Pilot Explorer Fountain Pen - Black Matte

A notebook, a quiet desk, and a pen that keeps things simple. The Pilot Explorer in Black Matte pairs a matte black cap and barrel with black accents and a smoky translucent grip. It is an understated finish for daily notes, journal pages, and plans you would rather put on paper.

The Pilot Explorer is one of those “quietly perfect” (and in my personal opinion, underrated) starter fountain pens: lightweight, comfortable, and powered by Pilot’s famously smooth stainless-steel nib (the same general nib family Pilot uses across several of their beginner favorites). It has a quick snap cap for grab-and-go notes, a clean modern look, and a grip that works for most hand positions—so it’s the kind of pen you can toss in a bag, take to work or class, and just write without fuss.

It’s a cartridge/converter pen that uses Pilot’s proprietary cartridges and converters, and it’s compatible with both the smaller CON-40 twist converter and the higher-capacity CON-70 push-button converter (both sold separately) if you want more ink on board.

If you’re newer to the hobby, this is also a great “first bottled-ink pen” because it cleans easily and behaves well with a wide range of inks. It's also much lighter and much cheaper than the metropolitan, while sporting the same nib. One practical tip: Pilot Fine tends to run on the finer side compared to many Western brands (great for writing on cheaper paper) while Medium gives you a smoother, wetter line that shows off ink properties like shading and sheen a bit more.