Should I Splash Out On A Pilot Decimo?

[Lamyliz]

I have about 25 (ish) pens (mainly lamy safaris, jinhaos, a twsbi eco, pilot mr) but keep lusting over the pilot decimo. It's expensive (for me) and there are no shops nearby to look at it to get a feel for how it performs or how it feels when writing.

I know it's a challenge when asking fellow pen lovers about fountain pens as it's personal taste but would like to know your experiences & if it's worth the investment.

I like the idea of it & it seems well built.

Thanks in advance

[Driften]

Pilot Vanishing Points are good pens with some quirks. The Con-40 converter they come with and the Con-50 they used to come with don't hold a lot of ink. People have also had some flow issue with the Con-50. They work best with Pilot cartridges. You might also be able to find somewhere a Con-20 converter that holds about the same as a cartridge but it's a discontinued squeeze converter and it doesn't give you any idea of its ink level. Not that the 40/50 do when used in a VP. They are covered up so much you can't tell on them as well. I have also had issues with the pen drying out. They work great if you use it all the time, but if it's part of a bigger rotation of pens were you might use it once a month or so, it's not so good. Also you need to make sure you carry the pen so that the plunger/click button can't get pushed partly open. Not a good pen for being clipped in pants pockets.

 

I have like using my Vanishing Point and Fermo (twist to open). I think I would like the Decimo even better than the standard VP, but I don't see me buying one anytime soon.

 

If you see it as an everyday writer, don't have issues refilling cartridges, and the clip is not in a bad place for how you hold the pen, I think you would love the pen. Only you can really tell if you like it in hand. Maybe only buy from someplace that will take returns and don't ink it until you know if you like the feel in hand.

[SpecTP]

I have a VP as my EDC and I enjoy it immensely. The Decimo is very similar.

[A Smug Dill]

My fiancée and I love Pilot Capless pens, we have twelve of them in my household, including two in the Decimo line; the rest are Vanishing Point pens. The matte black VP is the closest thing to an EDC for me in the past few years, and certainly my most used fountain pen out of a fleet of (now) 150 or so.

 

Personally, I find the Decimo just a teensy bit too slender and light for my taste, and so I never use ours when I can just reach for a VP instead, but they're good pens in their own right. The nib assemblies are readily removable and interchangeable between them anyway, and so in terms of the business end of laying ink on paper, they work almost identically. Ink capacity of the CON-50 converters, with which all bar one of our pens were supplied, was never an issue in practice; I cannot recall a single instance in which I was away from the house and have a VP pen run dry in the middle of writing in all these years. Yes, the ink can dry out if you leave the pen untouched for a month, so that's all the more reason not to obsess about having a 0.8ml reservoir of ink instead of 0.4ml or 0.5ml in the barrel if you aren't using the pen frequently but at the same time cannot refill the pen from the ink bottle (say) weekly.

[Honeybadgers]

I go back and forth

 

Honestly, get the steel nib "special alloy" version first if you are okay with an F or M nib. The steel nibs are indistinguishable from the 18k models in terms of performance, and that means for another $75 (making it the total price for an 18k capless) you can then get an 18k nib unit in whatever size you like.

[Karmachanic]

No. You may very well end up liking it. A lot. Then you'll end up like Dill with a dozen. Stay away!!! How's that?

[OmegaMountain]

It's a great and convenient pen that comes with a couple of "buts"... If you have an a-typical pen grip it may not work for you because of the clip. The only way to find that out is to try it though, so perhaps do as someone else suggested and buy from somewhere you can return it to if necessary. Second is as someone else mentioned: ink capacity is low. This is not such an issue if you get an EF which is what I have in a Vanishing Point. If you like broad nib, you'll be refilling more often though. That being said, you can't beat it for EDC if you have a shirt pocket or the like to carry it in. Good luck with your decision.

Edited February 6, 2019 by OmegaMountain

[A Smug Dill]

Second is as someone else mentioned: ink capacity is low.

 

The O.P. has a Pilot MR (as stated in her initial post). If the ink capacity of the Pilot converter (other than a CON-70, which doesn't fit inside the barrel of an MR) is a problem, surely she'd have noted that by now? Ignoring the models that will accommodate a CON-70, every Pilot model (in the product lines of MR, Prera, Elite, and so on) that uses a CON-40 or CON-50 has exactly the same 'limitation'.

