Buying a Namiki Vanishing Point ..... but

[Titivillus]

Not to pour water on the VP love-fest but...

 

No water problem, Kurt. It has been said by several, at different times, to get one of these in your hands, if possible, before committing. My neck of the woods doesn't easily allow that, however, so I've taken to trying to create the situation that I'll face. I think, and I do mean think, that I'll be okay, but if not, like you, I'll cut my loss, take a little beating on the money aspect and move it along for the next owner to enjoy.

That's exactly what I've had to do and just wanted to make sure that others could learn from my experiments with the pen.

 

And like always when I see a bunch of people saying very good things about a pen it always makes me think that maybe I was a bit too quick on my testing of the pen and maybe I should give it another try. I feel an email to Pam might be in order.... Oh the slippery slope again!

 

 

 

K H

Edited August 7, 2005 by Tytyvyllus

[KCat]

That's exactly what I've had to do and just wanted to make sure that others could learn from my experiments with the pen.

 

 

K H

as much as I love these pens, I do try to warn folks that this a pen like the rOtring Core, the Omas 360, it's a pen you can either use or can't and not much in between. I avoided it for a long time because I thought the clip would bother me. And even the first couple of test drives at the shop left me a bit cold. So when I finally broke down and spent more time trying it and found it worked for me, I was surprised.

 

This can hold true for any pen of course as evidenced by how many folks love the M200 but still now and then someone finds it just doesn't work for them. Too small, too light or perhaps the nib too short, etc. Likewise, I couldn't use an 800 more than a few seconds - much as i love the nibs on the 800 and 1000 and would loooove to have one because I think they're such cool big pens, it would rarely get used.

 

I agree with kurt and Roger on the issue of sometimes just having to take a hit on a pen and turn it around to someone who will like it for a small loss. I don't have a lot of opportunities to try pens here either. There's one store but they don't always have the pen I'm interested in and i can only get there 2 or 3 times a year at best. So i try to think through a purchase until I'm just absolutely sure I want to take the chance - if it doesn't work out, I'll pass it on. That hasn't happened much, fortunately.

[Roger]

How nice! Pam sent my red VP w/GT right along when it came in, Fri. I guess. Arrived today and is drying now from the usual detergent wash out. Tomorrow it will get the break-in ink and start writing. So, I had to email Pam with the oft used, "The check is in the mail" message.

 

I think that it's going to work for me. The indentations in the clip are just enough to let me get close enough to where I normally put my fingers, so I'm hoping for the best.

 

Two points...

 

1. I'm sure glad that I had the advantage of the VP threads here to alert me to the fact that removing that converter might require some effort. Without that input, there's no way that I would have believed that it merely pulled straight out. Forewarned, I put the rubber kitchen gripper thingies on each side and with a giant PULL, out it came! I'm convinced that they have a sumo wrestler attach that converter at the factory! Interesting that the extra F nib assembly that I ordered didn't have the converter fully seated in the metal sleeve right up to the feed nipple. It was merely slipped in a bit and readily came free.

 

2. When filling with the soapy water and rinse water I found that if the nib is inserted only just past the breather hole in the nib per their instructions, filling is iffy, and scant, at best. If, however, you put that nib into the water/ink right up to the end of the exposed gold, it takes on a very respectable amount of water/ink.

 

Ok, a 3rd point...Someone should rewrite their instruction paper. It could be much clearer, particularly for the poor slobs that don't avail themselves to FPN.

 

Also good, is the fact that the two nibs were perfectly aligned out of the box, and the slot is nicely shaped so the tomorrow's writing should be fine!

[Guest Denis Richard]

Hi Roger,

 

I could never be that patient. You know ink is mainly water... go ahead, ink that baby !

 

Denis.

[tntaylor]

How nice! Pam sent my red VP w/GT right along when it came in, Fri. I guess. Arrived today and is drying now from the usual detergent wash out. Tomorrow it will get the break-in ink and start writing.

 

...

 

Ok, a 3rd point...Someone should rewrite their instruction paper. It could be much clearer, particularly for the poor slobs that don't avail themselves to FPN.

