First Impressions (9/10)
A nice, convenient pen. Maybe not the most elegant or the most comfortable pen in the world, but it's ease of use is wonderful. The lack of a cap has made it practical to use a nice FP when it was formerly impractical.

Appearance (10/10)
It has a unique look to it, for sure. I went with a Blue Carbonesque model with Rhodium trim. I wanted something casual, and this looks good with jeans or business casual dress. Not so flashy that it screams "I cost a lot, steal me!" Yet it's flashy enough that I frequently get compliments after business meetings on the pen. Even from folks who typically prefer the classic black & gold blocky looking pens.

Design/Size/Weight (8/10)
Let's get this out of the way now...yes the clip can be uncomfortable. The older versions dealt with the issue a little better. The clip will probably be a make-it or break-it for most people. It really depends on your hand size and how you grip your pens. The ergonomics aren't the best, mostly because I hold the pen low, and my fingertips are half on the body, half on the big hunk of steel at the nib end. This tends to be uncomfortable for extended writing, but great for quick notes. The length is great! Pen is a little on the heavy side, but not excessively. Again, I don't use this pen for extended writing, but I don't foresee any weight-related fatigue if I were to. I like a pen with some heft!! A retractable, gold-nibbed fountain pen.....this is amazing stuff!!

Nib (9/10)
A little skippy on quick right to left's...other than that...amazing. Good, wet flow. A true medium line from the 14K medium nib. Great on just about any paper. Nearly zero tooth to speak of. Yes, it squeaks a little out of the box (the Broads are even worse), but that does work out eventually. This nib likes every ink I've tried in it (several brands and colors). Writes like a dream!! For around $100 you can get one like-new to new on the Marketplace (sometimes less), and for less than $50 you can get complete nib-units in the other two sizes that you didn't get with the pen. A complete kit for $150. Not bad, eh? ;-)

Filling System (6/10)
It's a C/C. I could do without a C/C, but since that's what this pen has, I don't have much choice, do I? The converter is tiny, and the cartridges aren't much better. And there's NO ink window, even with the barrel off! There's a tiny little clear spot, and if you hold the pen sideways you may get a rough idea of your ink level, but that isn't always accurate. This is my one and only real complaint on this pen.

Cost and Value (8/10)
I paid $125 new. I knew I could get it slightly cheaper online, but I wanted it when I wanted it, and so I had to pay the price. The best price I knew of for a new VP at that time was $110, so I figured at $110 + $5 for shipping, I only paid $10 for the luxury of having it NOW. Great pen for the money. $75-ish used and $115 new is a fair price for what you get, in my estimation. YMMV, of course.

Conclusion (50/60)
Overall, this pen is a solid value. Great for quick notes. No cap to fumble with, easy one handed operation from a FP...how can you beat that? :-) I would say this is not one of my favorite pens, but it is a pen I don't want to be without. Strange, isn't it? It certainly fulfills a niche for me, though. And so it must stay.

~~King

Excellent review. Thanks a lot for making the effort.

I have a couple of these, but in solid colours with gold trim. Certainly not my first choice, but the carbonesques were going for more that the £40 ($80) that I was willing to spend.

Mine are both broad, although I have a medium too. The original broad skipped a lot on Rhodia pads, but the nib unit went back to the manufacturer for exchange and t is altogether better now.

The aerometric style filler is much better than the screw converter. I don't know whether it holds more or one worries less because there is no hope of seeing the ink level!

Mike,

Primo job on the review. One of these days I plan on springing for one of these pens. I'm trying to convince my wife she needs one.

Blessings.
Dave

Great review!

The thing that I really like about this pen is the "No Way" comment I invariably get when the nib pops out in the manner of a ballpoint.

Nice review, thank you.

I've had my VP for 3 days, I'm happy enough that I bought another from the FPN market.

I took one look at the converter that came with my new pen and said, "no way." I flushed out the cartridge that came with it, and refilled with my own ink. I'll carry an extra cartridge for the time when it decides to run out if I'm not near the ink bottle.

I thought I'd have a problem with the clip placement, as I like a lower grip as well. However, I'm finding it doesn't bother me at all. The pen is one of my heavier pens, but I'm doing well with it and it is danged convenient not to have to cap and uncap.

I currently have Noodler's Polar Blue in the pen. So far (knock on wood), there isn't any nib creep. I plan to pick up some car wax, though, and follow through on HDoug's suggestion and wax the metals just above the nib to keep inks away from the rest of the workings, just in case.


edited my lousy spelling.

Hell, I could have written that myself........




What's the problem with the converter?

Very nice review--thanks!

I wish Pilot/Namiki would come out with more inspired Decimo models. For example, if they had the same versions in Decimo as for their regular VP line-up, such as the Carbonesque, the Raden, and other special colors, I would go for them in Decimo each time, as I just don't feel the clip at all on that smaller, thinner pen.

They don't hold a lot of ink.

Well...I sold this pen. The whole time I was flushing it, wiping it down, and packing it, I kept wanting to back out...lol. Crazy. I knew it would sit unused, though, and another FPNer wanted one, so...

I'll probably end up with another one eventually...and it'll probably sit unused too. Lol. When they come out with a clipless-capless, I'm all over it! (But that darn converter will still be too small! Lol.)

~~King

I thought the squeaky nibs were just me. That squeaking annoyed the h*** out of me.

I have the VP from their 2007 limited edition in baby blue. I like the handling ease and the writing is nice and smooth. I had to get used to the clip positioning but it's all right now.

I get this reaction with my MB Boheme.

But then I also have a nine-year-boy appear in a band uniform who plays the trumpet -- "Da da-da daaaaa!" -- whenever I take the pen out. So it's kindv hard to tell what folks are reacting to.






The boy scrams right after. Duh.

Just got a Blue Carbonesque F today to add to my Black M. They both just write like a dream. It's really spoiled me for everything else.

Nice review--thanks for contributing.

About the ink capacity, I wouldn't say it's a very large difference. I wonder if there's some kind of CC rating somewhere. Anyway, I find the VP to be more of a convenience pen, great as a daily stand-by. If intended for long writing, go with a cartridge and just syringe refill it. It's about average capacity, plus you get an ink window because it is translucent.

One day I hope to make a project of creating an after market cartridge that will fully utilize the barrel, increasing ink capacity above average. Making a squeeze bladder would be more time consuming/complicated.