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tolis626
80
May 4, 2015
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Hey guys... Do all Animal Metropolitans have the same finish? I got a regular black one and a White Tiger one and the black one has a matte finish while the WT has a more smooth, almost glossy finish. IMO, the matte finish on the black pen is way better, but that may just be me.
May 4, 2015
KAPS1M0
378
May 4, 2015
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tolis626The white metropolitan is the only one that has a lacquer-like, glossy finish. The rest of them have the same smooth matte metal finish.
ps: γεια σου ρε Τόλη με τις πένες σου (just a Greek salutation, don't mind us) :)
May 4, 2015
tolis626
80
May 4, 2015
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KAPS1M0Thanks for clearing that up. I will probably be buying another pair once the drop hits again, and I was eyeing the black one from the Animal series, but I very much prefer the matte finish. If I can get both, all is fine and dandy. :)
PS : Παντού Έλληνες, γουστάρω. :P Ε έχω κι εγώ τις παραξενιές μου... Με τα απλά στιλό κάτι δεν μου αρέσει. :)
May 4, 2015
KAPS1M0
378
May 4, 2015
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tolis626I know, I have 4 already and I will get another 2-3 metropolitans (the lizard and python, maybe the crocodile too) at some point. I like them all.
υγ: εμένα όχι απλά δεν μου αρέσει, αλλά με τα απλά στιλό με πονάει το χέρι μου. Ποτέ ξανά Bic.
May 4, 2015
tolis626
80
May 4, 2015
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KAPS1M0Yeah, I'm kind of thinking about collecting them too. But then again, I've put Waterman's Hemisphere and Perspective on my "I want" list, but I've already ran out of money, so I'm still hesitant. But I want another pair for sure, at least to have something for parts in case, I don't know, I drop one and the nib breaks. :)
More PS : Κι εγώ μία από τα ίδια. Έχω και μία τενοντίτιδα που με ταλαιπωρεί κατά καιρούς, οπότε τα Bic τα έχω μόνο σε περίπτωση ανάγκης να υπάρχουν πεταμένα μέσα στο σπίτι. Συνήθως γράφω με πένα ή καλό rollerball, π.χ. Parker. Αλλά σαν την πένα δεν έχει. Παρεμπιπτόντως, ξέρεις από πού μπορώ να πάρω κανένα καλό μελάνι? Μπορώ να βρω μόνο μερικά της Pelikan, από τα οποία μόνο το Edelstein μου γεμίζει το μάτι.
May 4, 2015
KAPS1M0
378
May 4, 2015
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tolis626Besides the metropolitans, I want a Lamy Al Star, a Kaweco Al Sport, a Platinum 3776, an Omas Ogiva and a Pelikan Stresemann. And two thousand euros to get them, lol. In time, I will get them, though.
You can buy a pair of metropolitans, one plumix and one penmanship and swap their nibs (there is a drop for pilot fountain pen starters here, offering a metropolitan and three plumix pens, along some varsities). That way you can have an extra fine, a fine, a medium and an italic nib on the metros. That is my current setup.
Ps: For the non-greeks, our previous ps's are about the benefits of fountain pens and the pains of writing with ballpoints, nothing new.
Pps: I've heard edelstein is a little dry. Try some wetter inks with these Asian nibs, too. If you are in Athens, I suggest you go to Ευαγγελίδης (Google ευαγγελίδης πένες) and try out some pens or look for inks. He has a LOT of pens, but pricey. His inks (waterman, montblanc, edelstein, iroshizuku, etc), on the other hand, are priced well. I visited the store once and bought a Waterman Serenity blue for 7.80. Nice. Check it out. If you ask him for some quality paper, he will direct you to a nearby place where they sell zanders paper (expensive but it is a nice, watermarked paper for correspondence). There is another place, in a stoa at panepistimiou (going down from the academy to omonoia, on your right hand), that has fountain pen stuff. I remember their Lamys, but not the name of the place.
My other inks are: a cheap but still decent pilot blue black, bought from a local stationery store. A bottle of diamine oxblood, from cult pens. And a bottle of noodler's black, from goulet pens. As you can understand, I have recently started my fountain pen journey, so my experience is limited. Too bad Greece is so not fountain pen oriented. We have to look for whatever we want in other countries and pay extra for shipping.
May 4, 2015
tolis626
80
May 5, 2015
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KAPS1M0Well thanks again. :) Unfortunately I don't live in Athens, I live in Patra. And if you think Athens is bad when it comes to fountain pen stuff, you would hate it here. Some people see me writing with fountain pens and all of them ask whether I'm coming from the 19th century. :P So I will keep an eye out for the inks you suggested, but I will probably buy a bottle of Edelstein because I like the bottle (Flacon?). I will look around in Patras for any store that may have inks to get me through the next few months, but when I come to Athens I will get my supplies. Again, thank you very much. :)
May 5, 2015
KAPS1M0
378
May 5, 2015
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tolis626I see. Well, you're lucky. Because if you think that Patra is bad, try Kalamata, lol. That's where I live. I started visiting every book and stationery store asking around for pens, inks and paper. Fortunately, I found one guy that is an authorised retailer of Pilot fountain pens, he has a glass stand demonstrating some metropolitans and vanishing points. I bought my first pilot ink there. Then, I visited Athens once and spent an entire afternoon walking around pen-related places.
I am confident that you can find something similar in Patra. Pens and ink, especially Parker, are easy to find around Greece. Quality paper, like Rhodia or Clairefontaine, is the hard one to find. Try public and papasotiriou, maybe you can find something there. Even look for "The Writing Fields", it is a Greek company producing a line of "flexbook" diaries that pair nicely with fine nibs (like these metros). Note that their black cover diaries are good, their other lines of products are of inferior quality.
