Pilot Metropolitan Started Writing A Bit Scratchy

[antoipod]

So I'm kinda new to fountain pens and bought a Pilot metropolitan (fine nib) about a month and a half ago. It came with the tines misaligned but I ended "fixing" that after some trial and error, it was still somewhat scratchy and offered some resistance but was usable. After a few weeks of use, it became buttery smooth and was a joy to use but now it writes with some resistance and scratchiness again, it seems to be scratchy only on parts of words and not all the time, though the resistance is constant. I tried to align the tines again but to no avail. It writes better at certain angles but never as smooth as it used to. Am I missing something? Did I do a newbie mistake?

[Runnin_Ute]

A couple of thoughts, it may be that you are subconsciously doing one or both of the following:

1. You might be rotating the nib so that it isn't on the sweet spot of the nib when you write.

2. How much pressure are you using when you write? You should be using almost none and letting the nib float on a puddle of ink.

3. What ink are you using? If you are using a "dry" ink, you may not be getting the flow you need. When you weren't having a problem what ink were you using? The same one or a different one?

 

It might be as simple as changing what ink you are using. For example, Waterman inks are wetter than Pelikan inks (especially the 4001 line)

[virgilio]

Sound advice. I would add that you can also smooth the nib, using either a copper penny (see my posts on this topic) or some of the pads that are sold for this purpose. Also, you can add some extra detergent to your ink, say a couple of drops Ivory dropped in from a small vet syringe. That will float your boat (nib) on a bigger pool of ink, and give the illusion of a smoother nib.

 

Or maybe you should get a better pen. The Metro has been highly promoted, but mine was dry and scratchy too, and it was so garish in appearance once I saw it in the flesh, that I decided it wasn't worth working on. Overpriced too; the Chinese make much better pens for half the money, tho they are still learning.

[1791thinkshop]

I started with a Metropolitan as well when I knew I was in over my head with my grandmother's Mabie Todds, MontBlancs, and Esterbrooks... unlike many 'scratchy' pens that require some mylar film or other work done, simply taking a thick brown paper bag (the kind we used to always get our groceries in) or the side of a cardboard shipping box did all the work needed. Just do loops, hatches, and normal writing with the pen inked up for a few minutes using normal pressure and you'll almost immediately notice a positive difference. The cardboard paper is great for a few reasons: its mild enough to take ever so much from the pen at a time, which prevents you from ruining your first nib and your pride/courage too, and also helps you get good free practice in your loops and getting a feel for the pen's feedback. Now yes, Paper, Paper, Paper!!!; yes, this is the reason for most F, EF, UEF points/robot ground nibs to scratch [heck any sized steel nibs these days it seems sometimes] (IMO/E), but I also believe that I should be able to use my EDC/Workhorse pens throughout the range of my day which means everything from Rohida, Mnemosyne, copy paper, post it, and even 5"x8" cards (gasp!).... so smoothing that nib out with some good ole' rough stock and elbow grease should turn your nib into a workhorse too. Besides, the more you use your pen, the more you'll find yourself using your pen. This all is just my 2¢ though, and probably worth less than that in the presence of many of these FP sages... there are videos and explanations easily found here and throughout the web. I think Brian from Goulet did one not too long ago when specifically talking about how wonderful a starter pen the Metropolitan is... in fact, if you call them at (804) 368-0482, they'd probably be happy to talk you through it over the phone. They're all great people and besides, they'd rather help someone than spend that time pulling product to do that insanely meticulous packing job they give all Goulet orders... {I don't always shop at Goulet, but when I do and even if I just call for information/advice, it's primarily because their customer service in my experience is the benchmark of the industry)

Good Luck!

Edited November 16, 2017 by 1791thinkshop

[antoipod]

A couple of thoughts, it may be that you are subconsciously doing one or both of the following:

1. You might be rotating the nib so that it isn't on the sweet spot of the nib when you write.

2. How much pressure are you using when you write? You should be using almost none and letting the nib float on a puddle of ink.

3. What ink are you using? If you are using a "dry" ink, you may not be getting the flow you need. When you weren't having a problem what ink were you using? The same one or a different one?

 

It might be as simple as changing what ink you are using. For example, Waterman inks are wetter than Pelikan inks (especially the 4001 line)

Was holding it the same as I used to but it somewhat was scratchy and had some resistance, I tried rotating the nib and trying to hold it in different ways but it didn't help. I'm using as little pressure as possible though it doesn't seem to help much. As for what ink I am using, It was scratchy when I was using Parker Quink Blue Black so I switched to Monteverde Emerald green which gave a bit of improvement, I then went back to Parker Quink Blue Black and it was very smooth on the sweet stop, after some refills though it began to be scratchy again, I just switched it out for monteverde emerald green and there was a bit of improvement but it's still not what it used to be, it now feels a bit rougher than a cheap graphite pencil. I'm not sure if Monteverde or Parker inks are considered "wet" or "dry" though since I don't have much to compare to.