Pen Comparison

[sal123]

Hello everyone, sorry if this was posted in the wrong section, new here. I'm currently in high school and have decided to invest in a decent pen instead of using bic pens, but I don't want to break the bank. I want a fountain pen for writing essays and notes that is under $30. I have done my own research and I think I have narrowed it down to the Lamy Safari and the Pilot Metropolitan. I was siding with the Lamy, but noticed the somewhat triangular grip and was afraid it would be uncomfortable to write with. And since the Pilot Metropolitan only comes with a medium nib ( from what I have read, correct me if i'm wrong ) I fear that words that i write in my notebooks will leak to the other side of the paper. Can you guys help me chose between these two, what would be your personal preference?

[yogalarva]

Well howdy!

 

I haven't ever used a Metropolitan, but I have two Lamy pens with that triangular grip (a Safari and an Al-Star) and while I thought I liked the grip at first, I am starting to hate it. If you have any kind of a "death grip" it's not the best. My suggestion would be that if you live near a pen store, go try out a Safari. Since they aren't super low-end, I think most places carry them. Or the Al-Star, which has the same grip on it.

 

Also, if you are afraid a M will write too wet, try picking up a Pilot Varsity and see how that reacts with your notebook paper, They are disposable pens, so they don't come in a ton of colors, but it also only comes in a M and should give you an idea of what that writes like. I bought a 3-pack at Staples for like $8, so it certainly isn't a huge investment (and they have a lot of ink them, so it would definitely give you a good test run).

 

Another thing to be aware of, if you go with a Lamy, is that their nibs run bigger than Pilot nibs. I have a Lamy EF and it is about the biggest size I would ever go with to be a daily use pen...

 

So I guess I can't give you any hard and firm advice on x vs y, but hopefully that will help you narrow it down more?

[Pterodactylus]

The Lamy is for sure a good choice.

other options would be:

a Rotring Artpen, they have also great nibs.

a Parker Vector, I have mine since almost 25 years, good and reliable writers.

a Pelikan Pelikano or Pelikan Th.ink, you can't go wrong with a Pelikan.

[kvz]

Hi sal123!

 

I'm only a fountain pen newb, so Please correct me if I have delivered any incorrect information (all you knowledgeable FPNers)

 

I was in your exact position about a month ago! I ended up buying both pens - Lamy Safari F and the Pilot Metropolitan M as my first fountain pens! I love them both! I find the pilot metropolitan is smoother and has less feedback, but the Lamy Safari's feedback feels nice. The Metro is a heavier pen - I think it was 26g inked whereas the Safari is lighter - 17g if I can remember correctly. Both are great writers, but I find that the Safari F is thicker than the Metro M. I use 70gsm college ruled paper as it is the most economical for me - there is a tiny amount of bleed showthrough onto the other side of the page but it really isn't noticeable for both pens. The grip of the Safari is great for me as that is my normal writing style. My father always insisted I hold it in that grip and now I know why! If you're keen to learn that writing grip style, then the Safari is the way to go. On the other hand, the Metro is great if you like holding your pen near the nib, as it has a sort of step down section that can get in the way if you like holding your pens further up. Both pens are great, but I would go for the Safari if you only had one choice!

 

If you could try or borrow from a store or a friend's Safari or Metropolitan, then you can pick for yourself. Btw, if you pick the Safari, go with a fine, or EF if you have small handwriting - the fine I got is very wide - any wider and writing on college ruled paper may look messy (I have medium - large handwriting).

whichever pen you pick, you can bet that you will love it! I know I love both my metro and my safari and have had no problems with either.

Kevin

[UK Mike]

Kevin accurately summarises the features of both pens. Each pen has its own quirks and limitations. I'm not fond of the grip on the Safari but at least the nibs are easy and cheap to change if the first one you try isn't suitable.

On the Metropolitan the step in the barrel spoils it for me.

 

If you are considering alternatives you might want to consider the Sheaffer VFM - the limitation here is that you can only use the standard short International cartridges and I think only medium nibs.

There is also the Platinum Plaisir - a good quality pen which takes Preppy nib units.

[proton007]

If you want a taste of the conventional pen design, go with the Metropolitan. A lot of premium pens have a similar form factor if you plan to upgrade in future.

 

The Safari is a different design, modern and unconventional (especially the triangular grip and the wire clip). The grip is designed to keep the nib in the correct orientation when writing.

 

The Metropolitan has a brass body, so its heftier than the Safari. Nonetheless, heft is a personal preference.

[savingbirds]

As a senior high school student starting university next year, I can say nothing but positive about the Lamy Safari.

