Pilot Prera

[Misfit]

Ana:

About the photo I posted. First I was using my iPhone to look at the Amazon site. I enlarged the Amazon photo and saved it to my iPhone photos.

Then I was able to upload it here.

 

When I take my own photos with my phone to post here, they turn sideways. Sigh.

 

I think I'll use my bottle of Waterman South Seas Blue (got it right after the horrible name changes of Waterman ink) for the Prera demonstrator. My other blues are darker.

 

I got a white Lamy Safari so that I could choose any ink. Seems like I match ink to pen color often.

[Misfit]

I was sort of sad to read the Prera calligraphy medium was like a Lamy 1.1mm but shouldn't be surprised.

 

To me, the 1.5mm shows better line variation than the 1.1mm which seems slight. I think a nice shading ink would help the 1.1mm show off more.

 

I finally got a 1.9mm Lamy nib. Wowza! Not practical for everyday, but was nice on Christmas cards.

[brunico]

I don't think the Prera nibs can be swapped unless you change the whole section - but no doubt others are more knowledgeable about that.

 

I am indeed more knowledgeable about that.

 

You can swap nibs across Preras, Plumixes/Pluminixes, Metropolitans/MRs, 78Gs and several others. The inner end of the feed differs according to whether it's a Pilot or international C/C fit, but the nibs slot on the same way, regardless.

 

 

I was sort of sad to read the Prera calligraphy medium was like a Lamy 1.1mm but shouldn't be surprised.

 

To me, the 1.5mm shows better line variation than the 1.1mm which seems slight. I think a nice shading ink would help the 1.1mm show off more.

 

The Pilot and Lamy nibs are cut the same way, but the Pilot metal is slightly thinner, so variation ends up a little more pronounced. At that sort of nib width, you're not going to get extreme variation unless you have very thin metal or cut the nib to a razor edge rather than to an elongated pad, and at that point most people on FPN will complain that it's scratchy (half already complain that the smoothest italic is a bit scratchy). Holding either pen optimally and consistently (along with appropriate letter size and spacing) will still give a recognisably italic look, at any rate IMO.

 

The 1.5 is cut the same way as the 1.1 with the same thickness of metal, so strokes perpendicular to the slit stay as thin as they do on the 1.1, while parallel strokes are obviously going to be wider. I'm not convinced shading is the way to go: it can detract and look too busy if the letterforms and whitespace don't assist. As an example, I find writing whole paragraphs with Apache Sunset means there's too much going on, but if I use a 6mm nib to write a word in the middle of a blank card, its shading can be just the thing.

[Ana_]

Jenny-

thanks for the tip! And as the Pilot Metropolitan is under $15, I think I will give it a try. I saw on its web page that it is heavier in weight so that might work better.

 

PaperDarts:

Thank you for the weight test, that made me get my Lamy out and hold each pen, switch hands, hold again. Like I really need a reason to hold my pens. I would sleep with them if I wasn't concerned I'd wake up tattooed... lol

 

Bone:

Thank You! I am enjoying the soft blue sky, cloud like feel to the Prera. I tell you, they really stumbled on to a secret gem of an element when they placed that soothing sound into the pen cap! Hmmm, i'm getting a vision, flash mob, say 1-200 people all holding Prera's uncapping and capping at the same time to the tune of Stairway to Heaven? I like the gray slate and brown. Well ok, all of their colors are pretty eye catching. I do not own a medium, only the fine, and it is indeed preeeettttyyyy fine, the thing that makes me ok with that is the fact that it's really the first Fine I own, even though I own other FPs entitled EF, they are in no way EF, so it's nice for me to have one FP this fine, but I truly would not seek out others this fine now owning one. Thank you for the enthusiasm compliment. I get so excited to have found a site with fellow enthusiasts alllllll here to pay homage to pens and paper and inks.. it's just perfect! This is my first Pilot so i'm happy to begin explorations. I will have fun, thank you

 

Misfit:

For some reason I thought the picture you posted was the kind you could click through and that's why I asked. I was up way to late last night/morning. Such is the life of an insomniac. South Seas Blue sounds perfect for it! You'll emulate the lapping of the ocean waves as you write.. nice! (Waterman name changing... why don't they leave an unbroken thing alone??) LOL so the 1.9 really bowled you over ha? I would love to see a writing sample with the 1.9!

