Reddit reviews Pilot Fountain Pen with Ergo Grip, Extra Fine Nib, Black Body (PFP50RBEF)

Some quick questions, do you write really small now?

Most of the engineers I know do write small, which is why I ask. /u/the_illest does this joke you see here every time this question is asked, but it is a good recommendation to start. I personally recommend the Pilot Metropolitan over the Lamy Safari, I think it is a nicer pen to use, and the I believe the nib is better. If you write fine, you might be better off going to Goulet and getting the new model in fine, than buying the medium nib on Amazon. If you write really small, I really like the Metropolitan with the nib from the Pilot penmanship swapped onto it. The link here is more than I spent on the penmanship, if you search you can find them cheaper (I think on Amazon sometimes, I got two for that price). The Japanese EF nib is closer to a western UEF nib (the medium on the Metro is very close to an EF on the Safari). The line is very thin, and comfortable if you are used to writing small with a mechanical pencil.

With this, pick up a bottle of Noodler's black , and you will be set.

Now, to deviate a little from the standard answers. If you want something a little different, the Nemosine Singularity is an good intro pen that has gotten a lot of good feedback.

For a cheaper alternative, but usually only in a medium nib, the Jinhao x750 or x450 are big pens that make a statement (Amazon has sellers that ship these from China, Goulet pens carries them for $10 in stock).

There are a few others on Amazon that people like in the starting range, Parker, Scheaffer, etc that some like, but generally, the popular ones are the Metropolitan and Safari.

heh. Yeah, you and me both :).

I'm afraid the pen is discontinued. It was about $7: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006CQUHXG/

I've got a few laying around with cracked bodies (they feel nice in the hand but they're fragile as hell) so I might as well try it.

• Sailor HighAce Neo is the finest line I've ever seen, except for...
  
  
• Hero 9296, but QC is really hit-or-miss with that guy. There's also...
  
  
• Pilot Penmanship, which is an EF nib that can fit into a Metro body, if you want something more durable (or that can clip).
  
  Oh, also: When I want to write an even finer line, I just rotate the pen and write with the nib upside-down. Something feels existentially wrong about it to me, but it gets the job done.

I have a few others, but I mostly use my Safari with Diamante China Blue ink. I have one safari with a leaky tip, or the ink doesn't like to stay in (Diamante ancient copper) and one safari that will not write no matter how I press. I need to figure out how to solve that problem, as in a day I can go through a whole full ink cartridge.

I have some suuuuuuuper ultra extra fine pilot pens from Japan, which I really like, though they are scratchy to write with, due to how fine the tips are! The ink seems to dry without getting a good flow in one of them (one of the Noodler's V Day inks) but the Noodler's bulletproof works very well in the other one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006CQUHXG/

I have a couple of other pens that unfortunately BOTH are leaky beasts, and so they sit in my mug of pens for use at home in clothes I don't care about if I take a cap off and it flings ink at me. One is a Baoer http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0052HYKC0/

And the other is a Hero 9296, which I love the weight of, just not the splatter I had happen in lab (which hit my coat, so, hey, at least it was in lab!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00I17WZA2

Well you have a lot of options.

1. Pilot Penmanship EF, as u/WertherEffekt pointed out if you hate the body you can put the nib on a pilot metropolitan ($6 or $20)
   
2. Platinum 3776 UEF, this will be the finest pen ($70)
   
3. Pilot Custom Heritage 91 ($75)
   
4. Pilot Custom 74 ($80)
   
5. Pilot e95s [This is my favorite], also available in a nice burgundy and white with gold trim. ($75 or $85)
   
6. Pilot Decimo, a smidge over the budget, but it is a unique pen. ($110 - $120 depending on the color)

Hi there, I should have really pointed out that I got the nib off this pen. :)

I need some help finding my first fountain pen. I have only two requirements: it must be cheap (<$20), and it must be as fine as possible (I'm used to a .38 mm Pilot gel pen).

I've been considering the Plainum Preppy 02 and I just saw that Pilot also has an extra fine-tipped one, but I'm wondering if there's a better option.

Boom!

Pilot extra fine for less than $9.

You can also swap the nib in this pen into a Pilot Metropolitan or 78G.

That's how I have an XF Metropolitan.