I purchased this pen in July of 2012 and have used it as an every day pen since. This is the first fountain pen I have ever purchased.

I loved the packaging. I am not sure that it's packaged the same way anymore. Generally the pen writes very well

My only complaint is that the finish, after much use, is wearing off and showing the copper metal color of the body. While it doesn't effect the writing of the pen, it makes it look very cheap and/or used. This is the reason for my 4 star review.

I also purchased a fine nib for this pen. If you're ordering for daily writing, I suggest the medium nib. I barely use the fine nib.

Another suggestion I have is that you should always, ALWAYS, leave the pen retracted when not in use! Even if you're just shuffling some papers to continue writing. The nib will bend easily.

This is an amazing pen for the right user under a certain set of conditions. The form factor is nice, heavy and smooth. The "ballpoint-like" retract feature is something you'll wonder how you lived without if you take a lot of short notes and had no idea how much time you used to waste uncapping, posting and recapping a fountain pen.

The medium nib on the Pilot is pretty FAT. Everyone talks about how Japanese nibs run small and so it is easy to assume a Pilot medium nib would be equivalent to a Western fine. It's not. Depending on the size of your handwriting and the kind of paper you use, small handwriting may be illegible with this pen because it's that broad. On the other hand, it also conceals small inconsistencies in my still-improving penmanship so I like it.

If you like using bottled ink for the color selection, move along and maybe get a Lamy 2000 instead. The ink converter experience with this pen is absolutely abysmal. The supplied converter is WAY too small, hard to fill completely, leaks if the pen gets bumped around too much and is just plain cheaply made compared to, say, a Lamy Z24 converter. And nothing with a converter compares to the capacity and ease of filling of a piston filler. Bottled ink vs. cartridge ink pens are two different animals for different purposes IMHO.

Pilot's ink cartridge color selection is pretty limited but here's why I'm willing to live with that. The Vanishing point is a premium fountain pen for people on the go. This is a pen designed to be an EDC pen for general use. Nobody who takes notes in meetings/class or fills out business/medical paperwork is going to want to stop to refill a pen from a bottle of ink in the middle of the day. Carry a spare ink cartridge or two and when your pen runs dry in the middle of a meeting, just pop a new cartridge in and resume writing. Done. No wiping the ink off the nib required.

If you want a fountain pen to journal or write letters in your favorite color ink, use a different pen that you can leave at home in your stationery drawer. But if you want a bombproof, EDC, retractable fountain pen that writes buttery smooth, the Vanishing Point is worth every penny.

This is my first 18K nib. I prefer a nice thick nib, and this does not disappoint. The nib is very wet, writes smooth. I have it inked with Pilot iroshizuku tsuki-yo. It really shows off the nice shading of the ink. I write rather large and right handed. My one disappointment is the convertor. It is all the information that you've probably read up on already. The convertor does not hold a lot of ink, I have to refill it about once or twice a week (I write a lot of letters and in my planner). Filling the convertor is easily done, but there is a long process of burping out all the air so that you can get all the ink possible. Overall, lovely pen and I'm glad that I upgraded - I love that it's a quick draw EDC. The matte finish makes it a bit of a looker that most people comment on as they show up to meetings with their simple rollerball bics (I may have even made a couple fountain pen converts). I don't have any scuffs or scratches yet, but welcome them!

My first gold nib pen and I absolutely love it. Feels great, the clip placement not only doesn't bother me, it helps with my grip. Design is stunning. My only complaint is that I bought this with a medium nib because I heard it writes more like a fine. I have to say I am inexperienced when it comes to fountain pens but I would have preferred a fine nib. The pen however is so great, I may just keep it and choose my next pen with a fine nib! Amazing service and pricing from JetPens as always.

I goofed. I was so excited for this pen up until I started writing. I went with the medium nib because I preferred that over the fine nib but I didn't read the reviews. This medium nib is not a medium it's a broad. It is very smooth and nice to write with but I have small handwriting so if I'm not careful it just looks like an inky mess. I'm now need to buy a replacement nib unit. I learned a valuable lesson to read reviews no matter what.