THE EMPIRE
As reviewed: Pilot MR3 – Sawtooth / Grey with converter and cartridge – $35 RRP
So, as you may know, I tend to do technology and games on the site. However, I’m also quite fond of fountain pens. I didn’t realise that this was in any way unusual for the most part, but as I’ve been getting on in my professional and personal life, I’ve been finding more and more people commenting on it, or just looking at me funny when they ask if they can borrow a pen and I give them a fountain pen because that’s what’s in my hand. There’s nothing wrong with a ball point, or any other kind of pen for that matter, but I’ve heard it said that a fountain pen is the best for writing with, and so I learned how to do that. It’s also lead to me acquiring a fairly substantial pen and ink collection over the years. I’m going to try and talk about these without being pretentious about it. Let me know how I do in the comments!
So, one of the more recent additions to my budding collection, and one that has been surprising to me for a number of reasons, is the Pilot MR3 Fountain Pen. I bought it when I was in Whitcoulls recently, mainly because I didn’t have one and I thought that it looked like a lot of pen for $35. I wasn’t wrong in that respect. I figure that this kind of pen, and this kind of money is a good place for people to begin if they’re curious about fountain pens and looking to pick up a starter.
The MR3 comes in a range of mostly bright colours, and the barrel and cap of the pen have a nice solid metallic feel to them. Turns out that’s because they’re made of brass. The section of the pen (the bit that houses the nib and the cartridge plugs into) is made of plastic, and the nib itself looks like it’s made out of steel, and may even be iridium dipped. It’s got some flexibility, but the line thickness doesn’t change much when applying more pressure with the pen. This ultimately makes the pen light in the hand, and whether or not you write with the cap posted (i.e. whether you put the cap on the pen when you’re writing, or hold it in your hand. If it’s on the pen, it’s posted), you’ll find that the balance of the pen in your hand isn’t dramatically impacted. It’s a very well constructed pen for the price.
Writing with this pen, it’s still surprising to me that it only costs $35. Ink flows well from either the converter or the Pilot-brand ink cartridges. Speaking of the converter, it’s a squeeze-type, instead of the piston-type that you would normally see on a Parker or Lamy pen. It works well and is easier to fill than a piston converter, but holds less ink. I bought one of their pens with a medium nib width, but I found that the lines it produced are actually more similar to a fine width nib. It does take a little getting used to, and you’ve got to have quite a light touch when you’re writing with it, but it produces clean, consistent lines on the paper, without drawing through too much ink. Generally it means that you don’t need to spend too much time worrying about ink drying / smudging on the page.
Scores:
Price – 5/5 – At $35 RRP, price isn’t going to be a barrier for anyone who’s looking to pick one of these up.
Construction – 3/5 – Use of metal in the barrel and cap is nice, but the plastics in the section may wear quickly, particularly in the thread that screws into the barrel. I also suspect that the squeeze converter may end up rupturing in the long term.
Ease-of-use – 3/5 – A solid feel to the pen when it’s together, and a simple refill mechanism if you’re using the converter make it pretty easy for day-to-day use. Proprietary cartridges make it a bit less versatile when compared to some other brands.
Writing – 4/5 – Lines flow well from the pen without pulling too much ink. A fine writing line is produced from the medium width nib which does mean that you need to have a light touch on the paper to stop the nib digging in at times.
Overall Score – 15/20 – The Pilot MR3 is a well constructed, easy to use pen that produces good lines, and has a staggeringly low price for what you get. If you’re thinking about picking up a fountain pen, this should be on your short list.
– Dave
Dave
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