Are Pilot Vanishing Point Poor Writers In General?

[Maurizio]

No way.

 

I have 2 a medium and a fine. Both write consistently and well.

[doodlebug]

You might send your pen to a nibmeister and have the flow adjusted. You might also try a wetter ink.

 

I ordered a medium VP nib unit from John Mottishaw several years ago. It was adjusted to my personal preferences for smoothness and flow: very smooth nib for my light pressure, very fast writing. I really enjoy using my VP and it gets used multiple times every day for the convenience of the click and jot.

[Orthostylos]

I have 3 VP's, 2 from the mid 90's (faceted Stealth), and one modern, gunmetal. The mid 90's VP's have a fine and and medium nibs, and both were great writers, though my preference was the FP.

 

I ordered a cursive italic from my nibmeister, and bought the modern VP with a broad nib, then bought an Extra Fine.

 

The custom ground CI was a bit troublesome (it would not write consistently on the down stroke).I queried the nibmeister at a pen show. I asked is there anything I could do? He said "No, but I can fix it., and with a quick look and grind, it is now one of m best writers.

 

The only problem I had with the stealth pens was that when I had retired one over several years, I thought I would upgrade to a modern converter, so I obtained a Con 50. I would pull my hair out because it would dry up overnight, and I spent an inordinate amount of time flushing and cleaning with no success.

 

I then found out the that the Con 50 was really not compatible with the faceted VP's as it would prevent the nib assembly from retracting fully, and the nib would dry. Using the Con 20 or cartridge, has brought it back to its original glory.

 

The Extar Fine nib is really fine, though a little scratchy, but for its purpose, a great writer.

 

So now I have 3 VP pens and 5 nibs, and use the VP's as my go to pens.

[mateo44]

Nope.

 

My VP (medium) has been flawless from day 1.

[Tinjapan]

Sorry if others have posted this, no time to read through all.

 

A recent topic on Pilot inks only for Pilot pens brought up some interesting points. It seems that while not a requirement, flushing your pen really good and filling it with Pilot ink might solve your problem.

 

I have two Pilot Capless and have had no problem at all. I use Pilot cartridges with these.

[shuuemura]

 

I never experienced a VP drying out at all when left unused.

 

I used my first VP daily at work since I got it in 1999. It sat unused routinely over 3 and 4 day weekends with no problems drying out. Wrote the second the nib touched paper.

 

Twice a year this pen would go unused for 2 to 3 weeks during our plant shutdowns. Started the second it touched paper when back at work. I now have two, I also have VP nibs in EF, F, M, and B. Never had the nib in either VP dry out in either pen, and I am still using the pen from 1999. It is not uncommon for one of my two VP's to sit for several days unused, depending when I'm in a mood to use the ink in that particular pen.

 

If a VP had dried ink in the seal mechanism, that might make it dry out. I would make sure it was thoroughly cleaned out, use an ultrasonic cleaner if available. If it still dried out I would contact Pilot to see if they can replace the seal in the closing mechanism. I'm sure the elastomer that seals the barrel becomes rotted over time and needs replacing.

 

I would love to try out your VP for a while. I owned two Raden VPs and both would dry out if I left them unused for a week. I sold one. Still have the other because it's such a pretty pen. I'm sure there must be good VPs out there but this is my experience with them.

[torstar]

Further update, cramming for an exam later this week, the Pilot VP brought out the greatness of DC Supershow Blue on "reporter's" Moleskin paper.

 

I haven't seen it display this shade of green-blue (my favourite) from the ink for years, I had forgotten why I liked it so much that I bought a lot in 2004.

[kulnet]

No problems here with my broad nib VP.

[penultress]

I've just purchased my first VP at the Long Island pen show from, of all people, the Zorns! i was at their table and saw this modern pen displayed. And it's a .75mm cursive italic nib. Well, it went home with me and I've been very happy until just today.

I'm using the converter and it doesn't seem to hold very much ink. Is ink capacity an issue? I am otherwise enjoying the writing experience, flow is just right and I like that I only need a light pressure to hit the sweet spot.

[Tinjapan]

I use mine only for writing in my pocket note book on the train, I spend a lot of time on commuter trains. I use only cartridges for mine and have no problem with ink capacity. Cartridges, having no mechanism hold more ink than the smaller converters, I believe. Unless you are really wanting to use ink that either does not come in cart. or is not Pilot, using Pilot cartridges would probably solve the capacity problem.