 

Edit: OK, to be fair, US (and Australian) stock of the Pilot MR – as well as domestic market models of the equivalent Pilot Cocoon in Japan – come with a squeeze converter that won't work in a Pilot Capless. However, every Pilot Capless pen I bought came with a rigid metal shell that enables the use of 'standard' Pilot cartridges in the pens, so if having a reservoir of more than 0.5ml of ink in the barrel is a critical requirement, it can still be accommodated without going to the expense of finding a CON-20 for sale by profiteering sellers on eBay or AliExpress these days.

Edited February 6, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Pilot Vanishing Points are good pens with some quirks. The Con-40 converter they come with and the Con-50 they used to come with don't hold a lot of ink. People have also had some flow issue with the Con-50. They work best with Pilot cartridges. You might also be able to find somewhere a Con-20 converter that holds about the same as a cartridge but it's a discontinued squeeze converter and it doesn't give you any idea of its ink level. Not that the 40/50 do when used in a VP. They are covered up so much you can't tell on them as well. I have also had issues with the pen drying out. They work great if you use it all the time, but if it's part of a bigger rotation of pens were you might use it once a month or so, it's not so good. Also you need to make sure you carry the pen so that the plunger/click button can't get pushed partly open. Not a good pen for being clipped in pants pockets.

 

I have like using my Vanishing Point and Fermo (twist to open). I think I would like the Decimo even better than the standard VP, but I don't see me buying one anytime soon.

 

If you see it as an everyday writer, don't have issues refilling cartridges, and the clip is not in a bad place for how you hold the pen, I think you would love the pen. Only you can really tell if you like it in hand. Maybe only buy from someplace that will take returns and don't ink it until you know if you like the feel in hand.

 

I'd second most of this, with the caveat that I would never carry any fountain pen in a pants pocket, and would seldom wear a shirt without at least one pocket. So not really an issue. I hadn't noticed any problem with them drying out, but then, I don't keep pens inked that long without using them.

 

I just inked my Decimo for the first time in a while yesterday, before seeing this thread. I'm using a CON-20 squeeze converter, having enough of those for any Pilot pen that I'd want to use them in. If I didn't, I think I'd use cartridges, refilling them as needed, and using the provided cartridge cap to keep the mechanism working properly.

 

The clip on the wrong end is not exactly uncomfortable, but it's a bit odd feeling, and that's with the slim Decimo. I've also tried the regular Vanishing Point, and with that, the clip placement does bother me slightly, more, the longer I write with it.

 

I'll be using the Decimo for a while now before rotating something else in. I do like it, and I find the fine nib on this one to be very smooth and wet. Then again, it was tweaked at the time of sale by a seller who no longer does that sort of work. If you leave out the convenience of not always having to take a cap on and off, I'd just as soon use some of my other Pilots in the same price range, a Custom Heritage 91 and 92, and a Falcon, for example.

 

It's worth taking a chance on if it appeals to you strongly enough, but there are never any guarantees when it comes to personal taste.

Edited February 6, 2019 by ISW_Kaputnik

[City74]

As a lefty I found that the pen didn’t fit my writing grip. The pocket clip was in my way and also with the slick metal on the clip and pen my hand seemed to not have the grip I wanted. I have thought about trying out the matte black variety as the painted surfaces may provide better grip, but haven’t yet. I wish I could turn the nib around so the pocket clip was on the bottom when I wrote, I think that would work. As it is I think the pen is a brilliant idea but for me badly executed

[sirgilbert357]

I have a Decimo and like it quite a bit. I have never had any dry out issues, no matter how long I let it sit.

 

The capacity issue has never been an actual problem in real life for me. I just refill the Pilot cartridges. I almost always carry at least two pens with me and if I plan to leave the house with only one pen, I always ensure it is full.

 

The biggest drawback with the Capless lineup (includes the Decimo here) is the rather long nib before the breather hole. I have some ink bottles at 30% and the Decimo nib can't take a fill without some risky tipping of the bottle. It got old fast, so I just started using a blunt tip syringe to refill carts and it's been fine. I've refilled the same cart something like 15 times and counting -- no signs of it wearing out so far...

Edited February 6, 2019 by sirgilbert357

[sirgilbert357]

Also, I agree about not carrying ANY pen clipped to a pants pocket, but especially not this one. If you hit that button, the nib could get damaged when it is deployed in your pocket.

