Got my first Pilot fountain pen

[Wolfman Zack]

Today I received my first Pilot fountain pen, a Prera in the Japanese market only ivory color.


I’m really impressed with the quality of this little pen, the body feels substantial and high quality despite being extremely lightweight, and the action of capping it is an experience in itself.
I was a bit surprised at how small it was when opening the box, but when posted, it is comfortable even in my large hands.



The compact body makes very efficient use of the Pilot cartridges, I plan on refilling these rather than getting a converter.


I purchased it with a medium nib knowing that it was going to run fine, I’d equate it to a German fine or just a touch wider, overall it’s quite smooth.
I have a Plumix italic on order to swap out the nib though, as I much prefer stubs and italics for most of my writing.


One thing of special note is that the clip design and short length when capped make it an excellent pen for carrying in flapped shirt pockets, I especially like this, as I often wear shirts of this type and couldn’t carry my other pens easily in the pockets, the clip shows slightly, but the pocket still closes easily and keeps the pen very secure.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nice! I have the same pen. It was my first Prera; the way the cap clicks into place is superb.

[Wolfman Zack]

Nice! I have the same pen. It was my first Prera; the way the cap clicks into place is superb.

Yes, I had heard reference to how precise the cap fit felt, but it really has to be experienced to fully understand.
My Pilot Metropolitan rollerball always bothered me because the cap can wobble slightly, I don’t know if this is true of the Metropolitan FP as well or not, but the Prera feels like a single solid piece when capped, which I really like.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nice! I have the same pen. It was my first Prera; the way the cap clicks into place is superb.

Yes, I had heard reference to how precise the cap fit felt, but it really has to be experienced to fully understand.
My Pilot Metropolitan rollerball always bothered me because the cap can wobble slightly, I don’t know if this is true of the Metropolitan FP as well or not, but the Prera feels like a single solid piece when capped, which I really like.

I don't recall a cap wobble on my Met fps...and I didn't even know they made rollerballs!

[Wolfman Zack]

Nice! I have the same pen. It was my first Prera; the way the cap clicks into place is superb.

Yes, I had heard reference to how precise the cap fit felt, but it really has to be experienced to fully understand.
My Pilot Metropolitan rollerball always bothered me because the cap can wobble slightly, I don’t know if this is true of the Metropolitan FP as well or not, but the Prera feels like a single solid piece when capped, which I really like.

I don't recall a cap wobble on my Met fps...and I didn't even know they made rollerballs!

That’s good to know, I may pick up a Metro FP to try also, they certainly are a bargain.

Below is a picture of the rollerball version, it has been a very good pen despite the annoyance of the slight cap wobble.
I purchased it because I can safely lend it out to people who ask to borrow my pen, and it works nicely on carbon transfer forms.
It takes the common and overall pleasant G2 rollerball refills, which I will take over a ballpoint any day.

[Sailor Kenshin]

By the way, though I love my Preras (I have four, I think), I just invested six bucks in three of these:

Prera-inspired Wing Sung?

They're nowhere near the Prera's build quality, but I had to get the neon orange, green and blue. They have clear feeds and are not Medium as advertised, but EF. The one I filled with MB Brown Sugar writes okay. Here's a side-by-side shot.

[Wolfman Zack]

By the way, though I love my Preras (I have four, I think), I just invested six bucks in three of these:

Prera-inspired Wing Sung?

They're nowhere near the Prera's build quality, but I had to get the neon orange, green and blue. They have clear feeds and are not Medium as advertised, but EF. The one I filled with MB Brown Sugar writes okay. Here's a side-by-side shot.

That’s quite interesting, would be excellent as extras to keep around with less commonly used inks provided they write passably and are reliable.

I must admit I really like the orange one......

[Lady Onogaro]

The Prera was one of the first fountain pens I bought (I got it from Jetpens in Soft Blue). I still love it and use it. I also bought two of the demonstrators, one with a "calligraphy" nib (a stub nib with a blue cap) and a yellow one which I bought off a friend for $10.00.

[Wolfman Zack]

Got my medium italic nib for the Prera today, it’s pretty nice.
More of a crisp italic than I’m used to, but that’s not a bad thing at all, very nice line variation.
It’s not quite as smooth as a JoWo 1.1mm stub, and a bit dryer, but works wonders on cheaper paper that the 1.1mm just makes a feathery mess on.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Turns out, the one I showed here isn't green, but yellow. I should really order the green and lavender too...they come with converters, and will very likely make nice travel, ink-testing, and giveaway pens for two bucks.

All the nibs are now listed as extra-fine. No mediums, no fines.

