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Pilot Vanishing Point Nib: What's The Point Of Vanishing?


vam272

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May be a naive question, but what's so special about a vanishing point, other than it is retractable? Is that much of an advantage?

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.... You tell me ;)

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If you are in a meeting and there is a break where you don't have to take notes rather than having a cap to find and replace to keep the nib from drying out simply give a click. It is easier to click than to pick up the cap and put it on the pen perhaps turning it three times. I have a Pilot VP and find it very convenient, it starts every time, and is a smooth writer. I have heard some complaints about the clip being on the wrong end. I find that with the thumb on one side and the forefinger on the other it helps orient the nib and may take getting used to, but I find it a comfortable pen to write with. it is a well made pen and I would highly recommend it.

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I've been using a Pilot VP for a few months now. It's a pen that I carry with me everyday. It's super convenient for taking quick notes. It's pretty comfortable to use for a long period of time too. I personally think that the fine nib (since it's a Japanese nib) is a little too fine for my taste and I might be getting a medium nib soon. I'd recommend it.

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linearM said it very well.

 

Also, when I am out and about and need to write something down while standing (like writing a check, a note, etc.), it is so nice not to have to fool with a cap. I just pluck the pen out of my pocket, click, and write; click, and back in my pocket. I nearly ruined a brand new Lamy 2000 trying to fumble with its cap and a check book at the same time. Dropped the pen on the floor. Fortunately only bent one tine by a several thousands, but aligning the tines turned it from a F to a M nib. Could have ruined the nib. It has never been dropped since!!!

 

At work it was convenient to take notes while talking on the phone as I was holding the phone with one hand and writing with the other hand. A click cap could be removed with one hand, but my screw cap pens can't. Same at home, taking notes while talking on the phone.

 

The nibs are fantastic writers, just remember that the F and EF are much finer than many are used to. I have a EF, F, 2 M's, and a B nib. All write perfectly, never skip, never dry, just wonderful nibs. Note the B is quite wet and broad so don't expect a Pilot VP B to be equivalent to a Lamy or other European M nib, it is wider.

 

Been using one since 1999 daily. Got the 2014 LE Copper pen last Fall. Love them both, carry and use them every day.

Eschew Sesquipedalian Obfuscation

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Probably the thing I like best about it for meetings is that most people do not recognize its a fountain pen, and so you do not have to go thru the usual "is that an ink/fountain pen?" "why do you use that kind of pen?" "hey get a load of so and so, look at the pen he's using" etc. --> you can just use your pen and fly under the radar especially with the matte black "stealth" version.

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Besides the convenience, the 18k nib is excellent. For a number of people on the FPN, the VP is their everyday writer. The reason that mine stays in a drawer most of the time is that it is weighted heavily toward the point. While the balance may be appealing to some people, for me it makes the pen usable only for brief notes.

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A little addition to what linearM and some of the other posters have said ... The Pilot Vanishing Point Pens don't just retract the nib. If you look closely at one, there is a little trap door built inside of the tip of the the pen. When the nib is retracted, the trap door closes and, just like a conventional pen cap, it prevents the nib from drying out. So with the Pilot VP you can "cap" and uncap your pen with a quick click of the button. I have several of these pens and, as mentioned, they're reliable writers, easy to carry in one's pocket, and there is no better fountain pen for meetings in which one may need to take intermittent notes.

Edited by PatientType
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The function of it is the point of the Pilot Vanishing Point. Use a friction cap ballpoint, then use a screw cap ballpoint, then a rotating type ballpoint, then a click type ballpoint (equivalent to the Pilot Vanishing Point in function). I think you'll get the reason why the Pilot Vanishing Point is used.

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It is my traveling companion. Clip it in a pocket, no worry about the cap, plus I like the nib.

Love all, trust a few, do harm to none. Shakespeare

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I'm a nurse. I need to pull a pen out and start writing instantly when taking orders from doctors or receiving a report. I don't have time to waste unscrewing caps or for slow starters. Pilot VPs fit the bill perfectly.

"In this world... you must be oh, so smart, or oh, so pleasant. Well for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant."

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To be just as convenient and as fast and clickable as a ballpoint pen - except - that it is a fountain pen with a smooth writing platinum (or gold?) nib and is refillable either with a cartridge or from the vast selection of bottled inks. Very cool and a triumph of engineering.

 

I bought a broad nib so I could send it to a nibmeister for a re-grind to a cursive italic. It is one of the best writers I have.

Edited by Maurizio

The prizes of life are never to be had without trouble - Horace
Kind words do not cost much, yet they accomplish much - Pascal

You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream - C.S. Lewis

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Agree with everyone's comments - great daily writer - but I prefer the Decimo - slimmer version of the VP that is available in Japan and at jetpens.com. The VP and Decimo use the same nib assembly and are interchangable.

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Agree with everyone's comments - great daily writer - but I prefer the Decimo - slimmer version of the VP that is available in Japan and at jetpens.com. The VP and Decimo use the same nib assembly and are interchangable.

You just made may day! have small hands and the vp is too big for me, but I love the concept!

So space and time are linked together. As we are looking across space, we are looking back in time. The further and further away those stars are the further back in time you are looking. Now you are seeing a star that is say six thousand years ago. Imagine somebody at that star looking at us They would be seeing us as we were six thousand years ago. Which of those two is now? - Alan Parsons Project The Time Machine - Temporalia (Paraphrased)

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  • 1 year later...

It's super amazingly over the top convenient. Like if it broke I'd probably just go back to using ball points at work instead of my other daily carry fountain pens until I could afford a new VP.

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Probably the thing I like best about it for meetings is that most people do not recognize its a fountain pen, and so you do not have to go thru the usual "is that an ink/fountain pen?" "why do you use that kind of pen?" "hey get a load of so and so, look at the pen he's using" etc. --> you can just use your pen and fly under the radar especially with the matte black "stealth" version.

Isn't that the worst? Although at least to my face most of my co-workers are either interested or complimentary. But either way sometimes you just want to make a note without some going "Wait a sec.. lemme see that pen again?". And then the dreaded "Can I try?".

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