Another Problem With Pilot Metropolitan

[Emt1581]

I just received an exchange in the mail of another Pilot Metropolitan. I learned today that the first problem was most likely my fault due to bent tines on the nib from too much pressure. Well tonight at my office I had a different issue with what I think is a brand new pen....it kept running dry. Sometimes if I would shake it or give it a break and then brush the breathing/air hole with a tissue it'd write for a few words....then dry again. It should also be noted that I tried several ink cartridges and they wouldn't insert smoothly and to the depth I remember the last pen going.

 

Pilot was generous and sent me extra ink and a Varsity in exchange for the postage I paid. So I hate to complain again. Any thoughts on how to rectify the ink not flowing right?

Thanks!

[LizEF]

(Written as if for a total newbie - please forgive if you're not, I don't know either way.)

 

First, remove the cartridge and just study the inside of the grip section so you're familiar with that little tab inside there - the cartridge goes around that tab so the tab rotates the "lid" of the cartridge out of the way to allow ink to flow. If you don't understand that, study the two some more, or ask for photos or something. The point of this exercise is just so you know what's going on in there so you don't accidentally break anything with the wrong kind of force on that tab thing.

 

Next, if you didn't already, I recommend you wash the pen (including flushing the nib and feed with a bulb syringe) with a mix of water + a little Dawn dish soap. This will remove any oils or other contaminates. It may be necessary to remove the nib and feed (e.g. if there's something physically stuck in a channel of the feed), but that should probably not be done unless we later determine it's necessary.

 

After the water+Dawn mix, flush multiple times with plain water to ensure all the soap is rinsed out. Then wrap the nib in a paper towel (be careful of the tines - don't want to mess those up), and let that wick the water out. If you're very careful, you can hold the nib end and flick water out the end where the cartridge goes in - just be extra careful (and not my fault if you do this wrong and it goes flying - if in doubt, don't do it, be patient and let it air dry).

 

Finally, seat the cartridge back in and give it a go. If it's not improved, it's possible the tines are too tight, but let's cover this stuff first.

 

Also, please confirm for us which Pilot Cartridges you're using (the color and that they're not the ones explicitly for Pilot Parallels - just to be on the safe side for now).

Edited September 20, 2018 by LizEF

[LizEF]

PS, a fully seated cartridge should leave 41.5 to 42mm of cartridge outside the black plastic of the grip section.

[penzel_washinkton]

Sad to hear there are still problems to your pen. As for advice for the drying out I think you just need to make sure to push down on the cartridge if you feel that it does not go as further as your previous metro. It might be that the ink is not flowing properly to the nib & feed section.

Edited September 20, 2018 by penzel_washinkton

[senzen]

Mine has been completely reliable, I would also suggest washing it... And not pressing on the nib. They are very easy to disassemble and assemble again, so you can wash and dry each part. With a converter ink goes through the feed first so there's no need for priming or waiting for the ink to find its way towards the nib.

[Emt1581]

Annnnndd......I broke it already!

 

I was at my practice, taking notes, it slipped out of my hand, landed on the nib and now the right tine (under my loupe) is bent at a 35-45 degree angle. I better start learning to fix nibs if I'm going to stick with fountain pens.

 

So any suggestions for tools and technique to use to fix this?

 

Thanks!!

[Houston]

Keep buying really inexpensive pens until you get the hang of it! :-)

 

Seriously, no judgements implied. I wrote with Sheaffer no-nonsense pens for years, bought in blister packs from a drug store. Right through middle school and high school, I made every mistake possible, including giving it the kind of abuse only a thoughtless teenage boy is capable of. That certainly taught me the practical tolerances of nibs, feeds, cartridge nipples, etc.

 

If you're an EMT -- guessing, from your handle -- you may eventually want to invest in a fountain pen that's easier to handle one-handed: something like the Pilot Vanishing Point or the LAMY Dialog. I can't imagine being in a medical practice and having to two-hand the cap and body of a fountain pen all the time. But I'm just imagining.

 

And, if I've guessed totally wrong and that's not what you meant by "at your practice", I apologise for the rank speculation. The first bit of advice still stands. Keep buying really inexpensive fountain pens until you get the hang of it. If multiple replacements of your Metropolitan are too expensive, you can get cheap Chinese or Indian pens for a fraction of even the Metropolitan's modest price. Quality control varies, but the pens are often as good as anything many times their price.

 

Have fun out there. And try not to use you next pen as a javelin.

 

--h

[JollyCynic]

Annnnndd......I broke it already!

 

I was at my practice, taking notes, it slipped out of my hand, landed on the nib and now the right tine (under my loupe) is bent at a 35-45 degree angle. I better start learning to fix nibs if I'm going to stick with fountain pens.

