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I'm in a bit of a conundrum here, and I'm looking for some help. My pen history is basically nil. I've only owned Varsities, a Lamy Safari EF, and a couple of 78Gs. I'd like to graduate someday to actual fountain pens like the MYU 701 or custom 74, but as a poor college student, I cannot do so in the near future. With that in mind, which should I purchase? A White Tiger Pilot Metropolitan, or a NOS Pilot Elite Short/Long FP? I've been intending to get the Elite for awhile now, but the seller is currently away and won't be back until 1-15-2014 (one can still view the item in question here:http://www.ebay.com/itm/350810855581). I've got some Diamine Red Dragon ink burning a hole in my desk drawer, but I don't want to spoil its 'new factor' by putting it in my well-used 78G or recalcitrant safari. I imagine that a japanese extra fine nib would probably be too litte for my use, and I've read on https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/182020-clean-out-my-office-sale-round-1/ that another user purchased this pen from the same seller, but "It was a firehose with ink" I'll stop rambling now, but I think I've become fixated on a pen which seems to have a good chance of dissapointing me (the Elite S/L, that is). Can anyone help me make sense of the situation and if needed talk me out of my fixation?

So, i am soon going to start a project creating a pen box out of a Cigar box. I plan to make it hold 4 pens (more like 3 pens and an ink syringe) and 4 vials of ink. I have a few questions before i start (and one random question). 1. (random question) i plan on buying this Pilot Metropolitan off Ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pilot-Metropolitan-Fountain-Pen-Silver-Zig-Zag-/400499897700) and they say it has a "Pilot aerometric converter (squeeze type)". Do you keep the nib attached to the converter when you squeeze it? 2. What is the maximum length of a pen? I dont want to someday buy some really long pen and have it not fit in the box. What's the longest you know of? Would 6 inches be enough room for all pens? 3. To the other people who have undergone the box making process, where do you buy the wooden compartment things for the inside of the box? I dont know how to word it so i havent been able to search it and i have absolutely no skills what-so-ever with saws, sandpaper, or any other power tools. 4. Can you get the ink in the converter from a vial similar to this style? http://www.ebay.com/itm/251327332990?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 I mean both the Pilot Aerometric converter and the normal converters. I've never tried either let alone owned a vial similar to this. Thanks in advance for the help.

Hey guys! Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a 19 year old Pharamacology student (pre-med) and I actually just recently took an interest in fountain pens (about a week ago). I then went out and purchased a pack of Pilot Varsities from my local OfficeMax to see whether FP's are for me. I loved the way the FP's wrote, and now I can't even fathom how nice it would be to use a better FP for my daily writing. My professor even complimented my pen while we were taking a quiz last week. I'm currently awaiting my shipment of FP's and Ink to arrive. I ordered a Lamy Safari (F), a Pilot Metropolitan (M), The Lamy Z24 Converter, and some Waterman's Havana Brown ink. I've basically been getting my fix of FP's from Youtube video's this past week. LOL. I also went out and purchased a dip pen a few days back and a bottle of Higgin's black Ink. It's been a fun few days. I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me some advice on how I can make my FP experience as enjoyable as possible. I'd love to here from all of you FPN veterans. Also, I'm looking for suggestions as to what my next pen in my collection should be. I'm thinking of upgrading to a gold plated nib that write nicely. I'm also a college student so please keep suggested pens relatively cheap. Thank everyone! -Fahad

My hands are trembling and my mind is numb with disbelief. The tactile sensation of writing with the Pilot Metropolitan (F) is amazing. Actually, there is no tactile sensation at all. The nib glides so smoothly across the paper that my thoughts have trouble keeping up with it. This is one fine nib, perfect for taking notes or going on bursts of free-writing. It's a little puzzling that it took me by such surprise, because I've had prior experience with Pilot Prera (F), which to my knowledge uses the same nib and is previously the smoothest pen I had. Yet this nib feels much smoother, with ink and paper as constants (Pilot Blue and Muji notebook). However, I don't dare suggest that there is variation in quality since Pilot is sort of synonymous with consistency... I suppose one can only expect the best? I know some fp aficionados like feeling feedback from the nib during writing, but for others, I highly recommend this fp, even if it means backtracking a little into "lower-end" fp's. That's what I did... and I have never been more surprised.