I had been meaning to pay a visit to the Fountain Pen Shop in Monrovia, California for a while, mostly to look around. I had also been thinking about a metal-bodied Kaweco Sport, probably the aluminum, and if I saw one there I might just have to buy it. This week I happened to travel to Los Angeles and Monrovia, so I went in.
Definitely worth a visit. The shop is in the back, with a wide variety of pens for sale, and the front room is basically a fountain pen museum. A lot of pen history there. One pen used by Leland Stanford to sign many important documents. Fred Krinke, the owner, does a lot of repairs and restorations, apparently enough to keep him fully occupied. I might get the ink sac replaced on my Esterbrook, since it is of unknown age, but probably very old.
Anyway, on the counter they had out on display a selection of Pilot Metropolitans. I had always passed these over, being vastly disappointed in the Pilot 78G. I know that the 78G got good reviews, but I found it (an F nib) much too dry and scratchy, the body way too light for my taste, and didn't care much for the appearance. I figured that the Metropolitan was probably about the same. Some of the Metropolitans were inked up and ready to go, so at the sales clerk's suggestion I gave a couple (M and F) a try. This sold me. Very smooth writing, even with an F (my preferred width), and a nice weight to the body.
I'm not sure yet whether this will replace my Safari as my daily writer, but it's close. I also like the way my Safari writes (an EF), but I prefer the weight of the Metropolitan, and the Safari doesn't always look to me like a pen for a grownup.
Conclusions: Visit the Fountain Pen Shop if you can, and consider a Pilot Metropolitan.
(Turns out, according to the sales clerk, that you have to go online for Kawecos. They can't get them.)
Definitely worth a visit. The shop is in the back, with a wide variety of pens for sale, and the front room is basically a fountain pen museum. A lot of pen history there. One pen used by Leland Stanford to sign many important documents. Fred Krinke, the owner, does a lot of repairs and restorations, apparently enough to keep him fully occupied. I might get the ink sac replaced on my Esterbrook, since it is of unknown age, but probably very old.
Anyway, on the counter they had out on display a selection of Pilot Metropolitans. I had always passed these over, being vastly disappointed in the Pilot 78G. I know that the 78G got good reviews, but I found it (an F nib) much too dry and scratchy, the body way too light for my taste, and didn't care much for the appearance. I figured that the Metropolitan was probably about the same. Some of the Metropolitans were inked up and ready to go, so at the sales clerk's suggestion I gave a couple (M and F) a try. This sold me. Very smooth writing, even with an F (my preferred width), and a nice weight to the body.
I'm not sure yet whether this will replace my Safari as my daily writer, but it's close. I also like the way my Safari writes (an EF), but I prefer the weight of the Metropolitan, and the Safari doesn't always look to me like a pen for a grownup.
Conclusions: Visit the Fountain Pen Shop if you can, and consider a Pilot Metropolitan.
(Turns out, according to the sales clerk, that you have to go online for Kawecos. They can't get them.)
