My First Fountain Pens (Part One)
I mentioned before that my first pen was the Namiki Vanishing Point. I debated with myself long and hard about this because I was worried about the position of the clip being on the grip. I also wondered if I would even like fountain pens to begin with. Quite literally, I had only learned about fountain pens on the Internet and realized it was still a thing. Perhaps I would hate the fiddling, maintenance, inconveniences and limitations. But I was in love with romantic notion of using a writing instrument from the olden days. The enthusiasm of Brian Goulet, Brad Dowdy and Myke Hurley only served to push me further along this path.
After I convinced myself fountain pens were a good idea, the next question was "what?" I am lucky in that I discovered fountain pens at a time in my life in which I had some flexibility in my budget. So, I could afford to bypass the starter pens. This is not to say that starter pens are not good pens. I *do* use some of them now. Rather, I had a wider budget range from which I could choose for my first pen.
I settled on the Vanishing Point for practical reasons. I wanted something quick and easy I could pull quickly to take notes. In my day job, I am frequently in meetings and the clickable, retractable nib appealed to me. As Brian Goulet said, the VP is one of the best 'quick draw' pen for good reason.
Having settled on the VP, the next question was which nib? From my research, I knew that most people recommend medium nibs for newbies. I also knew that Japanese nibs tend to be finer than their European counter parts. However, I personally generally prefer fine, crisp lines. This is where having no experience with fountain pens made it hard for me to choose. I agonized about the nib size for the longest time. Ultimately, I chose the medium nib to put into the shopping cart.
How did I end up with the VP Raden Galaxy? Good question. In my quest to find a Canadian retailer of Pilot VPs, I happened to come across the VP Raden Stripe and VP Raden Water Surface. O.M.G. My heart literally skipped a beat. Then I saw the price tag and my heart skipped a few more beats. I felt that these pens, as dazzling as they were, were simply more than a sane person should spend on any one writing instrument.
I looked at the stock colours of VPs. They looked fine. But in my minds eye they paled in comparison to those sparkly beauties that I first saw. I felt slightly sad. Would I have to spend over $150 for a pen that I didn't entirely love? I scoured the Internet looking for deals on those Radens and eventually came across the VP Raden Galaxy. It did not have the va-va-vroom of the Raden Stripes or VP Raden Water Surface, but the sparkly hand-laid abalone bits gave the pen a certain subtle bling-bling without being too ostentatious. It's perfect for work I thought.
Argh, but the price tag...It's pretty pricey but, then again, almost half the price of its more exclusive siblings. I could *stretch* my budget for this one pen...especially since I was planning only to get ONE [delusional thought again] pen that would last for a lifetime. Yes, I could almost justify that. And so, the decision was made.
My first fountain pen purchase would be the Namiki Vanishing Point Raden Galaxy with medium nib.
The story continues...
For my review of the Namiki Vanishing Poing Raden Galaxy, click here.