Which Pen To Choose From Pilot Metropolitan Or A Kaweco Sport Fountain Pen? All The Same Nibs? Ranges From $15~50

[fezz4734]

I've been trying to get a new fountain pen and I had found good stuff being said from the metropolitan and I had just found the Kaweco sport. There are many many versions of the kaweco and I wanted to know if they are all around the same nibs if not why bother buying the aluminum finish when I can just go for the ice series which is a demonstrator like pen? Only thing is I would have to buy a converter for the kaweco as the metropolitan has one already. Maybe any other recommendations for a new fountain pen around my price range of $50 or less that can be posted?

[penrivers]

Well, the metropolitan is the new kid in the block, but I think the kaweco sport has better credentials developed trough the years so I certainly and not denying the pilot m, would favor the kaweco sport.

[ac12]

There is the often recommended Lamy Safari and its siblings the Vista and Al Star.

And the Pilot 78G.

[G P M P]

Pilot Metropolitan is a great cheap pen. Well built, solid, pretty heavy, with a loveable nib. Its size is closer to an F/M than to an M, and the flow is perfectly balanced to work very well on copy papers. It accepts standard cartdridges. In my opinion this pen's perfect for somebody who's looking for a workhorse nice to be seen and used.

[Lou Erickson]

Pilot Metropolitan is a great cheap pen. Well built, solid, pretty heavy, with a loveable nib. Its size is closer to an F/M than to an M, and the flow is perfectly balanced to work very well on copy papers. It accepts standard cartdridges. In my opinion this pen's perfect for somebody who's looking for a workhorse nice to be seen and used.

 

I agree with everything about this but one key part:

 

The Pilot Metropolitan takes only Pilot cartridges. The Pilot MR, available in some parts of the world, takes standard international cartridges. Otherwise, they're the same.

 

I haven't tried the kaweco, but I thought it looked cheap, and didn't have a clip or converter. I bought the Metropolitan, and find it great value for the money.

 

Some of the Jinhao pens are also pretty nice, and can easily be had for $10.

[penrivers]

Kaweco sport exists in Germany since 1913, think about what it means in technical research, materials, and quality control.

[KBeezie]

I personally would go with a Pilot Metropolitan, but with a Pilot CON-50 converter (rather than the squeeze filler or cartridges). The medium on it is quite smooth and maybe just a teeeeny bit broader than the medium on the Pilot 78G.

 

Pilot Metropolitan is a great cheap pen. Well built, solid, pretty heavy, with a loveable nib. Its size is closer to an F/M than to an M, and the flow is perfectly balanced to work very well on copy papers. It accepts standard cartdridges. In my opinion this pen's perfect for somebody who's looking for a workhorse nice to be seen and used.

The "Metropolitan" takes Pilot Cartridges, the MR takes international, and they don't sell the MR in the US (least that you can easily find). (Same deal with the 78G, Pilot fitting only).

Edited April 18, 2014 by KBeezie

[KBeezie]

Kaweco sport exists in Germany since 1913, think about what it means in technical research, materials, and quality control.

 

Now days that doesn't always mean that much, especially if companies have changed hands and processes and so forth especially to make things more affordable. Look at Kodak for example long photographic history, but a pretty big flop in modern products while younger companies are taking the lead in quality control and innovation just to name one such example. (I don't know FP manufactures all that well, but that trend seems to echo across multiple markets).

 

So simply put, I wouldn't make that the only factor in choosing, especially among the lower price range of products.

[whitedot]

Pilot Metropolitan >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any modern Kaweco.

 

The Pilot Metro is quality - solid, reliable and fitted with a smooth (if rather pedestrian) nib. The Kaweco Sport feels cheap, and its nib is atrocious. I would go so far as to say the Kaweco is overpriced for what it is. Further, the Kaweco Sport is a pocket pen, ill-suited for long period of writing as opposed to quick jots on the go.

 

Kaweco sport exists in Germany since 1913, think about what it means in technical research, materials, and quality control.

 

Technical research? Kaweco doesn't make their own nibs anymore, unlike Pilot.

Materials? What materials? The plastic on my Kaweco Sport is thin and rattly.

QC? Japanese QC is legendary.

 

It is irrelevant that the Kaweco Sport has been around since 1913. There were many variants, and today's isn't made anywhere close to vintage standards. Pilot has been around since 1918 in Japan, and unlike Kaweco, continues to produce FPs that capitalises on its technical know-how and showcases ultra-stringent, characteristically Japanese QC.

Edited April 18, 2014 by whitedot

[dali3464]

 

Now days that doesn't always mean that much, especially if companies have changed hands and processes and so forth especially to make things more affordable. Look at Kodak for example long photographic history, but a pretty big flop in modern products while younger companies are taking the lead in quality control and innovation just to name one such example. (I don't know FP manufactures all that well, but that trend seems to echo across multiple markets).

 

So simply put, I wouldn't make that the only factor in choosing, especially among the lower price range of products.

 

That's a good point. It's also good to note that the current Kaweco is different to the 'original' (if you'd like to call it that) Kaweco that went out of business in the late 70s/early 80s. Somebody else then gained and registered the name of Kaweco and that's the current company. So I don't think they can particularly lay claim to 'technical research, materials and quality control' since 1913, or in the case of their own website, since 1883!