Κοίτα, κι εγώ θα πάρω ένα πελικαν, είναι ωραία μελάνια. Παρακαλώ. Αλλά μην ευχαριστείς, οτιδήποτε μπορώ κάνω για την εξάπλωση του μικροβίου της πένας. Δεν θα μοιραστώ όσα μπορώ με έναν γείτονα; Είναι ωραία να πετυχαίνεις και κάναν Έλληνα εδώ, ειδικότερα αν πρόκειται για πένες. Καλά να περνάς και θα μιλάμε.
http://www.twf.gr/imerologia/flex-global-2/
May 5, 2015
tolis626
80
May 9, 2015
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KAPS1M0Well, believe it or not, I've visited about 10 stores in the last few days and most of them had nothing related to fountain pens whatsoever. And among those that had fountain pens for sale, only two had ink, but not even a fountain pen specific ink, just the cheapest Pelikan ink there is. Worst thing is, two clerks told me that they could order some ink for me, but they meant they could order more of that awful Pelikan one. It's the driest thing I've ever tried, an instant downgrade to even the bundled ink that came with the MRs (Which was surprisingly good for what it is). The next best thing I could find was Parker cartridges, but I don't think those would fit. Sadly, unless something escaped my attention, I will have to visit Athens again. By the way, thanks for the tip about paper. I went to a Public store and they had "The Writing Fields" and some Moleskine notebooks. The Moleskine ones were quite more expensive (13.50 vs 21€), but I don't know if they are that good, so for the time being I went with a Flexbook. Really nice, I must say.
Αυτό το πράγμα που οι Έλληνες σνομπάρουν ότι δεν μάθανε από μικροί με ξεπερνάει. Πένες? Είσαι τρελός, παλιομοδίτης ή hipster. Καλά ακουστικά? Είσαι βλάκας και πετάς τα λεφτά σου κ.ο.κ. Δεν μπορώ να καταλάβω αυτή τη νοοτροπία, και πάω στοίχημα ότι δεν την έχουν μόνο οι δικοί μου γνωστοί. Ειδικά όσον αφορά τις πένες, προσωπικά ξεκίνησα να τις χρησιμοποιώ στο λύκειο γιατί είχα μία απαίσια τενοντίτιδα και μου έμεινε η συνήθεια. Ευτυχώς δηλαδή, γιατί ακόμα και σήμερα μόνο με πένα μπορώ να γράψω ευχάριστα και ξεκούραστα. Με όλα τα υπόλοιπα μου φαίνεται τρομερή αγγαρεία. Τέλος πάντων... Αρκετά είπα. Υποθέτω θα τα ξαναπούμε εδώ γύρω. :)
May 9, 2015
JonasHeineman
5987
May 20, 2015
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tolis626Hey @tolis626 -- Sounds like it's hard to find good paper near you in Greece, I hope we can offer you some good options for fountain pens here. I think you will find Moleskine is good for ballpoint and rollerball, but does not perform well with fountain pens - it feathers and bleeds with almost any ink. I hope this helps, thanks for posting here.
May 20, 2015
tolis626
80
May 20, 2015
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JonasHeinemanOh I'm definitely considering buying something Massdrop has on offer. But even though I like how most fountain pens write, I'm really picky about my paper. I want to sample a few kinds of paper here at home, and then I will probably buy the quantity I need from you guys. I'm thinking about going with Rhodia paper from what I hear... Thanks for the tip though. Was going to buy a Moleskine notebook on Saturday. You just saved me about 20€. :P
May 20, 2015
Marshallmallowlol
118
May 23, 2015
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JonasHeinemanHey @JonasHeineman , any chance of offering Con-50 converters on this round of the drop? I think you mentioned looking into it the last time around, but it didn't work out. The option would surely save a lot of us a secondary online order to get converters, at least those of us who like bottled inks.
May 23, 2015
jlamb
67
May 24, 2015
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MarshallmallowlolThese do come with a Con-20 converter so you can use bottled ink. I would also prefer the Con-50, but not to the point that I'll buy them with shipping from another site.
I'm on my fourth Metropolitan drop, these pens are just such fantastic value. I gifted two away and broke another (my fault). They are excellent knock about student pens and punch well above their weight for the price.
I have only had great experiences with Iroshizuku and Montblanc ink on Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper as you'd expect. The fine nib is also usable on cheaper paper, but really for any fountain pen you'd want good quality paper.
If you're on the fence I highly recommend clicking "Join Now", you can't go wrong.
May 24, 2015
Marshallmallowlol
118
May 24, 2015
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jlambI already have two Mets, and I'm definitely going to get two more, I was just curious to see if we could choose Con-50's because I prefer to be able to see my ink levels. I love Iroshizuku on Rhodia!
May 24, 2015
neil.r
120
May 24, 2015
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jlambAccording to Brian Goulet, the included converter is not the CON-20. He calls it the cleaning converter because it's included with the Pilot Parallel and used strictly for cleaning.
Not that it really matters because, as you point out, this pen comes with a converter allowing you to use bottled ink out of the box. Personally, I didn't like the included converter and picked up a couple of CON-50s with an order of ink samples.
May 24, 2015
rwilliams2911
2
May 24, 2015
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MarshallmallowlolI have only one and was trying to decide if it was crazy of me to order two more. Thank you for reinforcing that it is a good idea. :)
May 24, 2015
pixll
192
May 24, 2015
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neil.rThe included converter is for all intents and purposes the same as the CON-20. The only thing that is different is the metal outer layer that the CON-20 comes in. They have the same ink bladder (i.e. same squeezing action to fill and same volume).
May 24, 2015
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