Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen - White Tiger
A fantastic value from Pilot, the Metropolitan is a favorite first fountain pen. This white metal bodied pen has a glossy tiger-patterned accent band, silver trim, and a steel nib. It comes with a black Pilot ink cartridge and a squeeze converter to use with bottled ink, or you can upgrade to a Con-40 converter if you prefer that style.
The fountain pen comes packaged in a gift box.
Japanese nibs are usually ground finer than their Western counterparts; you can take a look at our Nib Nook to see writing comparisons.
Click here to shop all compatible Pilot ink cartridges.
- Condition
- New
- Brand
- Pilot
- Type
- Fountain Pens
- Color
- White
- Demonstrator
Whether or not the barrel of the pen is translucent, allowing you to see the ink and filling mechanism inside.
- No
- Body Material
- Lacquered metal
- Cap Type
How the cap is opened/closed from the barrel of the pen. Some common options include Snap-Cap, Screw-Cap, Magnetic Cap, or Capless (no cap).
- Snap-cap
- Compatible inks & refills
Which ink this pen will accept. Choices include bottled ink and various styles of pre-filled ink cartridges.
- Bottled ink, Proprietary Pilot ink cartridges
- Filling Mechanism
How the pen fills with ink. Click here to watch our video tutorial on common filling mechanisms.
- Cartridge, Converter
- Grip Material
- Resin
- Nib Size
- Fine, Medium
- Nib Color
- Silver
- Nib Material
- Steel
- Postable
Whether or not the cap fits securely onto the back of the barrel when open.
- Yes
- Retractable
Whether or not the nib/tip can retract into the body of the pen (usually for click or twist-open style pens).
- No
- Diameter - Body
- 13mm (0.5in)
- Diameter - Cap (without clip)
- 13mm (0.5in)
- Diameter - Cap (with clip)
- 15.8mm (0.6in)
- Diameter - Grip (mm)
Measured from the place most people choose to rest their fingers, which varies with each pen.
- 8.4mm
- Length - Body
The measurement from the back end of the barrel to the tip of the nib.
- 126mm (5in)
- Length - Cap
- 57mm (2.2in)
- Length - Nib
The measured length of the visible portion of the nib when it is installed in the pen, from grip to tip.
- 18mm (0.7in)
- Length - Overall (Closed)
- 138mm (5.4in)
- Length - Overall (Posted)
When the cap of the pen is posted onto the back of the pen body, this is the measurement of the entire pen including the nib.
- 153mm (6in)
- Weight - Body
If a converter is included with the pen, this weight is reflected in the total.
- 17g (0.6oz)
- Weight - Cap
- 9g (0.3oz)
- Weight - Overall (g)
- 26.0g
- Max Ink Capacity - Cartridge
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when using a cartridge.
- 1.10ml
- Max Ink Capacity - Converter
The maximum volume of ink that can fit in the pen when using a converter.
- 0.82ml
Customer Reviews
These are one of the best little fountain pens for the price...in any colour!
Was excited to try this pen and bought it after it was promoted as a knock around pen. I loved the look and the way the fine nib wrote. Very smooth. However, one day when unpacking my bag, it fell out (approximately 3 feet to the floor). The cap flew off, but the pen appeared fine. Then i noticed ink all over my fingers the next time i wrote. After disassembling and cleaning, I discovered that one of the seems in the grip section from the injection molding has failed.
I’m disappointed that a knock around pen did not survive one drop, so I can only give it a 3 star review.
I have had my eye on this pen for quite awhile. I already had a pilot vanishing point with a fine nib and wanted to try their steel fine. This is the smoothest fine steel nib I have ever used. Pen feels very solid without being too heavy. You can feel the seems on the grip section from the injection molding, but that doesn't bother me at this price point. I will be buying a few more of these as gifts.
This pen writes so smooth! Very easy to use! I got the medium nib and no hard starts! I think the White Tiger is the best looking of all the Metropolitans! Goulet Pens are a wonderful group of people to do business with!
I have used fountain pens all my life. Although I have expensive ones, the ones I love the best are the simple Pilot Metropolitan. I have many sets. This year I purchased them for my daughter and daughter-in-law to introduce them to the pleasure of writing with a "real" pen. They arrived quickly and beautifully packed. I've never had a bad experience purchasing from Goulet, which I've done for years. Many thanks.
FAQs about Fountain Pens
How do I fill a fountain pen with ink?
It depends on the pen's filling mechanism, which you can find in the Technical Specs section above.
Here's a quick definition of the most common filling mechanisms:
- Cartridge - A small, disposable, sealed plastic reservoir that holds fountain pen ink. These come pre-filled with ink, and typically you just push to insert them into place and you'll be ready to write! Check out our quick guide here.
- Converter - A detachable and refillable ink reservoir that allows you to use bottled ink in a cartridge-accepting pen. Typically you will install the converter into the grip section, dip the nib/feed into the ink, and twist or pull the converter knob to draw ink into the converter. Here's a video for how to fill a cartridge/converter pen using a LAMY pen as an example.
- Eyedropper - A pen that utilizes the entire barrel as a reservoir for ink. Ink is directly filled into the barrel, allowing for a high ink capacity. Here's a video on how to do it!
- Piston - A type of filling system that uses a retracting plunger inside a sealed tube to draw ink into a pen. They are typically either twist or push-operated. These pens cannot accept cartridges or a converter, and only fill from bottled ink.
- Vacuum - A push-style piston that uses pressure to fill the large pen body with ink. They seal the ink chamber when closed, making it ideal for flying without risk of leaking. Check out our video on how to use a vac filler here.
Check out more info on these filling mechanisms including a video on how to fill each one on our blog.
How do I clean a fountain pen?
It depends on the filling mechanism, but it mostly comes down to flushing it out with water, and sometimes a little bit of Pen Flush if the ink is really stuck.
It's a bit easier to show than to tell, so we've put together a few quick videos showing you the process:
How often do I need to clean my fountain pen?
We recommend a good cleaning every 2 weeks, and any time you change ink colors.
Water will usually do the trick, but we recommend you use our Goulet Pen Flush if the ink has been left in the pen for a while and could have dried up, or when you’re switching ink colors.
My pen won’t write! What do I do?
First things first... make sure you have ink in the pen! Be sure that the ink cartridge or converter is seated properly in the pen, and that you aren't out of ink.
We always recommend you give your pen a good cleaning first, using our Goulet Pen Flush, or a drop of dish soap in some water. New pens often have some machining oil residue left in the feed, so a good cleaning often does the trick first.
If that still doesn't work, try priming the feed. This consists of either dipping your pen nib and feed in ink, or forcing ink from the converter down into the feed.
If it’s still not working after that, please reach out to us so we can help!
What's your return policy?
You can submit a return request within 30 days of your order date. You can read all our Return Policies here.
To initiate a return, please submit a request at the Return Portal. Our Customer Care team might reach out to you for more information.
Please note we are unable to accept a return of any Namiki or Sailor Bespoke fountain pen for any reason once it has been used with ink. Please thoroughly inspect and dry test the pen before use.