I bought a Lamy Vista (demonstrator; Fine nib) early on in high school and it has lasted until now. You can see that the "Lamy" logo in silver has all but completely worn off, and there are countless scratches for use/abuse. Nonetheless, it still writes fantastically and I plan to use it in the years to come.

http://imgur.com/WET0E73

I can't speak personally for the Pilot Metropolitan, but I do have several Pilot 78G pens, and I can attest to their writing quality as they have exactly the same nib as the Metropolitan (however they come in F, M, B and rarely BB). I honestly wouldn't buy the Metropolitan as you are essentially paying 2.5x more for the same pen in a metal body. I don't like heavy pens, and I would like the option to convert it into an eyedropper for those three-hour English exams.

 

I could also suggest future upgrades (or current if your budget allows).

TWSBI Eco is a piston-filling demonstrator fountain pen coming early 2014, and it will be sold for $25-$30.

Pilot Vanishing Point is a retractable nib pen that works wonderfully and is really useful for taking brief and intermittent notes, but it can run you $120+.

Platinum PTL-5000A (EF) is an extremely inexpensive 14k gold nib pen. It runs for about $40 on eBay (new) and its Japanese EF nib is perfect for margin notes and calculus!

 

If you have any more questions, we're all here to help!

[WirsPlm]

I use the Pilot Metropolitan every day at work, and it's a lovely, sturdy pen that writes extremely well (really, ridiculously well). I find it comfortable to hold and easy to spot in the bottom of a bag (I have the gold version). I'll also second the recommendation for the 78G, which I like slightly better than the Metropolitan due to being able to post the cap better.

 

Bleedthrough (ink showing up on the other side of the page) has more to do with the paper and ink used than with the pen. I use my Metropolitans on regular office paper with a good ink and there are no problems, but if I put a problem ink in it then there is sometimes some bleedthrough. Also, Lamy nibs are usually big for the size, and Pilot nibs are usually small, so the Metropolitan M is about the same as a Lamy F.

Edited December 21, 2013 by WirsPlm

[85AKbN]

decent pen instead of using bic pens, but I don't want to break the bank.

 

Your fountain pen may not replace your ballpoint outright, in which case, you also need to upgrade it - try a Pilot G2, 0.5mm or 0.7mm and don't look back.

[carlos.q]

Your fountain pen may not replace your ballpoint outright, in which case, you also need to upgrade it - try a Pilot G2, 0.5mm or 0.7mm and don't look back.

Hey this is the FPN! If you're going to recommend a Pilot G2 it should be a broad 1.0mm!!!

[Scribblesoften]

I like the Pilot 78g pens as well. They have three nib options fine, medium, and broad/stub. If you buy all three you will have spent the cost of a Lamy Safari.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I am also a student. I have a Lamy Safari and the grip is rather annoying. However, I must say that it writes VERY well. The nibs are fairly smooth and the pen can take a beating. I decided to forgo the metropolitan because of the M nib size. A medium nib is not ideal for a student unless you plan to stock your notebooks with better grade paper. That being said, all medium nibs are not the same and I'm not familiar with the metropolitan nib.

 

Have you considered the Pilot Prera. It is a little over your budget at $56 but can be found on ebay for a good price. The pens have gotten very good reviews for having a superior nib. They are also demonstrator pens which look pretty cool imo. It uses a con 50 converter which holds a fair amount of ink and also takes cartridges.

[ac12]

I use the Pilot Metro with Waterman blue ink, and have not had any bleed thru problems, at least on the papers that I use. But that is a function of you selecting fountain pen friendly notebooks and filler paper, so you cannot just use ANY paper for writing with fountain pens.

The $15 Pilot comes with a converter, so there is nothing else to buy but a bottle of ink.

The bad thing is you have only ONE nib size, a Japanese Medium, which is between an old Parker F and M, or a wide F.

 

The Safari is above your $30 budget. I think it is $35 + the $5 ink converter (to use bottle ink), and you are up at $40.

The Lamy nibs run wide, compared to my old Parker nibs.

Lamy XtraFine = old Parker Fine, Lamy Fine = old Parker Medium

The good thing is the nibs are available and EASILY changed by the user. If you don't like the nib, just buy another $15 nib and swap the nibs. I swapped the F nib for a XF nib on my CP1.

 

Another pen to consider is a Parker 45. But it is out of production and only available on the used/eBay market.

If you shop with patience, you can find one for under $30.

I used mine thru college. Great pen.

It is probably the easiest pen to get completely clean, because you can easily take it completely apart, to clean out the old ink.

Because it is out of production, if you want a different nib, the replacement nibs are harder to find.

I have 3 of them inked up right now; green, red and turquoise inks.