Pen Rodeo - Majohn A1 vs Pilot vp

I compare two retractable fountain pens which are surprisingly similar.
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• Pen Rodeo - Majohn A1 ...
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[@MrAndrew1953]

I have several Pilot VPs which I have collected for a long time. I’ve resisted the temptation to buy any knockoffs. Recently I bought 3 Jinhao 10s for comparison. I have to admit the build quality is pretty good though they are only available with fine nibs. There’s a very nice matte black version with jinhao in gold letters mis barrel. They give you a per-pet to fill the converter that gives you a good fill. I got rid of the Pilot 40 converter and put on a bladder one of a Pilot Metropolitan. Much better fill.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I have a few of the bladder converters. I might have to try one!

[@rahulshah1408]

I love the jinhao 10.

[@EnCwoisant]

Love the majohn copies. Better bodies without the clip, faceted A2, multiple colors. Only the nib is sometimes bad so I bought Pilot replacements. Even the Majohn converter is better. I use them in my Pilot pens.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Definitely a cost savings, and money left to buy better nibs!

[@Johan-vk5yd]

15:18 The twisty Lamy is named Dialogue.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Thank you! I hate it when I'm recording and draw a blank on something like that.

[@aprils.]

These two pens look like my pair of VPs. I have the yellow one in fine and the red coral one in medium. I should mention that I almost immediately replaced the steel nib with a gold one, because I was not a fan. It’s one of my favorite models of pen because I find the clicking mechanism extremely satisfying and convenient. I was initially worried about whether or not the clip would bother me, but it isn’t an issue for me at all.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm not a fan of the steel nib in either the VP or the Majohn. And it shouldn't make a difference! I'm glad to hear the clip is not an issue for you. I think that's a personal taste issue.

[@FountainPenNews]

I really like the converter for the moonman. I have several pilot VP and a couple of the moonman I prefer the pilot nibs. (gold ones, rather than steel) Someday, I'd like a pilot LS one. Thanks for the good comparison!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The Pilot nibs definitely improve the pen!

[@Rgc571]

I have both as well as the the Navhalur Eclipse. The nibs units of all three are interchangeable. My A1 is the clipless model. Fortunately for ne the clip is not a problem so all are comfortable. I would like to have a Majohn A2 because of the facets. Thanks.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That is interesting about the Navhalur Eclipse. I hadn't heard of that pen before. And it really works with the Pilot refills? I had not heard of the facets. Maybe I've been away from modern pens too long.

[@christophermckellar1352]

Thanks. I have the pilot vanishing point. Fortunately, the clip doesn’t bother me. I don’t use it very much however, which I probably should remedy.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Fair enough! The clip is one of those things that seems to come down to how you hold the pen.

[@sathishrao7926]

I’ve a VP with gold nib (my most expensive FP at $200), A1 and A2. VP certainly feels more substantial, it’s better writer with better finish. However, we can get A1 or A2 for the price of that stupid Con-40, so Majohns offer great VFM. Also, I had inked VP with Krishna “Empty” ink recently and it used to dry out frequently and I had to prime it to get the ink flow, so the sealing mechanism may not be perfect. That Pilot twisty you sold is “Fermo” !

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The price is a great advantage of the Majohn! My Majohn has a good seal, so that may be a quality control issue. And thank you for reminding the the name of the Fermo!

[@rahulshah1408]

The jinhao version is really good.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I may have to try it out.

[@jacobus57]

The Pilot with a steel nib is a Capless, not a VP.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

So when I put a gold nib in it, does it get promoted to VP?

[@andrewdaydreamer5209]

If marjohn or Jinhao did a medium or broad nib i would buy one. The ef on my A1 feels too scratchy for my linking

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I like the broader nibs in it!

[@Penfreaq]

Love this video I agree with you on both pens, still I don't own them and I'd love to try both if I were to buy the Majohn, i'd like to buy the pilot nib for it if it fits. I think I'll go for the one without the clip because that would bother me too and on the pilot version I guess I'll just have to deal with it. Does anyone know who sells the pilot one real cheap? Thank you for the video sir

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Glad you enjoyed! This kind of comparison is useful to me, so I'm glad to share one when I can. Hopefully someone can help you find the Pilot at a lower cost. What worked for me was finding one with a steel nib. But then I made up for it by buying the gold nibs, so I'm not sure I came out ahead...

[@marilyngardner4269]

Is the Pilot you can't remember the name of the Fermo?

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It is. Thank you!

[@periwinkle197]

pilot nib SU is probably their stub nib

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It is their stub, but I'm not sure what SU stands for!

[@teresaharris-travelbybooks5564]

I've been hoping someone would do this. Thank YOU! I'd been looking at the Majohn pen but didn't want to buy one if it was a piece of crap. How/where do you sell your pens?

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It's a quality pen, even if the nib is iffy. So far, I've sold and traded my pens by private contact.

[@catwhisperer911]

I have 2 A1s, one of which is clip-less, and one A2. I enjoy all of them when I use them. I did work all 3 nibs just a little to make them more amicable for left-handed writing but all 3 were smooth out of the box and none ever experienced skipping or hard starts. I never owned a Pilot VP but I have written with them numerous times and their nibs are superior imo for 2 reasons - you get more nib options and they are wetter which I prefer. If I were to ever purchase a Pilot VP I would still have to work the nib to make it amicable to left-handed writing. Of course your mileage may vary but I would say that Majohn has produced a very well made pen despite the whole debate around homages.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm impressed with the quality of the Majohn pen. The nib, not as much so. Of course, I'm not dealing with left-handed writing. And the nib options are good, especially since I know from the Fermo that I don't like VP's fine nibs either.

[@MissMarilynDarling]

I have a majohn a2 its plastic and its smaller than decimo size and it only comes with an extra fine nib and its so smoothe I love it way better than the pilot vp or the a1 :)

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That's good to know. I should maybe check one out.

[@nicco.2a]

I understand you don't like the clip, it depends on your grip. I bought several Majohn A1 to see if I liked the design and maybe later buy a VP. The clip doesn't bother me at all but the nibs are atrocious, I ended buying a medium VP gold nib unit and after that, another VP gold unit - the stub - and they are perfect. I even didn't use the pens for more than 2 weeks and they still started at once! So kudos for Majohn, the A1s seal well. In the end, the price of the A1 with a VP gold nib unit was less than half the price of a Vanishing Point! granted I know the quality of the pen is not as good (except for the nib, because it is the same) but still very good. I won't try the A1 clipless, no need.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Grip is definitely a factor in this pen! I'm glad your experience with the seal on the Majohn matches mine. Even if I'm not a fan of the nib, it will not dry out. And you make a very good point about the price, even if the Majohn nib is replaced with a Pilot.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I once used to own three Capless/VPs. I now only have the superb sterling version. It has a swell nib (I have the 18k M). I don’t care about these cheap Chinese copies. I wouldn’t even want one for free. The Majohn doesn’t really compare favorably with the original VP - mainly because of the comparative quality of the nibs.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The nibs are the real difference that I could see.

[@juicylouisey]

I tried a Capless and a Decimo and didn’t get on with either. Now there is the Curidas, Navalhur has an offering and LAMY too. Of course every Chinese brand worth its salt has a retractable and I am so OVER RETRACTABLES! We need to rediscover the zen of the cap. Those seconds of contemplation before immortalising our thoughts, or just for the cat to bat about the table.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The physicist in me loves the engineering of a capless pen. But there is a reason most of my pens have caps. For a situation where I regularly uncap, a push-cap is good enough, one of the reasons I love the Lamy 2000. And the cap always stays in my hand.