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Thread: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

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    Senior Member awa54's Avatar
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    Default "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    I spotted this in a sponsored add on Amazon while searching for some paper, I assume that it's just a stainless nib version of the current Capless, but then again, sometimes the budget versions have other shortcuts taken as well... It's about $40US cheaper than the next cheapest offer on a gold nibbed VP.

    Interested to hear some experiences with this variant!
    David-

    So many restoration projects...

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    Senior Member calamus's Avatar
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    Default Re: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    There's an article on the internet (and we all know that everything posted anywhere on the internet is always true) at https://unsharpen.com/pen/pilot-vanishing-point/ that claims that the "special alloy" is stainless steel. FWIW.
    Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
    (What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)

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    Senior Member awa54's Avatar
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    Default Re: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    I poked the internet until it finally got annoyed and answered me... It looks like the "special alloy" version is an Asia only variant of the Capless, made in a few basic colors. No indication of any other differences from the standard gold nib version, though it does note that the trim is rhodium (only, no gold trim option), so no downgrade there.
    David-

    So many restoration projects...

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    Default Re: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    I have both the gold and special alloy (steel) version.
    The body is the same. I can not see any difference or a lesser quality to the body.
    The writing experience is up to the individual user. Some perfer the feeling of gold and other found steel just as pleasing. I found the alloy to write like a good steel nib. Smooth and consistent.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

  5. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to littletim For This Useful Post:

    awa54 (August 28th, 2019), carlos.q (August 27th, 2019), ceebert (September 6th, 2019)

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    Senior Member awa54's Avatar
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    Default Re: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    Quote Originally Posted by littletim View Post
    I have both the gold and special alloy (steel) version.
    The body is the same. I can not see any difference or a lesser quality to the body.
    The writing experience is up to the individual user. Some perfer the feeling of gold and other found steel just as pleasing. I found the alloy to write like a good steel nib. Smooth and consistent.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

    Thanks, that was exactly what I was hoping to hear: an opinion from someone who has used both!

    I wouldn't expect a stainless Pilot nib to be a bad writer, but was unsure of changes to the mechanism or barrel... actually I was secretly hoping that this version might have a plastic/resin barrel, since I prefer lighter pens.
    David-

    So many restoration projects...

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    Default Re: "special alloy nib" Pilot Vanishing point, has anyone tried one?

    Years ago I wrote something about the different Capless nibs:

    I: https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/201...ss-nibs-i.html
    II: https://estilofilos.blogspot.com/201...s-nibs-ii.html

    TLDR: Steel nibs work fine, draw a thinner line than those of gold and tend to be a bit drier.

    Iosepus (aka Bruno Taut)
    Iosepus aka Bruno Taut

    http://estilofilos.blogspot.com

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