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.)

Pilot Iroshizuku To-ro Fountain Pen Ink Review

Pilot has been actively updating the full Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink lineup over the past few years by removing underperforming colors, and adding new shades to fill in the gaps. Their choices have been questionable these past few rounds, but they nailed the newest three additions that launched in Fall 2024.

The newest shades are the Wintery-Blue Rikka, the deep Purple-Red-Black Syun-gyo, and the one I’m discussing today, the Warm Lantern Yellow-Orange of To-ro. Universally, these have been well-received, although did they really need another Blue? Rikka is fine, but I believe the least interesting of the bunch. Syun-go seems to lead the sales and usage charts - anecdotally, at least. To-ro, well, that’s a Brad ink, so let’s get into it.

Several years ago, as part of Pilot’s 100th Anniversary celebration, they launched an ink called Daikokuten, which quickly became one of my favorites. I classify it as a Yellow ink, and it is shockingly legible. I had been waiting to see if Pilot would bring it, or something similar, to the main Iroshizuku lineup, and instantly wondered if To-ro was it.

Not exactly, but To-ro may be better for more people with shades of Orange mixed with Yellow. A comparison swatche shows the differences:

To-ro is clearly more Orange on the page, but not as Orange as Pilot’s other options in the lineup, Yu-yake and Fuyu-gaki. I think Yu-yake is closer to a standard shade of Orange, and Fuyu-gaki is the Red-Orange option. To-ro leans more yellow, and has an interesting vibrancy about it, making it perfectly legible on the page, even with my small handwriting.

Like all other Iroshizuku inks I’ve tried, the performance is right down the middle. They have great flow, good color, average dry time, moderate shading, and almost no sheen. In short, they are a Goldilocks performer. Price-wise, at $28.50 for 50 ml, they creep over into the expensive side of the ledger, but I think that’s fair for the quality. The bottle design is top-notch, as well.

Given all that, how does To-ro rate among the new three inks? I still think Syun-gyo is the best - and most popular - of the new colors, for good reason. It is the most different shade, and most usable on the page. To-ro is a good addition to the lineup, but with it, we are now teetering on the edge of maximum Oranges for a 24 ink collection. Will Pilot continue to discontinue underperforming inks and create new ones? I wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m not sure this is an every year thing unless they grow the SKU count of the Iroshizuku lineup.

To-ro is an ink that is right up my alley, and a good switch up from the hotter Oranges I frequently use. It clears the light shade barrier by a good margin, and is easily readable on the page. I see this being a frequent refill option for many of my pens, and I can’t wait to see where it lands next.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

---

Pilot Silvern Fountain Pen Review

When I think about having a pen that I can use all day, every day, I have a few boxes it needs to check:

— Goldilocks size: not too big, not too small

— Light, and balanced

— Comfortable grip section

— Great nib

— Cartridge/Converter filling system

The Pilot Silvern checks all of these boxes for me. It is also a stunner, which certainly helps its cause as the one pen that can do it all.

The Silvern came into existence around 1970, which, in my opinion, was Pilot’s heyday of design. Taking cues from the Pilot Elite, and later, the Pilot Custom, the Silvern blinged out those models with a Sterling Silver exterior barrel. It has been a staple of Pilot’s product lineup ever since, with the last several years seeing it used as a platform for unique design elements throughout the barrel.

My review pen is the Jaguar model, which features this cuddly beast on the prowl through the jungle. The level of detail shows off all its spots, as it sneaks through the palm leaves, trees, and bushes. It’s a fantastic scene laid out on the Sterling barrel, and something Pilot does well throughout the Silvern lineup.

The shape of the Silvern is torpedo-like, with slight tapers towards rounded ends. The grip section is black plastic, with a matching taper into what is one of Pilot’s knockout design elements in their inlaid 18K Gold nib. As great as the exterior barrel is, the entire pen comes together because of the nib. If they used a more traditional grip section and nib I don’t think the Silvern would pop off as much as it does.

I inked this pen with a Pilot Black ink cartridge, which is an easy match. That said, what ink color wouldn’t be a perfect match for the Silvern? My inclination is to keep it classic with Black or Blue Black, but bright colors like Green and Purple would look great, or even Brown and Yellow would complement the Jungle theme.

At the moment, the Silvern is available with Dragon and Turtle themed barrels, along with Jaguar. Additionally, there are two non-creature themes available, Ishidatami and Tsumigi, both classic Japanese patterns.

Cost-wise, they are expensive at $544, but relatively speaking, they are priced well. For a full-Sterling Silver exterior barrel and an 18K Gold nib, the Silvern brings a lot to the table compared to other pens in its price range. Add in fantastic designs and their limited nature (these are each an edition of 550.) And, if you are paying attention, they drop special editions outside of their normal lineup, such as this Pokemon model a few years ago.

Back to my checklist above, the Silvern has me covered. It doesn’t hurt that it is made by one of my favorite brands in Pilot. I’ve had one on my watch list for years, and it might be time to move it to the purchase list in 2025.

(Chatterly Luxuries loaned me this pen for purposes of this review.)

---

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!