PILOT Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, Black Barrel, Classic Design, Fine Nib, Black Ink (91111)

The Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen has far exceeded my expectations—blending affordability, precision, and a touch of class that punches far above its price point. 🖋️ Aesthetic Excellence: From its sleek metallic finish to the minimalist detailing, this pen looks and feels premium. Whether you go with matte black or one of the more unique barrel designs, it’s got serious desk appeal. ⚖️ Perfect Weight & Balance: It’s wonderfully weighted—not too heavy, not too light. The balance is spot-on for long writing sessions, and it feels natural in hand. You’ll be surprised how comfortable it is considering its entry-level price. 🧼 Smooth & Effortless Writing: This pen glides across the page with impressive smoothness. The nib delivers clean, consistent ink flow whether you’re journaling, sketching, or just jotting notes. It feels like you’re using something three times the cost. 💵 Fair Price, Exceptional Value: This is, without question, the gold standard for beginner fountain pens. But the way it performs makes it feel more like a mid- or even high-tier option. If you’re just starting out—or simply want a dependable everyday writer—this is a no-brainer. Also makes for a perfect gift to an aspiring pen enthusiast. 💧 Ink Swaps Are Seamless: Changing inks is effortless. Whether you're using Pilot cartridges or branching out to converters and third-party ink sellers, the process is quick and mess-free. It's compatible and flexible for anyone who likes customizing their ink choice. 🎯 Final Verdict: If you’re looking for a fountain pen that blends style, performance, and affordability—the Metropolitan is it. Elegant enough for your desk, dependable enough for daily use, and beginner-friendly without compromising quality.

After many years I decided to return to the fountain pen. I originally moved away from it as a result of having to use ballpoint pens for multiple copy documents and, frankly, ease of use. The advent of common copy machine use with their very narrow requirements for acceptable signatures did not help. I looked at a lot of pens and read many reviews around the Internet before deciding on the Pilot Metropolitan. I'd never owned a pen costing more than $25 (my last fountain pen, circa 1978), but I knew I wanted a good pen to start, and it took me days to decide between two pens, one for approximately $90 and the Metropolitan at $13.52. I ultimately decided to be conservative and purchase the lower cost Pilot to explore if I really would prefer a fountain pen after all these years. The many excellent reviews certainly helped with this decision even though I was skeptical until I opened the box. After two weeks of daily use, I unreservedly recommend this pen. Without question, this pen is far better than the pens I used in my earlier fountain pen life. It wrote smoothly out of the box, is completely leak free, refills easily using the installed press plate converter, and does not smear or spray. The cap snaps on and off solidly without being burdensome, and I find that the pen is comfortable either posted (cap on the top of the pen while writing) or not, and I do have a large hand. I do tend to not post the pen, but that's so that I can recap immediately -- just a quickly regained habit. The nib is fairly stiff, which is good for a beginner (or a returner) but does allow for smooth and comfortable writing even on inexpensive copy paper or sticky notes. I do find myself spending a little longer writing even brief notes to myself, but I also enjoy every short note I write. Perhaps that's something of an affectation, but if so it's an affectation I'm becoming increasingly fond of. I combined the pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Bottled Fountain Pen Ink, Ku-Jaku, Peacock, Turquoise (69213), which I reviewed separately. A distinctive colour and a good combination. There are many other colours in this ink line for those seeking a distinctive signature colour. The nib is a little narrower than I expected which made me a little unhappy at first, but after two weeks I'm not at all unhappy. Given that I am returning to the fountain pen, I think this is was a good place to start. I suspect that if I had started with a wider nib I might not have felt as comfortable in writing clearly from the first. And for marginal notes, this nib is truly excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if in future I don't move to an EF nib, depending on application. Similarly, I do anticipate moving to an M nib for casual writing. The pocket clip is a common cause for complaint in reviews I read about many pens. The clip on the Metropolitan is solid, slides easily onto my shirt pocket, holds the pen in place, and releases easily. It works the way a pen clip should. In appearance, the pen has pleasant lines and is simplistically elegant. It looks good lying on the desk and in my hand. It's just plain comfortable to use. Is it as classy (and flashy) as a Mont Blanc? No. Does it look good and occasion favourable comment from persons sitting next to me in meetings? Absolutely and repeatedly. I give this pen five stars as an entry level, or even as common use pen. Would it rate 5 stars to a person well accustomed to the use of a fountain pen for specialized writing? I suspect it would not, but I seriously doubt it would get below 4 stars from that same user. Pros: See above. Cons: I'd prefer a screw-on cap but that's not reasonable at this excellent price point. That's my only complaint -- pretty minor, I'd say. Overall: I'm really pleased. If I'd paid twice as much, I'd still be really pleased. I'm sure I'll move on to that $90 pen or higher, but this is an excellent pen when one considers value for money. If you're thinking about buying your first fountain pen, look no further. This is absolutely the place to start.