[KrazyIvan]

With all the Pilot pens I have, I've never actually tried a Prera. I would get the converter if you're planning to keep the pen. It's going to save you some trouble in the long run. Refilling cartridges is okay until it fails on you and dumps all the ink.

[Wolfman Zack]

With all the Pilot pens I have, I've never actually tried a Prera. I would get the converter if you're planning to keep the pen. It's going to save you some trouble in the long run. Refilling cartridges is okay until it fails on you and dumps all the ink.

I’m curious about your experiences with cartridges failing as you say.
From what I understand, a lot of folks have used the pilot cartridges almost indefinitely without issue.
Now standard international cartridges I can certainly see the failure issue with, but the seal on the pilot design seems quite robust.

[Accord_Tiger]

The Prera is a great pen. The nib is friction fit so you can swap them for one of the italic nibs from the Plumix. It is a shame that the Con-20 has now been discontinued as it seems to work a lot better than the Con-40!

[KrazyIvan]

With all the Pilot pens I have, I've never actually tried a Prera. I would get the converter if you're planning to keep the pen. It's going to save you some trouble in the long run. Refilling cartridges is okay until it fails on you and dumps all the ink.

I’m curious about your experiences with cartridges failing as you say.
From what I understand, a lot of folks have used the pilot cartridges almost indefinitely without issue.
Now standard international cartridges I can certainly see the failure issue with, but the seal on the pilot design seems quite robust.

I have a Pilot Lucina that I used to use refilled cartridges with. It started to leak after the third refill. At first I thought it was me not pushing the cartridge in all the way, so I tried again and a full cartridge of ink ended up inside my pen. I did not know it until it started leaking from the barrel. I replaced the cartridge with a squeeze converter and never had the issue again.

[Wolfman Zack]

With all the Pilot pens I have, I've never actually tried a Prera. I would get the converter if you're planning to keep the pen. It's going to save you some trouble in the long run. Refilling cartridges is okay until it fails on you and dumps all the ink.

I’m curious about your experiences with cartridges failing as you say.
From what I understand, a lot of folks have used the pilot cartridges almost indefinitely without issue.
Now standard international cartridges I can certainly see the failure issue with, but the seal on the pilot design seems quite robust.

I have a Pilot Lucina that I used to use refilled cartridges with. It started to leak after the third refill. At first I thought it was me not pushing the cartridge in all the way, so I tried again and a full cartridge of ink ended up inside my pen. I did not know it until it started leaking from the barrel. I replaced the cartridge with a squeeze converter and never had the issue again.

Thanks for the warning, I’ll definitely keep an eye on it for that potential issue, I can see the potential for it if the cartridge mouth gets stretched out at all.
So far, no issues with mine though, and I’ve refilled the cartridge or removed and reinstalled it at least a half a dozen times.
I suppose that the converter is a stronger material though, so it can be installed and removed many times for cleaning.

[Sailor Kenshin]

If we're talking the sac-type converter, I don't care for these as much, having an almost obssessive need to SEE my ink. My constantly-refilled carts have been fine so far.

The Pilot ink that comes in carts isn't bad, either: green, black, blue.

[aaronp]

Congrats. My first is also a Pilot. A Kakuno to be exact. Didn't want to pay for high price for something I don't know much about yet.

[Wolfman Zack]

Congrats. My first is also a Pilot. A Kakuno to be exact. Didn't want to pay for high price for something I don't know much about yet.

Congrats! I hear those write great, at the price point it’s a great first choice.
You’re hooked now though, you’ll soon own a bunch of FP’s.

One thing that I’m really enjoying about the base model Pilot pens is that the feed is so easily removed, and due to the proprietary cartridge design the section of the pen is easily cleaned out.
It’s a better design than the standard international in my opinion.

[aaronp]

Yes it does. However, I got the Kakuno with a Fine nib and it felt a bit dry. Afterward I got a Metropolitan with Medium nib and I loved it. The nib is so smooth, I was practically gliding on the paper.

[calamum]

My first decent regular fountain pen was a Pilot Prera in bright yellow with a medium nib.* I am constantly amazed by how well it writes. I also have a Metropolitan with a fine nib, and am very happy with its performance, too. I have Diamine Burnt Siena in it at the moment, but I'm going to change over to Waterman Intense Black when the Con-50's load of ink runs out, and use it for pen and ink drawing.

*(I have an Osmiroid that I bought new — they don't make them any longer — but it's more of a calligraphy pen with a nasty squeeze tube converter that's almost as much trouble to use as a dip pen, so I never thought of it as fountain pen. However, I found out that you can use a Manuscript converter in them, so I ordered some from Cult Pens. With a decent converter I believe I can start thinking of it as a fountain pen.)