Is The Pilot Metropolitan Only Worth Getting If You're A Beginner?

[OdysseyUnkown]

Hey everyone.

 

I'm a few pens into my collection, I have two Jinhao's, a TWSBI Eco, and 2 Hero 616's. But since i've only heard good things about the Metro, i thought i might get one. But for me to get one, they're about $35 AUD. Is it worth getting this pen? Conisdering I have an Eco. Is the writing experience of the Metro that good to justify buying a 'beginner' pen?

[Uncial]

Not at that price.

they are ok. They can have a very, very sharp step. I never use mine for this very reason. It makes it very uncomfortable to write with. You might be lucky and get one that is fine though. A friend has one that does't have this issue.

[Sandy Fry]

I don't believe in the term " beginner" pen. A pen is a pen. If I buy a $2000 pen as my first pen is that a " beginner " pen???

 

The Pilot Metro, IMHO, is a great little pen. I have 4 of them ( and will probably buy a few more ) and have not experienced any of the problems Uncial mention. However, I agree with him that I don't think I would pay $35 for one.

 

David

[Pickwick]

I don't believe in the term " beginner" pen. A pen is a pen. If I buy a $2000 pen as my first pen is that a " beginner " pen???

 

The Pilot Metro, IMHO, is a great little pen. I have 4 of them ( and will probably buy a few more ) and have not experienced any of the problems Uncial mention. However, I agree with him that I don't think I would pay $35 for one.

 

David

 

I completely agree with you. There is no such thing as a beginner pen because they all work exactly on the same principle delivering ink to paper no matter what the price. The only difference would be preference for design or appearance along with nib width and, whether one prefers a rigid or a certain amount of flexing for line variation.

[Ergative]

I'd get one.

 

1. The nib is superb: smooth, even, and a delight to write with.

2. The pen itself is unbreakable, and your list suggests you don't have a metal-bodied pen yet.

3. Its behavior is really reliable. Starts right up after not being used for a few days, not prone to clogging.

4. It comes apart completely, even the nib and feed. (And the feed has an indentation in it to make sure that you put the nib back on in the right place.) This of course isn't a great idea to do too often, because everything is friction fit, so if you mess around with the friction too much things will loosen, but I've been doing it for a few years now, every few months, and everything still fits together snugly. Crucially, the ability to separate the nib and feed means you can put any ink in it you want, without fear of damaging or permanently clogging it. My Metro is generally the pen I go to for testing new inks.

 

The step down never bothered me. Honestly, the price of $35 AUD (which is about $27 USD, says Google) is not at all too much for this pen, and I think more accurately reflects its true value.

[TheRealMikeDr]

I think it's a great "value" pen. Mine has never had an issue writing and I don't mind the sharp step as I tend to grip down low on the section. I think it's more of a workhorse type pen vs a beginners pen. It gets defined as a beginners pen because of the price point and the fact that they tend to be bulletproof. That makes it a great value in my mind for anyone who enjoys fountain pens.

[Mon34480]

I paid around ~30AUD for mine and it was my daily workhorse pen for uni for a number of years, dont regret my purchase at all.

[woleizihan]

If it's $15 USD, I would suggest just go ahead, buy one and try it out. Even if you don't like it, it's not a big problem and you can possibly sell it for $10. At this price, I suggest take some time and consider a little bit more. Don't buy a pen because you have seen people saying good things about it. The fact is for a popular pen like Metro, if you say something bad, there will likely be someone jumping out and claiming that they have xxx of the pens and never experience any problem, inferring it's just unfortunate and an accident for you. And if it's a $15 pen, people may not bother to post an angry review or something. IMHO, it's not an expensive pen and writes fairly well but I doubt it's going to give you any significantly different experience from the pens you already own.

[LizEF]

I agree with those who say you shouldn't buy it just because everyone raves about it. If you decide to buy it, your reasons should be more personal - e.g. maybe you want a very fine nib (the fine Metro is finer than a TWSBI Eco EF - I have both); or maybe you love the appearance of one of its colors (mine is the white tiger version and I love it - I also love pens that write very fine); maybe you need one more pen so you can have all your desired ink colors going at once, and this one appeals to you...

