Side by Side Comparison of: Pilot vs RusticTown

This is the finest fountain pen you can find at this price. Fit and finish of the pen is excellent and it both looks and feels like a precision writing instrument. The nib is smooth and moves across the paper with ease using Pilot ink. The cap posts well on the pen. It's never worked loose during normal writing for me. Posting shifts the pen balance due to the weight of the cap. Unless you have large hands you can write with the cap unposted with ease.The body, section, feed and nib of the Metropolitan disassemble for cleaning. Some pens have a fixed section and feed that require a bulb syringe to flush ink.I've added other pens to my collection but I always compare them to the Pilot Metropolitan for writing quality and fit and finish. This pen is a worthy addition to your writing collection and makes an excellent first fountain pen.This pen has some drawbacks.- It's heavier than plastic pens. The body and cap of the Metropolitan are made of brass. Posting the cap shifts the balance of the pen toward the rear. The fix is to write with the cap unposted.- It has a snap cap. That may not be a drawback to you but I prefer the screw type caps. The act of unscrewing a fountain pen cap is part of the pleasure of using these pens.- Two writing nib sizes: Japanese fine and medium (equivalent to European extra fine and fine). The nib is well-behaved using Pilot ink but can feel scratchy with other inks. Pilot ink lubricates the finer point of their nibs better than any other ink. Do yourself a favor and order Pilot Namiki IC100 Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge, Blue/Black, 12 Cartridges per Pack (69102) or Pilot Namiki IC100 Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge, Black, 12 Cartridges per Pack (69100) when you buy this pen.Drawbacks aside, this is one of my favorite pens. I have both nib sizes that I use for writing and I also buy them as gifts.

This is the second of two Pilot Metropolitan pens I purchased at the same time. This one has a medium nib, and the other, the red variety, has a fine point. I found them both very pleasing. Of the two, I REALLY love this one, because I like the way the medium nib dispenses ink. Remembering pens from the Good Old Days, I expected this a medium nib to squander vast quantities of ink and to create a sloppy-looking document. But no: apparently the Japanese idea of "medium" is close to the US idea of fine. On a good piece of paper, this medium-nib pen glides right along -- extremely smooth and pleasant to write with -- and it makes a nice, neat line. Even compared to my old Waterman, purchased back in the day when I could afford pricey accouterments, this inexpensive pen performs handsomely.Whenever I like something this much, it's the kiss of death...so I probably will buy one or two more of them in the near future, before they go out of style. If this thing lasts, then it's worth considerably more than it costs. IMHO.

Perfect fountain pen with a reasonable price.

This fountain pen is truly a surprise! I own a Prera demonstrator fountain pen which has given me problems. This pen outperforms the Prera by a long-shot. Has quickly become a frequent choice above much more expensive writers ...Pros- Writes great! (most important)- Nice metal lid, clip, and barrel (at $13 price point!). Looks like a much more expensive pen. I bought the silver variety.- Sturdy, un-obnoxious clip (unlike the Lamy entry level fountain which I also own)- Comes with one cartridge (Pilot style), as well as a converter (bladder style)- Comes in decent box and case (unlike any other pen in this price range)Cons- The thin plastic band which is about 3/4 inch thick in the middle is a little weird/cheap- Bladder style converter is completely opaque and can't tell how much ink is in the bladder/resevoir. Also is a little unusual to fill since you don't know if you're pulling in enough ink ... you just guess- Does dry out pretty quick with the lid off (i.e. while I think about what to write next ...)

