Pilot Capless Fermo Fountain Pen - 18K Gold Fine Nib - Diamond Silver

This is a beautifully finished and functioning fountain pen. I have a few fountain pens in my collection, including a Pelikan Souveran 800, an ST Dupont Black Laquer Orpheo. I also have a Namiki Sterling Dragon. I have several Namiki Vanishing Points (an original from the 60s as well as several newer ones). Once Namiki/Pilot went to 18k nibs for their retractable fountain pens, the writing quality became much better. Having used my Silver Capless Fermo for about a month now, I have to admit it writes as smoothly as any pen I've owned. It's also beautifully and substantiallly constructed. I write with a very light touch, so I've always favored smaller nibs. Previously, I found Vanishing Point fine nibs to be a little too fine and rough, but this is fantastic. Any fountain pen aficionado needs to own one of these.

This is a beautiful capless fountain pen. The Fermo is about the same weight as the familiar Pilot Vanishing Point, but is a bit sleeker. The body is made of brass with lacquer overlay, and the color is rich and lovely. The parts have a very solid feel. This is a pen that will last.

The clip is narrower and has a bit of a nice flair at the end, making it easier to put in a pocket, and easier to write with since the end of the clip is where one grasps the pen to write. The twist mechanism is quiet and smooth, but does take a full turn to move the nib out of the pen, so it doesn't really work with just one hand. To make it work well, you need both hands to extend the nib. But this doesn't really seem to be a problem.

The nib is small and smooth, a tradition of this style of Pilot. The nib is actually a kind of metal insert, and is able to be used in the Fermo, the VP as well as the Decimo. You have to take the nib portion out of the pen and then either insert a cartridge or a converter and then reinsert the cartridge to write. Any of these hold an average amount of ink.

Ultimately, after getting this pen home and writing with it for awhile, I reluctantly returned it because it is a bit heavy for my hand. I have written with resin/plastic FP for years, and have grown accustomed to a lighter feel. If you aren't quite so stuck on pen heft as I am, you will love this FP.

+++++ Quality / Beauty
+++ Weight
+++++ Value
++++ OVERALL

Beautiful...right out of the box. Smooth silent mechanism. The finish is spectacular. Its a fairly big fountain pen, but comfortable even in my small hands. I rinsed the nib and feed in dilute ammonia (rids manufacturing oil). Popped in a Pilot black cartridge. It writes well with minimal feedback due the the gold nib. I almost like this more than the vanishing point. Rest assured you can carry this bad boy into any meeting and no one will hear it...but heads will turn when it comes into view. Dont hesitate...get it.

pros-

*perfect finish laquer/plating
*silent mechanism
*great nib (fine)
*nice design overall
*writes well with good ink flow (rinse nib and feed first)

cons-

*It would be nice to more colors added to the range

This is an excellent, well-made, and reliable fountain pen. The fine nib is perfect for writing in my Moleskine pocket weekly notebook. Ink flow seems to be best when I use the converter and fill from a bottle. A few seconds is required to get flow started when using a cartridge, but, once started, the flow is smooth. Once in a while, after the pen has been in an upright position with cartridge installed, it doesn't start immediately and I have had to gently shake the pen downward to get it going. I have never had this problem with the converter.
I prefer this pen over my Lamy Dialog 3 which is a similar design, but not as sleek.
I own a couple of other Vanishing Point pens, with the click feature, and, sometimes, I don't like the "snap and kick" of the button on the VP or decimo. Turning the knob on the Fermo is smooth and silent.

If you love fountain pens, but you are always on the run, this is the pen for you. I purchased this pen locally, because I wanted to support a local pen shop, but if that wasn't there, I would have gone to Jetpens. No cap to fumble around with or lose, If you have medium to large sized hands, you can even open this one handed. I've put it through its paces writing a years worth of medical school notes, and with a fine nib, I only need to refill once, at midday. With the new EF nib unit, I suppose it would cut down on the refills even more.