 

Brunico:

I look forward to swapping out nibs between my Prera and Metropolitan (once I purchase one). That means I will definitely be purchasing a Medium sized nib for the Met. as the Prera is already Fine. Does the thinner material of the Pilot make it less durable than the thicker Lamy? Or is the level of thickness negligible? Thank you for the information on nibs! I'm soooo rookie on this as I sit here awaiting my first 1.1 nib from the mail.

[Misfit]

Brunico: good point. With pronounced variation a more "solid" shade would be a good way to show off the look.

 

Having seen small samples led me to think the other way. That's what makes this forum so useful.

[brunico]

Does the thinner material of the Pilot make it less durable than the thicker Lamy?

 

No. The Lamy just happens to be particularly sturdy, probably for use by schoolchildren, but the Pilot is durable enough.

 

Brunico: good point. With pronounced variation a more "solid" shade would be a good way to show off the look.

 

Having seen small samples led me to think the other way. That's what makes this forum so useful.

 

Yes, my preference for solid black ink or subtle shading is a personal thing. I think the way I dress is nicely understated, but someone else will probably think it dull. I like your point about the forum: I'd never have thought I could stomach a red ink until I came here.

[ChemistMB]

That colour is really nice!

[Ana_]

Chemist, they have a great range of colors, they all pop.

[npmsax]

Does anyone have any suggestions on filling a converter for the Prera? I bought one from Goulet a few weeks ago and love it. This is the first time i'm using a converter and find most of the ink stays in the feed rather than suctioning up into the converter.

 

Thanks!

[knarflj]

Make sure the whole nib is submerged in the ink. I usually also find that the first fill still leave a little air in the converter, so I gently expel that first draw of ink back into the bottle and fill again; the second time usually fills the converter nicely.

[PaperDarts]

Using a syringe to fill the converter also works. Just be careful not to overfill as that can make a mess when you insert the converter back into the nib unit. You may have to give the converter a few turns to push the ink into the nib, or just dip the nib which is what I usually do when I fill a pen this way.

[bone215]

you can also fill just the converter in the ink bottle and then attach the nib.

[aiden]

I can't wait for the demonstrator Preras to arrive here in the Philippines! I heard they're coming in April and I'm definitely getting one. I resisted the urge to get the solid colored bright pink (which is available here now) in favor of getting a demonstrator. Instead, opted to buy a Metropolitan and a Birdie that day.

[mmg122]

 

Ana:

About the photo I posted. First I was using my iPhone to look at the Amazon site. I enlarged the Amazon photo and saved it to my iPhone photos.

Then I was able to upload it here.

 

When I take my own photos with my phone to post here, they turn sideways. Sigh.

[mmg122]

To turn your iPhone photo upright...go to "Camera Roll", click on the photo, hit "edit", click on "crop" symbol...an option will come up to rotate your photo...rotate, then save.

Hope this helps.

[Misfit]

I'll try that before I post one. I think I've tried to post landscape and portrait iPhone photos, and the last 2 or 3 posted sideways.

[Nibbler]

Great review, love that colour. I have though about and not quite bought one several times (I went for a Sailor Sapporo instead). May re-think that!

[Reevers]

Thanks for posting this thread Ana_ I've got a few Pilot Preras in my eBay watch list... I think it might be time to order one!

[Safari_Camo]

Ana_ thanks for your review, I just got one (Grey with M nib) works great, almost same size like TWSBI Mini, it´s very practical for everyday use and leave it in the front shirt pocket.

[comixfan]

I've been looking for a bright yellow fountain pen to give as a graduation gift for a friend (it will be her first fountain pen, and she will be using the pen as a graduate school student). I had my heart set on finding a yellow Pelikan m200 since it seemed to fit the bill perfectly (small & lightweight pen, large ink capacity, a good daily writer and still a nice graduation gift), but I can't seem to find one anywhere, and I'm wondering if the Prera would make a nice enough gift pen?

 

I personally love Pilot nibs (a Metropolitan serves as my daily writing pen), but I'm worried the Prera would look or feel too cheap as a graduation gift. Any thoughts?