 

But everyone else raving about it is not a good enough reason to buy one - especially at that price - perhaps put it on a wish list and wait for it to go on sale?

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Like Uncial, I find mine uncomfortable to hold, while acknowledging that not everyone has this issue. There's nothing wrong with the build quality. I bought one as a present for someone else who did not have a fountain pen, then out of curiosity got one for myself when an office store had them on sale for $10.

 

You might like the Metropolitan, but I don't know that writing with it is going to feel like a new experience, particularly compared to the TWSBI. I've wasted my share of money on pens that I will use again rarely or never (giving them away or selling them is another topic), but the ones that I use the most now are a bit higher end, the Pilot Custom series, a Lamy 2000, and others. I rarely use any of my "beginner" pens any more (use whatever different term for them that you like), but for other people it's the opposite, and they claim actually to prefer pens like the Metropolitan or a Lamy Safari.

 

Those thirty five Australian dollars might go toward a more upscale pen that you'd like better, but there are no guarantees. If you would just like a reliable extra pen, then the Metropolitan might indeed be good for you, but there are other relatively low priced pens you could be looking at (although I don't what the Australian prices are). For Pilots I'd much prefer a Prera, some versions of which are under $30 USD where I live, there is the Lamy Safari as well. Or save your money for now, practice using what you've got, and think about what you really want that you don't have.

[gryphon1911]

For me a pen purchase always comes down to the nib feel and the size of the pen. I like my sections beefier.

 

Through some experimentation with different pens, I have found that out of the 3 big Japanese pen makers, Pilot nibs are my least favorite. Platinum being the top and Sailor #2. All personal preference.

 

That being said, I did get 2 Pilot Metros early on because I wanted something decent, reliable for use at work, so the Metros served that purpose for quite some time.

 

Having expanded my fountain pen collection and used quite a bit more pens, my opinions have changed quite a bit and the Pilots have not been used in a while.

[ac12]

The Metro is a great pen.

I was totally blown away by how smooth the M nib is. I don't know how the F nib would be, probably nice also, but more sensitive to the texture of the paper surface.

 

I retired mine for a different reason, weight. I like LIGHT pens, preferably under 15 grams, and the metal body made it too heavy (at 26 grams) for comfortable writing, for me. Were it not for that, I would still be using it.

[deepak23]

Don't own one. But recently had the opportunity to write with one and i was pleasantly surprised at how good a pen it was. Good balance, nice flow and excellent build quality...

[sandy101]

Since the TWBSI is going well, there's probably not much point in buying the Metropolitan, unless you need a cheap pen for work or school or something. (I'm a teacher so I have some sub £15 pens at work - the really expensive ones stay at home).

 

If that is not the case, it would be far better to save cash up and look at a more expensive pen in the future. The Platinum #3776, or the Pilot equivalent, or even a vintage pen (if you want a "vintage" alternative to the Pilot Metropolitan, I'm sure you could find a Parker 45 with a 14k gold nib for that price).

 

Alternatively, if you want to experience different nib widths, a 3 pack of Pilot 78G's might be a option. You can get them from some e-bay vendors in Hong Kong - and for your money you get a reasonable fine, medium and broad stub nib for not much money.

 

That said, it is easy to fill a drawer with cheaper pens, and then when you buy a more expensive one you may end up wishing that you'd cut to the chase and bought the more expensive one in the 1st place and avoided filling a drawer with pens you don't use, or that need a serious clean out because the inks all dried in their feeds.

[OdysseyUnkown]

I'd get one.

 

1. The nib is superb: smooth, even, and a delight to write with.

2. The pen itself is unbreakable, and your list suggests you don't have a metal-bodied pen yet.

3. Its behavior is really reliable. Starts right up after not being used for a few days, not prone to clogging.

4. It comes apart completely, even the nib and feed. (And the feed has an indentation in it to make sure that you put the nib back on in the right place.) This of course isn't a great idea to do too often, because everything is friction fit, so if you mess around with the friction too much things will loosen, but I've been doing it for a few years now, every few months, and everything still fits together snugly. Crucially, the ability to separate the nib and feed means you can put any ink in it you want, without fear of damaging or permanently clogging it. My Metro is generally the pen I go to for testing new inks.

