Tell Me About Visconti Please?

[Willieboy]

I have been admiring the Visconti Van Gogh and the Salvador Dali and was wondering what you folks thought of these pens. I have been looking at reviews on Amazon and, generally, reviewers seem only luke-warm about the Visconti line. There are complaints about shoddy materials and workmanship. I've never owned an Italian made pen so I'm just not sure if a Visconti is the best use of $300. Can anyone reassure me? Any advice would be appreciated.

[writingrav]

I'd look for an Omas

[bulbboy]

I have a Visconti Rembrandt mad love it. It's one of my favorite pens!

[Tracy Lee]

I have 40 Visconti pens. They have quirks like every single other pen line. For pens at their lower end of the price scale (like Van Gogh and Dali) they pens are just "okay" in my opinion. Less substantial materials, mediocre steel nibs. If you move into a higher price point for Visconti, their pens are remarkable in substance and beauty and weight and lovely design IMO. I have one of the new Van Gogh pens and honestly? Pretty darned crappy. The lower priced Rembrandt is a better pen, again in my opinion. The Dali is the Van Gogh with a melty clock on the clip. Same body, same types of materials. Maybe $300 would buy a better pen in Omas as writingrav suggests, and there may be others as well. I wouldn't get into Visconti with a model below the Opera, which most of the time comes with the Dreamtouch Palladium nib and can often be found in the $300 range if you shop around a little. The Opera line is outstanding I think, I have 6 of them.

[inlovewithjournals]

I love my Rembrandt and aspire to one day own an Opera.

[MY63]

I have been admiring Visconti pens for some time but I have decided to save for a more expensive pen,there is a Van Gogh in the classifieds that I had been thinking of buying. It would save you quite a lot of money.

[KBeezie]

I passed on the Viscontis for a while, and was considering something like the Homo Sapien Bronze Age, but never really splurged for one until I discovered the Divina Desert Springs limited edition which just happened to come with my prefered nib size (EF), and the fact that the 18K nibs were springy was a bonus.

http://i.imgur.com/YWvhQfw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XcFTCDV.jpg

I guess my only complaint with the quality control is that I know that eventually the paint is going to come off the clip, and that the chrome ring around the ink window moves/rotates whenever I cap/uncap the pen. Other than that, pretty nice for a larger pen, pretty well balanced and the celluloid feels rather nice.

But if it was any other style of body (ie: not the celluloid desert springs one I got), I probably wouldn't have spent close to that much money for one and would have went Nakaya instead. (but I been keeping my eye on the possibility of an Omas 360 now, just not familiar with Omas' typical nib properties).

[mustud52]

I have 40 Visconti pens. They have quirks like every single other pen line. For pens at their lower end of the price scale (like Van Gogh and Dali) they pens are just "okay" in my opinion. Less substantial materials, mediocre steel nibs. If you move into a higher price point for Visconti, their pens are remarkable in substance and beauty and weight and lovely design IMO. I have one of the new Van Gogh pens and honestly? Pretty darned crappy. The lower priced Rembrandt is a better pen, again in my opinion. The Dali is the Van Gogh with a melty clock on the clip. Same body, same types of materials. Maybe $300 would buy a better pen in Omas as writingrav suggests, and there may be others as well. I wouldn't get into Visconti with a model below the Opera, which most of the time comes with the Dreamtouch Palladium nib and can often be found in the $300 range if you shop around a little. The Opera line is outstanding I think, I have 6 of them.

I think you pretty much nailed it.

[Ste_S]

As has been said, the Dali and Van Gogh are perhaps too expensive - same nib, same material as the cheaper Rembrandt.
I have a Rembrandt, and it's 'ok'. Nib is nothing spectacular, and perhaps too dry for my tastes. The legendary Visconti QC also hit me when the metal cap band fell off.

[Faustine]

I have a Van Gogh, my first Visconti, and really like it. That being said, I do think for the price paid I could have *maybe* found something with a better gold nib - the Van Gogh came with a firm steel F nib. It writes nicely and all, I just expected a little bit more for the price, by far the most I've ever spent on a pen. I really wanted something that wrote like BUTTAH. The rest of the pen I have no complaints about, the quality is good (at least that I've noticed), and it's a beautiful finish (which is really why I wanted it so badly). So if you can find one on sale or at a discount, I'd say give it a shot. What matters is that you like the pen - there will always be something better out there you COULD have spent your money on. But maybe you'd end up really liking it despite the arguments against it?

