How much better is the Pelikan 200 than the Pilot Knight for the cost, at almost double the price? I have a Safari on the way, but I'd like to have one at work and one at home.

Thanks!

I got the Knight today and I really like it! I love heavy pens - the Prera is too light and small for me. It's really sleek. I inked it with Noodler's Legal Blue (which is what I keep in the office). My only complaint is the HORRIBLE nib creep with this ink. I'll have to switch inks to see what works best with this pen.

I've written a couple of postcards for swaps and the Knight writes nicely. I'm pleased with the purchase.

What are the other 4 pens you use? Is one of them a Pelikan? Is your Knight now the best?

Sorry to hear about the creep :/ That sucks

QUOTE(succubus @ Dec 27 2007, 01:45 PM) *

I haven't had any sort of start up problem with my Prera, and it's one of about 5 pens I have in my bag, so it doesn't get used every day. I just ordered a Knight, we'll see how that goes.

I haven't had any sort of start up problem with my Prera, and it's one of about 5 pens I have in my bag, so it doesn't get used every day. I just ordered a Knight, we'll see how that goes.

I have to say - I was very impressed with the Pilot Knight! There is something about Japanese nibs that make me feel that they're on a different level to most western nibs of same priced pens.

Pricing
I got my Knight recently for $35 (new in box with papers, twist converter included). Great value for its price. I believe that the quality of Pilot Knights matches those of Steel-nibbed Parker Sonnets, which cost considerably more than $35.

Body
The barrel and cap material is metallic matte, so it's a durable, tough-built pen. The design is very contemporary and comes in Black, Navy blue, Burgundy and Silver. The one I got is a nice Burgundy, and I think its quite pretty (most of my other pens are dull black or grey matte <_<)

The clip is spring loaded and is a 'one-piece' bar shaped chunk of metal. Looks durable, and is aesthetically sophisticated. Pilot sure did put a nice effort into design - even in an inexpensive pen like this.

The cap makes a hearty sounding "click" as it shuts securely, and removing the cap is with ease. It's actually quite ambiguous because when you snap the cap shut, you feel that its a very firm fit - but the cap comes off with little effort.

The grip section is quite short compared to most other pens, so if you like big, long grips on pens, the Knight may take a little getting used to. Since the grip section is short - the nib isn't poking as deeply into the cap as other pens. This means that there is less risk of that awkward collision between cap and nib that you might accidently do in the opening ceremony. This sure is a good characteristic for me, because I feel my heart lose a beat whenever I rush to open a pen, and I scrape the nib across the cap (usually no damage, but my heart aches ).

As it is a metal pen, there is a bit of bulk to the pen, but I wouldn't consider the Knight as a heavy pen. To me, it is well balanced. I don't think the pen was designed to be used posted, as the cap doesn't stick on securely at the back. You wouldn't want to post it anyway - heavily unbalanced to write.

Nib
Appearances aside, this economic beauty wields a lovely Japanese "M" nib (meaning it writes like a Western Fine). This is what I meant in the title as "just write"! The elusive ideal thickness and wetness between a Fine and a Medium I had been searching for is this very nib! The Pilot Knight has hooked me onto Japanese fountain pens, as its shown me beyond the modern Parker's jungle of "Fines" that write like double broads :doh:

It's a smooth writing nib (but not too smooth ) that is firm and writes consistently. The wetness fits the description of "not to wet, not dry" pretty much perfectly! (For me, Parkers are too wet and Lamy's are too dry)




I definitely recommend this pen if you're looking for a reliable, high-quality everyday writer. I think the Pilot Knight is also a nice moderately-priced gift idea, especially for someone who has just gotten into FPs, or you would like to introduce FPs to. It's a guaranteed "good start" IMO

I give it a proud 8.5/10



Comparison of Pilot Knight M with typical Western M (Sonnet)

Sonnets on eBay for $25 and less are almost, definitely chinese fakes Please be careful of them

The Pilot Knight certainly feels better and more worth the money than the Vector, Jotter, and Reflex though.

a) Pilot Knight uses better materials. Durable matte steel body with heft - Probably one of my toughest pens. Vectors are either weak plastic, or plain steel. Jotters are thin steel or plastic. Reflex? - rubber and plastic

b ) The Pilot looks better, design wise.

c) Pilot has a higher quality nib. One that does not need to be sent back for replacement due to quality control (Parker nibs often need to go back for replacement upon purchase, unfortunately). Also, many members find that Vector/Jotter/Reflex nibs are too fat or too wet for writing. Pilots are fine, as japanese pens go.


I love my Vector and Jotter, but compared to the Pilot Knight, they are in a whole class lower in my opinion.

I hope you have positive experiences with Pilots if you ever use them in the future

Kissing,
Do you have any fine point Pilot Knights? I am a medium nib user but would love to have one good reliable fine point. Are they sufficiently wet? PS I just returned from OZ..Melbourne and Geelong and VIC province for 11 days. Fine country.

Wanda



ps: The Sonnet is my favourite pen. I like the Sonnet better than my Knight, but Sonnets do cost way more Despite the different feeling of nibs (Sonnets are soft nibs, Knights are a bit stiff) - Pilot provides an equal product on the quality level IMHO.