 

I clip all my pens to my shirt, be it a T-shirt with no pocket (gets clipped to the collar off to the right side with the pen body inside the shirt), a polo or a button up.

[A Smug Dill]

I have thought about trying out the matte black variety as the painted surfaces may provide better grip, but havent yet.

Since you're obviously talking about a VP and not a Decimo there, you could always (or also) try one with the kasuri (aka 'carbonesque'), guillioche, birch, or (the new, rhodium) stripes barrel instead, if you're after some sort of texture. I'm not keen to write with the 2012 Limited Edition VP I have because of its smooth glossy lacquer finish, although for some reason I don't mind it as much on the raden VP pens. The matte black, blue and 'Trend' metallic colour ones do provide better grip, but not as much as the birch ones.

Edited February 6, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[SpecTP]

I have a Decimo and like it quite a bit. I have never had any dry out issues, no matter how long I let it sit.

 

The capacity issue has never been an actual problem in real life for me. I just refill the Pilot cartridges. I almost always carry at least two pens with me and if I plan to leave the house with only one pen, I always ensure it is full.

 

The biggest drawback with the Capless lineup (includes the Decimo here) is the rather long nib before the breather hole. I have some ink bottles at 30% and the Decimo nib can't take a fill without some risky tipping of the bottle. It got old fast, so I just started using a blunt tip syringe to refill carts and it's been fine. I've refilled the same cart something like 15 times and counting -- no signs of it wearing out so far...

 

that's what I've been using to fill mine.. a plastic pipette does the job nicely and is clean

[Arkanabar]

 

that's what I've been using to fill mine.. a plastic pipette does the job nicely and is clean

I only have one Pilot at this time, and this is how I fill it, with a pipette.

[inkstainedruth]

No. You may very well end up liking it. A lot. Then you'll end up like Dill with a dozen. Stay away!!! How's that?

 

I have a Decimo, and like it a lot -- but I have small hands, and found that a full size Vanishing Point was too thick and heavy, and that the placement of the clip was awkward (I didn't have that problem with the smaller Decimo).

I do concur with sirgilbert357 about the long skinny nib -- I have to really look to make sure it's completely immersed.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

​ETA: I did have problems with the first one drying out, and it turned out that the nib assembly was blocking the door in the front from closing correctly -- the shoulders needed to be sanded down a bit. With the new [replacement] one -- I lost the first one right after it was fixed -- I have had no problems.

Yes, the Decimos aren't cheap -- but if you shop around (I got my second one from a eBay seller in Japan) you can get better prices: even with "economy" air mail shipping I got the second pen for under $118 US -- and the pen arrived in just over a week and a half (the seller did not do anything that would cause me to do other than add to his 100% positive feedback with another good review -- and if I had the money to buy a second Decimo I'd certainly go to that vendor's eBay store ).

Edited February 7, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[SoulSamurai]

Since you're obviously talking about a VP and not a Decimo there, you could always (or also) try one with the kasuri (aka 'carbonesque'), guillioche, birch, or (the new, rhodium) stripes barrel instead, if you're after some sort of texture. I'm not keen to write with the 2012 Limited Edition VP I have because of its smooth glossy lacquer finish, although for some reason I don't mind it as much on the raden VP pens. The matte black, blue and 'Trend' metallic colour ones do provide better grip, but not as much as the birch ones.

I'm very interested in the wood body version, thiugh it does have a bit of a step where the wood ends around the clip, so if you grip very close to the nib (which I do...) it could be an issue. Edited February 7, 2019 by SoulSamurai

[Lamyliz]

Thanks for your replies. Still looking to buy a decimo and come across their cheaper stainless steel nibs. I'm having difficulty finding a stockist in the UK, does anyone know if anywhere that sells them? Even overseas stockists don't seem to have them

[TSherbs]

I like my Decimo, but not for long writing sessions (more than a page).

[A Smug Dill]

Still looking to buy a decimo and come across their cheaper stainless steel nibs.

The Pilot Capless Decimo are not sold with 'special alloy' nibs, even in Japan. 18K gold nibs only.

 

I'm having difficulty finding a stockist in the UK, does anyone know if anywhere that sells them? Even overseas stockists don't seem to have them

I have never seen a 'special alloy' Pilot Capless nib assembly being sold on its own without a pen body by any retailer. If you're especially keen on having a 'special alloy' nib instead of an 18K gold one, you'll need to buy a pen in the FCN-1-MR product line, which are all Vanishing Point pens.