Pocketable All Purpose Pen Upgrade From Pilot Metro F

[Honeybadgers]

A couple more things to note.

 

Re the suggestion about Moonman Wancai Mini, I've seen a picture of it on Reddit that showed it leaking/burping a lot into the cap, and comments from other users suggested it's a common occurrence.

 

The second thing is that I don't like the golden nib in my Pilot Custom 74. Don't like its softness. I prefer the stainless steel's more firm, purposeful, to-the-point feel. Another gold nib that I've used, in a Sailor Pro Gear Slim, is not so squishy. It might be a matter of personal preference. Just mentioning it, since it seems you've mostly written with steel nibs so far.

 

[Edit:] Wrote this post and then had an Aha! moment. Why, I could also suggest Sailor Pro Gear Slim. If you are in the price bracket of a Custom 74, Pro Gear Slims can be had for around $115, and one could even score a limited edition on the 'Bay, like the Four Seasons series (Manyou/ Yukitsubaki/Meigetsu/Haruzora). The limited editions will have a MF nib, which I find fine enough (definitely finer than a steel Lamy F). The downside is the screw-down cap, as opposed to a slip cap on Prera and Sailor Young. (Well, it's a downside in terms of EDC-ing it—the speed of deployment. It is an upside in terms of longer non-dry-out times.) If you decide to search for it, pay attention to whether it's a Pro Gear II Slim. The "II" version has a different clip which was probably meant to ape Pelikan, but the efforts to still make it a bit different from Pelikan resulted in a pretty ugly clip.

 

 

P. S. These days, Sailors ship without converters, so you'll need to buy a converter separately.

 

I've never had a problem with my wancai's. Eyedroppers do need to be refilled when they hit about 1/3 full and I've knocked my couple wancai's around pretty hard (I'm a paramedic so every pen I bring to work gets thrown at least once) Also if you put a cold pen in your back pocket and then sit in a car, there will be a temeprature shift. All eyedroppers need a tiny bit more care than others, but the wancai can be purchased with cartridges that can just be refilled.

 

I will again highly recommend the delike alpha. If you really like a pen with a clip and use the clip often, get the aluminum model. If you don't like clips or are willing to use a needle file to file in a notch for the clip like I did, the brass alpha is genuinely one of the best pens in my collection at any price, including my $1000 viscontis and mont blancs. The delike bent nib is really cool, an architect nib that loves to be used to print, the EF nib is good, and it will take a ton of different nibs. Mine really likes that $2 nib I love, and it REALLY loves the eversharp #2 manifold nib. that thing is dry and smooth and LOVES everyday situations like writing on patient charts in the rain with waterproof ink.

 

 

OH, I totally forgot the ohto tasche. Another pocket pen, standard international cartridge only, but it is tough as nails.

 

I'd recommend against japanese pens from normal retailers. a custom 74 with a soft fine nib is about $75 on amazon. a platinum 3776 (another great option for a front pocket pen, perhaps even usable back-pocket) is under $70 with a gold nib. Sailor tends to always run more, but the pro gear slim (not a bad choice but again, plastic, non acrylic pens in back pockets just scare me) is about $90 on amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-fountain-professional-silver-11-1222-220/dp/B001TI9LMU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1543460003&sr=8-4&keywords=sailor+pro+gear+slim

Edited November 29, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[Honeybadgers]

OH! I just had my own a-ha moment and thought of 2 more pens.

 

Lamy 2000 EF is a great pen. Western EF, so maybe not quite as fine as you like, but I am in your boat as well with highly preferring very fine nibs, and I just can't stop using my lamy 2000 EF. Tough, reliable, well made.

 

The parker sonnet right now is really, really cheap. Like, MSRP around $300, they're on Amazon for under $85. the F nib will be reliably fine. I'd say it's a hair wider than a japanese F but not by much. metal construction, 18k nib, nice simple converter (included) and snap cap. Very premium feeling pen at that price.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Parker-Sonnet-Black-Lacquer-Fountain/dp/B01JIQHW5W/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1543460246&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=parker+sonnet+fountain+pen&psc=1

 

 

If you really are as gentle as you say, the pilot custom 74 will work. It's not too big or too small, posts, and I cannot sing the praises of the SF nib enough. If you REALLY hate soft nibs, just get the F or EF. But I love the slight bounciness and ability to squeeze out some very respectable line variation. The sailor gold nib might as well be made from steel. They're nail hard. Same goes for the 3776 apart from the SF.

[Arkanabar]

Thanks for the great info. Most of those pens are new to me, so Ill look into them today and respond with some thoughts.