[Dronak]

I have one of the older Namiki Vanishing Point models, but it's worked well enough for me. I can't remember having any major problems with it.

[penultress]

Oh, now I understand about the ink capacity. The converter just doesn't hold very much.

[rickygene]

Oh, now I understand about the ink capacity. The converter just doesn't hold very much.

 

Yes, that's the only thing about the pen I don't like. I believe the cartridges hold quite a bit and if you refill them you get the benefits of bottled ink and a reasonable capacity - I might try that sometime.

 

For now, I have switched to a fine nib to save on ink and it's been totally worth it - filled with Noodler's Black it can write on any paper I throw at it. Post-It notes, recycled ink-jet paper, newspaper, and it even will write on paper towel!

 

This pen and ink combination is my quick note jotter for work and my crossword pen at home.

 

The medium and italic nib units are gathering dust in my cupboard.

[graystranger]

Oh, now I understand about the ink capacity. The converter just doesn't hold very much.

Actually Pilot makes a Con-20 converter that is the squeeze type. It holds a lot more than the piston converters. I think it holds the same as the cartridges. The Con-20 is exactly the correct length for the Vanishing Point for the opening/closing operating mechanism. Actually when you use cartridges you should use Pilot's Metal Cartridge Cap so the push mechanism is not pressing against plastic. This slips over the cartridge setting the precise length for the mechanism and providing a rigid metal face for it to press against. This cap gives me a wonderful place to place a tiny label telling me what ink is in the assembly.

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/pn69900/p/PN69900

 

http://www.gouletpens.com/PN69903/p/PN69903

 

I have refilled my Pilot (and all other cartridges) with bottled ink for many years using a syringe. Simple and works well. Actually you can fill a Pilot cartridge with a cheap plastic pipette because the opening is so large. I don't know how many times a cartridge can be inserted and removed, but I'd guess some 50 to 100 times or more. It is a very sturdy cartridge, well made.

 

My Pilot Vanishing Points (My 5 VP nib assemblies from EF to Broad have worked perfectly with all brands of bottled inks I have put in them (a lot of Noodler's bulletproof inks)). I see no advantage in using Pilot inks unless you have a favorite Pilot ink you want to use.

 

Using cartridges is very expensive, most bottled ink is about 1/10 or less the cost of cartridges.

 

 

 

The Pilot Con-20 Converter

Edited April 12, 2015 by graystranger

[Stephenthebear]

I have 4 VPs - all are good writers, one of them is one of my 2 best writing pens (out of over 40)

 

The Con 50 converter I'm not a big fan of, and tend to refill cartridges with a syringe)

 

Additionally I either use them with Pilot cartridges or Cartrisges filled with Iroshizuku ink.

 

Perhaps your problem weren't helped by ink choice?

[Beth_Mntgmry]

I have the Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point Raden, and I absolutely love it. The 'Fine' nib is super smooth and I have never had a problem with skipping or hard starting. I only use Sheaffer's black ink in it. I take it to work and use it everyday. Plus it's just beautiful to look at. I absolutely love it!

[jkingrph]

I just received my first a little while ago, and honestly it does not seem as smooth as my Lamey Omega 3

[Lam1]

I have one VP and two nibs, a F and a SU, and both are excellent writers. I can hardly put the pen down, in fact, it has been inked almost non stop since I got it 3 months ago.

[yoplaboum]

I use a VP since a week (the 2007 LE, orange ). The nib is a wet M, no problem at all.

[Kelly G]

I've two VP's with three nib units - Extra Fine, Fine, and Medium. I've had the first VP, with the M nib since the spring of 2003 and I picked up the other body and nib units along the way. My results have been varied, depending on the ink/nib/cart or converter combinations. For the most part, my experiences with the pen have been good. I carried one all through seminary, three years from 2009 - 2012, and it was perfect for taking quick reading notes; that was mostly with the EF nib and the converter. I'm now using the F nib w/converter and have started using Iroshizuku Yama-Guri as my go-to ink in this pen with wonderful results. The ink is pricey, but with flawless performance it is worth it.

In my experience, the VP is a great pen for those situations when you need a quick note or when you are taking meeting notes that are sporadic in nature. If I have pages to write, I go to one of the other pens in my pocket.