I'm trying to figure out how I started to watch this video this morning after work (3rd shifter), dozed off with autoplay on, and woke up to some Nickelodeon programming. Now I've got all these suggested kids videos. Oh well, now I know the mysteries of Slime!

The trick with that squeeze converter, just as it was with the venerable Parker 51 aerometric, is to squeeze the blades of the converter several times with the nib immersed in ink so as to really drive out air bubbles. Doing it this way will minimize air bubbles and so get more ink drawn in...

Glad to see you finally reviewed one of these. On the flow issues and dry writing: ink choice can make a world of difference of you're willing to use bottles. Pilot Iroshizuku inks, for instance, are one of my go-to options for a nib that writes on the dry side, because they have great flow. Saved me from taking a bath on a vintage Sheaffer a few months ago.

Lol I watch you for knife videos . I like fountain pens and didn't expect you to pop up. Cool.

The Japanese F nib probably derives from usage for ideographs. On varied papers. Avoids blurring of the 'brush' strokes. Works well from writing small notes using Japanese/Chinese/Korean character sets.

Thank you, love the pen reviews. the pilot petit 1 might be a nice edc kind of pen to check out

Honestly I'd recommend looking into syringe filling Pilot's cartridges over the CON-20 or CON-40. I got more ink in that way. Maybe I'm just bad with converters though, I'm relatively new to fountain pens.

I have 3 Metropolitians and an Eco. The medium nib Metro writes as well as the Eco. I certainly agree that that Pilot is trying to cash in on the proprietary cartridges and converters. If one doesn't like the sqeeze convertor, they'll sell a Con-40 twist converter for an extra $6. Solid knock around pens that look good in nearly every situation.

Nick I think this is the first review of yours I've seen that I disagree with. I think the metropolitan is a fantastic pen, in fact it's my favorite pen and the one I keep going back to even after trying some really expensive pens. I have a black one with fine nib. It's gorgeous and writes beautifully IMO. Not scratchy at all and great ink flow.

My medium Metro in garish glitter purple was only $11. Apparently purple was unpopular. It writes nice. Your problems may have been the fine point.

Mine is a great pen and still gets ink time despite me owning some $200 pens. I suggest just buying the piston converter and tossing the squeeze converter it comes with if you don't like it. Also please keep in mind they come in many different colors and patterns. And the snap cap vs screw cap can be very handy for sporadic writing.... Thanks Nick

I just bought my first Metropolitan. And I chose the very one you are demonstrating here - the white one. Of all the finishes they offer, it's my favorite. So there you go. The first thing I did was to empty and clean the included cartridge, and use a syringe (from Goulet) to refill that cartridge with Diamine Bilberry. You can fill that converter, and that TWSBI pen the same way. With a little practice, you can do this without making a mess, and it's a way to use all the ink in a bottle.

I'm currently using a Cross Bailey; writes great, feels great in the hand, about $25 on Amazon with 6 cartridges, but no converter!

Have you happened to try a medium Metro since this review, Nick? I’m just going to grab one to dip my toe in the fountain pen waters, but I already have designs on a Lamy 2000, Pilot Vanishing Point, and Kaweco Liliput

this was the first fountain pen i purchased. a very good pen for the price. my favorite so far tho is the Faber Castel Loom.

If you think these write scratchy, wait until you try a Lamy Safari. In my experience the fine can be seen as scratchy, but it's not really scratchy. It's just feedback from such a narrow nib. The medium has less feedback, fyi.

I started with the Sheaffer VFM, myself. Short standard international cartridges only, but it does well enough. It gets pressed into service when I'm testing a new ink. And, sometimes, it beats out more expensive pens, like the Faber-Castell Loom. The Loom works well enough, but something about the weight and grip section keep me from bonding with it.

Just bought one today ; been sketching for a couple of hours and not gonna lie , it feels like a fineliner.

Never had a problem with mine being scratchy, and if it gets lost, it's not so expensive it hurts. The con-50 converter works the best, but I think they may be phasing it out and going only to the con-40 unfortunately. I only use the squeeze converter for cleaning mine.