But then again, the above $100 pen price range is one I'm still dipping my toes into, so don't have a lot of experience to compare to. :)

[SteveE]

I have no Viscontis.

I have one each, Stipula and Omas (and about 100 others).

The one time I nearly bought a Visconti, probably about 4 or 5 years ago, I found a retailer (brick and mortar store, no less) who had a Wall Street Limited Edition that I just felt was destined for my hand. Then I tried it - it wouldn't write at all. The store has an on-site repair person, and they could not get this pen to feed ink and write at all. As this was the last of that model they had in stock, I wasn't going to purchase it and then send it overseas for repair (I prefer instant gratification, not willing to wait months for repair). I passed on it, and to this day have no Visconti pens.

[Willieboy]

Thanks all. Most of you have expressed the same issues I've read about. I have a couple pens that cost more than $300 and they are perfect as far as I can see. Also, there are many pens costing far less that offer exceptional value. Anyway, thanks again for your help.

[KrazyIvan]

I have 1 Visconti and am very happy with it. I have an HS, the smaller one, I forget it's designation but the nib is one of the smoothest I have had out of the box. I have an OMAS 360 (vintage) and other various other Italian pens (Stipula, Delta).

[Bogon07]

I have no Viscontis.

I have one each, Stipula and Omas (and about 100 others).

The one time I nearly bought a Visconti, probably about 4 or 5 years ago, I found a retailer (brick and mortar store, no less) who had a Wall Street Limited Edition that I just felt was destined for my hand. Then I tried it - it wouldn't write at all. The store has an on-site repair person, and they could not get this pen to feed ink and write at all. As this was the last of that model they had in stock, I wasn't going to purchase it and then send it overseas for repair (I prefer instant gratification, not willing to wait months for repair). I passed on it, and to this day have no Visconti pens.

I bought their last pink Lamy Safari from one of the few physical shops in Sydney one lunch time a few years ago. Got back to work popped in the blue cartridge and it would not write - squeezed the cartridge a few times and a bit of ink came out very dark. The feed appeared to be clogged with black ink. After three days of soaking, cleaning and flushing and a layer of magenta ink as well it finally worked.

That was the last pen I've bought there. They dip them for demonstration and customer testing, and often don't clean them afterwards.
Maybe something similar happened with the WallStreet or maybe it was a complete dud.


Anyway I've about the same number of Visconti as TracyLee with probably a much higher proportion of steel nibs.
Some Visconti gold nibs can be very finicky about the ink (and paper combination). The Palladium Dreamtouch nibs seem very wet in my experience.
I've found the steel nibs to be smooth and good writers except for a 1.5 italic which appeared biased for right-handers.

As TL said it is extremely hard to justify the substantial price difference between a Rembrandt and the VanGoghExpressions/Dali/Michelangelo line unless you simply must have the faceted body and those resins - the grip/nib/feed is the same. They can feel heavy for their size due to the metal section and magnets for the cap.

The Opera/WallStreet pens nice with their "squaring the circle' body. But most are quite heavy pens due to the chrome sections and in the case of most Operas a chrome finial. Some of the Limited Edition Operas have sections matching the body rather than metal so wil be slightly lighter.
Older Operas may be equipped with gold nibs instead of palladium. The newer Elements Operas have snazzy bayonet lock caps while the older ones have screw caps.

If you hunt around you may find some NOS Voyagers (now replaced by the Opera) for $300 or less - these are usually equipped with springy long pointed 14K nibs.

You may like to consider Delta pens - their steel nib pens can often be found for more reasonable prices than the Viscontis and they also come in a variety of interesting acrylics and resins also with many limited edition colours (eg Andersons, Goulets & Chatterley pens).

[Ste_S]

Second the recommendation for the steel nibbed Deltas.

