Nemosine Singularity Or Pilot Metropolitan.

[Blazing]

Hello,

 

I'm about to make my final decision as to what my next fountain pen will be, and I'm looking for some last minute feedback.

 

I've been researching pens around $20 and I've come down to two pens. The Nemosine Singularity and the Pilot Metropolitan. Both seem to be smooth writers and value for money while they look just fine for my liking.

 

Any last minute feedback?

 

Thank you.

[MarneM]

I cannot speak as to the Nemonsine Singularity, as I don't own one. I do own a Metropolitan, however, and I like it a great deal. I use it at work every day. It's metal body makes it fairly durable, so I can toss it into my purse and not worry about it getting too dinged up. I prefer the weight of the metal body as well.

 

I like the pen well enough that when I left my first one on a Crime Scene, I immediately went and got another one. The nib is smooth and gives me no trouble. I know that if I wanted another nib, I could get the nib off a Plumix and have a fine nib or an italic, but the medium works fine for work purposes.

 

For me, this is the best pen value for the money I have found.

[Edwaroth]

Why not buy 'em both...40 bucks including shipping? That's almost two for the price of one. They are both worth it, high value per dollar spent. I often compare very expensive pens to my Nemo.

[Gloucesterman]

Actually Edwaroth has the perfect solution and I agree.

 

I really think they are two different pens (I have 3 Nemosine Singularity and 3 Metropolitan), The "N" pen offers light weight, multiple colors and, very important to me, a wide range of nibs (I have the xf,f, .6mm italic). I might advise that if you drop it on a hard surface, keep on walking, but I refuse to test out that theory. Again, it is plastic.

 

Meanwhile the "Met" is a substantial pen mostly metal with a nice smo-o-oth nib - but ONLY in medium! That said, my three are 1 medium, one fine (from a 78G) and one broad/italic (also from a 78G).

 

All of my pens have been good writersright out of the package.

 

I still agree that buying both is the best solution.

 

Good luck either way you go.

-S-

[CAG_1787]

Assuming that the "buy both" option isn't in play, I think there's a reasonable solution to your question. If particular nib width is important to you (i.e., you really want a very thin or very broad stroke), then the Nemosine is your only choice. If you not terribly pick about that, go with the Metropolitan as the more consistent nib and sturdier construction.

[TSherbs]

I don't own a Met, but I like the Nemosine over pens the size of the Met because the Nemosine is a bit larger in girth and the section has no step (the step down from the width of the barrel to the width of the grip section)-- so the Nemosine feels awesome® in my larger hand.

[PhilProf]

The step on the Met is actually very comfortable for me. Initially I was concerned--it *looks* like it could be a problem--but in use I have no concerns with it.

[Mr. Bultitude]

I have both and they great pens at a great price. Another consideration is that the Nemosine nibs are easily changed and can be bought separately. They offer everything from an EF to B. This is a cheap way to experiment with nib sizes.

[risingsun]

My two Nemo's cracked at the cap lip with normal to light use. My Metropolitans are amazing pens for the price, far ahead of the quality of the Nemo's if you can live with the single nib size (though others give nib alternatives above). Nemo nib is German, mounted in a Chinese pen body. Metro is Japanese all the way around. Metro nibs are smoother, in my experience (in fact, I had to do some significant nib smoothing right out of the box on my Nemo 0.6 stub as it was nails on a chalkboard rough with very poor ink flow). My opinion is it is a no-brainier on the Metro, unless there is something that stands out as being undesirable with its appearance, color options, heft, 'step' at the barrel/section, or nib size. It's a starter pen, and I think the Metro will give the better experience in the long term, bridging you to the next pen purchase.

 

But if it were me (and it was a little while back), I'd buy both (and I did).

[mikefromsac]

I own both and love them equally. I have three "Metros" and use them daily at work. I keep them on my desk, one with red ink for notating. I like the "Nemo" better for shirt-pocket carry as it's so much lighter. Can't go wrong with either.

[recluse]

I own both, Metropolitan and Singularity, and find both of them nice pens. The step in Metropolitan might be an issue, though. Before buying the pen I'd suspected the step would be a problem for me and ultimately it is. For relatively short notes it's not a big deal but for long writing I never choose Metropolitan.

[Harlequin]

Another option to consider- if you want a demonstrator (clear) pen, the Nemosine is the only one of the two to offer that. Actually, if you want any color that isn't black, silver, or gold- go with the Nemo, since the Metropolitan only comes in those three colors.

[rockydoggy]

I too own and like both. However, I find that I reach for the Pilot far more often. The nib size is just right for me (medium-fine), as is the weight (the Nemosine is on the light side comparatively). Although I've not have them long enough to gauge sturdiness, the Metropolitan feels like it'll stand up to more wear and tear. Finally, one sign of my preference for the Pilot is that fact that I've already bought several of them to give as gifts to fp-users and prospective fp-users. Bottom-line: I'd recommend that you buy one of each. If I had to get only one, my vote would be for the Pilot.

