Pilot Petit 1

[kaseygirl]

This is my first pen review. All constructive criticism is welcome.

 

1. First Impressions - The Pilot Petit 1 is one cute little pen.

 

2. Appearance & Finish - The pen itself is transparent plastic and resembles a demonstrator. For a pen that costs $4.50, I find it to be quite sturdy. The cap snaps on with a firm click. The only part of the pen which seems fragile is the clip. It is a little thin and I fear it could snap off. However, I don’t really use the clips on my pens and this pen is so small it would fit easily into a pocket.

 

3. Design/ Size/Weight - I am impressed by the design of the Pilot Petit 1 mini fountain pen. With the cap on, the pen seems tiny. It actuallly measures 4 inches long. But the cap itself is two inches long. So posted the cap adds another inch. I had to measure this twice, because the difference seemed much longer. The pen weighs about .30 ounces, but is well balanced when writing.

 

4. Nib Design & Performance- The nib is stiff as you would expect from a pen which costs less than $5.00. I would not describe the nib as buttery smooth, but it isn’t scratchy either. (I did some nib adjustment with a paper bag and that made it much smoother and more useable.) I am going to guess it is a fine point and most likely made of steel. It is a nice medium flow pen. It doesn’t skip and starts right away, every time. For the price, I am impressed. I think it is a great writer!

 

5. The Filling System- One of the things I liked best about this pen is that it uses cartridges so it is not disposable. The pens come in 16 funky colors, and you can purchase cartridges in 12 of those colors. The are sold in capsules, 3 to a capsule for $2.00. I imagine those of you who are so inclined could refill the cartridge with a syringe, and the ink of your choice.

 

6. Cost/Value- The Pilot Petit 1 costs $4.50 at JetPens. It is a great value for the price. It is a pen that can go anywhere as it is not the end of the world if it gets lost. However, you might be very disappointed by the loss.

 

7. Overall Opinion/Conclusion- I really like this pen! It is the perfect size for a pocket or a backpack. Another great use would be to keep several handy in an office setting. The Pilot Petit 1 has the cute factor and may help steer ballpoint users away from your more expensive favorite writer. Who knows, one may even become a fountain pen convert!

 

I am in dial up heck, out here in the country. In order to include pictures,I have had to add links to pictures of the pen on the JetPen website.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/images/pilot_sp-30f-col-2.jpg

 

http://www.jetpens.com/images/pilot_sp-30f-col.jpg

[cmeisenzahl]

Nice work, thanks. I've had my eye on these.

[jockeys]

you can actually refill the cartridges with an eyedropper, the whole top of them is open. I bought a handful of these the other day, the first one to run out gets turned into an eyedropper pen, we'll see how it turns out.

[Possum Hill]

you can actually refill the cartridges with an eyedropper, the whole top of them is open. I bought a handful of these the other day, the first one to run out gets turned into an eyedropper pen, we'll see how it turns out.

The nib and feed look very much like the corresponding parts on the Pilot Varsity, so you might be able to pull them out of the section the same way. If so, you could glue barrel and section together and and fill by removing nib and feed.

 

I'd try it myself but I gave the one I bought to nieces.

[Rapt]

I'd just grease the section threads with silicone grease and make them ED fillers.

[dennisraines]

I converted mine into an eye dropper.

 

I got mixed results- BUT it DID work. Although using the empty cartridge fill was "cleaner."

 

I added silicone grease on the threads and that was that. It's not really possible to put an o-ring on it from the way it's designed. The only time I had a problem was when I put ink in... then for what ever reason (because I fiddle too much- it's a problem!) I unscrewed it when it was half full then re screwed it... I guess the added air was what did it: When ever I pulled the cap off it created a vacuum and would suck ink through the threads and pull out quite a few drops. It wouldn't do it through the nib or feed though, just the threading- even though there was grease present. Oops. However when I grease it up, then fill it and DON'T open it until the ink is out- then it never sucks up through the threads. The threading is larger than say a Platinum Preppy, so I did put quite a bit more grease on it than I would for any other eye dropper I have. As long as I didn't open it before it was empty- NO problems. However- if you want to change the colour of ink... it'll take a LONG time to flus the pen. When I found to help was to take a regular Pilot converter- which does fit, but is too long for the barrel- and suck up water through the nib, that helps but is still pretty time consuming to clean out.

 

I love the Petit1! I prefer it to the Preppy in most all regards though. I just like the nib much more!