 

So any suggestions for tools and technique to use to fix this?

 

Thanks!!

 

I've spent months trying to get my Pilot nib right again after the same thing happened to me. I did manage to get it back to very, very nice. Probably the same quality as when I bought it. (Short version: I bought a bunch of Wing Sung manufactured nibs of the same machining off of AliExpress and a loupe and kept following YouTube videos until the nib looked more or less the way it was supposed to. And then a lot more tweaking until it worked that way.)

 

Just as I got it where I wanted it, I ended up breaking the section. I still didn't throw in the towel, and ordered a Pilot 78G clone from China for about £1, and stole the section from that. It all works well, and I like that I've spruced up my boring black crocodile skin Metro with a transparent section.

 

The problem is, in the month the replacement section took to get here, I moved on. I fell head-over-heels for a PenBBS 308, which you can get for £10 if you keep an eye open. It's a finer line, it's less prone to feathering with wetter inks without feeling dryer, and it offers a much better feel to its glide across a page, to me.

 

I'm not saying the PenBBS 308 (or the Sailor Procolor to which it owes much of its modelling) is the solution. (Although its size and feel compare favourably to the Metro.) Its Waverly (I guess is what we're calling it) nib is challenging, and can have a sweet spot on two axes. Most of the colours wouldn't fit with the professional environment you might need, but there are some sellers with black ones, still.

 

The Metro's a nice pen. I just bought my sister one. But my eventual solution has been to put it quietly in the drawer. If you really want to keep the Metro, get a Wing Sung nib to use in it while you work on the Metro nib.

[Emt1581]

 

I've spent months trying to get my Pilot nib right again after the same thing happened to me. I did manage to get it back to very, very nice. Probably the same quality as when I bought it. (Short version: I bought a bunch of Wing Sung manufactured nibs of the same machining off of AliExpress and a loupe and kept following YouTube videos until the nib looked more or less the way it was supposed to. And then a lot more tweaking until it worked that way.)

 

Just as I got it where I wanted it, I ended up breaking the section. I still didn't throw in the towel, and ordered a Pilot 78G clone from China for about £1, and stole the section from that. It all works well, and I like that I've spruced up my boring black crocodile skin Metro with a transparent section.

 

The problem is, in the month the replacement section took to get here, I moved on. I fell head-over-heels for a PenBBS 308, which you can get for £10 if you keep an eye open. It's a finer line, it's less prone to feathering with wetter inks without feeling dryer, and it offers a much better feel to its glide across a page, to me.

 

I'm not saying the PenBBS 308 (or the Sailor Procolor to which it owes much of its modelling) is the solution. (Although its size and feel compare favourably to the Metro.) Its Waverly (I guess is what we're calling it) nib is challenging, and can have a sweet spot on two axes. Most of the colours wouldn't fit with the professional environment you might need, but there are some sellers with black ones, still.

 

The Metro's a nice pen. I just bought my sister one. But my eventual solution has been to put it quietly in the drawer. If you really want to keep the Metro, get a Wing Sung nib to use in it while you work on the Metro nib.

 

I checked out PenBBS....but I really love the look and feel of my Pilot. Is it not possible to just buy a bunch of nibs (Pilot or not) and have them on hand then swap them out when needed? I did find one lot of 4 but they were medium PenBBS. I think I would need EF nibs to match Pilot's EF.

 

Either that or I can learn to be more careful and just spend $15 on a new Metro every time I'm clumsy. My real concern is in the future if I spend $300+ on a nicer pen with a gold nib...and screw THAT up...not so cheap to fix/replace.

 

Thoughts? Thanks!

[Houston]

Let your hands and habits be trained by the Metro or other inexpensive pens for a while. I know you like the Metro -- I do, too -- but I nevertheless suggest you might try a few different pens in its price range (or cheaper), and gain the experience of feeling the difference between different nibs, flows and weights.

 

Then, you'll really know what you want when you plunk down your $300 someday in the future, and your habits will be ready to care for the expensive "writing instrument". ...not that one ever has to spend that much on a pen to have a life-long relationship with genuinely great-writing fountain pens.

[Emt1581]

Let your hands and habits be trained by the Metro or other inexpensive pens for a while. I know you like the Metro -- I do, too -- but I nevertheless suggest you might try a few different pens in its price range (or cheaper), and gain the experience of feeling the difference between different nibs, flows and weights.

 

Then, you'll really know what you want when you plunk down your $300 someday in the future, and your habits will be ready to care for the expensive "writing instrument". ...not that one ever has to spend that much on a pen to have a life-long relationship with genuinely great-writing fountain pens.

Any suggestions for a fine/extra fine pen that's similar in weight?

 

Thanks!

