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Pilot Vanishing Point / Capless "1.0" stub nib vs. standard Pilot "1.0" medium italic stub nib?


mehlodious

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Hi folks - soon-to-be-first-time VP owner here, deliberating about nib choices. This is both my very first gold nib and first >$100 pen, so I'm anxious to make a good decision about the replacement stub unit I may want to get.

 

I saw that the VP nibs include a "1.0 stub" option; I enjoy the relatively sharp-edged "medium italic" nib that comes on the Pilot Plumix (and some Metropolitans) that's also described by Goulet, for example, as a "1.0 stub". As the VP has an 18k nib and entirely different nib shape, I'm not sure they're comparable frames of reference, but I'd like to know how they stack up.

 

In the Goulet Nib Nook, the VP stub looks like it writes wider, but if that's the case, the fact that "1.0 stub" is used to describe both of them (...sometimes) is confusing me.
 

So - does anyone have both? How do they compare in practice? Curious about not only the width, but also how much or little feedback / sharpness / line variation I could expect.

Thanks!!

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25 minutes ago, meh-lodious said:

As the VP has an 18k nib and entirely different nib shape, I'm not sure they're comparable frames of reference,

 

They aren't.

 

25 minutes ago, meh-lodious said:

So - does anyone have both?

 

I do.

 

25 minutes ago, meh-lodious said:

How do they compare in practice?

 

If you want to write in italic script with crisp edges, get the steel nib (either as the M or B nib on the Plumix, or CM nib on the Prera or MR). I don't find the Pilot Capless gold Stub nib as crisp or reliable.

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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1 minute ago, A Smug Dill said:

If you want to write in italic script with crisp edges, get the steel nib (either as the M or B nib on the Plumix, or CM nib on the Prera or MR).

Hi, thanks for the reply. I may not have explicitly stated it, but to clarify, I already have one of the steel Pilot italic nibs (one each of all of them, actually, from F to BB) and wanted to know whether the writing experience on the VP stub was comparable - and if not, what it's like / what I should expect?

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2 minutes ago, meh-lodious said:

… whether the writing experience on the VP stub was comparable - and if not, what it's like / what I should expect?

 

I have a rhodium-plated and a black ion-plated Pilot Capless gold Stub nib each. I don't find the Pilot Capless gold Stub nibs as crisp and reliable laying down broad lines (such as for vertical stems in italic letters) as the steel CM nib. Line width is comparable.

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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11 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

... I don't find the Pilot Capless gold Stub nibs as crisp and reliable laying down broad lines (such as for vertical stems in italic letters) as the steel CM nib. Line width is comparable.

Oh, that's great to know. Hmm. Sounds like an interesting experience; it's been a while since I wrote with a tipped stub... Thanks!

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My Vanishing Point stub unit is no where near being an "italic"

 

When I did a test (dipped, as I didn't want to go through full cleaning of four Vanishing Points) I obtained the following results (measured with either an Edmund Pocket or Edmund Junior comparator).

 

18K Stub 0.6x0.2mm (3x variation)

14K B 0.6x0.4mm (1.5x variation)

18K M 0.4x0.4mm (1x)

14K F 0.2x0.2mm (1x)

 

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I prefer the Capless stub.  It’s kind of a narrow stub, and narrow stubs will give less dramatic line variation.  However, considering that it’s mated to a heavy, somewhat awkward pen that i’m only going to use for quick notes, that small variation is enough to keep me interested.  It’s smooth enough to provide some pleasant feedback in use.

 

In contrast, my Pilot steel stub is scratchy and unpleasant to use.  I haven’t put too much effort into adjusting or smoothing it because it came on a Metro, which i don’t want to use anyway. 

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these are all very helpful data points, thank you both as well - sounds like I may give the stub a shot when my budget recharges.
 

5 hours ago, BaronWulfraed said:

My Vanishing Point stub unit is no where near being an "italic"

 

When I did a test (dipped, as I didn't want to go through full cleaning of four Vanishing Points) I obtained the following results (measured with either an Edmund Pocket or Edmund Junior comparator).

 

18K Stub 0.6x0.2mm (3x variation)

14K B 0.6x0.4mm (1.5x variation)

18K M 0.4x0.4mm (1x)

14K F 0.2x0.2mm (1x)

 

whoa, appreciate the very precise info! I'm definitely a fan of what those measurements suggest.

 

2 hours ago, gyasko said:

I prefer the Capless stub.  It’s kind of a narrow stub, and narrow stubs will give less dramatic line variation.  However, considering that it’s mated to a heavy, somewhat awkward pen that i’m only going to use for quick notes, that small variation is enough to keep me interested.  It’s smooth enough to provide some pleasant feedback in use.

 

In contrast, my Pilot steel stub is scratchy and unpleasant to use.  I haven’t put too much effort into adjusting or smoothing it because it came on a Metro, which i don’t want to use anyway. 

I'll be using a Decimo, so hopefully the experience isn't too heavy, though fair points as well - writing in bursts is often what I do too. I like narrower stubs, so I'm looking forward to trying.

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I have a Decimo with an 18K stub nib, and I like it a lot.  It does write quite differently from the steel stub nib on one of my Metropolitans, being a little softer (the Metropolitan nib is fairly stiff), although not as soft as thes "soft fine" nib on my Pilot Falcon, which is designed to have some flex to it).

But I should warn you that supposedly identical nibs for identical model pens might not be completely uniform from one to another.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • 1 month later...

Hi guys!

Sorry for bringing this up, but I wish to know if different Vanishing point versions are available - i.e. with 18k and with "special alloys".

My questions are

1. apart from these two are there any other metals (steel / 14k)

2. How different are the special alloy nibs from gold nibs -

   18k Pilot Vanishing Point nib for one;

   the 'F' nib gold nib on Lamy 2000 (I have this)

or the Pilot Soft Fine nib (I have this)

 

Best regards,

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I have three Vanishing Points (of two generations) and a Decimo. Between them I have two 14K nibs and two 18K nibs.

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