Retractable nibs -- what are the options?

[Turquoise88]

15 hours ago, Marioferu said:

Welcome to the happy world of retractable nib pens. As for the one-handed mechanism, you're on the right track: the Pilot and Platinum capless fountain pens are the only ones available in big box stores; your adorable Boheme still requires a cap and its production was interrupted by Montblanc (sad)...There are more pens with this feature: the luxury Hermès Nautilus and the Visconti Pininfarina, if you're willing to sell a kidney or two.

 

Think I’ll hang on to both my kidneys!  Though I do like the look of the Visconti Pininfarina! 

[Turquoise88]

On 2/5/2021 at 6:26 AM, Karmachanic said:

 

Thank you. Can't find a way to do this on pilot.co.jp. Share a link?

You can order stub nibs on the Vanishing Point at Pen Chalet in the USA: https://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/fountain_pens/pilot_vanishing_point_fountain_pen.html

[Turquoise88]

On 2/5/2021 at 4:07 AM, chromantic said:

Stipula makes some retractable nib pens which I believe work via a twist mechanism. Don't know if it's easily one-handable. (Or made, most of the ones on ebay are pre-owned, the couple brand new ones are in the thousands of dollars and could be NOS.) Here's one example -

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stipula-Da-Vinci-Infinity-Amber-Celluloid-Retractable-14K-Nib-Fountain-Pen-LE/383909765896?hash=item5962ce2308:g:eFMAAOSw4CRgBwaS

 

I like that Stipula pen!  Though I’ve had mixed experience with Stipula — always a nice design, but sometimes finicky in operation.  I’ll add this one to my “list”!

[maclink]

I bought a vanishing point with a M nine about 6 months back. I was disappointed with the nib that wrote a wetter and wider line than most of my western mediums. 😳

 

I bought a F nib unit as a replacement and it was a bit scratchy. Never got on with it and now the pen is in storage for the moment. 

 

Have the VP nibs evolved with the market?  I was really surprised by the M. 

[gyasko]

You need two hands for these but perhaps a vintage safety pen, such as an old Waterman.  

 

I have had one for about 20 years now, but i’ve never liked the Pilot Capless.  I use it for work, where the click mechanism is convenient. They need frequent cleaning and yet are hard to clean thoroughly, at least for me.  They’re also relatively heavy, which i dislike.  

[Geslina]

On 2/4/2021 at 9:06 PM, JosephKing said:

The capless is very easy to multi task with.

The medium nib is much broader than the fine, like a western medium

The quality is consistent with the price: good tolerances, fit and finish.

 

Two negatives:

1) my threads 'squeak', as the two halves come together after filling, inducing a similar response as nails on a chalkboard

2) my pen fell, knock first, and deployed the nib then bounced and bent the tines

 

Another option is the Pilot Fermo: a twist version of the capless.

I bought a Decimo, with the initial intention of being able to use it at work....but then I thought about how mad I would get when I would at least weekly drop a $3.00 gel pen tip down on the floor, destroying it.  Or how many pens I lose, probably at least 3 a month.  Maybe more.  Noooo, I don’t need to be carrying a $150 pen at work.  I’m still happy to have it....but I’d like it to last!

[maclink]

Easy come, easy go, they say.  I always lose cheap ballpoints/rollerballs, but never my fountain pens.  What I did do was to drop one my fountain pens at work.  It was capped at the time and the clip loosened.  The pen was recently purchased so I sent it in and it was replaced.  I reflected on the incident realising it was preventable and adjusted my behaviour to make such a situation not arise again.  It was a small adjustment and well worth the pleasure of using a nice fountain pen at work.

[JosephKing]

13 hours ago, Geslina said:

I bought a Decimo, with the initial intention of being able to use it at work....but then I thought about how mad I would get when I would at least weekly drop a $3.00 gel pen tip down on the floor, destroying it.  Or how many pens I lose, probably at least 3 a month.  Maybe more.  Noooo, I don’t need to be carrying a $150 pen at work.  I’m still happy to have it....but I’d like it to last!