I'm impressed. You can get a pen and hold off an entire day before using it? I just have not got that kind of will power. Just today, my VP ran out of the Squeteague (I still can't get over what a peculiar name that is) it was filled with, which was brilliant timing, because I'd just received an absolute bumper crop of samples from KCat (ta luv!). I blew water through the nib assembly as if it were a straw, until the water ran clear, blew a bit more to fling out the residual water, then filled up an empty cart with Havana (which I have been absolutely jonesing to try) and started writing. Ten minutes, start to finish.

 

Of course the first line I wrote was quite Squeteaguey. But it was quite interesting watching the ink change to Havana as I wrote on. It's still not quite right, but experience has shown that by tomorrow I'll be seeing Havana as the good lord intended.

 

 

...

 

And, regarding their instruction slip of paper? It's sh!te!!! I was looking at it, like, "You're joking me!" It's for people who already know what they're doing, so won't be reading it, anyway.

 

t!

 

Oh, and congrats on the VP!! Please let us know what you think of it, once you've had the chance to use it a bit.

[tntaylor]

I could never be that patient. You know ink is mainly water... go ahead, ink that baby !

Roger, right about now, you should be picturing Denis as a little red devil on your shoulder, whispering in your ear.

 

t!

[Roger]

An apt allegory, t.

 

I'll wager that Denis, even in the paucity of years that he has acquired, thus far, has already led many down the garden path. But, having reached my majority, some time ago, I have finally taken on a bit of patience. Not as much as my wife would like, but an improvement for me.

 

I know that manufacturers don't expect anyone to be this obsessive, but it's actually kind of fun. Hell, the anticipation always exceeds reality, so might as well draw it out a bit. Positive that 99.9% of the time, immediate inking will not cause problem one, but being in a hurry was part of my working years; no time for hurry, now, too busy being retar...er retired!

[Guest Denis Richard]

Is it inked now ? so so so so so so so so ????

[zxc]

After reading the thread I've ordered a black carbonesque version from Pam myself

[Guest Denis Richard]

Welcome to the "Buy your Namiki VP at Pam's" thread

 

So... which one(s) of you is(are) the undercover Namiki reps ? :ph34r:

[Roger]

Is it inked now ? so so so so so so so so ????

Not Yet!

 

Had to be out this morning, but hope to get a roundtoit before dinner. If I ever find one of those roundtoits, I'm gonna get a lot more done!

[Guest Denis Richard]

What's up with the retar... retirement thingy ? Not even enough time to ink a poor little VP ?

[Roger]

TA DA! It is inked and writing. Only about a page under its belt, but it has survived the birthing pains and is off and running.

 

This M nib is producing a F/M line with a slightly dryer line than I'm used to. IMO, it is a flow of about 4-5 on the 1-10 scale, BUT, so far is very very smooth and a very reliable 4-5 flow. No skipping or feed problems. Because of this slightly dryer line, it is giving a whole different look to the WM B/B break-in ink. More of a blue with less of the black influence. Quite attractive, actually!

 

So, now, I just continue to write with it already. Baby bottom smooth!

[Flere-Imsaho]

Hi,

 

There are white gold VP nibs, but they are ony available in Europe.

 

Dillon

Dillon is correct. I inquired today in the Netherlands on the price of a VP nib, and was asked what colour nib I wanted.

Hans.

Edited August 18, 2005 by hansgeelen

[Aitch]

Just wondering ......

 

I keep seeing the older versions of the VP on ebay going for 100's of dollars ......

 

Is it because the old VP's are actually an all round better pen (don't make em like they used to, as my father would say ) or is purely because they are rare collectors pieces now ??

[KCat]

well, the Stealth probably goes for a greater price. I wouldn't pay more than $100 for an older VP but they probably are going up in value for the time being. when I think I had a chance to buy 2 for $60...

 

The older ones are lighter (as I recollect) and the clip has a slightly different design that probably feels more comfortable to some people. i think it ended up making for a "fatter" feel to the section though. Something that didn't appeal to me as much. i do like the Stealth model though.

 

in short.. i've seen them recently ranging from $90 to $120 and if they're going for much more than that then it's a matter of the "a pen is worth what someone will pay for it" philosophy. i suspect as new people come into the hobby and learn about the older models and the available #s decrease...