 

I just want to ask if youre sure that those plastic pens arent cut out for back pocket carry? Do they have a reputation or history of breaking? I only ask because they seem to be fairly well built to me, and before I carried my Karas Kustom, I had been carrying Pilot G2s and Uniball DX (something or other) without issue and they are just cheap plastic pens.

 

Thanks again for the helpful info!

 

The original, plastic Kaweco Sport was absolutely designed to shove into a pants pocket, even if it's the back pocket of skinny jeans. The Delike Alpha would have to have astonishingly severe materials quality issues not to handle the same stresses. The clips on these pens are optional, so that's one less worry. These pens all have crew caps.

 

I'd suggest a "sidegrade" to a Prera: same writing experience in the same nib size you like, with a smaller pen; some of the colours are really nice, I had my eye on slate until I finally saw the pen in person and it was dwarfed by my hand.

 

I have a Prera, and it's quite short. It wouldn't have the extreme durability of a Kaweco Sport or Delike Alpha, but it ought to fit into a front pocket without issue. I wear a size L men's glove and can spread my fingers to cover a 9" span from pinky to thumb tip, and it's just barely long enough to reach the web between thumb and index finger without posting.

[keybers]

The sailor gold nib might as well be made from steel. They're nail hard.

 

That's a feature, not a bug . And the "nail" description is highly exaggerated—that distinction goes to regular Sheaffer nibs. Sailor gold nibs are "not squishy".

Edited November 29, 2018 by keybers

[Honeybadgers]

 

That's a feature, not a bug . And the "nail" description is highly exaggerated—that distinction goes to regular Sheaffer nibs. Sailor gold nibs are "not squishy".

 

 

No, they're nail hard. I don't consider it a feature (to me) but I do agree they are amazingly good writers and worth the money.

[rudyhou]

I write pretty small cursive, and so I like very fine nibs that are still smooth. I have really been impressed with the Pilot Metro F and really enjoy writing with it.

 

I have been carrying a copper Karas Kustom Fountain K around in my pocket for a year or two now. I really love the pen, but I am not a fan of the writing experience. The western EF nib is just too wide for me. I had the same problem with the Lamy Safari EF. Ive had the nib ground down in my Karas Kustom pen, which helped. But I still like the way the Pilot Metro F writes better, especially for a cheap pen.

 

I also like the Platinum Preppy EF I have too.

 

So I am trying to figure out what pen I can purchase as my everyday all purpose pen that will be improved quality over the the Pilot.

 

If I get a new pen, I will carry it in my pocket and will use it for 90% of my everyday writing. Id like it to be an interesting pen that is rugged enough to live in my back pocket and nice enough to use for most writing. It needs to be a very fine for my small writing and sometimes crappy paper.

 

I have been research Pilot Custom 74 and 823 as potentials but I am open to other suggestions as well.

 

Pilot Metro uses stainless steel nib. if you're looking for an upgrade on a Pilot fp, any of their gold nib fps should be a nice upgrade from the Metro line. i own both Custom 74 and Custom 91, and both are great workhorses.

[Honeybadgers]

the pilot stella 90s is also worthy of mention. it's on the smaller, pocket-pen size side of things, metal body, lovely 14k nib available in F.

[MuddyWaters]

The suggestion that first came to mind was a wing sung 6359. Extra fine point nib that writes very well, light aluminum body, the best clip in the biz (it's a Lamy Al star copy) and 3-4 bucks from eBay.

Edited December 3, 2018 by MuddyWaters

[keybers]

The suggestion that first came to mind was a wing sung 6359. Extra fine point nib that writes very well, light aluminum body, the best clip in the biz (it's a Lamy Al star copy) and 3-4 bucks from eBay.

 

The OP wanted an upgrade, so presumably something fancier than the Metropolitan, and not a downshifter's change of tools

[Lloyd]

 

The OP wanted an upgrade, so presumably something fancier than the Metropolitan, and not a downshifter's change of tools

That's why I mentioned the Franklin-Christof. They offer many small models which can be used either as a CC or an ED and have custom nibs.

[MuddyWaters]

 

The OP wanted an upgrade, so presumably something fancier than the Metropolitan, and not a downshifter's change of tools

Oh yes, apologies. Didn't register that properly. I would still recommend the pen though if op had 3-4 bucks to spare.

[alexwi]

It's about 10 times more expensive than the Metropolitan, but Pilot's E95s would make a great pen for pants pockets, as it's very short when capped and "grows" into a regular size when posted. Even though I don't like it, it's a great writer with a very clever design.

