Late last year I purchased a small-size Reicife Crystal. Even though an Indian company (Airmail) copied the design and makes it available for far cheaper, I had to have the Reicife.
I don't think the pen was all that special, except for the nib. It was a medium nib, two-tone, steel nib that wrote like a dream and more like a Western fine to medium-fine. It was very smooth, well-built, and beautiful to look at.
Unfortunately, I found that the section threads were made out of the softest plastic that I've ever experienced in a fountain pen. I was cleaning it and either created or widened two tears in the plastic, more or less rendering the pen to be unsuitable for use. I parted out the pen and kept the nib separate for a project that wasn't available to me yet.
About a month ago I was playing around with nibs and noticed that the steel Pilot Plumix nib is pretty much the same size and shape as the Reicife nib. That made me experiment a little with a Pilot Metropolitan I had lying around. Sure enough, the nib, feed and section fit quite well - perhaps a bit too snug, but certainly worth exploring.
I asked for a WTB for another Pilot Metropolitan, gold tone, and it didn't have to be working. I had a response within about two hours for a pen missing a nib, and struck a deal shortly thereafter for a trade. Last night the Metropolitan body arrived. It took a little fiddling, and a lot of patience, but I now have a gold tone Pilot Metropolitan with a two-tone Reicife nib.
I'll carry it around as one of my EDC pens today, but I fell in love with the combo just with a couple of scribbles last night. I'll post pictures soon and give an update on how it performs, but I'm really hopeful it works out.
I don't think the pen was all that special, except for the nib. It was a medium nib, two-tone, steel nib that wrote like a dream and more like a Western fine to medium-fine. It was very smooth, well-built, and beautiful to look at.
Unfortunately, I found that the section threads were made out of the softest plastic that I've ever experienced in a fountain pen. I was cleaning it and either created or widened two tears in the plastic, more or less rendering the pen to be unsuitable for use. I parted out the pen and kept the nib separate for a project that wasn't available to me yet.
About a month ago I was playing around with nibs and noticed that the steel Pilot Plumix nib is pretty much the same size and shape as the Reicife nib. That made me experiment a little with a Pilot Metropolitan I had lying around. Sure enough, the nib, feed and section fit quite well - perhaps a bit too snug, but certainly worth exploring.
I asked for a WTB for another Pilot Metropolitan, gold tone, and it didn't have to be working. I had a response within about two hours for a pen missing a nib, and struck a deal shortly thereafter for a trade. Last night the Metropolitan body arrived. It took a little fiddling, and a lot of patience, but I now have a gold tone Pilot Metropolitan with a two-tone Reicife nib.
I'll carry it around as one of my EDC pens today, but I fell in love with the combo just with a couple of scribbles last night. I'll post pictures soon and give an update on how it performs, but I'm really hopeful it works out.
