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| Pilot Prera "Pink" in a fine point nib |
Pen: Pilot Prera Pink (fine point nib)
Ink: Noodler's 54th Massachusetts
Paper: Clairfontaine spiral bound notebook
Comparison Pens: Lamy Safari fine point, Lamy Vista extra fine point, and Lamy Joy 1.1mm Italic
Price: $56.00 at Goulet Pens
**UPDATE**
After putting a different ink in this pen (Private Reserve Blue Black), something that I figured to be a pretty wet ink as well, I noticed major improvement in the performance of the pen! It wrote much smoother, did not skip at all. No hard starts, even after sitting for a while. So I have thus come to the conclusion that there are just some inks that do not work well with certain pens.
It is about time I put in another review. I was extremely excited about receiving this pen in the mail. So I will do my best to be factual on what I experienced compared to what my personal opinion is. I would also like to mention that this pen was FLUSHED gently before every using it.
This pen is very lightweight. It doesn't feel too horribly cheap (like the $3 store bought pilots). I feel as if this pen is a bit more fragile than say...my Lamy Safari's. However, that could have everything to do with how it feels and what I think of it.
This pen comes in many many colors. Currently at Goulet Pen they come in demonstrator colors. However, I have seen online that you can obtain one in a solid color.
The one thing that I am not too crazy about is the "doohickey" inside the converter. It does rattle when moved. However, when I write, I never notice it. Only when shaking or turning the pen does it rattle. This is supposed to apparently help prevent the ink from sticking towards the top of the converter when you have the pen upside down (or in a shirt pocket).
I honestly can say that a fine nib, writes like an extra extra fine. Thus which is why it is probably a little bit scratchy at times. It can skip now and then, but this can also be the ink. I was using what I consider to be a fairly wet ink. If you do not use it regularly - like daily - you might experience some hard starts (writing with it to get the ink started helps). There is some creepage on the nib, as you can see. It cleans fairly easy though. Inking the pen up was a bit tricky. So I just pulled the converter out and used a syringe to fill it up with ink, then popping it back into the pen.
The Pilot Prera definitely has a MUCH thinner line than my Lamy fine or extra fine nib pens. For the price, I think it is fair for what you get. However, maybe they could have it writing much smoother out of the box. I think, though, with some nib tuning that I might be able to get the pen to write much smoother. There are always great videos on Youtube about pens and maintenance. Youtube, here I come! With that being said, I will leave you with the rest of the pictures and some pro's and con's of the pen, below.
Pro's:
- Fine nib is definitely a fine, more like extra fine!
- Lightweight
- Colorful, love the demonstrator models!
- Easy to use (for the most part)
Con's:
- Can be a bit scratchy
- It could have some hard starts after sitting for a while (like a couple days or so)
- Ink can get in between the insert and the cap. Goulet pens has a great video on how to take care of that issue and makes it really easy!
I love my Preras!! I have two--one demonstrator and one solid lime green one I got on sale at JetPens. The Japanese pen nibs are much finer than the European or western pens and I love that! I don't have the 54th Massachusetts ink so I can't say, but with the Japanese fine nibs you will notice the drier inks will skip and dry in the nib more. When I use the Pilot Iroshizuku inks (been buying samples from Goulets--LOL!) they are such a glorious fit that I am going to have to buy a bottle--if I can decide on a color. I can let them sit for a few days and not have much trouble at all with startup--just a quick little scribble. Lots of Diamine flow really well in a very fine nib, too--just depends on the brand and the color.
ReplyDeleteI am weird in that I never fill my pens by dunking them in the ink bottles. Just a neatnick plus clumsy--too messy for me. I use a syringe to fill all the time. And I don't have nib creep problems hardly ever. In fact, when I first heard about it I had no idea what people were talking about and I've had fountain pens for like four decades. Before I had a syringe I filled directly into the converter, wiped it off, and then put it in the pen. I used little glass finger cups from the beauty shop to hold the ink and moved it back and forth with a bigger syringe I got they used to feed baby birds--LOL! Us pen people, eh?
LOL. Glad you enjoyed the review! I will DEFINITEY have to try a different ink. Actually a couple more just came in the mail recently, so I will give it a shot. Maybe I need to try an ink sample from Pilot at Goulet pens. Might write better. Because right now, it is not my daily writer, not will it be if the performance seems to stay as it is.
ReplyDeleteI use a syringe 98% of the time to fill my pens as well. However, when I think I may have a tad bit drier ink (and I have the ability and volume of ink to dip the nib in) I will try to fill using the filling system itself. I will take your advice on trying a pilot ink and see how it performs. :) Thank you!