My First Fountain Pen - Pink Pilot Vanishing Point

[Namwan]

I just came back from Korea last night and was sooo excited to find this at home :

 

 

My Pilot Vanishing Point pen has arrived! I ordered it from Classic Fountain Pens (www.nibs.com), and they have been really helpful, especially John and Christina.

 

Upon ordering, we are required to fill in a form which contains information on whether we are left or write handed as well as other preferences such as writing pressure, ink flow and nib size.

 

I chose a broad nib, medium to heavy ink flow and medium to heavy pressure.

 

I had trouble choosing this at first, since I usually write with 0.7 mm ballpoint pens (which is why I chose a broad nib), but I didn't want a light ink flow (good for note taking, since a light ink flow dries out fast) because I was afraid the lines would be too thin.

 

I asked for some advice from them, and this is what Michael said:

 

This is a good question. Tip size and ink flow settings are independent of each other. However the results do affect each other. A drier line will not run out as wide as a wetter one so, for instance a broad nib set up wet could be thought of as a broad-plus line width where a very dry broad tip would be slightly finer than one set up for medium ink flow. (And it would not be quite as smooth because the ink acts as the lubricant between the tip and the paper.)

 

 

They even used a fountain pen to write down the details on the side of the box, which is really cute and made me smile

 

 

I bought two types of ink: a Sailor Sei-Boku Pigment Ink in Blue-Black, which was advertised as quick-drying; and five Pelican cartridges in pink. Unfortunately, I didn't read the description very clearly and I got the "giant" cartridges which were extra long and did not fit into my pen

 

 

The packaging of the pen is extremely cute! When you open it up, underneath the pen there is another layer which contains the product registration card, use and care guide in English, an ink cartridge and a metal cartridge cap.

 

 

So I went along and filled the pen up with the Sailor ink, and tested it to see how it works.

 

Here is a clip I uploaded on YouTube (don't forget to change the video quality to HD before watching) :

 

It turned out that the setup by Classic Fountain Pens was perfect. I was afraid that the choices I made would not work out well, but it actually did - the size and flow was perfect, and I'm very happy with my pen.

 

Now I have to make sure I don't lose it : I lose on average one pen per month!

 

Last of all, I would also like to thank this community for helping me and providing me with some very good advice on choosing my first fountain pen. Here is my previous forum :

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/255948-hi-from-bangkok-need-advice-for-first-fountain-pen/

 

 

 

[Lyander0012]

An excellent review of a pen that I'm not likely to get! Well, not that I have anything against the Pilot VP, mind you, just that I'm not sure I can pull off carrying a pen quite so... pink

 

Anyway, this was a good read and watch. Hope you put up more reviews like this soon!

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

[Moshe ben David]

umm -- hate to point this out to you now, but I doubt the Pelikan cartridges would work even if they were shorter. I have several Pilot VP; they use a unique cartridge -- not like the standard international cartridge at all!

[Namwan]

Really? That's bad news! What brands can be used then?

[85AKbN]

Great review. Enjoy your VP.

[The Blue Knight]

Really? That's bad news! What brands can be used then?

 

Any pilot cartridges see

 

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pilot_Ink_Cartridges.html

[85AKbN]

I've just had a FP epiphany after watching your VP video. It's a one handed pen. That's it. I never really got that. You don't need your weak hand to uncap. You don't need to post the cap. You don't need to find a place to put the cap if you don't post so it dosen't roll off the table or get lost. You don't need to look at the nib and spin the body in your hand to get optimal nib to paper orientation as you can index the FP / nib using the clip. You can pull the pen out of your shirt pocket, click and deploy nib, index nib while attaining final writing grip and angle, write. All with minimal thought. Genius design.

[Obyekt]

Or you could try a converter and get all the inks.

[Lyander0012]

+1 to the converter idea. I personally use piston converters instead of cartridges despite the lower ink capacity. Then again, if capacity is really that big of an issue for you, you could always use a cartridge and refill it with a syringe every now and again. This is a bit of a pain, but it works well enough if you're patient and don't need to refill in the middle of your day (fine nibs seldom have this problem).

