Am I the only one who thinks $30 for a single fountain pen is a total ripoff for journaling?

I bought this fancy Pilot Metropolitan because everyone raves about them for bullet journals. Cost me $28 with tax. The ink smeared all over my monthly spread. My cheap 50 cent Bic ballpoint works better and never bleeds through cheap notebook paper. I don't get the hype. Has anyone else found a good pen under $5 that actually works with standard notebooks?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.mark2mo ago

Yeah, I totally get the frustration with smearing on a "nice" pen. I read somewhere that Pilot Metros can be hit or miss with certain inks on cheaper paper. For under five bucks, try a Pentel RSVP or a Uniball Signo 207, both are solid and don't bleed on my grocery store notebooks.

the_julia2mo ago

Plot twist: now my grocery notebook is a $5 pen tester kit.

cameron_chen1mo ago

Gotta love when your "pen collection" turns into a "paper compatibility checker" (and half the pens fail). At this rate, my grocery list is more educated than I am about ink chemistry.