Have you ever used a Jetstream ballpoint pen by Uni/Mitsubishi? It's very cheap but writes so smoothly... like a hot knife through butter (??). Anyway, you might want to take a look at that.

Nick would love to see a review of the Lamy Safari

I've never had issues with my Pilot Metropolitan, but then again I use wet (fluid) inks with it, so that could help. The reason that Japanese-made nibs should be viewed as one size "finer" -- e.g., a fine nib from a Japanese manufacturer like Pilot is equivalent to an extra-fine from a German pen maker like Kaweco -- is because Japanese customers need finer nibs to write kanji clearly. That's not an issue for people who write using the Roman alphabet, but when you need to cram a ton of strokes into a small space, fineness is essential :)

I thought Pilot had started putting the normal piston style converter in the Metropolitans. With a fine nib you can end up with a little more drag than you may like, luck of the draw mostly. I use a 1.1mm stub nib on a purple body, writes very nice. Not my best writer but the best per $.

i bought 2 jinhao’s for $5 each. much better Writers. much smoother. tons more ink capacity. I think i damaged the nib on my twsbi eco but i love that one too! HUGE ink capacity!

Hi Nick, I Have a few Pilot pens. My favourites are the Parallels. The device you are using as a converter is intended for flushing the pen. There are two converters to fit this size of pen: The Con-50, a piston filling design & the Con-20 a squeeze converter with a higher ink capacity. This higher capacity (about equal to the cartridge) is gained by not having to make room for the screw mechanism for the piston.

...I have this with a medium nib...writes very smooth and even...plenty of ink flow...very nice entry level...have a great week...

You weren't bothered by my biggest gripe with this pen, which is that nasty little metal ring where the cap meets the body. While writing, the meat of my fingers would get really irritated by that. I tend to hate pens that have a huge step down in diameter from the barrel to thr section like this pen, in general. It's a downfall of these attractive, torpedo shaped designs.

I love the look of the white tiger... I think it looks the best overall amongst all Pilot Metropolitans. I got a Lizard edition (I call it Lizzie) because the anodized metal color resembles the titanium implants I use in Orthopaedic surgeries. It just feels right in my hand. Almost as I can take Lizzie and fix someone's fracture.... Haha! But white tiger and leopard..... Beautiful! Shandaar!!!

I have to disagree with your review of this pen. I believe perhaps that the ink you were using caused the scratchy sensation you are describing, along with the fact that if you squeeze the ink converter multiple times, all air bubbles will exit and you will end up with double the standard ink converter can hold. I have had my mr for over a month now and aside from one minor instance of clogging, it has treated me well. The experience is smooth, the super fine nib allows writing on thin paper, and the price is unbeatable.

So do you prefer this or the Lamy Safari?

Got this for $4... thanks SD. Good pen but will prob never be sold on fountain pens. More a novelty imo, but to each their own.

Finally.

this one look georgeus and work very well. Just make sure you dont drop it from 1 meter desk like I did 😑

I wonder if there is a "z hunter of pens". Some horrible tacky pen that barely writes with a flashlight on the back kind of thing. Has anyone ever seen something like this? And if so... Could you please send it to Nick?

The Metropolitan in this exact configuration was my first fountain pen. Speaking from fairly limited experience (I now own three fountain pens and have used several more), I highly recommended this for beginners, even though I acknowledge the faults you cited. The price is very reasonable, it has much better ink flow than you would expect for the price, and it has never had a hard start in over a year of use. But make sure you get one that includes a converter since not everyone (e.g. Staples) sells a version that does. I've used a Twisbi Eco (also a great option for beginners) and didn't find it to write better or worse than my Metropolitan. Side note: when you previewed this a while ago, I was pleased to think that we have similar taste in fountain pen aesthetics. Turns out we don't (2:48)!

You are a very interesting person, to say the least.

Nice video ...

My girlfriend says it looks like a tampon applicator in white…

so the body is plastic and not metal???

Oh man. My main complaint with the Metro is that it's a little too smooth/wet for my tastes. I've really fallen down the Platinum rabbit hole though. I really want to try a Sailor for such reasons

The pen has been 'Shabazzed'......

metal not plastic .