Brand New Vanishing Point Owner!

[trdsf]

Okay, I really didn't have the spare cash to spend, but Robert Mason is going out of business, and they had one solitary VP left, and it was 30% off. And came with the converter, and is a fine point. So now I have a VP. Yay! It's pale red with black trim; not quite pink, just pale red. I think it's what they call Copper Red.

 

Gotta say, I love the weight of it in my hand. It's a great feeling pen.

 

So what should I feed it first? Will it handle Diamine's Shimmertastic inks without corking up? Should it be fed Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku?

 

Actually, I think I'll feed it some De Atramentis Johann Sebastian Bach first. I've been looking for a pen I should put that in. Or the Organics Studio Uranium. No, the De Atramentis.

 

Aaargh! Can't decide!

 

But it is a lovely pen regardless.

 

And I ended up going with Organics Studio Oscar's Copper, which matches the pen's color quite well.

[Moonshae]

Welcome!

 

I have some shimmery ink in one of my VPs and it doesn't have any clogging issues, but it's a M nib. If it clogs, just flush it and go with something wetter. Enjoy the pen, they're great writers.

[trdsf]

I have so noticed already. Such a gloriously smooth nib. I think this has the makings of a regular pocket pal. And while I usually don't like red, this one is growing on me.

[ManofKent]

Enjoy your new acquisition. My vanishing point was the first pen I paid over £100 for and I've never regretted it. Such a reliable smooth writer.

[Driften]

Congrats, I like my M nib VP.

[Shaporama]

My VP is now my every day carry. I take lots of notes as I work and it writes so smoothly, and fast and never skips. I feed it Aurora blue every day and always keep a half dozen Pilot cartridges in my bag for those times when I travel. Love those Japanese fine points!

[trdsf]

Well, it's going to go in to the office with me in the morning. The more I write with it, the more I like it. The nib requires nothing, it feels perfectly tuned already.

[FOUR X FOUR]

Pics or it doesn't exist 😀

[FlyFast]

Now you know why they are so popular. It is incredible how smooth Pilot can make a fine nib. I like mine so much that I have three (two old faceted and one modern) and another one (Galaxy Raden stub) on the way!

[AndrewPracticing]

Congratulations. I bought my VP used (orange with black trim, fine point) and enjoy it. Very handy for intermittent brief notes and such.

[trdsf]

Pics or it doesn't exist

It exists.

 

[Calabria]

Oooooh.

 

I just got my first VP (matte black F) last week and love it. Agreed - how does Pilot make that kind of nib?

 

Question: I've noticed that there's ink on the nib collar when I fill the pen (con-50). Is that normal? Should it be prevented? How often do you clean the internal trap door, and how?

 

Also, the con-50 does not impress me. It traps some air in it which reduces the already small capacity. Solutions?

 

Didn't want to hijack the thread, but it seems appropriate to ask here -

 

I love that motorcycle red look!

[MsRedpen]

Well, it's going to go in to the office with me in the morning. The more I write with it, the more I like it. The nib requires nothing, it feels perfectly tuned already.

Welcome to the "VP office workhorse pen club"!

Which inks you choose?

 

The ease of flushing and filling the nib unit is superb and the feed dries super fast (if you tend to change the inks frequently).

 

I love the red-and-black finish you choose.

 

@calabria - after a year where my VP has seen numerous inks, I even did not think that cleaning the trap door would be needed. Loope check this morning showed no ink residues around it.

CON-50 does not have huge capacity compared to Pilot cartridge, especially when you see the metal insert in a converter; syringe filling might be your solution, if you see that filling through nib unit leaves too much air trapped. How do you fill your VP?

[Calabria]

Ms Redpen -

I just noticed some ink on the nib collar where it comes into contact with the internal mechanism. Ok, maybe I'm being too fussy here. I'll just flush it with water once a year.

 

I fill it from the bottle - Pilot Iroshizuko Shin-Kai. I love deep and stormy blue blacks! I'll probably get some Pilot blue black cartridges as back up!

[Driften]

Oooooh.

 

I just got my first VP (matte black F) last week and love it. Agreed - how does Pilot make that kind of nib?

 

Question: I've noticed that there's ink on the nib collar when I fill the pen (con-50). Is that normal? Should it be prevented? How often do you clean the internal trap door, and how?

 

Also, the con-50 does not impress me. It traps some air in it which reduces the already small capacity. Solutions?

 

Didn't want to hijack the thread, but it seems appropriate to ask here -

 

I love that motorcycle red look!

 

 

My trap door normally does not need cleaned. My VP's are old enough that I have the old model con-50's with out the metal part and they are not very good. Ink sticks to the walls of the converter especially back next to the piston. The metal part should help with that. That said the trick to a full fill is to hold the pen nib up (with a rag handy or over a cleanable surface) and raise the piston up expelling the air then put back into the bottle and finish the fill.

 

In any case if you want the most capacity syringe fill an empty cartridge or use the con-20 squeeze converter that holds almost the same amount of ink as a cartridge. The one nice thing about using a cartridge is you can pull off the metal protector and check your ink level. None of the converters will let you see how much ink you have in a VP with out removing the converter.

[Calabria]

That said the trick to a full fill is to hold the pen nib up (with a rag handy or over a cleanable surface) and raise the piston up expelling the air then put back into the bottle and finish the fill.

Aha. That makes sense. Thank you!

[trdsf]

Welcome to the "VP office workhorse pen club"!

Which inks you choose?

 

...

 

I love the red-and-black finish you choose.

 

....

 

I've got Organic Studios Oscar's Copper in it right now, but that will probably change (when I run through it all) to J. Herbin Orange Indien. But I am notoriously fickle about my ink colors, so who knows what I'll put in it next.

 

I didn't really choose the color (I think officially it's 'Red Copper'); it was quite literally the very last one the store had. They closed permanently yesterday.

[AL01]

Is the VP a heavy pen?

 

Can you write on and on and on and on and on with it?

[Drawing61]

As you can tell by previous posts VPs are popular pens and justifiably so. For many, including me, they were the introduction into the fountain pen world. I carry one with me everyday. To me they are not a heavy pen and I have written long letters and made many sketches without feeling they were burdensome. They are great writers with good ink reserve.

 

Caveat:

 

To fall in love with a Vanishing Point is a symptom you are entering Fountain Pen Obsession which is not a bad thing except for your wallet.

[AL01]

Thanks. I will give 'em a try.

 

I loooooove the faceted ones.

 

That's a faraway dream!

 

Ya know how it is.