Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Showing 1 of 567 conversations about:
RayF
22213
Feb 16, 2018
bookmark_border
Metropolitans are the most boring fountain pens you will ever use—no personality what so ever.
Feb 16, 2018
Editrix
8
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
RayFI disagree. The ones on offer, especially the red, orange and the purple have a really cute band. They don't look boring at all.
Feb 20, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
EditrixYour referring to cosmetics , I’m talking about function. ”Cute“ won’t make it a good writer.
Feb 20, 2018
Liis
10
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
RayFThese are entry level pens - offer no excitement for advanced users but they are indeed very reliable and well made pens. The fine is perfect with Diamine's more intensive inks.
Feb 20, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
LiisA rusty nail is cheaper and will yield about the same results—with any ink.
Feb 20, 2018
ImHereForSeikos
69
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
RayFDo people really care so much about fountain pens? Such things hold no value anymore in society, it's very niche. You think you're Benjamin Franklin?
Feb 20, 2018
aawillis1956
21
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
ImHereForSeikosI’m here for the Seikos, does that refer to wrist watches? With the proliferation of cell phones and their uncanny ability to tell time perfectly wrist watches truly hold no value anymore in society. There are plenty of cheap watches out there but I’m fairly certain that there are many who value the difference between that $5.00 Chinese knock-off and a fine time piece. Uh oh I see by the time on my cell I’m about to be late.
Feb 20, 2018
XenoMuse
121
Feb 20, 2018
bookmark_border
ImHereForSeikosFountain pens are for people who care about what they are writing with, and the metropolitans are an excellent, entry level option for someone to learn how they work and what inks they like with no fear of ruining a $60 or $150 pen. Half of the joy of fountain pens is the feel of the pen on paper, which is not great as far as metropolitans go, but they are very reliable, and a fairly cheap option for a beginner. The $60 options (such as the TWSBI 580AL) offer far better aesthetics for the pen itself, as well as an overall better writing experience in the way the nib interacts with both the ink and the page. If you know nothing of fountain pens, this would be an excellent drop to join to learn what's up. I would encourage, also, a bottle of ink at some point if you like the cartridge to start with, maybe a bottle of Pelikan 4001 Blue, Purple... Green? Pick your favourite, the pen won't care.
If you don't understand or care to understand why people would want to buy a fountain pen, maybe let the fine writing people have their hobbies of fountain pens, calligraphy, fun inks, and nice notebooks; go find the hobbies that you enjoy, and understand that as much as you may care for knives, watches, or various recreational equipment, others care about things like pen, ink, paper, keyboards, computer monitors, or belts and shoe polish.
Everyone has some skill or collection they enjoy the finer nuances of learning. Write on, keep ticking.
Feb 20, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 21, 2018
bookmark_border
ImHereForSeikosObviously people care about what they are willing to spend disposable income on--and generally to the same degree. As to the value "society" attaches to those things, I suppose it depends on your definitions of value and society. In my definitions, people who spend their money on "Executive Society Semiprecious Bracelets" must value the wearing of beads, and I expect they do so because others with similar tendencies have influenced them in that direction. I say this because beads have no intrinsic value, and no particular utility, so the only rational explanation for spending money on them would be that influence. In certain societies, that influence might be referred to as "me-too-ism", or less formally as: "I-wanna-be-cool-too" syndrome, or more colloquially as: "monkey-see, monkey-do." Of course values and societies do change over time (I once read a story about one society purchasing a small island on the east coast for a "handful of beads" from another society) so, by all means, hang on to your beads--one day you too might find fame and fortune in the real estate development game. In the mean time, buy a nice fountain pen and practice your penmanship (good handwriting is valued by all societies).
Feb 21, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 21, 2018
bookmark_border
XenoMuseTruth is, you can purchase an absolutely terrific fountain pen for less than five-dollars on Amazon. I'm speaking of anything made by Jinhoa, a Chinese manufacturer of very inexpensive fountain pens that look, feel, and most importantly WRITE as well, or better than many $200 and up fountain pens. Skip these wretched (and overpriced) Metropolitans and follow this link instead: https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Fountain-Jinhao-159-Bright/dp/B00CBQD7YW/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1519229904&sr=8-8&keywords=jinhao
Feb 21, 2018
Braxfield
12
Feb 22, 2018
bookmark_border
ImHereForSeikosI don't think Benjamin Franklin had a lot to do with fountain pens, given that they were not invented until some considerable time after his death. He was more of a kite man, wasn't he?
Feb 22, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 22, 2018
bookmark_border
BraxfieldThat’s what we need here, a Kite group!
Feb 22, 2018
XenoMuse
121
Feb 22, 2018
bookmark_border
RayFI am well familiar with Jinhao, and have owned a number of them myself. The truth really is, their quality control sucks, and if you want them to work reliably and, as you say as well or better than $200+ pens, either you get really, REALLY lucky with the quality control on Jinhao, or you are experienced and know what you are doing as regards nib tuning. I have no doubt you can make an X250 or 159 write like a dream, but that is very hit-or-miss for a beginner, and to spend a little more on a metropolitan whose tight quality control is valuable.
I do not particularly care for metropolitans myself, as they do not fit well in my hand. I have no qualms recommending them to beginners, however, because of that reliability. You cannot blankly claim Jinhao's supremacy when their quality control is literally worse than if their factory was suspended on an enormous pendulum.
Feb 22, 2018
RayF
22213
Feb 22, 2018
bookmark_border
XenoMuseComplaining about quality control problems for a sub five-dollar, Chinese pen is a bit over the top! Assuming we're talking about a true beginner, the minor quality control issues you refer to, shouldn't make that much difference. I have three JinHoa 159s. Each one writes a little differently than the other (and I have my favorite)--but all of them write like fountain pens, where as Metropolitans tend to write like ballpoints (no "character" or "feel"). As for quality control, same can be said for Pelikans (I have three, including an M1000), or Parker Duofolds (I have two), and Conlklins (I have a half-dozen)--and all of them vary from pen to pen (same is true of the 30-or-so Parker 51s I own). We write with fountain pens because of their idiosyncrasies, their occasional bad behaviors, but most of all, the character they convey on paper. Suggesting that someone start their experimentation with a fountain pen devoid of *any* character (say a Pilot Metropolitan, for instance), would be the same as giving a child a box full of Black crayons and asking her to draw you a flower!
Feb 22, 2018
View Full Discussion