I am not new to fountain pens, although I would not consider myself an expert. I have restored a few Parker and Esterbrook pens and I would describe myself as someone who has discerning taste and high expectations from products, but do not really like the pretentious ones. Some of my pens are the Lamy 2000, the Pelikan M200, Lamy Safari, Parker 51, Parker Vacumatic, and more.I say all this because this pen just blew me away, and not "for the money." When I buy a pen I try to forget how much it costs and judge it on it's own merits, although the price always tends to linger somewhere in the back of the mind. This pen is seriously amazing – a wet writer, whose nib is fabulously smooth and precise and ultimately one that I simply cannot put down. What's even more exciting to me is that it is $15 dollars. I would have happily paid twice if not 3 times more for a pen of this quality (and it writes that well) but somehow knowing that it cost $15 makes me so happy; I can throw it around, let it dry up, not feel self conscious about writing with an expensive pen and having to tell people how much it is worth the writing experience, blah blah blah.I don't really have the time or the patience to write a full review on this pen and go into all the details but I will just say I felt incredibly compelled to share my excitement with everyone else about this jewel. My christmas shopping, it seems, will be very easy this year.**Update**It's been almost a year since I bought this pen and ever since I have used it almost exclusively. I think I may have put close to 3oz through it, filling it up everyday (I write a lot). I'm a little angry actually because I have a couple of hundred dollars worth of pens sitting in a case not really being used much. I'm even thinking about selling a few and simply buying 3 or 4 more of these so I can have a number of colors at hand. Now, writing with this pen and switching to another that costs $100 more will expose some of the nuances of a higher quality nib but I cannot stress enough how wonderfully this pen has been performing for me.

I would almost say that this pen redefines what an entry level pen is. From the moment you pick it up, it seems like a more expensive pen, a lot more expensive. The body is metal, unusual at this price point, unusual at the next price point up. The style and finish are austere and clean, modern without being gaudy, I like it a lot. It feels solid but not overly heavy. It just feels like a nice device.It's one of the smoothest writing pens I have, just glides over the paper but still provides some feedback about the paper texture. It lays down a nice, slightly wet line, virtually never skips. A good starter, it's uncommon for it to not start right away, even after a few days unused. The Japanese Medium nib is about the same width as an American or European fine, a good bit finer than a Euro Medium.It's not enough that this pen looks, feels and writes like a pen at least double the price if not more, it also comes with a converter for bottled ink! Granted, it's a squeeze bulb not the screw piston most people seem to like, but it seems to hold a lot of ink for a converter.The only thing abut this pen that I don't love is the grip section, it's a little more slender than I prefer, but that's really a small quibble. Overall it's a nice functional pen and an incredible value. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

It looks great feels nice in the hand and is made rather nicely for such an inexpensive pen, especially considering it comes with a pretty decent converter. It has a great style, especially the shape of the body, grip and nib. The only downsides for me are the really small grip section which is tiny for most hands and the significant leaking of ink onto the grip section. You often end up with ink on your hand while using this pen, especially if you have it stored in your pocket for a while and then try to use it. If you don't want either of this problems I suggest spending a bit extra and getting a Lamy Safari which I prefer for everyday use.

My first fountain pen. I've had it for about three weeks and it comes out extremely smooth as I expected. Writes beautifully and character from your pen strokes can be seen in the writing. Only thing I can complain about is it seems to "leak" in a way, if you touch the back side of the silver point you will get ink all over your hands. I've adjusted to avoid this, but will still end up doing it every once in a while and it can be annoying.Overall good purchase and I will be buying refill cartridges when the initial cartridge runs out.

I bought this pen as a gift for a friend of mine, and it looks great. Very professional and elegant, wonderful for a man or woman. The only difficulty involved putting in the ink cartridge. I'm a novice to these types of pens, but even after following instructions, the ink would not flow. Like the genius I am (heavily sarcastic), I decided to then yank the cartridge out so I could try to place it back in and hopefully get things working. As expected, half the ink came flying out and my fingers were stained for the rest of the day. I managed to get it right with my second try (I bought two of these pens). I also felt a little like Shakespeare, with the ink on my fingers after a long day of play-writing. So I made the best of my foolishness, but would caution other novices to be more careful!

This is my first fountain pen. I originally purchased it so that my hand would cramp up less when I wrote long passages. I'm a writer who likes to write stories by hand, so staying comfor table in the wrist was a must. I must say I got more than I bargained for.Dealing with the ink was a bit of a mess at first but entirely easy to pop in and go. It ran out pretty quickly for me, but as I mentioned before I write pretty extensively.The expirience is smooth and my hand barely got tired after hours of writing. Also the pen design is smooth, simplistic, and beautiful I just love it.What I wasn't expecting, though, was for my handwriting to change. It became more elegant and refined after using the pen for just a few days.Overall, I can see why Pilot is a leader in the writing tools market. You won't regret buying this pen but make sure to buy a pack of extra ink to go with it, trust me you'll need it if you plan on writing a lot!

