Product Review: Pilot Petit 1 Fine Nib Blue Black Ink

I have been playing with fountain pens since I picked up a Varsity pen at Olyphant Art Supply in Olympia, WA.  I like the way fountain pens look when I am journaling. I also like the way I feel particularly sophisticated when I use a fountain pen.

The Pilot Petit 1 is part of a collection that includes fountain, sign, and brush pens in eight colors. I chose the blue-black because I enjoy having unique pen colors for mundane tasks, but find that for some reason, the grown up world does not look upon purple as an appropriate choice of ink.

The pen is small and compact, and refillable.  I liked the blue black ink, as it was dark, but with a cool greyish feel that would look good on manila or antique paper.

The nib is sturdy, and it glides nicely over paper.  The pen itself is light, and has a clear body that allows you to see how much ink is left in the cartridge.  There is minimal bleed through and the Pilot Petit does well with both larger and smaller print.

The ink is advertised to be smudge free, but I am clumsy and managed to smudge the ink on the test page twice, so if you are a left-handed writer, this may pose a problem for you.

Pros:
Refillable
Clear Body
Light
Under $4

Cons:
Ink smudged in my test
Slight bleed through

Overall, I rate this a 3/5, and would use this for general writing, or journaling.