem 6y ago

You can pick up a Pilot Metropolitan for usually between $12 and $20, and Pilot Namiki cartridges are usually between $.33 and $.50 each depending on if you get the 6- or the 12-pack. You'll probably go through cartridges faster than refills since a fountain pen lays down more ink per unit distance, but that's also a big part of what makes them so comfortable to use: thinner ink needs less force per unit flow, and also provides a fluid bearing between the tip and the paper. So it's not a huge investment to give it a try and see if you like it, is what I'm trying to say! And there's no compromise on quality involved with the Metropolitan, either; I've paid four or five times as much for Western pens that didn't work a quarter so well. For all that it's kind of a cliché about Japanese companies, Pilot really is pretty obviously fanatical about quality even in their entry-level lines, and the Metropolitan reflects that; they are by far the best steel-nibbed pens I've used, and I still prefer one for letter writing with the 1.1mm stub nib. (Also, in my experience at least, there's a good deal of adaptation early on to develop the lighter hand, and a steel nib is much more forgiving of excess force than a gold one like my Decimo uses.) Other than the lighter hand, one thing you'll definitely notice is a difference in weight; Metropolitan bodies are turned from brass, and the result is a pen that's both heavier and balanced further back than you'll be initially used to. That actually helps, since you can support the weight of the pen in the web of your thumb and find a natural balance point that lets the pen's weight, instead of your hand, provide the force. But it does also take some getting used to, and some prefer a lighter pen - part of why I ended up with the Decimo is its aluminum body, and the polymer-bodied Lamy Safari is a good entry-level option if you're concerned about weight and comfort.