Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen Review

We all have that one pen that fascinates us. Whether it is your holy grail pen, or the one at the top of your wish list, there is a pen out there that you have to have. It may be hard to find or out of your price range, but one day the planets align and the pen you have always wanted lands in your hands. For me, that pen is the Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen with the black matte body and fine nib.

I almost feel like I am doing this pen a disservice by running it through the normal Pen Addict review process, so I am going to take this a slightly different route. This post will contain what you normally see when I review a pen the first time: my handwritten review, a few photos, and some general comments. After that, many pen reviews vanish into the ether. The Pilot Vanishing Point deserves more.

I have ideas and uses for this pen and I plan on making it a recurring theme on the blog. I already have a short video made with romantic music playing in the background (Ok, no romantic music. Maybe.) that I will post soon to talk a little more about the pen. The Vanishing Point will also be in heavy rotation when I start my new job so I want to discuss the ups and downs of heavy, repeated, daily use.

Can you tell by now that I am really happy with this purchase?

I will elaborate in future posts on what makes this pen so great, but let me touch on a few of the high points. First of all, this is a retractable nib fountain pen. Think about that real quick. There are other retractable nib fountain pens on the market, but the Pilot Vanishing Point is the one by which all others are measured. Initial concerns about the nib ejecting too easily or drying out were quickly erased once I saw how well designed the pen is.

To keep the nib from drying out, there is a small door that seals off the end of the pen when the nib is retracted. In my upcoming video you will see it in action. The nib writes immediately every time I click it out. The knock on the end is very firm and sturdy, which keeps you from accidentally ejecting the nib. It takes much more than a little brush of the knock to send the nib into the world. I have felt extremely safe clipping it to my shirt pocket or placket and going.

Let’s talk about the clip for a second because that was my biggest concern initially. For me, it turned out to be a non-issue, but if you have a non-standard or awkward writing grip it could be an issue for you. This is the biggest thing you need to consider when purchasing a Vanishing Point in my opinion. I already don’t even notice it is there when I’m writing.

I went with an F nib on my Vanishing Point knowing that would be awfully fine for a fountain pen. I felt I had a good idea about the line width after using a Pilot Prera F nib and I would say they are close, with the Prera F nib being slightly finer and firmer. My choice of the F nib has turned out great.

There is so much more I could talk about, and that is the plan. If you have any questions that I haven’t covered yet (and there are plenty) just let me know in the comments section or on Twitter @dowdyism and I will do my best to answer quickly.

Guest Review: Kaweco Liliput Al Fine Nib Fountain Pen

(This is a guest review by Ben Dahl. You can follow Ben on Twitter @TheBenDahl)

Between show reviews for Lost in Concert, posts for Cool Material and a general desire not to forget any brilliant ideas (upon reexamination most of them are anything but, but I wouldn'€™t know that if I didn'€™t write them down), my list of demands when it comes to pens includes everything but a jet fueled and waiting on the tarmac.

It has to be convenient enough that I won'€™t mind carry it all night, but durable enough to take a beating without it also serving as a paperweight. Reliable enough that I don't have to worry about turning it into a Shake Weight in the middle of a performance. Comfortable enough that I won't mind filling a few Field Notes with chicken scratch over the course of a day. Other bonuses include, but aren't limited to: not having a cap I have to hold and/or lose, not looking like a weapon (you'€™d be surprised how anal retentive security guards are), affordable and good looking. In other words, I'€™m asking for a lot in a single writing implement. When Brad suggested a fountain pen I thought he was crazy, but the Kaweco Liliput Al delivers.

The first thing everyone notices about the Liliput Al is its size. It'€™s tiny. Closed, it's about as long as a standard wallet and only slightly longer than a cigarette. With the cap screwed onto the end for writing purposes it'€™s barely longer than an iPhone. It fits into every place I can think of to put a pen: pockets, bags, pen slots, cups and office organizers. In fact, I'm having difficulty thinking of a place that this pen won't fit. That's fantastic, but it's also the only real flaw with this pen. If you're not careful, there's about a 75% chance you will lose this pen. It's ended up in the washer on more than one occasion simply because I didn'€™t realize it was still in a pants pocket. Obviously it'€™s tiny, but what about everything else?

In case a few trips through with the dirty laundry isn't enough of an inclination, the Liliput Al is built like a tank. The full aluminum body and stainless steel nib (F in this case) make it all but impervious to trips down stairs, being thrown at a wall (What? I had to test it!) and getting stepped on. I did everything short of running this thing over with a car and none of it even marred the gorgeous matte black finish.

You can beat it up however you want and nothing bad will happen, but there'€™s only one real way to write with it. If you don'€™t screw the cap on the back of the pen it'€™s about as comfortable and easy to operate as a stylus on a Palm Treo. It's as fun as Calculus so not at all. Once you put the cap where it belongs, though, writing is a breeze. There's no drag on the page, no tearing and no ink seepage. Once the ink's on the page, it doesn't bleed and dries quickly enough that you don'€™t have to worry about everything turning into a blob if you use a notebook that closes. It'€™s not beer resistant, but that's to be expected with liquid ink (standard cartridge).

All things considered, the Kaweco Liliput Al is a fantastic little fountain pen. I would happily spend $55 on one of these pens and recommend it to anyone looking for something a little out of the ordinary. You can take it with you everywhere without worrying about it, and you'€™ll always know it'€™s ready for service … as long as you don't lose it in your pocket.

Sailor Clear Candy Fountain Pen Review

I have been talking a lot about entry level fountain pens lately I wanted to discuss another recent acquisition: the Sailor Clear Candy. It was recently introduced to celebrate Sailor’s 100th anniversary and comes in 15 different barrel colors with eight colors of ink cartridges. I chose the clear black body and orange ink cartridges for something a little different. I have a thing for translucent barrels and always like to see a splash of color inside instead of boring old black.

Once I snapped the ink cartridge in the fine nib began writing immediately. The nib itself is a little scratchy compared to the Lamy Safari and even the Platinum Preppy. It writes very clean and sharp but I am wondering if I need to break it in a little more to get a smoother feel.

The orange ink is a nice touch. It comes out light when still wet on the page but dries into the great shade you see in the picture. The barrel is nothing to write home about. It is a basic plastic design with few frills other than some nice logo work, which I enjoy.

The Sailor Clear Candy lies in the middle ground between the Preppy and Safari in both quality and price. If you are looking for a decent entry level fountain pen that offers a little more than the basics then you should check this one out.