[Blazing]

I decided to buy the Pilot Metropolitan as it seems to be a smoother writer and I'm not too bothered with nib sizes, just as long as I can smoothly write for school.

 

The Nemosine seemed to have a few build quality problems. The Pilot Metropolitan has cost me £18.95 including shipping.

[lovemy51]

i know it's not what you asked, OP, but, why not get a Pilot G78? that's a heck of a writer!

[Blazing]

i know it's not what you asked, OP, but, why not get a Pilot G78? that's a heck of a writer!

I can't find any sellers, probably due to the fact that sellers have a different name for it. Just like the Metropolitan has an alias of "MR".

 

Anyway, my pen after this will probably be a TWSBI Mini/580 or a Lamy Studio.

[TSherbs]

I can't find any sellers, probably due to the fact that sellers have a different name for it. Just like the Metropolitan has an alias of "MR".

 

Anyway, my pen after this will probably be a TWSBI Mini/580 or a Lamy Studio.

It's the Pilot 78G

 

Try Stationery Art (where I bought mine) if interested.

[fyrstormer]

I decided to buy the Pilot Metropolitan as it seems to be a smoother writer and I'm not too bothered with nib sizes, just as long as I can smoothly write for school.

 

The Nemosine seemed to have a few build quality problems. The Pilot Metropolitan has cost me £18.95 including shipping.

Good choice. I have several Pilots and I'm happy with all of them, even the $3 Pilot Petit 1 that I bought out of curiosity. It's no work of art, but at least the parts fit together well.

 

I bought a Nemosine Singularity just to see if it was any good at such a low price, and I was disappointed. People talk about diminishing returns, but diminishing returns go in both directions -- increasing price brings diminishing returns in improved quality, and decreasing quality brings diminishing returns in lower price. The Nemosine Singularity falls off the bottom of the bang-to-buck curve. A Lamy Safari costs only $10 more than a Nemosine Singularity, but somehow the Singularity manages to be a piece of junk by comparison. I just threw mine away, it wasn't worth the cost to return it.

 

As for your next pen, I think the TWSBI Mini is better than the TWSBI 540/580. The 540/580 can't post properly, because the cap posts onto the filler knob, and it takes a lot of restraint (for me, anyway) to resist the instinct to twist the cap slightly as I try to remove it. You can imagine what the results might be. A pen with a cap that can't post properly is an invitation to lose the cap somewhere. The Mini, on the other hand, is designed for the cap to thread into place when you post it, so it forms a rigid extension of the pen barrel, thus compensating for the shortness of the barrel. That's the best posting approach I've ever seen. I liked it so much I bought a spare, in case they decide to change the design in the future.

Edited May 19, 2013 by fyrstormer

[UK Mike]

To throw my hat in the ring, they are both very nice pens in the price range. The Pilot is unfortunately very uncomfortable for me because I hold my pen a little further back and that is exactly where Pilot chose to put the step in the barrel. If you can cope with it then its fine. Quite robust too. The nib is smooth . Mine is the European market MR which takes International cartridges and converters instead of the Pilot own-brand.

 

I also have a Nemosine and this has the advantage of a much wider range of nibs available, should this be necessary. I find that mine is the more comfortable pen to hold and the nib (medium) is very smooth and mine is actually smoother than my TWSBI 580 which is twice the price. The pen is very light, which may be a factor, but I have had no problems at all with quality or performance. In response to the previous report, the Nemosine feels more "grown up" than the Safari and for me has a much nicer grip section, I really don't like the triangular Safari grip.

 

In the end, as with all fountain pens, it will come down to a personal preference. Either pen is capable of satisfying your needs and ideally you should try them before making a purchase. If you can't do that, you can buy either in the knowledge that you made a good choice.

Edited May 19, 2013 by UK Mike

[Alberez]

I really think they are two different pens (I have 3 Nemosine Singularity and 3 Metropolitan), The "N" pen offers light weight, multiple colors and, very important to me, a wide range of nibs (I have the xf,f, .6mm italic). I might advise that if you drop it on a hard surface, keep on walking, but I refuse to test out that theory. Again, it is plastic.

 

I was considering buying a Nemosine, but I need to know the size of the nib, since I have # 6 nibs floating around that I wanted to try in a different pen. Do you know if the Nemosine nib is a # 6?

 

BTW, I also have a Metropolitan, and the step in the body is reeeeaaaally annoying (for me at least). I prefer pens with larger and smoother bodies, like the Nemosine; however, I can't say anything about the quality of the pen, since I haven't gotten one yet.