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I Have Committed A Great Sin: Bought A Pilot Vanishing Point


Sallent

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Sitting in my office awaiting the package. Hurry up USPS!

Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.

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There is a good chance that OP will come to regret the purchase because he might end up using the VP so much that his other pens languish. More seriously, the Fine nib goes on forever...in fact, a bigger converter might become a PIA when you get tired of the same ink week after week. The Broad nibs otoh guzzle ink like OP does rum :-) so the converter add-on will be useful.

 

What a coincidence...I came to FPN intending to whine about a fp purchase I made a few minutes ago and see this thread that expresses a similar sentiment...

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It has arrived. Already inked it and it writes extremely well. Despite being an XF and putting extremely thin lines on paper, the nib glides on the paper and there is no skipping or any other issues at all. It's perfect!

 

Here is a picture I took of the pen a few minutes ago before I inked it,

 

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h206/sallentlaw/PilotVP_zpsa52fb059.jpg

Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.

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The black and rhodium is a very attractive pen! I hope you continue to like it. I'm considering one myself.

 

Agreed! Enjoy, Sallent.

 

I hope to hear your thoughts after further use. This pen in on my wish list, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to buy it or a Custom 92...I can't do both right now.

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Agreed! Enjoy, Sallent.

 

I hope to hear your thoughts after further use. This pen in on my wish list, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to buy it or a Custom 92...I can't do both right now.

I happen to own both. The Custom 92 is like a Super TWSBI 580, with a better nib (and made out of gold), better piston filler mechanism, better materials, better design (more balanced and designed to post well) and better fit and finish than the TWSBI. I highly recommend the Pilot Custom 92 for those who love piston fillers and demonstrators.

 

The Pilot VP is a different animal. Its unlike any fountain pen I've tried so far. I don't even know how to describe it, as I've only owned it for a few hours, but I really like the brief experience I've had so far. I'm glad I bought it.

 

I don't know which one to recommend first, but I think you should eventually get both. Now I truly can't wait to get the Custom 823. I'm loving my experience with Pilot so far.

Edited by Sallent

Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.

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Agreed! Enjoy, Sallent.

 

I hope to hear your thoughts after further use. This pen in on my wish list, and I'm having a hard time deciding whether to buy it or a Custom 92...I can't do both right now.

Although both pens are good writers and have the same Pilot quality, I think the VP falls more in the 'novelty' category (usually it's the VP that introduces Pilot to newcomers).

 

The 92 is a more traditional pen and holds more ink than con-70. The VP can only accept con-20/50.

 

Depending on whether or not you've used a Pilot before, you can go for either of them.

Edited by proton007

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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I think the VP falls more in the 'novelty' category.

 

Which is in addition to its extremely practical uses. This is what makes it so unique.

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Which is in addition to its extremely practical uses. This is what makes it so unique.

Agreed.

I think it's like QWERTY vs DVORAK (The latter representing the VP ofcourse).

In a world where there are no eyes the sun would not be light, and in a world where there were no soft skins rocks would not be hard, nor in a world where there were no muscles would they be heavy. Existence is relationship and you're smack in the middle of it.

- Alan Watts

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It has arrived. Already inked it and it writes extremely well. Despite being an XF and putting extremely thin lines on paper, the nib glides on the paper and there is no skipping or any other issues at all. It's perfect!

 

Here is a picture I took of the pen a few minutes ago before I inked it,

 

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h206/sallentlaw/PilotVP_zpsa52fb059.jpg

Very nice. Timeless color combination. You'll find youself liking more and more as you use it.

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Told ya! Once you go VP you never look at EDC the same way again.

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The Fermo is much more than a VP with a twist knob instead of a click mechanism. The Fermo has better fit and finish (at least from what I've seen from pictures) and is a little more refined, and the price tag reflects it ($300 vs $140)

I have both and although the Fermo feels (at least to me) as more refined and solid, there is really nothing I can say against the plain VP or its little brother the Decimo. All three models use the same nib assembly so if you get more than one pen and different nibs you can change them around.