I've had this pen for about 2 weeks, and I just got it working. It looks beautiful on the outside, but when I first got it the up strokes were terrible. A family member who is very knowledgable about fountain pens said that they had heard it was a great pen and they were shocked I didn't like it. They eventually recommend soaking it in water and a tiny bit of dish soap for awhile (until all the ink was out) and it pretty much fixed it! It writes very nicely now. The ink isn't my favorite, but that's an easy fix. I'd definitely recommend this for an starting pen!

This is a very nice pen. Nicely made, with a nice presentation box and it comes with both a cartridge and an adapter for the ink of your choice.However, having said all of that, one thing I was disappointed in is the smoothness of writing. I had read reviews that said it writes like a Pilot Precise V5 RT (my absolute favorite non fountain pen of all time -- I have use these for years and am *never* disappointed). However, for me, I found this definitely not the case.The movement of the nib over the paper is not as smooth as I had hoped, and neither is the ink flow. It is kinda "scratchy".I'm not sure if this is caused by the ink I'm using (black Parker Quink 57ml made in France (according to the bottle)) or if it is just the way the nib is.

Good fountain pen. Refilling using the included bladder can be a bit tricky. But, it gets the job done. I have noticed that the pen has started to run and pools a bit on the pen's top. I've had to use Q-tips to absorb all of the excess ink so that my fingers don't get stained.

For the price of the pen, I would say its an okay product. It takes a few tries until I can get it to glide effortlessly, and even then at some point it will leak ink on to the paper, and all over my hands. I am not too disappointed because I really believe you get what you pay for, and for 12.00 I did not expect a whole lot.

It's good for the price. It skips a little sometimes but overall a nice fountain pen.I think it scratches on the paper a little as well, but not really all that noticeable.

I purchased this pen to use for writing cards at work and have had mixed results with it. Physically, it feels good in the hand and doesn't require a tight grip. The lettering looks similar to disposable Pilot Razor Point pens (which both now and forever will be the greatest product Pilot has ever created). Unlike ballpoint pens, fountain pens do not require pressure on the nib to write, as the ink is free-flowing, so they can be fantastic for people who struggle with writer's cramp.I have a couple of qualms with this product, but they may not be true for everyone who purchases it. My pen started skipping almost immediately out of the box. Cleaning out the nib seems to help for a little while, but with use, it quickly returns to skipping strokes. It also goes through ink much more quickly than I expected. This is not a flaw with the product itself, but any purchaser needs to realize that, as with printers, the main expense over time will be the ink, not the pen.All in all, I would probably not purchase this product again. It's okay for what it is, but I'd recommend you take your $12 and go buy a box of these: http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Razor-Point-Marker-11001/dp/B00006IFJN/

This pen is an excellent value for the money. This well-balanced fountain pen writes smoothly and reliably. Mine is a medium, which you would expect to write smoother, though Japanese nibs tend to run small by 1/2-1 size. It's fairly hefty for a plastic pen, weighing in at 25.5 grams.The down side, at least for me, is the extremely steep detent at the top of the section. This is located precisely in the center of my grip area, so the detent digs sharply into my thumb. In order to write comfortably I have to change my grip higher or lower, which just exchanges one discomfort for another. Because of this I wouldn't use the pen for an all-day writer, but will instead use it for some odd-ball ink color, or maybe just give it away. If you normally hold your pen close to the nib then this shouldn't be an issue.Another minor complaint some people may have is the proprietary cartridge, but that really doesn't bother me.

Pen looks great and writes great. However, after about 6 months it started leaking ink ND eventually became worthless. I had to throw away because I kept getting ink all over my hands. I guess you get what you pay for. In the first 6 months, I received tons of compliments on how good looking the pen was and how well it wrote. But due to mine leaking, I will not be buying a new one.

I am not really happy with the pen. I was hopeful it would be awesome but, it's not great. It leaks a lot, it has difficulties writing and, I end with up ink all over my hands.