 

The step down never bothered me. Honestly, the price of $35 AUD (which is about $27 USD, says Google) is not at all too much for this pen, and I think more accurately reflects its true value.

 

My two Jinhao's are made of brass. A x450 and a 159.

[OdysseyUnkown]

Like Uncial, I find mine uncomfortable to hold, while acknowledging that not everyone has this issue. There's nothing wrong with the build quality. I bought one as a present for someone else who did not have a fountain pen, then out of curiosity got one for myself when an office store had them on sale for $10.

 

You might like the Metropolitan, but I don't know that writing with it is going to feel like a new experience, particularly compared to the TWSBI. I've wasted my share of money on pens that I will use again rarely or never (giving them away or selling them is another topic), but the ones that I use the most now are a bit higher end, the Pilot Custom series, a Lamy 2000, and others. I rarely use any of my "beginner" pens any more (use whatever different term for them that you like), but for other people it's the opposite, and they claim actually to prefer pens like the Metropolitan or a Lamy Safari.

 

Those thirty five Australian dollars might go toward a more upscale pen that you'd like better, but there are no guarantees. If you would just like a reliable extra pen, then the Metropolitan might indeed be good for you, but there are other relatively low priced pens you could be looking at (although I don't what the Australian prices are). For Pilots I'd much prefer a Prera, some versions of which are under $30 USD where I live, there is the Lamy Safari as well. Or save your money for now, practice using what you've got, and think about what you really want that you don't have.

 

 

I have looked at the lamy safari, and to get one with a converter plus shipping is about $70-$80. It's expensive in Australia. But it's worse if i buy stuff from the US or Asia. The shipping from the US is unreal..

 

Edit: I'm going to buy myself some decent paper too, i currently don't have any rhodia or such. So to get 2 or 3 pads is like $30 aswell with shipping.

Edited November 2, 2016 by GuidingLights

[woleizihan]

 

 

I have looked at the lamy safari, and to get one with a converter plus shipping is about $70-$80. It's expensive in Australia. But it's worse if i buy stuff from the US or Asia. The shipping from the US is unreal..

 

Edit: I'm going to buy myself some decent paper too, i currently don't have any rhodia or such. So to get 2 or 3 pads is like $30 aswell with shipping.

Have you looked at shipping from Japan? According to what I know, it's cheaper to ship from Japan to Australia than from Japan to US. If you buy a pen, which is not heavy or bulky, I think it's going to be ~$20. So you could get a Platinum 3776 for ~$100, which I think would be a better choice than the $70 Safari.

[TheRealMikeDr]

 

 

I have looked at the lamy safari, and to get one with a converter plus shipping is about $70-$80. It's expensive in Australia. But it's worse if i buy stuff from the US or Asia. The shipping from the US is unreal..

 

Edit: I'm going to buy myself some decent paper too, i currently don't have any rhodia or such. So to get 2 or 3 pads is like $30 aswell with shipping.

 

I like the the Lamy Safari because you can easily (and I mean easily) swap nibs on it. I've got three for mine and really enjoy the flexibility in being able to swap them out. I've currently got a 1.1mm stub nib in it which I just love! Plus the thing is a tank - you can take it anywhere without fear of breaking it.

 

Shame about the pricing/shipping challenges you face - we're very spoiled here in the US when it comes to pens.

[inkstainedruth]

If you do decide to get one (I really like mine), I'd recommend you get one that's got a medium nib. I found the F nib to be scratchy. I was lucky in that I was able to try them in a pen shop, and decide which nib I liked better.

I don't have a problem with the step down (I have small hands), but I can see where it could be an issue for some people.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Margana]

Two Metros joined my 100 pen collection in recent months and they are both in my current rotation. Smooth writers and comfortable in hand. They were around $13 and a bargain at that price for a fountain pen that writes so well. However, if you can afford a Platinum #3776, it would be a step up from what you currently own and an excellent pen to boot.