All of mine came with the Con-50 converter (courtesy I understand of Engeika) but they can use the Con-20 and of course the Pilot cartridges. I saw in some listings the simple un-named (cleaning?) converter that pilot also packs with the parallel pens. As far as converter capacity I can confirm Goulet's findings. The cartridge carries way more ink than the converters, and note that the Con-20 although is almost the same size as the cartridge, you cannot really fill it fully. But including the feed and the rest of the nib assembly, when you fill it the nib assembly from a bottle with the Con-20 you get almost the same ink capacity as if you put a cartridge in it. Also note that if you use the cartridge, always fit the metal cap. Otherwise the cartridge may deform and the pen not work properly or leak.

And if you like the style, consider one of the raden models. Cannot find what Pilot has been doing different from the standard VP models, but they ooze quality.

Gistar

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  • 4 years later...

It has arrived. Already inked it and it writes extremely well. Despite being an XF and putting extremely thin lines on paper, the nib glides on the paper and there is no skipping or any other issues at all. It's perfect!

 

Here is a picture I took of the pen a few minutes ago before I inked it,

 

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h206/sallentlaw/PilotVP_zpsa52fb059.jpg

 

I just bought a VP extra fine fountain pen, but mine feels scratchy when I write with it. Especially on the upstrokes. It doesn't skip or anything like that, but it only feels scratchy. Is this normal? I don't put pressure on the nib when I write. I write very gently with the extra fine nib. I also bought a second extra fine VP to have as a back up pen and the nib on the second one feels much smoother when I write with it. Is it normal for some of the extra fine nibs on the VP to be scratchy and others to feel smoother? I bought both VP extra fine fountain pens from Amazon and I'm thinking of returning the scratchy one and exchanging it for another one. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. Should I live with the scratchy nib or should I return it and exchange it for another extra fine and hope that I get one with a smoother writing nib? Does the scratchy nib that I own right now get smoother with time as I write with it or not? Please note that I'm not the type of person who knows how to smooth out the nib on very fine sandpaper in order to make it write smoother. I don't want to screw around with the nib and ruin it. So should I keep the scratchy VP and just keep writing with it and hope that the nib smooths out on its own over time with my writing with it or should I exchange it for another one? I don't know what to do.

Edited by FountainPenGuru
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Please note that I'm not the type of person who knows how to smooth out the nib on very fine sandpaper in order to make it write smoother.

 

 

Ironic choice of username there.

 

The real question is: what stops you from just going ahead with asking for an exchange? Amazon itself won't have a problem accommodating that, so what negative consequences or costs are you trying to avoid?

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Ironic choice of username there.

 

The real question is: what stops you from just going ahead with asking for an exchange? Amazon itself won't have a problem accommodating that, so what negative consequences or costs are you trying to avoid?

 

I haven't asked for an exchange yet, but I'm thinking of doing an exchange. I read somewhere that there are ways to get the nib to become smooth by rubbing it on very fine sand paper when it writes scratchy like mine does. However, I don't know how to do this and I fear that I will damage or ruin the nib if I attempted it. The only safe alternative right now for me would be to ask for an exchange for another extra fine VP. If I felt comfortable and if I knew how to make the nib smoother, I would've gone ahead and used the sandpaper method to fix the nib.

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I forgot to say in my post above that i checked the tines on the nib with a 10x loupe and they are both even. They do not look like they are out of alignment or overlapping over one another. If this is the case, then I'm wondering whether or not the nib can smooth itself out over time if I just write with it? Does a scratchy nib smooth itself out over time when one writes with it for a week or so? Does this usually solve the problem of a scratchy nib?

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The nib won't smooth itself out, but often the writer can adjust

 

If the nibs are aligned, there could be a couple other things happening.

 

1 - Most people think they write without pressure. If someone can't easily take the pen from your hand, you're writing with pressure. Ease up, especially on upstrokes.

 

2 - Most people rotate the pen or their hand while writing and this will lift a tine off the page and on a upstroke cause the remaining tine to dig in. Focus on keeping both tines flat on the page.

 

 

If those don't solve the problem, here are links

 

Richard Binder's nib tuning workshop. http://richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

(The secret with fine smoothing a rough patch is to remember that you are taking off nib tipping. Once it's gone, it's gone. Only do this if you really need to. Use the finest mylar film (I use a paper bag) Light touch, three strokes, then check to see if smooth enough. Don't go for glass smooth.)

 

Pen Museums' tuning notes. http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/master%202.htm

Edited by cattar
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