First Impressions (5/5)
The first time I saw the Raden VP was in the Mont Blanc store at the Pittsburgh International Airport. I had some time before a flight and went into the shop. There was a “glittery” VP, and I was hooked. The clerk asked if I wanted to test a VP and I said ‘yes’. The clip worked for me and I asked the price. The clerk gave an answer and I told her I would take the one with the sparkles. She informed me it actually cost 3x as much as the others because it was raden. I thanked her for her time and went on my way, unsure if she was honest or thought she had a live one on the line. Well, she was honest, but I still couldn’t bring myself to pay full retail for this pen. Time passed, I bought and sold pens, and kept coming back to wanting a Raden VP. Enter Pam Braun. I emailed Pam and asked about cost. She quoted me the best price I had seen, so I sold a bunch to finance it and placed my order.

Appearance (5/5)
The Raden is amazing. There is such depth to the abalone shell, and the lacquer is flawless. I often find myself pausing while journaling just to watch the different layers of abalone shell catch the light. While I think the finish is amazing, it doesn’t scream “look at me, I’m expensive” to a non pen person. I have gotten more comments about the “fancy” Wing Sung 237 in brown celluloid than about the raden VP. All the better, it would be much easier to replace a $15 Wing Sung, than the Raden VP.

whole pen, camera flash used


center band showing the abalone shells


Design/Size/Weight (5/5)
The Vanishing Point pens are a bit hefty, and this is no exception. In my hand this is not a big issue, but I can imagine it not being comfortable for extended sessions for someone with small hands or for someone who prefers a lighter pen. Before I held my first VP, I had the mental image of a small pen (probably to go along with the small nib); I could not have been more wrong. Closed the pen is about 142mm, and open it is about 140mm. (for those who dislike the metric system, or just think better in inches that is about 5.6 inches), which is good sized.

Nib (5/5)
The nib is the soul of a fountain pen. So many people have written it, but it is so true. My pen has both a fine nib. The fine nib really has reset my standard for how smooth a fine nib can feel, not to mention this actually lays down more of an extra fine line. Namiki really seems to have rock solid quality control on their nibs.
I also enjoy the nib set up because for $20-$55 you can have one pen that writes in different ways. Swapping the nibs is simple, open the pen, take out the assembly and replace it with something else. When you factor in the nibs are 14k Gold, it is almost as if Namiki is giving them away.

writing sample on Rhodia 5x5 pad


Filling System (4/5)
Cartridge or Converter, nothing exciting, both work, the cartridge seems to hold more ink than the converter, but neither have what I would consider a large ink capacity. I’ve only used the cartridges so far (the Namiki Blue that came with the pen). I’ve ordered a box of blue-black and am looking forward to trying this color. I’ve noticed the Namiki ink has no nib creep, so I’ve decided to stay with the colors that have shown some water resistance.

Cost and Value (5/5)
Purchased from Pam at Oscar Braun Pens. Pam has a great price, and great selection. I would have to say at MSRP, the pen is probably a fair value, maybe a good value. However, at below MSRP, the pen is, in my opinion, a great value. Incredible workmanship and engineering, as well as artistic skill go into these pens.

Conclusion (29 .5/30)
Even at reduced price this is, by far, my most expensive pen. I believe it scores well, and writes like I would expect an expensive pen to write. When you factor in the ability to change nib size, this really is an excellent pen. Sure the pen has issues, the ink capacity is small, the clip is in a funky place (apparently it either works for you or it doesn’t), but this is a pen I enjoy taking from the pen case and using.

Pam does wonders to the price and the VP is a great pen to use, but the Raden just does not do it for me, maybe I am a bit boring or conservative but I like my kasuri!

Ooooo! What a beauty! Thanks for the review and congratulations.

Excellent choice, French!! And from a great seller!

I have pens that I buy,sell & trade, and others that I will own forever -- the Raden is one I will own forever! It's just the most BEAUTIFUL pen in the world! I've put a Deb Kinney 1.0 cursive italic nib in it and, when loaded with PR Tanzanite, it's the perfect writing experience. I got mine from Pam Braun as well.

Thanks for a good review of a wonderful pen! HP

Funny, that's how I feel too. The raden is sparkly, but it's still surrounded by a black pen.

The Raden VP is pretty and the VP, it goes without saying, is a super pen. But...although I own 4 VPs, I can't pull the trigger on this one. I'm glad you're enjoying it. And you're right, the VP does make a complete writing system for short money by changing nib units. I've often wondered why a kit was never offered with maybe 3 different units included.

Those are both great points, and I completely understand them, however, I happen to like black pens

Now, when I have a black pen with some sparkly bits...

