PILOT Vanishing Point Collection Refillable & Retractable Fountain Pen, Gun Metal Gray Barrel with Matte Black Accents, Blue Ink, Fine Nib (60583)

I love how practical this fountain pen is and enjoy taking it with me when I'm out and about. Especially to work and church. So quick and easy to activate and put away when not using so the nib doesn't dry out! Writes wonderful. I ordered some blue/black ink because the color that came with it is a bit lighter than I prefer.So glad I took a chance and ordered this pen. I believe I will end up using it a lot; it is so practical and convenient compared to messing with a cap.

I got this as a Christmas present back in 2020, it’s been a daily driver since then. I tried a few inks with it (Waterman, Noodler’s) and settled on iroshizuku “tsuyu-kusa” - with a good quality paper, there is no bleeding and writing with it is an almost sensual experience. This gets five stars and I rarely give anything five stars.Review Feb 2025 - still an amazing pen!! Consistently writes beautifully and the sensation on good paper is silky smooth. My favorite pen!

I'm relatively new to fountain pens, but I've been using a pair of medium priced Parker fountain pens daily at work and home for almost a year now, and they are great. Work well, write smoothly, travel well, and none of the mess that I used to encounter as a child with my first fountain pens. For Christmas though, I decided I was going to invest in a better quality pen to use daily. I wasn't looking for a piece of art necessarily, but I wanted a professional looking pen that delivered a truly superior writing experience. I write a lot in my work and I am in front of executives regularly. I researched for some time the various manufacturers in the US, Europe and Japan and read user reviews both pro and con. In the end I kept coming back to the Pilot Vanishing Point. My other fountain pens are medium nib. They write smoothly with good ink delivery, but I wanted a fine point. I read several user references that said the Japanese make finer nibs, so that a Japanese medium is more like a European fine point. I really wanted a fine point, but I decided to stick with a medium nib for the Pilot. That turned out to be the right decision. The nib on the Vanishing Point delivers ink with the smoothness of a medium but produces a fine line that dries quickly. Absolutely no skipping or blotching. This pen frankly makes my not-so-neat handwriting look much more legible and professional even when writing quickly.Mechanically, the Vanishing Point is amazing. The engineering is flawless and works with a solid feel that inspires confidence that this pen will serve me well for a lifetime. And as it turns out, it also looks like a work of modern art as an added bonus. The rhodium accents are beautiful and the Carbonesque pattern on the barrel is striking, lending a subtle feel of texture to the grip.My only complaint is with the delivery. The ink cartridge included with the pen exploded in transit and sent ink all over the inside of the case. Fortunately, the pen was not affected and the Vanishing Point comes with a converter so I am able to use bottled ink.The twist converter draws ink into the pen easily and with no inky fingers afterward. A quick wipe of the nib and I was back in business.I would recommend this pen to anyone who is looking to "kick it up a notch", especially if you're got a little bit of fountain pen experience and are hesitating to invest in a more expensive pen. This one is well worth the price!

I love this pen! Before this I had a decimo so I had gotten used to the retractable pen and the clip position but the vanishing point is much better, I like the weight and the size. This type of pen took a while to get used to because of the clip position and I’m left handed but once I got used to it, it was all i wanted to use. I love that the nib is 18k gold and on the matte black it’s a gunmetal color which is just lovely. The extra fine nib is so smooth and has some bounce to it. I inked it and it worked straight away. It came with a blue cartridge which I didn’t use, and a con40 which I did use.

Wow, writes so smooth. It writes like butter in a Hobonichi. What a wonderful product, I'm so excited I found it! Trying to drum up things I need to write about! The writing experience and balance of this pen are worth the price.

Overall, I really like this pen and after committing to using quality paper, it is my every day writer. I've had mine for almost three years and am looking to purchase another one. Wear issues/scratches with the matte black barrel is the only con.Pros:-The stock nibs are excellent (I've used the extra fine and medium and have settled on the medium).-The balance and size (for my hand) is great.-The convenience of no cap makes this versatile for intermittent use (taking notes for example).-Griping around the clip does not bother me and actually serves as a tactile indication of orientation. (I'm often annoyed by the lack of this indication in most capped fountain pens as there typically is axial symmetry in the grip area, though the nib requires a particular orientation.) I concede that this is a matter of how you grip your pen and address a writing surface, so if you're unsure you should really try one.-I have not had issues with the pen drying out, nor have I had any issues with filling/cleaning.-I have not had leak nor ink on the hands issues. (I should note that the "trap door" does rub on the nib and this seems to smear some ink around the nib itself and the "door". These parts are recessed within end of the pen so any "mess" is contained and not touched with normal handling (excluding of course the nib, but you'd expect that to have ink on it right?). If you're bothered just knowing there's a "mess" in there, then you might not want this pen; but then again there's a little vile of ink sloshing around in all fountains so fountain pens might just not be your thing.)Con:-I suggest avoiding the matte black barrel option. Though I really like the low key look of the matte black, I've had wear issues. The finish appears to be very "soft" and scratches easily. (See photo.) Admittedly, the photo shows wear after three years of regular carry and use, but it is not as though I leave the pen in my pocket with my keys. Thus the -1 star and my perusing for the next most subtle color option that has a gloss finish. (I'm guessing that the gloss finish will wear better.)