Pilot Metropolitan- Handwritten Review

**JemC** · November 13th, 2012, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Saintpaulia

Therefore, it is fair to say that the nibs are identical in material, shape, etc. as are the sections with their feeds, etc.?

Yes.
The 78G and Metropolitan have the exact same nib, feed, and section (other than the color of nib and tip size). I believe this applies to the Knight as well, but I can't verify.
The Plumix, Penmanship, and Prera have the same feed and nib (again, aside from tip size & coloring)

And just to gush on the Metropolitan - it snaps closed very securely, but can still be opened one-handed. It's been in my pants pocket for the last week and I'm really enjoying it.

**Saintpaulia** · November 13th, 2012, 01:36 PM

Hi Jem, that amazes me. The Plumix, Penmanship (whatever that is), Prera, 78G and Metro all have the same nib, feed and section? I wonder if the Pilot V-Pen also has the same nib and feed. Alot of attention has been devoted to learning how to refill the V-Pen because its nib is so smooth. But if its nib/feed are also the same as these others, then there is no need to go thru all those gyrations.

**JemC** · November 13th, 2012, 06:43 PM

The V-Pen and Varsity have a different nib and feed, I believe shared with the Petit1

**wayne.robinson** · November 13th, 2012, 10:59 PM

Whoops. I was thinking about the custom 74, not the 78G.

**Saintpaulia** · November 14th, 2012, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by Saintpaulia

Hi Jem, that amazes me. The Plumix, Penmanship (whatever that is), Prera, 78G and Metro all have the same nib, feed and section? I wonder if the Pilot V-Pen also has the same nib and feed. Alot of attention has been devoted to learning how to refill the V-Pen because its nib is so smooth. But if its nib/feed are also the same as these others, then there is no need to go thru all those gyrations.

I just saw a Penmanship on Jetpens website and it looks to be a Plumix. Would that be correct? The two names belong to only one pen by Pilot?

**derevaun** · November 14th, 2012, 05:37 PM

The Penmanship is a close cousin to the Plumix but not the same. The section-to-barrel threads are different, and the barrel shapes are slightly different as well. The Penmanship has an EF nib, while the Plumix has an italic nib. You're going to need both if you want some real peace of mind :-)

**Saintpaulia** · November 14th, 2012, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by derevaun

The Penmanship is a close cousin to the Plumix but not the same. The section-to-barrel threads are different, and the barrel shapes are slightly different as well. The Penmanship has an EF nib, while the Plumix has an italic nib. You're going to need both if you want some real peace of mind :-)

Peace of mind is it? By Jove! I had no idea. And here I thought peace of mind was achieved thru a large balance on my bank account in Zurich.

**Sailor Kenshin** · November 20th, 2012, 07:03 PM

Might have to give this a look. I have the 78G with the stub nib, a Plumix, and the Penmanship. The Penmanship is a NEEDLE.

The 78G too fat for you? Interesting; it borders on being too thin for me.

**Saintpaulia** · November 20th, 2012, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin

Might have to give this a look. I have the 78G with the stub nib, a Plumix, and the Penmanship. The Penmanship is a NEEDLE.

The 78G too fat for you? Interesting; it borders on being too thin for me.

Hey there Sailor! got your nice postcard, thanks. As for the 78G, I actually bought my second one last night, a Broad/Stub from Todd at isellpens - under $13.00. How do you find your 78G stub? Did it need any smoothing on the edges, or anything?

Cheers, Breck

**markt** · November 20th, 2012, 09:06 PM

I just received a silver Metropolitan today. Ordered it from Staples with free shipping and received it in one day. $10.24 plus tax. Surely they are taking a loss on this kind of deal. Overall, nice pen for the price. Nib is pretty smooth and dryish. Had to tweak it a little. Works better unposted, for me anyhow. Balance and weight are good. I like the finish of the metal body and cap. Clip is kind of cheapish. The nib and section are the same as a 78G.

**Sailor Kenshin** · November 21st, 2012, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by Saintpaulia

Hey there Sailor! got your nice postcard, thanks. As for the 78G, I actually bought my second one last night, a Broad/Stub from Todd at isellpens - under $13.00. How do you find your 78G stub? Did it need any smoothing on the edges, or anything?

Cheers, Breck

No, no smoothing needed at all... But like markt said, I find Pilots to be dry writers, needing either a dip to get started, or a wet ink. Apart from that their lower-end pens are a great value. Oh, I have a Prera, too. Same thing. Great-looking pen, but dry.

**writingrav** · November 21st, 2012, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin

No, no smoothing needed at all... But like markt said, I find Pilots to be dry writers, needing either a dip to get started, or a wet ink. Apart from that their lower-end pens are a great value. Oh, I have a Prera, too. Same thing. Great-looking pen, but dry.

Funny, I have not had that experience. Yes, all things considered I'd call it on the dry side. But I've certainly never had to dip either the Prera or the Metropolitan or had a hard start.

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**Saintpaulia** · November 24th, 2012, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin

No, no smoothing needed at all... But like markt said, I find Pilots to be dry writers, needing either a dip to get started, or a wet ink. Apart from that their lower-end pens are a great value. Oh, I have a Prera, too. Same thing. Great-looking pen, but dry.

OK Sailor, I got my 78G in broad/stub from isellpens yesterday and since then (this is the evening of the day after) I have been struggling to get it to write in some mode other than incredibly D-R-Y! I think this broad may actually be drier than my medium 78G was before I tinkered with it. The medium writes OK now because I took a .005 inch brass shim to the feed's groove. It is now groovy.

I tried this same thing with the broad 78G, thinking that such would fix it like it did the medium. It did not! Then I took the feed and soaked it in J.B.'s for a few hours, thinking that would do it. It did not! Then I thought, "Well maybe it is the ink." So I replaced the J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis with Waterman's Florida Blue, which always works in dry pens. Still no go.

What does it take to get one of these 78Gs to flow? And by 78G I mean this broad/stub. I fixed my medium. Why should this 78G be that much different? And furthermore, if in fact the Metropolitan's nib and feed are the same as the 78G's then I don't want a Metro!

Anyway, any ideas on the 78G problem? Thanks!

**Sailor Kenshin** · November 25th, 2012, 09:57 AM

I like the line produced by my 78g stub, but I always have to dip-start. Haven't used it in a while, am not advanced enough to hack a feed or anything like that, so I don't recall if it gets better as I write.

Maybe someone else has an idea. -_-