I think the reason I only have one VP is because I bought the Raden version. Originally I purchased a black carbonesque (to check if the nib placement worked for me, before shelling out the money for the Raden), and realized I could easily make an entire collection of VPs. In order to save space in my pen case, I decided to sell the carbonesque and buy the model I really wanted. That being said, if the appearance doesn't do it for you, the pen is in no way worth the cost. I like it, but then again, I also used to like the Windows 3.1 starfield screen saver

french

Hi French,

Great review of a beautiful pen! The inexpensive availability of nib units is a huge plus, I'm sure!

Good to see you around again, my friend.

Take care,
Michael

It's a bee-uuu-tiii, and that's that! No more raining on our pa-RADEN !!! HP

that was clever. Thank you HP.

french

ps. I appreciate all the divergent opinions, as long as we don't start debating what a currently controversial ink may or may not do to the urushi lacquer

Nice review. I have this pen, love it and could not agree more!

Add one more to the salivating with longing column. I've always looked at the raden admiringly, and one rainy day when my spirits need lifting, I am going get one. And thanks for the nice review.

Here's a nice picture -- don't tell me this isn't good-looking!

I think that's the point. There is little value in arguing over a matter of taste, but the reason why it is so attractive to many people is because the bits of shell, which are dense and bright in the center, disappear into the blackness as one moves toward the edges. It is reminiscent of looking at a star cluster through a telescope. The effect would be lost entirely if it had a bright background color. I don't have any particular interest in black pens in general, but to say that "it's still surrounded by a black pen" is to miss the point entirely.

See, if it had a dark blue background, I'd buy it. But black? No.

Really? The black turns you off that much? Have you seen it first hand yet, Deirdre?



I find the black to be a nice choice, because it doesn't compete with any of the abalone shell fragment colors. Also, to me it gives the illusion of a cosmic scene, star fragments spread across the dark cosmos.

One key benefit is that Namiki is providing an urushi pen with raden treatment in a more affordable price range--to get an urushi pen with raden treatment elsewhere, you'd be faced with a fully hand made urushi pen for a much higher cost (you have to head towards $300-$500 territory at least).

Those are some beautiful photos, that's for sure. Is the raden-barrel version otherwise identical to other Namiki VPs? Same mechanics, materials, etc.?

It's branded Namiki, but it is the same as the Pilot Vanishing Point model that started in 1999. The only difference is the raden treatment--everything else is the same. See Carmen Rivera's VP pen history.

Yes and yes. Despite my collecting marine-themed pens, and this being one, it's not one I would buy.

Ah, I see now. I should've figured that one out (the marine theme). Speaking of the theme, what's the most outrageous pen you have based on it?

The one in my avatar: Ancora Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Mine's blue, but you can see from this red one that it's a fancy schmancy pen:

Those last few pics, really show off the Raden finish, but Like Deirdre, this color just doesn't do it for me. IMHO, the orange LE is much prettier. The color just pops. And filled w/ Diamine Orange--very nice indeed.

I was about to ask what is marine-themed about the Raden but then I realised... sea shells!

Yep, about as marine-themed as it gets.

Time to write a letter to Pilot, asking them to do a Decimo Raden. And mixed in with the urushi would be a frothy dark blue shimmer surrounding the abalone shell fragments, giving a sense of the sea. What do you think?

Sounds good! I'm hoping for a Black decimo with a pearl finish. But either one of them is fine!

As the owner of a Vanishing Point I have to say that the Raden does look beautiful. It's a lot of money but worth every penny just for the hours of fun you could have staring at all those colours. I think the comparison with a star cluster is a valid one; it's just like looking at the Pleiades or the Beehive. Or through a kaleidoscope.

Now a raden Decimo might just tempt me. Wonder if they ever will do one? I'd also like the Decimo in orange.

Oh my, orange over Raden? You are being facetious right? I would put orange at the very bottom of the list.

I don't doubt that you're being serious. This just shows how useless it is to argue over a matter of taste and how much tastes differ when taken on an individual basis. You say that orange is "much prettier" than my favorite design, and I say orange is one of the most dreadful of them all. I would guess that most people like Raden over orange, but there is no truth in the matter of which is the better design.

I bought an Orange VP LE, and never bought a Raden one. So I'm right there with Tony.

It's quite a beautiful orange, ever so slightly sparkly. Ethernautrix now has that pen.

A few more shots of my Raden, taken at the beach. I didn't have a light diffuser to tone down the harshness of the sunlight, but the abalone shells still look nicely pronounced.







I should duly note that the pen pouch is courtesy of Phthalo -- she hand made it!