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Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen (2-Pack)

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Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen (2-Pack)

May 29, 2015

I bought this pen and i absolutely love it! Make sure you buy a package of ink once you get it too! They're on about $10 on amazon for 12 cartridges.

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KAPS1M0

378

May 30, 2015

tommiy995Five dollars more and you get a bottle of Diamine.
Unless you're a no-good hardcore cartridge guy for no reason (no offense), you'd better explore the hundreds of colours of bottled ink. Try samples (the Goulets are a great service). You owe it to yourself.

Ssenniug

May 30, 2015

KAPS1M0thanks for the heads up. I went in to edit my order, seems I already got them. Whew

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tolis626

Jun 1, 2015

KAPS1M0 @KAPS1M0 Sorry for going way off topic again, but I just stumbled upon something that might interest you. Ζαφειρίου ( zafeiriou.gr) is a book and stationery store that sells online too. Prices are from ok to great and they have about everything. Iroshizuku inks, the MR pens, Rhodia paper... You name it. So there's that. I'm going to buy a Rhodia notebook and see how it goes from there.
PS : That damn Iroshizuku costs about 32€ per 50ml bottle. That's damn expensive. Is it really this good?

AlexGk

143

Jun 1, 2015

tolis626It is THAT good. I've yet to try an ink with a better and more consistent ink flow. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean it is perfect all around. You have a pen with an inconsistent ink flow? If it doesn't get better with Iroshizuku, that there must be something wrong with it. You have a nib that is a little too scratchy for your taste but you don't want to have it regrinded, maybe because all nibs af that brand are like that? Use Iroshizuku, and you'll have the best smoothness you can get without physically modifying the pen. Your pen tends to skip on certain surfaces, like high quality paper or when you're writing with dirty/oily hands that grease the sheet? Use Iroshizuku. Still, most of its price is due to it being imported directly from Japan. Engeika for instance, which is based in Japan, sells it for $13.50 per bottle. Even with import fees etc., that is still lower than any US or EU based shop I know of. Issue is, unless you're buying a large number of bottles, or you're buying it together with a pen (as I did twice before), the shipping fee will kill the discount. On the bright side, almost all Japan based pen shops ship with EMS. But what you need to understand is that Iroshizuku is NOT perfect. Using it on low quality and/or very absorbent papers means bleed-through and a lot of feathering. I-can't-read-a-damn-letter-I-wrote class feathering. Iroshizuku is so fluid that I get bleed-through and feathering even on Rhodia paper, but only when I'm using pens like my Homo Sapiens. Pens like it, that have semi-flexible or flexible nibs and are in the $400+ price range, have high end feeds to keep up with the needs of the nib in any combination of pressure on the tip and type of paper. Unfortunately that might result, with very fluid inks, in the aforementioned effects.

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tolis626

Jun 1, 2015

AlexGkScrew it, I'm sold. I'll get a blue one now and get a black or blue-black later, when money isn't an issue. I'm probably going to buy either and Edelstein or some even cheaper inks to have something drier for exams etc, when I can't risk bleedthrough and feathering. I don't know any ink like that, but I guess the Edelstein will do. Also, what's up with all the color variations? They have like 6 types of blue ink. I'm thinking Kon-Peki, but I'm also considering a blue-black one I like... Ah, if money wasn't an issue I'd be buying them all! :P

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AlexGk

143

Jun 1, 2015

tolis626At my university I use Aurora Black both to take notes and write on exam sheets. It is the deepest black I know of (better, even much better IMHO, than Iroshizuku Take-sumi), but it is still pretty fluid. I have no bleed-through, but I use a japanese (Pilot) fine and the sheets we have to write on are pretty decent. You should try a denser ink, and Edelstein Onyx might in fact be your best choice. I've heard several people mentioning its low-to-zero bleed-through even on low quality paper. Lucky guess or personal experience ;)? As for the number of Iroshizuku blues, I faced a similar dilemma not so long ago. The Kon-peki is widely reputed the best blue ink available in its range of shades, and the best blue overall together with the Parker Penman Sapphire (which has been out of production for years). I personally like the Ama-iro shade too, while the Shin-kai (the blue-black you mentioned you mentioned, I think) is called by many one of the best blue-black fountain pen inks. I'm just sorry I don't have too much experience with blue-black inks, as I never use them. I love deep blacks and bright blues, but I would never write with a blue-black. Probably because my mother conditioned me since I started writing as a child that "black is the only color you should write with". Sorry for my off topic funny story. By the way, if you want a blue-black with low-to-zero feathering and bleed-through, water resistant but with slightly long drying time on smooth (Rhodia/Clairefontaine) paper, you could also try Rohrer & Klingner Salix, which is also much cheaper than Iroshizuku.

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IanAddyman

Jun 3, 2015

KAPS1M0I probably have more inks than pens!!!! :D its amazeballs the amount colours out there!!!

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yiri

237

Jun 3, 2015

AlexGkA study of salesmen found that they were perceived as something like 50% more trustworthy if they signed in blue. Crazy!
I mean, on one hand WUT, but on the other hand I ain't missing that opportunity... know what I mean?
Shame I love my Iroshikuzu yama-budo so much.

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AlexGk

143

Jun 3, 2015

yiriWhat's wrong about that? I love Yama-budo too! It's the second in my Iroshizuku wishlist at the moment. I'm a black writing guy in my notes, but that never stopped me from using some flashy ink for other stuff. I just wrote a birthday letter in Japanese for a friend with Kon-peki. With a wonderful quote from a movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

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