Pilot Vanishing Point with Special Alloy Nib Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

As a self-professed Pilot Vanishing Point (or Capless) fan, I was a little surprised at myself for not owning one with the “Special Alloy” nib, which I will be referring to as “steel” even though I don’t know for certain what alloy they used. I think “old me” had fallen into the trap of gold must be better than steel, especially since all the VP/Decimo/Fermo/etc pens had gold nibs, so I never really gave it much thought. At one point, I wanted to have Hiroko Makino of Bokumondoh do some urushi & raden work on a VP for me, so I went and ordered this steel VP because it’s significantly cheaper than a gold one, and I didn’t have the time to wait for a deal on the secondary market. I figured I could always swap in one of the other gold VP nib units later. I opted to send her different pens, so I decided to ink up this VP anyway to see how it wrote.

Pilot Vanishing Point, Deep Yellow with steel Fine nib (left), Blue Carbonesque with 18kt gold Fine nib (right.)

I originally put Jacques Herbin Brun Eiffel in the Deep Yellow VP cuz you know me and matchy matchy inks. I inked up the Blue Carbonesque VP with De Atramentis Sherlock Holmes (aka “Night Blue”). Paper is Kokuyo Perpanep Tsuru Tsuru.

Blue Carbonesque VP (top) and Deep Yellow VP (bottom.)

Despite both nibs being Fine, the gold nib felt just a wee bit softer and also gave a slightly wider line. The steel VP nib definitely felt more nail-like by comparison, not that the gold nib was bouncy or flexy by any stretch. But I could definitely feel the difference between the two.

So then I thought, well, maybe it’s the ink, so I put Brun Eiffel in the 18kt gold VP nib, and both nibs felt a bit more similar.

Both had similar line widths in print but it was more obvious with cursive, that the steel nib had a finer line.

Zooming in on some lines and squiggles, you can see that the top lines (18kt gold) are slightly wider than the bottom ones (steel.)

While I wouldn’t say the Jacques Herbin Brun Eiffel was a dry ink, it certainly isn’t as wet as De Atramentis, so I went and cleaned out the Deep Yellow VP and inked that up with DA Sherlock Holmes. I was surprised that the wetter ink didn’t produce a wider line, if anything, it almost looks like it is finer than it was with the Brun Eiffel, especially in print. I did a bit of writing after cleaning and inking to make sure it wasn’t due to a wet feed, etc., so it doesn’t make any sense.

Both pens inked up with De Atramentis Sherlock Holmes, the steel nib gave a thinner line, especially with print. The difference is less obvious with cursive.

Once again the 18kt gold nib (top) produced wider lines than the steel nib.

Before you jump to any conclusions about steel vs gold, I would also like to add that the steel writing experience was quite nice. I definitely prefer Medium nibs (in general) to Fine nibs, but the Deep Yellow VP with the steel nib wrote well and I didn’t have any problems with it in the 3 months that it’s been inked up. I’ve used it on 10 different occasions (thank you, FPC, for that handy data) and never had any hard starts, despite Brun Eiffel not being a super wet ink. I don’t love the EF VP nibs (or most EF nibs, for that matter), so this steel Fine is about as fine as I would want to write with on a regular basis. I was very pleasantly surprised at the experience and am glad I bought it.

The “special alloy” nib Pilot Vanishing Points are also available in Medium (I didn’t see any when I was originally shopping for it) as well as Fine, and seem to only be available in Black, Dark Blue, and Deep Yellow. I would assume that the Medium steel nib would feel similar, e.g. finer than the gold Medium, with a stiffer/firmer writing experience. To my knowledge, these steel nib Vanishing Points aren’t sold by US retailers besides Amazon, which was where I ordered mine. Prices range from $75-95 before sales tax. Considering a VP nib unit alone costs about $90-110, this is a pretty good way to try a real Pilot VP (not clone, homage, etc) to make sure you really like it.

(Disclaimer: I purchased mine on Amazon last year and it seems to be currently unavailable in Fine in the Deep Yellow. Here is a non-affiliate link to the Dark Blue VP, Fine, Special Alloy.)

The Hooligan Pen Experience

It’s rare that I’m left speechless, but when Tim Cullen of Hooligan Georgia Pens says “I’m going to make you a pen,” what do you say?

Yes, please.

That’s how it began with Tim and I at the 2024 Atlanta Pen Show. That is where we met for the first time, a few months after Caroline’s Meet Your Maker profile. I had seen Tim’s work before, which always stood out to me as being extremely unique and customized to the client.

So yeah, Tim basically said “I’m making you a pen. I’ll be in touch later in the year when your spot comes up.”

That’s the thing with Hooligan. Since Tim’s pens feature hand-turned and hand-made customizations, they take time to make. I think he told me somewhere around 60-70 pens a year? Given the time and detail he put into my pen, I’m surprised it is that many.

If you couldn’t tell by the title, I’m calling this post an experience, rather than a review. Each pen Tim makes is a 1 of 1, and during the making of mine, he communicated with me every step of the way, and involved me in every decision.

“Which material do you want?” Ebonite.

“Which color?” Green and Black swirl.

“What metal for the clip?” That Bronze one looks cool.

“Clip etching?” Duh.

“You know I draw and hand-engrave that myself, right?” Whoa.

“I’m making the nib today. I’ll send it to Mark Bacas when done and you can get a grind on it.” Medium Stub will be perfect.

