Pilot Vanishing point/Capless with permanent inks - opinions

[dave321]

i am considering buying a pilot capless in Broad , and my concern is how well the trap door mechanism seals ?

would you consider this a problem with permanent inks , eg pigment inks (Sailor, De Atrementis) or iron gall inks (kwz) drying out.

 

how big a problem if it is , is it ?

 

opinions welcome

[inkstainedruth]

I had some issues with swapping out the nib assembly on a Decimo for the one on a VP I gave my husband (he didn't like the F nib, and I figured it was more cost effective to buy a Decimo with an EF nib because I figured the F nib would be perfectly okay for my needs.  Turned out the trap door wasn't sealing right, but grinding down the shoulders helped.  Only then lost the pen.... 

I'll admit that between that Decimo, the replacement one, and my Decimo with a B nib, I have mostly used Iroshizuku inks in them.  And my husband has mostly just used Namiki Black in the VP.  He did buy a bottle of Noodler's Dark Matter, but don't know if he's used it (I told him that I didn't know enough about that ink to say whether it was safe to use without flushing out the other ink first).

Sorry, I don't have a better answer for you as to using more permanent inks in VPs or Decimos. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Lithium466]

I have a Majohn A1 regularly inked with Platinum Blue black (iron gall, or more accurately ferro-tannate? ink). It's used 2 to 3 days a week and stays unused from Thursday to Tuesday every week. No problem, no hard start, nothing, it just works.

 

I think my "real" VP tend to seal even better, but I only use standard inks in them. No opinion on pigmented inks, sorry.

In any case you will have to clean the trap door from time to time, I just use a barbecue "pin" to push it open and rinse with running water once in a while, or when switching from a dark ink to lighter inks.

[gone]

My Pilot VP nib dries out after a few days if it is not used. Personally, I wouldn't put a permanent ink in it. 

[Karmachanic]

I keep the VP and A1 nib down in a pen-cup.  Justin Case.

[dave321]

ok, thats for your comments.

i just bought one sometimes you just have to take a chance 😀

[SLinkster]

 

Mine dries out pretty much instantly, but I live in Texas where the relative humidity is sometimes as low as 13% and everything dries out pretty much instantly sometimes. I recently picked up an EF nib unit, which I hope will dry out less quickly than the medium. As does @Lithium466, I keep my VP nib-down in a cup when I have it inked. I load only 0.5cc at a time, in an effort to not waste ink.

 

As far as it leaking - my VP has never leaked into my purse, bag, or pocket.

[dave321]

i ll letyou know how it goes

[Ron Z]

22 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Noodler's Dark Matter

 

I read that as "Dark Manure."  Life in trifocals is often entertaining,

 

I have had problems with iron gall inks in my VP pens.  The seal is pretty good, but that I found, is tempting fate.  I wouldn't use pigmented inks in the pen either.

[dave321]

thank you, i will bear that in mind.

 

i may try TWSBI Blue-Black which i believe is a "mild" iron gall (low level of iron)

[peroride]

On 12/12/2023 at 12:21 PM, dave321 said:

how big a problem if it is , is it ?

 

opinions welcome

My Capless LS has not dried out for some time 2-3 weeks of disuse but I only use Pilot inks now: Murasaki Shikibu, Blue Black; both have enough permanence (run water over ink on paper and view retention) 

[Lithium466]

Good point!

It's good to remember that standard Pilot blue, and to a lesser extent blue-black and black are surprisingly water resistant. Not waterproof, but as long as the paper is in decent condition the text will remain readable.

Now their red isn't very water resistant sadly.

[dave321]

well i inked it with twsbi blue-black and so far after about 2 weeks it is still ok,

no dry starts, writes brilliantly.

i am very pleased with my purchase

[inkstainedruth]

Good to know!  I haven't used a lot of the TWSBI inks in general, and that is one I don't have.

There are IG inks and then there are IG inks.  I've got Pelikan 4001 Blue Black (now somewhat diluted) in one of my Pelikan pens, and just kept refiling it because I liked the ink so much.  But then, it's one of the inks which does not have as high an IG content in it as some.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth