Visconti Homo Sapiens (stub-nib)

Friday, April 23, 2010

Visconti (from Florence, Italy) made a beautiful pen out of really ancient materials, bronze, lava and palladium. They introduced the pen at the Philadelphia Pen show in january 2010.
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Package
Visconti Homo Sapiens
The package contains, the pen, a beautiful luxury leather-feel box, a booklet on Visconti, a impregnate cloth for cleaning the bronze parts. Inside the booklet is a DVD on Visconti and on how to use the fountain pen. It also contains a seal with the serial number (mine is CG0015945459).

The pen
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First thing that I noticed when I touched the pen was it's smoothness. The barrel feels like rubber or leather it gives a great writing experience. The material is a mixture of 50% lava (from the volcano Etna) and a precious resin. It has nice bronze details and rings on it. The material is hygroscopic and can handle some sweat from the hands. The material is heat-resistent up untill 100 degrees Celcius. Visconti claims it is practically unbreakable and is resistant for scratches.
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Filling the pen
At first I was a bit confused on how to fill it. But after seeing the DVD it was clear to me how to fill it. Visconti calls it the Powerfiller. Unscrew the rear end of the barrel and pull the piston out. Then put the nib in the ink and push the piston down again and wait for a few seconds. That last step can be repeated for completely filling the pen.
Visconti Homo Sapiens

The nib
Visconti Homo Sapiens
I choose the stub-nib 1.3. The palladium use for the nib is a great choice I think. It has some flex to it, but certainly not to much.

The cap
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Visconti used the same closing on the cap as on the Divina Proportion. It is a bayonet closing with a little feather in the cap I think. It works great.

Writing
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Writing with this nib is really a great experience. As you can see in the picture it gives even my handwriting something nice.

Facts
Visconti Homo Sapiens
lenght: 145mm (5,7") - with cap over the nib-side (I think you call it capped??)
lenght: 131mm (5,2") - without cap and ready to write
niblength: 24mm (0,94")
barrel: 14mm (0,55")
price: about $ 565,= to $ 595,= (€ 420,= to € 450,=)

plus Nice use of materials and because of that a great feel
plus Hygroscopic barrel for sweaty hands
plus Good size if you like big pens
plus Really nice palladium nib

minus Can bee seen as a minor. It is a mens-pen.
minus Design is a little bit squarish (German, not the flair of a Italian pen)

10 comments:

Tom said...

What did you think about the ink capacity using the powerfiller? I still have yet to find the trick to completely filling it.

Anonymous said...

Splendid review! I don't agree that it is a pen for men, though. :)

Speedmaster said...

Fantastic review and pics!

Julie said...

Nice post! My curiosity extends to the tactile quality of this pen. Otherwise it is quite business like in appearance and you called it right as a "bit squarish." P.S. Agree with ladydandelion about it being a pen for all. Don't underestimate what pens we'll go for!

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous pen and I love the idea of creating one with "ancient" materials. :) Also amazing pics once again!

Anonymous said...

Great review...makes me jealous.

dsatco

(PS sorry I accidentally lost your comment, I posted it again for you)

Speedmaster said...

Absolutely beautiful, I LOVE it!! ;-)

Kagemusha said...

That's a great instrument... I have an Opera Series that came with the oak box and the crystal ink well... they sure make it pretty! Visconti is my personal favorite!

Umar said...

Great review. Is the "hygroscopic" quality of the resin a downside in that it will keep absorbing and getting discolored by high pigment inks?

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your review, as I just purchased the same pen & nib. Should have it soon.

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