Continuing on the Italian recommendations, you can get a gold nibbed Aurora Ipsilon Deluxe for the same price as a Rembrandt. It's more of a conservative body than a lot of other Italian pens though

[SteveE]

Bogon07 - It is entirely possible that the pen was clogged, but I would "think" that their on-site repairman would have checked that. My suspicion was that the pen was a real dud, and that was why they still had only that one left. I just wasn't willing to take the chance.

I would, though, think favorably of buying the same model pen from a known source, new or used. I liked what I saw, not what I felt.

[Bogon07]

Bogon07 - It is entirely possible that the pen was clogged, but I would "think" that their on-site repairman would have checked that. My suspicion was that the pen was a real dud, and that was why they still had only that one left. I just wasn't willing to take the chance.

I would, though, think favorably of buying the same model pen from a known source, new or used. I liked what I saw, not what I felt.

Could it possibly have been the small reservoir of the Double Reservoir Power Filler was out of ink needed refilling from the main one ? If you screw the piston all the way down it stops it refilling it needs to be backed off a little to allow the ink to resupply - there was a thread about this problem especially with Opera Blue Typhoons over on FPN. Then again Dan here had one he could not get to write which was obviously defective.

If the store you mentioned had it as their last one because it was a real dud I would extremely wary of them for any future purchases.
A retailer with any concerns for their own reputation or their customers would send the pen back to the distributor or manufacturer as a defective pen rather than try to "flog it off" to a customer.

[SteveE]

The pen in question wouldn't even write a couple of lines when dipped. I don't have any idea what could have been wrong with it.

The store in question is one of my longest-term favorites. I won't mention names, as others and I have been buying there for a long time, with excellent results. In my case, I've been going there since the mid-1970's, and this is the first "issue" I've noted. Can't count the number of great pens I've gotten there.

As I said, I can only condemn that one example of one model pen. If I find a good price on that pen again, it will most likely come home with me. If I sounded as if I was condemning the entire brand, I apologize as that was not my intent. I was only stating the status of my collection (accumulation?).

[Robert]

Willieboy - Since you live in the Houston area, have you had a chance to visit Dromgoole's recently? I was there yesterday to buy spare converters for a Conklin pen and some note cards, and I noticed a lot a pens (including some Omas and, I think, a Visconti or two) marked down quite a bit. These pens were on a table at the front of the store.

[Willieboy]

Willieboy - Since you live in the Houston area, have you had a chance to visit Dromgoole's recently? I was there yesterday to buy spare converters for a Conklin pen and some note cards, and I noticed a lot a pens (including some Omas and, I think, a Visconti or two) marked down quite a bit. These pens were on a table at the front of the store.

I know this sounds crazy Robert, but I'd rather undergo root canal than drive in Houston. In the thirty years I've lived here, I don't think I've ever been to the Rice Village area, but I understand traffic and parking are horrific. I've looked up the bus routes and it looks like it would be a three hour bus ride each way. It's just too inconvenient for me.

[Robert]

I know this sounds crazy Robert, but I'd rather undergo root canal than drive in Houston. In the thirty years I've lived here, I don't think I've ever been to the Rice Village area, but I understand traffic and parking are horrific. I've looked up the bus routes and it looks like it would be a three hour bus ride each way. It's just too inconvenient for me.

I share your pain - - - but in this case it might be worth your while, especially if you can score on an Italian pen that catches your fancy.

BTW - - whilst I was at Dromgoole's I learned they have very prices on Pelikans - - - ordered one of the new M805 Demonstrators (Engraved version). Delivery expected in late April.

[Willieboy]

I know this sounds crazy Robert, but I'd rather undergo root canal than drive in Houston. In the thirty years I've lived here, I don't think I've ever been to the Rice Village area, but I understand traffic and parking are horrific. I've looked up the bus routes and it looks like it would be a three hour bus ride each way. It's just too inconvenient for me.



I share your pain - - - but in this case it might be worth your while, especially if you can score on an Italian pen that catches your fancy.

BTW - - whilst I was at Dromgoole's I learned they have very prices on Pelikans - - - ordered one of the new M805 Demonstrators (Engraved version). Delivery expected in late April.

I got an M800 from the Massdrop offering. It's a great pen and you'll love your M805.