[iruciperi]

Annnnndd......I broke it already!

 

I was at my practice, taking notes, it slipped out of my hand, landed on the nib and now the right tine (under my loupe) is bent at a 35-45 degree angle. I better start learning to fix nibs if I'm going to stick with fountain pens.

 

So any suggestions for tools and technique to use to fix this?

 

Thanks!!

 

Sorry to hear that. It's not an easy task to fix bent nibs. I'm familiar with smoothing/adjusting the nibs, but repairing bent nibs is totally different thing. You should find professional nib meisters to fix bent nibs, which costs about 30.00 US dollars. So I think you should find another pen or nib.

[pajaro]

 

Sorry to hear that. It's not an easy task to fix bent nibs. I'm familiar with smoothing/adjusting the nibs, but repairing bent nibs is totally different thing. You should find professional nib meisters to fix bent nibs, which costs about 30.00 US dollars. So I think you should find another pen or nib.

 

Do the replacement nibs cost $30? I think some people with pens having low cost replacement nibs should stock a couple and just replace them as needed.

[Emt1581]

 

Do the replacement nibs cost $30? I think some people with pens having low cost replacement nibs should stock a couple and just replace them as needed.

 

I wasn't able to find replacement nibs for Pilot. I'll order another Metro. But I'm really open to suggestions on quality, similarly weighted pens in the same price range.

For now I'm on my backup pen, the medium nib Varsity, which looks like I'm using a Sharpie on paper compared to the fine line of the fine nib Metro.

[LizEF]

I checked out PenBBS....but I really love the look and feel of my Pilot. Is it not possible to just buy a bunch of nibs (Pilot or not) and have them on hand then swap them out when needed? I did find one lot of 4 but they were medium PenBBS. I think I would need EF nibs to match Pilot's EF.

 

Either that or I can learn to be more careful and just spend $15 on a new Metro every time I'm clumsy. My real concern is in the future if I spend $300+ on a nicer pen with a gold nib...and screw THAT up...not so cheap to fix/replace.

 

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

Sorry to hear about your nib woes. I think JollyCynic's idea of ordering Wing Sung nibs to use on your Pilot until such time as you've developed a sort of instinctual caution about not letting the pen fall is a good / cost-effective idea. I was curious (never shopped on AliExpress), and went looking. Some results are below. If you're OK with shopping there or on eBay, I'm thinking you could get several nibs to keep on-hand.

 

NOTE: Normally, the Metropolitan comes in F, M, and 1.0 stub. I don't recall seeing an EF nib on the Metro. But Japanese nibs tend to be narrower than western, so a Metro F is like a western EF. You might want to double-check the nib marking before ordering...

 

Anyway:

Nibs: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wingsung-Wing-Sung-659-698-Fountain-Pen-Nib-Fountain-Pen-Feed-Compatible-Pilot-78G-88G-EF/32867760605.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.191.28a223d9J2mkEC&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10065_10068_10130_10547_10546_10059_10884_10548_315_10545_10887_10696_100031_10084_531_10083_10103_10618_10307_449,searchweb201603_45,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c-24&algo_pvid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

More Nibs (not sure why they're cheaper, look the same): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-Piece-Japan-Pilot-Wings-nib-for-Pilot-78g-88g-smile-pen-accessories/32881218994.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000014.16.7ada3e67EHg0Xk&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&scm_id=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&scm-url=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&pvid=00faa166-3265-499a-9d3c-934700974f61

 

Both of the above say they'll fit Pilot pens.

 

Wing Sung pen that I think takes the same nib, but you need to do more research first - I can't quite tell from the photos - it's even less than the above nibs: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc-WINGSUNG-new-Transparent-plastic-fashion-Golden-EF-nib-fountain-Pen/32848686192.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.290.28a223d9J2mkEC&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10065_10068_10130_10547_10546_10059_10884_10548_315_10545_10887_10696_100031_10084_531_10083_10103_10618_10307_449,searchweb201603_45,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c-37&algo_pvid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

More research might find you other options with better prices, but even the above will get you a few nibs for the price of one pen. Best of luck!

[LizEF]

Oh, and the Pilot Kakuno uses the same nib (just with a smiley face on it ) and is cheaper than the Metro by a little, so that might be another way to get a replacement nib. Same for the Pilot 78G, but it's even cheaper (if you can find it).

[Emt1581]

 

Sorry to hear about your nib woes. I think JollyCynic's idea of ordering Wing Sung nibs to use on your Pilot until such time as you've developed a sort of instinctual caution about not letting the pen fall is a good / cost-effective idea. I was curious (never shopped on AliExpress), and went looking. Some results are below. If you're OK with shopping there or on eBay, I'm thinking you could get several nibs to keep on-hand.

