Monteverde Artista Crystal Fountain Pen Giveaway

Do you listen to The Pen Addict Podcast? If you do and caught Episode 13 then you would have heard me allude to a pen I was excited to giveaway this week. The Monteverde Artista Crystal Fountain Pen is brand new at JetPens and I have one Transparent Lime Green Body with Medium Nib to giveaway.

I haven’t inked up this pen and taken it for a test drive but it has a really nice look and feel. The clear resin barrel is very sharp, especially with the chromium plated accents. It uses short international ink cartridges and also comes with a converter so you can use your own ink. I will certainly be jealous of whoever wins this!

Here is how to enter:

1. 
   

   Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Wednesday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is limited to US residents only.

   
   


2. 
   

   For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

   
   


3. 
   

   The contest winner will be posted on Thursday, May 17th. The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

   
   

Thanks and good luck!

How To Change The Nib On A Kaweco AL Sport

Unscrew it.

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.