I finally decided to try a Pilot Metropolitan... and I hate it :(
I finally decided to try a Pilot Metropolitan... and I hate it :(
[Image description: A white fountain pen with a silver clip on the cap and a silver zebra stripe band around the middle lies on a blue dotted grid desk pad.]
I impulse bought a Pilot Metropolitan (F) about a month ago and have had the worst experience so far. First it took 3 days of experimenting (squeezing the cartridge, flushing, cleaning, shaking, incessant scribbling) to get it to write at all. Then I noticed the nib was a bit off-center in the feed so I aligned it and it wrote pretty well for a while. This morning I grabbed it to take some notes and it won't start, even after a flush with water and re-seating the cartridge. This isn't my first fountain pen (not even my first Pilot!) but I'm really disappointed because the Metro seems to be such a popular recommendation as a solid, inexpensive starter pen. Did I get a dud?
Pilots are usually great out of the box. I'd say your experience with this metro is not usual.
I don't like metropolitans because of the grips... But Pilots overall tend to write well without nib adjustments.
5Where did you buy it, and what kind of ink are you using? Metropolitans are really reliable, so it's be very surprised to see a dud unless it wasn't a real Metropolitan or the ink was India ink or iron gall ink. There are Lamy Safari fakes and other similar pens sold on Amazon. I've had better luck buying at pen shows and from trusted retailers.
2I did buy it on Amazon, but it was shipped and sold by them so I trusted that it was legit. The ink cartridge was included with the pen. After fussing with it some more and reading all the responses here I've decided to return it for a refund. Guess this is a lesson to stick with more trusted retailers, I've been lucky to never receive an Amazon fake but I guess there's a first time for everything.
3The problem with Amazon is that they sometimes just combine all of a single item, say the pilot metropolitan, from all sellers, including Amazon, together in one place in the warehouse. If some sellers send fakes and others genuine product, when you order, you can get a dud from a reputable seller and genuine product from the counterfeit seller.
Sorry about the long sentences!
3Honestly, I think it is probably a dud. I have yet to see "imitation" Pilot Metros on AliExpress like I see with the Lamy Safari. Duds happen. I wouldn't sweat it as long as you get your refund.
1It doesn't matter if it's sold/shipped by Amazon themselves, they all get pulled from the same bin regardless of who sells them. Other sellers will ship their "inventory" of fakes to Amazon and then they get mixed in with the legit goods.
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It's possible you got a fake? There were a couple of reviews saying they went through a similar experience and the only tell was the packaging it came in.
I actually purchased a pilot metropolitan and it worked really well after a few mins of getting the ink to flow through it.
My only gripe is that it has an odd quirk with certain strokes but a lot of reviews mentioned this.
1I hate them. My wife has 3 or 4 of them for different colors and loves them.
1Sounds like a dud. What surprises me was that reseating the nib made the pen work for a while, and then the pen stopped working suddenly.
A few troubleshooting questions: Have you tried a different ink? How about a different cartridge?
put a sheet of paper/napkin/tissue on the top of the slit. Are you getting any ink? Or is it dry? If it's wet, it might be something preventing the ink getting to the tip of the nib In this case, I usually try a different ink or gently adjust the tines in the case the tines are too far apart. If it's dry, I reckon it's more to do with how the nib is sitting on the feed. The best you probably can do is try to reseat the nib/feed.
This one will be messy. With the pen stored nib down with in the cartridge, wait like 20 minutes. Now pop off the nib and dab at the feed with paper/napkin/tissue. Is the feed saturated with ink? If it's saturated, once again it's probably something to do with how the nib is sitting on the feed. Reseat it and hope for the best. If it's dry, I really don't know what to suggest besides binning the pen. A Metro isn't worth enough money to buy a Kakuno just to transfer the feed over.
1Thanks, I did try most of these during the troubleshooting process and still wasn't able to get it writing again. Back to Amazon it goes and from now on I stick to reputable sellers only (and Aliexpress if I'm feeling adventurous 😜)
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Any chance you rotate your pen when you write? I do, and have never found a Metro that I enjoyed using. Other Pilot nibs are great--I have a Kakuno and an Elite that I love, but something about the way Metropolitan nibs are shaped is terrible for the way I write and it makes them snag on paper. Paper fibers clogging the nib will block your ink flow. I don't know if there's a Metropolitan with an oblique nib out there, but if there isn't, I highly recommend trying the Kakuno instead.
If you don't rotate your pen, try clearing out anything in nib. My first step is usually dipping it in a bit of water in case it's dried ink clogging things up, and if that doesn't help, have a look at it under a bright light with a loupe. If it's clogged, flossing between the tines with brass foil will pull out almost anything stuck in there.
0I do rotate slightly when I write and I have had other pens snag on paper before but I don't think that's the case here. There were no issues with the nib that I could spot other than it being crooked in the feed.
The Kakuno is one of my favorite pens! I've owned several but I wish they were a little sturdier... every one I've owned has cracked eventually (cap, body, or both) no matter how carefully I handle it.
0The Kakuno is one of my favorite pens!
I believe the Metropolitan and the Kakuno use the same nib. So if you like the Kakuno nib and are just looking for a more substantial body, the Metro should be a great fit. Pilot is know for good quality control, but it does sound like maybe you got a dud.
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