[KBeezie]

Appearance wise I'd go with a Metropolitan, especially those "animal print" (though the black ones with the patterns are nice too), got myself a Bronze Lizard, probably the best balance of that 'bronze' color.

 

http://static.karlblessing.com/pens/pmetro/uncapped.jpg

[Aramchek]

I don't have the Kaweco, but one thing to keep in mind is that it requires a special converter from them since normal ones won't fit. As far as I can recall it (not surprisingly) has a fairly low capacity as well.

 

My metropolitan / MR (it was sold as MR but uses Pilot converters - I'm confused) is really well made and comfortable to hold. However, I seem to be the only one on the planet who has received a bad nib in a Pilot pen and after eleven months and several reminders, Stationaryart still hasn't shipped the replacement nib they promised... I have to borrow the really good nib from my Prera if I want to actually use it.

[KBeezie]

I don't have the Kaweco, but one thing to keep in mind is that it requires a special converter from them since normal ones won't fit. As far as I can recall it (not surprisingly) has a fairly low capacity as well.

 

My metropolitan / MR (it was sold as MR but uses Pilot converters - I'm confused) is really well made and comfortable to hold. However, I seem to be the only one on the planet who has received a bad nib in a Pilot pen and after eleven months and several reminders, Stationaryart still hasn't shipped the replacement nib they promised... I have to borrow the really good nib from my Prera if I want to actually use it.

 

Personally I would have returned the pen to the retailer, since it'd just be easier to buy a replacement at that price. Depending on how easily you can get your hands on a 78G (ie: 10.50 at JStationery) you could in a pinch use a medium, fine or broad-stub nib from it on the Metro.

[Aramchek]

Alas, the retailer is in Hong Kong and I'm in Scandinavia - shipping it would have cost a fair percentage of the pens price, and then apart from the hassle that shipping within the country or the EU would entail, there is things like filling in customs paperwork. Yuck. Also, I still want the pen and I'm apparently naive enough that I believed them when they said they'd ship one as soon as they had received the next order from Pilot!

 

I had a look at the 78G and it has a gold plated nib, which would look pretty odd with this pen.

[WirsPlm]

I don't have the Kaweco, but one thing to keep in mind is that it requires a special converter from them since normal ones won't fit. As far as I can recall it (not surprisingly) has a fairly low capacity as well.

 

My metropolitan / MR (it was sold as MR but uses Pilot converters - I'm confused) is really well made and comfortable to hold. However, I seem to be the only one on the planet who has received a bad nib in a Pilot pen and after eleven months and several reminders, Stationaryart still hasn't shipped the replacement nib they promised... I have to borrow the really good nib from my Prera if I want to actually use it.

There are many different versions of the Metropolitan / MR / Cocoon (yes, it's sold under 3 different names), it sounds like you got the Asian Pilot MR (meant for Asian countries outside of Japan), which is called the MR but uses Pilot cartridges and converters and also sometimes comes with a silver F nib instead of the silver M nib. I'm sorry to hear about the bad nib, but you don't need to borrow from the Prera, you can put a nib from any of these pens on it: Plumix (smooth cursive italic), Penmanship (EF, very tiny), 78G (F, M and italic), Cocoon (Japanese version of the MR), and I believe also the Knight and Cavalier. If you prefer a silver colored nib the Plumix is probably the cheapest, and then you can have a little line variation while waiting.

Edited April 18, 2014 by WirsPlm

[Lou Erickson]

I'll second the niceness of the animal print Metros. I've got the purple with leopard spots and it's a dark color with the band being an interesting highlight; it's dark enough that it's not gaudy but still clearly not black. I just sent my Dad one of the bronze lizard pens, and the bronze is a nice classy look, a little less blingy than gold. They're well done.

[Blazing]

Note that the Pilot MR [if you're buying in Europe, which you aren't judging by the currency] doesn't take international sized converters. I've been sent various international sized converters from cultpens and none of them fitted.

[SnorriRafn]

I have a Kaweco sport and really like it. I use it as an eyedropper so it holds a pretty decent amount of ink. That also translates to a juicy medium nib on my pen. When I use cartridges it dampens the flow a bit. Another thing about the Kaweco is that there is a wide variety of nibs available and you can even buy them separately. I have never tried the Pilot but I do not care for it's looks anyway. Probably a pretty good pen as well. I guess you can't go wrong with either one but they are different so you need to figure out what it is that you want from the pen.

[Water Ouzel]

I don't have the Kaweco, but one thing to keep in mind is that it requires a special converter from them since normal ones won't fit. As far as I can recall it (not surprisingly) has a fairly low capacity as well.

Which is why I abandoned the cartridge on one of mine (Sport Ice XF) and set it up as an eyedropper.

 

Simple, writes beautifully, no issues. Well, other than taking a lot longer to use up the ink before you can change to a different color.

[Water Ouzel]

I had a look at the 78G and it has a gold plated nib, which would look pretty odd with this [Metropolitan].

Oh, I don't know. Looks fine on my black Metropolitan (swapped the original M for an F from a 78g). Writes very well, too.