 

NOTE: Normally, the Metropolitan comes in F, M, and 1.0 stub. I don't recall seeing an EF nib on the Metro. But Japanese nibs tend to be narrower than western, so a Metro F is like a western EF. You might want to double-check the nib marking before ordering...

 

Anyway:

Nibs: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wingsung-Wing-Sung-659-698-Fountain-Pen-Nib-Fountain-Pen-Feed-Compatible-Pilot-78G-88G-EF/32867760605.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.191.28a223d9J2mkEC&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10065_10068_10130_10547_10546_10059_10884_10548_315_10545_10887_10696_100031_10084_531_10083_10103_10618_10307_449,searchweb201603_45,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c-24&algo_pvid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

More Nibs (not sure why they're cheaper, look the same): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-Piece-Japan-Pilot-Wings-nib-for-Pilot-78g-88g-smile-pen-accessories/32881218994.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000014.16.7ada3e67EHg0Xk&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&scm_id=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&scm-url=1007.13338.112238.000000000000000&pvid=00faa166-3265-499a-9d3c-934700974f61

 

Both of the above say they'll fit Pilot pens.

 

Wing Sung pen that I think takes the same nib, but you need to do more research first - I can't quite tell from the photos - it's even less than the above nibs: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc-WINGSUNG-new-Transparent-plastic-fashion-Golden-EF-nib-fountain-Pen/32848686192.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.290.28a223d9J2mkEC&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10065_10068_10130_10547_10546_10059_10884_10548_315_10545_10887_10696_100031_10084_531_10083_10103_10618_10307_449,searchweb201603_45,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c-37&algo_pvid=712b975a-36b3-4468-a4f2-dce291de761c&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

More research might find you other options with better prices, but even the above will get you a few nibs for the price of one pen. Best of luck!

 

Thanks for the info/links. I set up an Alibaba account last month but the process of buying anything was waayyy too complex for me. Send an offer, communicate, figure out payment...not sure how Aliexpress compares though.

 

For me banggood, dhgate, ebay, etc. are MUCH faster/easier.

 

I know what you mean about the EF=F...and I was plenty happy with the F nib on the Metro. I really do love everything about the pen. I know a lot complained about the short grip but I don't mind it. It looks and feels amazing to write with! Again, just have to not be so clumsy with it.

 

Thanks!

[LizEF]

 

Thanks for the info/links. I set up an Alibaba account last month but the process of buying anything was waayyy too complex for me. Send an offer, communicate, figure out payment...not sure how Aliexpress compares though.

 

For me banggood, dhgate, ebay, etc. are MUCH faster/easier.

 

I know what you mean about the EF=F...and I was plenty happy with the F nib on the Metro. I really do love everything about the pen. I know a lot complained about the short grip but I don't mind it. It looks and feels amazing to write with! Again, just have to not be so clumsy with it.

 

Thanks!

 

Ah, well, you can find those same nibs on eBay. Then just put them in your pen. When you feel like it's worth it / safe, either buy another Metro or buy a Kakuno and swap its nib into your Metro.

[Emt1581]

 

Ah, well, you can find those same nibs on eBay. Then just put them in your pen. When you feel like it's worth it / safe, either buy another Metro or buy a Kakuno and swap its nib into your Metro.

 

Oh I'll be ordering another Metro over the weekend. But I would like to try others that are similar just to get different experience.

 

Thanks

[JollyCynic]

I've made a comparison of the nibs I have. (I have more than these, but they're just the same ones over and over.) If you're going to buy a Wing Sung pen to swipe the nib from, I recommend being extremely careful. There are two Wing Sung companies, and the nibs with the pen-in-circle logo in the Pilot form factor have proven quite problematic for me. But there are often great samples, too, in Chinese pens. The Wing Sung nibs that have WING S stamped on them have all been of a similar good quality.

 

In left-to-right, the left nib is the "EF" one I've stolen out of a Wing Sung 3001A (the bad kind of nib, I got the pen for the section only, and never intended to write with the nib), then a nib that I purchased as "EF" but was marked "F" and is a carbon copy of a Pilot "F", then a nib that I purchased as an "F" that is marked "F" and is a carbon copy of a Pilot "M", and finally my original Pilot "M" which is somehow the finest of the lot. Well, not any more. It was before I worked on it and spread the tines, because it was ridiculously tight before, quite akin to the OP in this thread. It's still satisfyingly fine for me, but possibly not for OP.

 

I also have a Kakuno sitting in a box unopened on top of my fridge with a Pilot "F" nib. I got it before I discovered the Wing Sung nibs, so I'm waiting to decide what to do with it.

 

Anyway, here are the nibs with brief writing samples. The squares on the graph are 2mm to help judge widths.