[etoyoc]

I picked up a few of these over the course of a few jetpen orders to get up to the free shipping level. I gave a pink one to my daughter and I have enjoyed my two. The are fairly dependable little pens. I find the pilot cartridges to be a bit thin and the little disk/stopper has caused a refilled cartridge to rupture on the side seam. However, as an eye dropper pen, these have been great. I have emptied the entire pen without any of the burping/blotting issues I have had with other eye droppers.

[Rodney126]

Jet Pen eyedropper conversion video

[rwilsonedn]

Since someone revived the thread, I have to chime in. This is maybe my favorite inexpensive pen. It is bullet-proof, pocketable, doesn't dry out readily, is actually long enough for moderate-sized hands when you post it, and the examples I've had all write quite well out of the box. These have become go-to pens for me when I'm away from home.

ron

[nathanpaulo]

Is it safe to ink this up with Noodler's 54th Mass?

[Ted A]

I can't say for sure because I don't have one of the Petite pens, but I have played with a Varsity and the indications are they are similar.

 

1. There is some evidence that some Noodler's inks destroy some Pilot feeds. So there is a possible problem. Some indications are that it is the Bay State Noodlers that causes the problem. It is, however, a $4.00 pen. A loss of the Petite is considerably less than if it were the loss of the high end Pilots.

2. If this has a wick like the Varsity, then you have to do a lot of flushing to get the ink out of the wick. The wicks purpose is to hold ink and have ink ready to go on the nib. So it takes more work to flush the old stuff so you can replace it.

 

At $4.00, give it a try and report back to us.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Ted A

[rwilsonedn]

I can't say for sure because I don't have one of the Petite pens, but I have played with a Varsity and the indications are they are similar.

 

<snip>

2. If this has a wick like the Varsity, then you have to do a lot of flushing to get the ink out of the wick. The wicks purpose is to hold ink and have ink ready to go on the nib. So it takes more work to flush the old stuff so you can replace it.

 

At $4.00, give it a try and report back to us.

 

The Petit-1 has a conventional feed, not a wick. It uses proprietary cartridges that fit in its tiny barrel, but that are easily refilled with a syringe.

ron

[Jamerelbe]

 

The Petit-1 has a conventional feed, not a wick. It uses proprietary cartridges that fit in its tiny barrel, but that are easily refilled with a syringe.

ron

 

I only have one Petit1, but I can confirm that (like my Pilot Varsity pens) it has a wick feed that runs under the nib.

[AD64]

Here is another discussion of Preppies, Pilot Petit1s and other eye dropper conversion conversations.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/276482-i-can-eyedropper-that/

[truthpil]

Is it possible to pull out the nib on these the way you can on a Preppy?

I've looked all over and can't find and answer to this question.

[tamiya]

Is it possible to pull out the nib on these the way you can on a Preppy?

Preppy is by Platinum, not interchangeable with Pilot.

 

It's possible to yank the nib off the Petit1... but putting it back on "like before" usually unsuccessful IMHO. Doesn't stay on or refuses to feed.

 

If you wanna chop & change Pilot nibs, go for the Metro/Kakuno/78G/etc level instead.

[truthpil]

It's possible to yank the nib off the Petit1... but putting it back on "like before" usually unsuccessful IMHO. Doesn't stay on or refuses to feed.

 

Thanks for the information!

I had hoped to be able to take the nib and feed off for cleaning like you can with the Platinum Preppys (Preppies?), but I guess it doesn't work.

That means loading up a Petit with high-maintenance inks might cause some problems down the line.

 

[truthpil]

It's possible to yank the nib off the Petit1... but putting it back on "like before" usually unsuccessful IMHO. Doesn't stay on or refuses to feed.

 

Thanks for the information!

I had hoped to be able to take the nib and feed off for cleaning like you can with the Platinum Preppys (Preppies?), but I guess it doesn't work.

That means loading up a Petit with high-maintenance inks might cause some problems down the line.

 

[tamiya]

No, don't bother cleaning them when I find 1 with a dry cart I just push a new cart on and leave it standing nib down for a while.

 

Even when colour changing... within a page or 2 it's feeding thru only the new ink.

 

I wouldn't go putting in any particle ink into a Petit1, none of that shimmer or glitter stuff. that's what Preppys are for... or if you're really cheapskate like me, go get a few trays of Dollar 717 to play with. They write really wet (vs Preppy) would be better to show off your shady sparkles.

[truthpil]

I guess I'll just stick to my juicy Jinhao's for using those extra sticky, staining, and potentially clogging bulletproof inks.

 

It seems like the wick system on the Petit is more suitable for standard wet inks.