15 Sept 2015

introducing the pilot namiki vanishing point in raden, fine nib

Pilot fountain pens are renowned for their high quality and excellent nibs across the board and today, I have the pleasure of showing you all one of their excellent offerings: a Pilot Vanishing Point/Capless (depending on which part of the world you're in). Here, we have the Raden variant in a fine nib. Thank you to Ron at Pen Chalet for sending me this pen for a review and he has kindly offered Paper Lovestory readers a discount code for the next few months (just in time for Christmas too!).


The pen comes in a lovely gift box and screams luxury. When I saw the pen in person for the first time, I was overwhelmed by how minimalistic and pretty it is. The abalone shell detailing offsets the black barrel nicely and this is particularly emphasised when it catches the light.

Nib-wise, mine came with a rhodium-plated 18k nib and like the various Pilot Kakuno fine fountain pens I own, it writes extremely smoothly. Supplied with a pen was a Pilot Con-50 Converter which I'll put to good use though cartridges will inevitably see more use as they're more convenient.


Here are a further few photos of the abalone shell detail.


Japanese nibs are generally finer than their Western counterparts and this fine nib did not disappoint. In possession of smaller handwriting, a fine nib is usually favoured here and as you can see in my notes below, it definitely writes a narrower line than the Faber-Castell medium-nibbed fountain pen I reviewed a few weeks ago.


One gripe users may have is the location of the clip - it is on the same side as the nib and as a result, I had to alter my grip ever so slightly. That's why the notes above look a bit messier than usual as I was still getting used to this clip location. In terms of weight, the pen is probably the heaviest pen in my possession but I still found it super comfortable to use during my extended note-taking sessions. On the whole, fountain pens rarely give me cramp in comparison to other types of pens and the Pilot Capless here continues that trend.

Having been using my Lamy Safari on placement and hooking the clip around my lanyard, I've found the uncapping and recapping a bit inconvenient from time to time. I'd have to remove the pen from my lanyard, uncap the pen and then post it before I can start writing. With the Pilot Capless, I just have to remove it from my lanyard without the need to worry about the cap at all.

In conclusion, the Pilot Capless has jumped right to the top of my favourite pen list. The service from Pen Chalet was brilliant also - the pen arrived in just over a week from the US. I rarely give full marks to any product so for this pen, I'll give it 9.5/10. This pen would make an ideal gift for those who love their fountain pens and with Christmas coming up, this might be a good time to purchase one... (Just saying!)

To get a 10% discount from Pen Chalet, enter paperlovestory at the checkout.The code is valid until the end of October - perfect for that Christmas shopping spree you were planning :)

Although I was supplied this sample free of charge, I have reviewed it as if I had paid for it and have tried to be as impartial as possible. 

4 comments

  1. I've always been wary towards the Pilot Vanishing point because I've read some negative reviews on the weight and clip (as you pointed out) but the abalone shell detail is just too beautiful to pass. It almost looks like a galaxy of stars from afar. Thanks for your review! I think I just might purchase this pen now :D

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    1. It is quite a heavy pen and the clip position is bizarre but these are things you can get used to (at least for me anyway!). The things you can't change (i.e. the nib, aesthetic, quality) are absolutely fantastic and that's why compromising on the weight and clip position was something that may be achievable for many :) x

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  2. Wow, that is one beautiful pen!

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