Simple beauty write very smooth with ever so light enjoyable feedback. Excellent pen a joy to use. One of my favorite pens for longer writing sessions. Absolutely great value and iconic

Great pen. Works well, looks nice, comfortable to use, all for a fraction of the price of most fountain pens.

I was given a PILOT Metropolitan Collection Rollerball pen last year, which I absolutely love, but I enjoying writing with a fountain pen more so decided to give this one a shot. Very impressed with the quality, the comfort to hold, and how well it posts. While initially worried because my customary extra fine nib was not an option, I was extremely pleased and surprised at what the fine nib delivered... smooth ink flow with my Noodler's Inks, no scratchiness or skips, and a very nice line thickness. Plus it is one of the few fountain pens I have that is suitable in a more professional environment. Now my only "problem" is, with the caps on, I can't tell the fountain pen and the rollerball pen apart! (I wish all my problems were this insignificant!)

Sono estremamente soddisfatto. Per il prezzo pagato, modestissimo, ho una penna eccellente. La qualità e la cura delle stilografiche Pilot è presente anche negli strumenti di fascia di prezzo basso. Ottimo il pennino F, non facilmente reperibile nelle Metropolitan; il converter in dotazione, oltre alla cartuccia omaggio, rendono la penna utilizzabile in varie modalità. La scatola di metallo completa ottimamente il set.

I bought this pen after reading a few different reviews on other websites. I had never really used a fountain pen before so I am coming at it from a complete beginners perspective. The pen comes with one ink cartridge and a converter (which is quite small and I imagine wouldn't hold much ink). It also has a sheet of filling instructions for every method with each different kind of pen that pilot sells. It also provides information on how to clean and and keep the ink pen in top condition. The pen itself is wonderful to use. The ink flows well and there is no scratchy feel to it at all. It has a nice weight to it and isn't too thick. At first I was slightly worried about the thickness if the pen as I have small hands but the size is perfect. The ink runs out fairly quickly (if you write a lot like I do) and so I was disappointed that there was only one cartridge. Packets of cartridges can be bought fairly cheaply though, or you can use the converter to fill from a bottle of your own ink so that isnt much of a problem. For the price this is a perfect pen to get you started on in my opinion, so if you have an doubts just go head and buy it!

This pen has a very sharp tines and writes smooth. It feels like writing with a knife. It has a decent ink capacity and writes upto 12 pages in a fill for me. The best part is it writes with the same color without fading even when ink goes low. Initially I felt my strokes are slightly varied due to sharp tines but after writing 60 pages i see it align my stroke. People writing small and medium letters handwriting will love it. For those who have large handwriting, i feel better to have medium nib. It's easy to hold and not very heavy, can write comfortable for hour or two with ease. I written on A4 printing sheet and it doesn't smear. The only fallback is that we cannot see how much level we have filled the ink. This is an excellent pen who are passionate about writing.

I've been using this pen nearly every day since I bought it. I thought at this point that the nib would be showing signs of some wear -- laying down a broader line, giving more feedback, inconsistent ink flow. None of that has happened. It still puts down a nice fine line on just about any kind of paper, still writes smoothly, still gives consistent ink flow with no hard start. The pen itself still looks like new. I thought I might see some wear or fading on the barrel and cap by now, or that the cap might not snap on as securely, but the pen still looks and behaves like brand new. After I got the pen, I bought a converter for it -- Con40 I believe? -- no problems with it either. The pen is made of brass, so it has some heft. My hands are neither small nor large, so the weight and size of this pen, posted, feels good in my hand. Great pen.

Amazing The line is superfine and vey smooth on paper, the pen quality itself is very high Really worth the price