This is just a sampling of our discussions throughout the process. Tim even asked if he was sending me too many messages, and I said “heck no!” He was legitimately excited to make something and share it with me as he went. I’m the lucky one to be on the receiving end of his craftsmanship.

On delivery at the 2025 Atlanta Pen Show, Tim and I went and sat at the bar so he could spend time with me going over every detail. For example, since he makes his own nibs, he has custom dual-channel feeds made for them. In conjunction with a high-capacity converter, his pens are made to lay down the ink. He also serializes each nib - by hand, of course.

Tim sent me this image before seating the nib.

How the pen writes is a statement befitting the pen itself. It’s a big pen that is well-balanced, and comfortable to use. The ink flows smoothly and consistently, and the addition of the nib grind allows it to fit my handwriting style perfectly. It’s as awesome to use as it is to look at.

The Waterfall Clip, in all its glory.

I hope using the pen is the end goal of anyone working with Tim. I think that is the best way to respect craftsmanship like this. I’ll be using it frequently, and I’ll be sharing it with others, too. This pen deserves as much, and to be on the receiving end of a gift such as this, well, that’s the least I can do.

In a bit of fortunate timing, I learned Tim is starting up a YouTube channel to share his work, and to help makers who are interested in making their own pens. From his Instagram:

“Have you ever wanted to learn to make truly one of a kind custom fountain pens? Well I’ll be making easy to follow instructional videos that explain my process on a wide range of topics, from nib making to hand engraving. I also hope to have a few special guests during this chapter of my pen making career.”

How lucky are we to be in a community that loves to share like this? We have seen it for years with people like Jonathon Brooks, Jim Hinze, Shawn Newton, Jon Tello, and on and on and on. I try to do the same, and will always support those who do.

To wrap this experience up, how can you get a Hooligan Pen, and how much are they? Tim only does custom work, so you can contact him via his website to discuss your ideas. And as you might imagine, the cost varies based on the design and materials. My pen was a gift from Tim, and I never inquired as to what it would sell for. Based on time, materials, and the level of detail and craftsmanship, you can assume it will have a cost relative to the work involved.

Teranishi Guitar Night Time Soda ink, on Life Stationery Letter Paper.

If you have dreamed about creating a specialty pen just for yourself, or to tell a story and share with others, I can’t imagine a better choice than working with Hooligan Pens and seeing what you and Tim can create. Thank you Tim for letting me be part of your journey!

(Hooligan Georgia Pens gifted me this pen at no cost.)

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Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 Guilloche Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Every now and then I open a new pen and it's a favorite at first sight. The Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 Guilloche gave me instant heart-eyes when I opened the box. It looks amazing. The texture, the finish, the colors--all perfect. I liked the look of it so much that I actually got nervous, because what if the writing experience didn't live up to the looks? There was no need to worry. This is a fantastic pen.

The body of the pen is a cool-toned blue resin that is subtly etched with a geometric guilloche pattern that resembles ears of grain. Each of the different colors has its own etching pattern. This color is called "indigo," though it looks to me to be more of a slate grey-blue. There is also “Iris” which is dark blue and “Verdigris” which is a sage green. They're all gorgeous. The Indigo is the only one that comes with the ruthenium trim, and the gunmetal grey looks perfect with the moody blue tones. The clip is slim and fairly flexible, with a tiny wheel at the bottom to make the clipping process smoother. The cap and piston knob have metal bands that add a decorative reinforcement to these stress points. Speaking of points, both the top and bottom finials are gently pointed. The overall look is very Art Deco vintage elegance.

Under the twist cap, the grip section is engraved with "Leonardo Italy" and you're greeted with a clear resin ink window, so you can keep track of your ink supply. This is a piston filler pen, so the back end unscrews to move a plunger inside the pen that draws ink in through the nib from a bottle. It is my personal favorite ink filling mechanism, as they tend to hold quite a lot of ink, as this one does, but they can be more difficult to clean. There is no way to disassemble the pen for cleaning, so rinsing ink out is a matter of repeatedly filling the pen with water and releasing it till it runs clear. It takes longer and is less effective than a filling system you can take apart, but it's worth it to me for the higher ink capacity, and I don't like reassembling tiny pen pieces after cleaning. I'm always afraid I'll drop one. So, I prefer this. There's no fear of a precious nib falling down the drain.

They all come with either a Fine nib or a Flex Fine nib. Mine has the Flex Fine, because I like a bouncy writing experience. The nib has its sides cut out to create a narrow neck that flexes when pressure is applied. The flex nib also has "Leonardo elastic" engraved on it. This is very much a modern flex nib, which is to say that it's not super flexy. It can take some light pressure and provide some slight line variation, but it isn't bendy like a vintage flex pen would be. What I love about it is that I can get fine lines when writing, but it still has a softer writing experience, and often flex nibs have better ink flow. This combination is perfect for me when I want a longer writing session. Writing a whole short story in one sitting, but don't want to run out of ink or get hand fatigue? This is your pen. Well, no. This is my pen. But you can have one, too.

The Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0 is available on JetPens for $289, which is perfectly fair. It's a fancy pen and it has a fancy pen price. It is, however, much nicer and more solidly built than some pens that are considerably more expensive. When it comes to measuring cost against quality, I think Leonardo is at the top of the game when it comes to mass-produced pens. All of their pens that I've used have been winners, and this is my favorite one, yet.

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!