I decided to pick up a VP at the NY/NJ Pen Show. Why didn't I buy one sooner? Its got a remarkably smooth nib, and I love to play with the retractable mechanism. I think I've found the perfect pen

Congrats!

The VP is my favorite carry for the office. True one-handed use.

I bought a 0.9 mm cursive italic nib unit from Nibmeister Binder to give me the line width variation I like.

Great pen.

Did you put it down?

Haha yes i did But i can't wait to pick it up again.

I hear ya. I read a lot about the VP, but never really had any seeds of desire planted. I picked one up a whim and was really surprised at how sturdy the click mechanism was. Certainly more robust than the most expensive retractable ball point that I have handled.

Good going, JD--who'd you buy it from and what color/nib?

At first I didn't care for the clip placement, but now I've come to appreciate it. Once you get a Raden model, you can't keep it out of your daily writer rotation. And even worse, if you get a Binderized nib.

Really, if I had to choose just one pen over any other as my one writing instrument, it would be the VP. Despite some of the more exotic pens Pilot dreamed up, I still feel the Capless/Vanishing Point is their winning design.

Congrats.

I too just received my purple LE VP from nibs, with a fine cursive italic nib. I wasn't actually sure if I was going to like it and can't believe how good it is to write with. My only confusion is with the filling. I have a converter and can't seem to tell when it's full. But that aside, I'm with you - just looking for an excuse to write!

As mentioned in my first post I was at the NY/NJ Pen show. FPH gave everyone a $10 gift card upon entrance so I went with them. They had a sale for $99, so with the gift card it was $89. I picked up a Blue Carbonesque. Its really pretty and I'm more than satisfied.

Whats the deal with the Raden model though? It looks really pretty, but why is it so much more expensive?

I just picked one up in Marketplace, and love the one-handed operation for note taking. The pen (Guppy Mouth, as I have named it) is a little funky looking; you have to accept the function drives form, but it has quickly become a favorite. The clip looks weird between my fingers, but doesn't interfere with the way I grip a pen.

As to the converter, the design gives the pen a very long feed. Drawing ink up that long feed means there is more headspace than usual at the top of the converter. The converter is so shrouded in the pen that the tiny "window" is near useless. There is a separate thread on the subject. It seems to advocate:
*Refilling cartridges or just using cartridges
*The squeeze converter may hold more than the piston converter
I can't say either suggestion appeals to me; however, I may look for a squeeze converter.

Ah, I didn't spend any time at the FPH table--nice sale! The blue carbonesque (Kasuri) is very attractive--good choice.

The Raden model is a hand finished urushi lacquer pen embedded with abalone shell fragments in a gradient pattern. That's why it is much more expensive, but it's actually quite reasonable considering the work that went into it. Most urushi pens using abalone shell fragments cost anywhere between 2-3 times the price of the Raden.

Oh really. Thats interesting. I guess I have a new pen to go onto my wish list

Congrats! I have found that they only get better with time.

Which nib did you end up going with? I just ordered a VP in Medium based on everyone saying the Medium is a bit skinnier than a normal Medium.

I bought a medium based on the popular wisdom that a Japanese nib would be finer than its western counterpart. Turns out I was wrong. Much to my chagrin, my VP medium is as medium as they come. In any event, I couldn't get used to the pen at all, so it's now for sale on the Used, Demo and Vintage section of my website.

Hmm, good info to know. I have a few mediums that I don't hate so maybe it'll be ok. Or maybe I should learn to write larger? :-D

I have the "M" 18K from the 2007 LE, but I've never used it. I purchased a "F" from Binder which is now in the pen. Now, I've nearly decided to send it of to have the 18k M ground to a CI. Strange that after going so long writing with nothing but XF and XXF, CI's are starting to appeal to me!

Why not buy the $30 internal nib exchange thingie--whatever it's called :-) But you know...

If the only issue is the nib, the "inside portion" of the pen can be replaced for about $25 on eBay. Some people order spares in other sizes just to have them available. If you can't get used to the whole pen, selling is the way to go. But I agree, the medium is remarkably medium. Supposedly the fine is finer than a Western fine, but medium and broad are about the same as Western.

Or possibly less than that from http://oscarbraunpens.com

I feel its a true medium...maybe a little finer. For comparison, my Pelikan medium is a lot broader than the VP (but then again Pelikan is supposed to be a bit broader).

Hmm. My experience with a VP was very similar to that of Sailor--a very nice nib, and almost a full step finer than western nibs. James, I wonder if your VP experience was an outlier (or if mine was).

Sadly, I parted with my VP after about two months--I couldn't find a way to accommodate that darn clip. I loved the pen, but couldn't use it. Alas.