 

Alex

[Mech-for-i]

Why not just a Pilot Capless , it certainly more a pocketable ( and ready ) pen than the others ; its a Pilot alright. If not then the Stella 90 would be my next on the list. One of the most important Q to be asked is how pocketable one need it to be pocketable ; and how do one actually pocket the pen .. my take is all meal construction usually fill the roll better ( it can take abuse ) and general day to day use mean Fine or EF as the OP stated. Asian Fine and EF usually suites well.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[Honeybadgers]

in the back pocket, a capless would have the propensity to... click itself...

 

I thought about it myself, but the logistics just don't work. It's a shirt pocket pen.

[Mongoosey]

Well, I myself have been a fan of my own Pilot Metro-Medium and finally followed through with purchasing the Pilot Custom 74-Medium.

 

It's been a long quiet debate in my cart between the c74-Medium and the Platinum 3776-Medium (both Japanese Imported).

 

TBH the 3776-Medium is probably be next

[penzel_washinkton]

If you like the fineness of the Pilot steel nibs, get the Pilot Prera.

It won't be that far from a Metro price wise, pocket-able and I would consider it a minor upgrade.

 

But if you are looking for a gold nib, then the E95s is the safer option to take.

[Bo Bo Olson]

@1895 all sorts of things happened, the bicycle drivers forced the paving of streets, so Combat Boots for both sexes were out, the newest Rage was the below the ankle Oxford town shoe...still quite popular.

 

The peddle washing machine that allowed a woman to read while she worked, brought in changing one's under ware daily for middle class and up, shirts with sewed on collar and cuffs were suddenly in....in that showed you were up to date and had a peddle washing machine at home.

 

The shirt pocket was invented just to carry the fountain pen ....and you could decide which slide on clip you wanted on it.

 

Still in use by those who set their own fashion.

 

Not good for Large metal fountain pens, nor for oversized ones.....can have your shirt maker make a deeper pocket for Large pens....................could have your local tailor, sew existing pockets so they are pen pockets. Then one don't have to poke one's self sitting on them.

 

@1935 Kaweco came out with the Sport...for those who wanted to play fusseball/soccer or what ever on the way home in their good pants (35 years before Jeans came in in Germany).....and to break the plastic ones takes some doing.......they made the sport for @95 years before going over to metal.....but they are now unbreakable, and one can sit on them, or with them in a front pants pocket.

I prefer shirt pockets.....I can carry a much better balanced fountain pen in one, than in a pants pocket.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[UDog]

I have a Franklin-Christoph retired Model 40P, their pocket pen. FC-40P

 

You might also consider the Pilot Petit1, a little inexpensive gem...Jetpens

[bms259]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I ended up purchasing a few pens as a result of this thread.

 

First, I bought a Delike Alpha in EF. The Kaweco inspired style isn't exactly what I was after, but I got it for like $9, and for the price, it's a great pen! The EF is a pretty good width for me. Certainly better than I was expecting. It wrote a little dry for my tastes, but since it was so inexpensive, I used it as a first shot at adjusting a nib. I was able to increase the ink flow and smooth it out a bit and it writes pretty well. The clip sucks, so I will have to figure out how exactly the make it work better, and it has a a weird "War and Peace"etching on it that I find to be really weird. Overall though, it's a great value. It probably won't become my work horse pen, but it's a good one.

 

Secondly, I ordered a Jinhao something or other for a few bucks. It's a great looking pen and I'm impressed with how smooth it writes. The EF is a bit too wide for me though.

 

For my main pen, I settled on a Pilot Custom 74 in EF in Dark Green. Ultimately what made the choice for the Pilot over against the Sailor Pro Gear and Platinum 3776 was just the available of colors and nib size. I liked the subtle difference of the dark green, and I thought I would like the EF nib.

 

But I actually don't like writing with it. The extra fine is actually too fine for me, and I prefer something with a little wetter ink flow and a little smoother. I may try a Fine or I may try another one of the suggestions here, like the Platinum 3776 (in EF? F?) or the Sailor Pro Gear. It's light weight would also take some getting used to, after using my Karas Kustom and Pilot Metro. It's also just a little bigger than what I'd prefer. The size isn't bad, but in an ideal world, I'd like something just a little smaller.

 

Based on this experience, do you have any other suggestion on where I should go from here?

 

The Franklin Christoph 20 in vintage green looks really appealing, but it's a little expensive, and I'm not sure if I could achieve a similar fine and smooth line like the Pilot Metro.

 

The Pilot Stella 90s looks good too, but it may be on the small side for me.