[Namwan]

I've just had a FP epiphany after watching your VP video. It's a one handed pen. That's it. I never really got that. You don't need your weak hand to uncap. You don't need to post the cap. You don't need to find a place to put the cap if you don't post so it dosen't roll off the table or get lost. You don't need to look at the nib and spin the body in your hand to get optimal nib to paper orientation as you can index the FP / nib using the clip. You can pull the pen out of your shirt pocket, click and deploy nib, index nib while attaining final writing grip and angle, write. All with minimal thought. Genius design.

 

I used the pen for work yesterday for the first time. I asked the person who I was interviewing for his name card, but he didn't have one, so I asked him to write down his contacts instead. He had trouble holding the pen, and the ink wasn't coming out as much as it would, because he wasn't holding it in the the correct angle. I had to tell him to position the clip in the middle of the thumb and index finger!

 

The ink ran out in the middle of an interview though (despite filling it up a day ago), but luckily I had another pen with me.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Namwan

[Namwan]

Or you could try a converter and get all the inks.

 

 

+1 to the converter idea. I personally use piston converters instead of cartridges despite the lower ink capacity. Then again, if capacity is really that big of an issue for you, you could always use a cartridge and refill it with a syringe every now and again. This is a bit of a pain, but it works well enough if you're patient and don't need to refill in the middle of your day (fine nibs seldom have this problem).

 

The pen comes with a convertor, and I'm currently using it for the Sailor ink I bought. Do you think I can use a syringe to get the ink out of the Pelikan catridge and put it in the converter?

Edited December 3, 2013 by Namwan

[sitnstew]

My wife would love this pen. I don't know if I could pull it off though....

[sitnstew]

 

 

 

The pen comes with a convertor, and I'm currently using it for the Sailor ink I bought. Do you think I can use a syringe to get the ink out of the Pelikan catridge and put it in the converter?

 

Yes. You could do this. It would be a bit tedious but better than having wasted ink

[savingbirds]

Be really careful with that pigmented ink! Next time, try for a fast-drying dye-based ink, as those are easier to clean and are much less likely to clog.

Great review by the way!

[Namwan]

What is a pigmented ink and dye-based ink? I'm not quite familiar with the terms.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Namwan

[85AKbN]

 

I used the pen for work yesterday for the first time. I asked the person who I was interviewing for his name card, but he didn't have one, so I asked him to write down his contacts instead. He had trouble holding the pen, and the ink wasn't coming out as much as it would, because he wasn't holding it in the the correct angle. I had to tell him to position the clip in the middle of the thumb and index finger!

 

The ink ran out in the middle of an interview though (despite filling it up a day ago), but luckily I had another pen with me.

 

You must have been writing a lot. Do you know if the ink was truly out, or did it dry up at that moment? Sometimes my Lamy Al-Star with convertor seems empty and I either dip the nib in water (new trick I read about here) or twist the convertor a tad.

 

Are you using the sqeeze converter (con-20) or the twist converter (con-50)? I believe the con-20 holds a little more ink.

[Keyless Works]

Congrats on your first fountain pen!

[85AKbN]

What is a pigmented ink and dry-based ink? I'm not quite familiar with the terms.

 

A good answer here in the OP:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218717-waterproof-permanent-bulletproof-archival-eternal-pigmented/

[Namwan]

 

You must have been writing a lot. Do you know if the ink was truly out, or did it dry up at that moment? Sometimes my Lamy Al-Star with convertor seems empty and I either dip the nib in water (new trick I read about here) or twist the convertor a tad.

 

Are you using the sqeeze converter (con-20) or the twist converter (con-50)? I believe the con-20 holds a little more ink.

 

The ink was truly out. I unscrewed it, twisted the convertor and it was totally empty.

[Namwan]

 

A good answer here in the OP:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218717-waterproof-permanent-bulletproof-archival-eternal-pigmented/

 

Thanks. Next time I will get a dye-based ink.