Yeah, here I thought the retractable nib was the perfect design for being klutzy in high stress situations. Nope!

[otinokyad]

I have both a Pilot VP Fermo (F nib) and a Lamy Dialog 3 (EF nib).  Neither is particularly easy to use one-handed, though it is possible with practice as others have said.  Unlike my other Pilots (Custom 845 & 823, Bamboo), it is a bit hard-starting unless I use it daily; yet the nib is also surprisingly wet for a F, especially a Japanese F.  Not sure I would buy it again, though I am not recommending against it.  

 

Then there is the Dialog 3 — a mixed blessing.  After I got the Pilot Custom 845 (M nib), I thought it was and would always be the smoothest nib I had ever used.  True, until I got the Dialog 3 — it’s EF nib is even smoother than the C845’s M (European F).  No, whatever you’re thinking, *even smoother*.  The weight and balance are superb.  The downside?  Twice in as many years, tiny bits of grit have gotten caught in the twist mechanism.  At best I would have to retract, extend, then retract again to get the nib to return inside the body.  One time it got so bad that the spherical “cap” would not fully close, and I thought it would have to go back to the US mother ship for repair.  Miraculously, after some gentle tapping on the counter and an ordinary flush, it reverted to normal and has remained there ever since.  I subconsciously cringe every time I open it now, hoping that the problem does not recur... but I still reach for it often.  Superb writer, elegant design, and did I mention how smooth the nib is?

[Carloa]

The climbers and the sailors and the electricians know this: The third hand is missing. What do you do? You take the rope or the sheet or the cable between your teeth! The practitioners know this. 
I once tried to get the cap of my filler down with only one hand, either pulling it off or twisting it off and putting it on the back of the shaft. Try it once! It's grotesque.

 

But it is - with difficulty - doable. And it takes time. I should make a video about it. I use my lips as a third hand when I write with a fountain pen: I put the cap in my mouth. That works. 
But because I almost choked on it once, but at least I survived, I switched immediately: That's why, from my point of view, there are no options at all; the Pilot Capless is the instrument of choice. It guarantees survival.

For pensioners and generally people who have a lot of time on their hands, a cheap cap filler will do, of course. 
And people who sit comfortably at their desks don't need a capless either.

[Honeybadgers]

On 2/4/2021 at 6:19 PM, Turquoise88 said:

 

Thanks — I haven’t eliminated the idea of the Pilot capless — it’s definitely on my list, and I’m leaning towards the matte black vanishing point with a stub or medium nib because  that might give me more of my preferred nib experience.  Good to know that it holds up well and writes beautifully!  I just wondered if there were other options out there to broaden the field of choice. 

 

I'll add that the capless is a SUPERB writer, but for my hands - and I like thick pens - I absolutely detest the ergonomics of the "full size" one. It's weirdly slippy, the taper is unpleasant, and I hate the little step near the nib where my fingers sit.

 

But the "decimo" version is exactly the same in every way (same knock, same length, same nib unit) but not as thick and more "straight" sided, and it solves all my complaints. 

 

There's also the platinum version but I think it looks hideous and cheap.

 

The dialog 3 is actually one-hand openable very easily. Not as effortless as a knock, but just hold the bottom or top half of the pen in your bottom two/three fingers and use your thumb and index finger to twist the other side. The nib fully extends/retracts with a half-turn, so it's really not awkward or uncomfortable at all to use. I don't open it in a single gesture, I do it in two motions, but just playing with it will show you how easy they are to open and use one-handed.

 

As a paramedic, I'm often short the extra hand, but I use my mouth a lot. Not always the smartest, but if things are that gross, I pull put my ballpoint

 

 

 

[collectorofmanythings]

I have a Pilot Vanishing Point and love it! It’s super smooth, even though it is a fine nib. Smoother than some broads I’ve tried! I highly recommend it. I think it would be perfect for your situation.