The pen states its a medium, however compared to my other fountain pens it does not write as a medium. It feels more toward the fine point end. I did read reviews of the pen leaking and I figured no it shouldn't however I have noticed it leaks quite a bit when compared to my other fountain pens. I would only recommend this product to someone who is looking to try a fountain pen but even then, its a so so. Doesn't seem like it'll last and pilot forces you to buy their refills another drawback. Was hoping to keep this one as a spare, but its not even worth as a spare considering all the ink that is draining. Maybe I got a bad batch. oh well at least it was not as expensive as other fountain pens.

Pen leaked ink upon first use. Tried cleaning and used a different cartridge from the original. Same issue so I used standard ink with the reusable cartridge but it continued to bleed.It could just be an issue with this piece individually, but I'm disappointed with the quality. Company is solid with good products, but this pen had a defect, and just didn't do it for me. Might want to try a different pen from this company as they have some great stuff.

Initially, I loved this pen. I was trying to make a move to fountain pens, and after some research, I picked this up as my first attempt (first attempt in 10-20 years, as I used fountain pens in school as a kid). I owned a fountain pen years ago, but I had an issue with it skipping - leaving blank spots on the paper when I wrote to quick. I was pleasantly surprised when I got this pen, because it did not have that issue. It wrote beautifully, even a quick pace. This pen became my go-to pen, even though i have some very nice pens from parker, cross, and montblanc.After the first month, I noticed that i was constantly getting small amount of ink on my fingers where they contacted the pen. I was unable to locate the leak, and researched on line. I was unable to find a solution, and the amount of leaking seemed to increase. After 3 months of using the pen daily, the issue has become unbearable, and I have given up. I can't continue to use this pen and have my hands covered in ink.I should note that I don't think that the leaks were due to any damage inflicted on my behalf. The pen went from my shirt pocket, to my desk, to my nightstand. It was never dropped, or took any jolts. I should also note that I was using pilot namiki black ink cartridges.While I like the design of this pen and the quality of the writing, I cannot deal with the leaks.PROs: design, smooth writing at a quick pace, no skippingCONs: it leaks!

I received mine and followed the directions. I got to scratch out a couple letters but all of the ink was dry. I love pens and was not expecting anything fancy, but this was a let down. I bought it as a little gift to myself for my birthday. I own very nice roller and ballpoint pens. This was going to be my entry into fountain pens, I was so excited.

I am using the Namiki refills after giving up on the converter but this thing is terribly stingy with ink flow. I watch video reviews online and the writing looks much different than the pen I am using. I press hard sometimes and give it a shake over the sink to get things moving but it is more annoying than it is worth. The converter is too much trouble as well. It doesn't hold much ink and an air bubble gets in and separates the ink from the pen. This will likely sit in a drawer for years until I give it away.

I want to like, great build.. Bad nib and a disaster in ergonomic

Worked great to start, first time I replaced ink it started leaking like crazy.

Upon doing some more research on these after troubles I was having, it looks like these pens are very prone to leaking. Mine has a tendency to leak in the gap where the nib meets the section. It will constantly leak ink all inside of the cap. When I put the cap on the top of the pen, then ink then runs down the body of the pen onto my hand. While definitely a smooth writer, this one is going to have to go in the bin. It's a shame, I just bought a big box of cartridges for this thing.

It didn't write smoothly, so I sent it back. Replaced it with a Lamy and immediately felt the difference. Wouldn't recommend this.

Everything was intact when delivered. However, the pen does not produce ink. I followed all the advice on how to make this quirky pen work, but to no avail.

What a disappointment. I was SO excited for this pen to arrive. It had been four years I hadn't used a fountain pen.Issues??- The biggest issue is that the ink does NOT flow smoothly. I have noticed this on the pages that have been printed out of the printer. It takes several strokes for it to start and almost always the writing is interrupted. So frustrating. I have seen it do LESS on a regular paper.- Second issue- when you place the cap on the back of the pen while using it, it makes the back half of the pen heavier than the front and you always have to apply extra pressure on the pen to keep it facing down and writing.I am so sad- I am a big pen junkie. I love PENS! I had so many expectations with this pen- but so disappointed!