Buying a Visconti- What should I look out for?

[cj2020]

Hi All,
I have never owned a Visconti before. I have a Nakaya and an Aurora Hastil Cento (the only two expensive pens I have). Recently I came across the Visconti Torpedo. It has a design that either you are going to like or you will hate. I was intrigued by it and there was something about it that spoke to me. However, the price was $1600 and above, so stopped thinking about it. Recently, I came across a well established fountain pen retailer selling one for $1200 (brand new with full warranty). Now, when I bought the Nakaya, I had promised myself that it would be the only expensive pen that I would ever buy. But this Visconti is intriguing at that price point (I promise no more expensive pens after this :)
It would be helpful to know if there are any issues I should be considering as I look at potentially purchasing the pen, things such as fit and finish issues etc. Also, I tend to go with Fine nibs (have a fine nib on my Nakaya). Do you recommend me going with a F or an EF nib on the Visconti?
Any help / advise is appreciated.
CJ

[FredRydr]

If you don't like complex filling systems that are difficult to flush, steer clear of their "double reservoir." If you stick with one ink, then it probably doesn't matter. My experience was with the Wall Street LE.

[cj2020]

Thank you FredRydr. I tend to only stick to one ink usually, so looks like it will not be an issue.
Thank you!

[Takasnooze]

I have a Homo Sapiens bronze age. Nothing but a head ache since I bought it. Been to 2 nibmeisters, filling, flushing headaches.
I would run from another.
On the other hand, my Mirage with a broad steel nib is great.
I personally would never own another Visconti

[Robert]

I have a Homo Sapiens bronze age. Nothing but a head ache since I bought it. Been to 2 nibmeisters, filling, flushing headaches.
I would run from another.
On the other hand, my Mirage with a broad steel nib is great.
I personally would never own another Visconti

Interesting. I also own an HS Bronze (maxi with power filler) and love it. I bought it used 7 or 8 years ago from a fellow who received it as a retirement gift and wanted to stick with a Waterman. The pen was fitted with a medium 23k Pd nib and didn't write very smoothly - dry writer, skips and hard starts. I sent it off to Michael Masuyama for a stub grind. Mike worked his magic, and the pen has been one of my favorite writers ever since. I find the filling system easy to use/flush. This is a pen I plan to keep for the rest of my days.

[cj2020]

Wow that sounds painful Takasnooze! What is the exact issue with it?

[cj2020]

That is reassuring to hear Robert. I asked the retailer and they said that they have quality control checked the pen when they bought it, will QC it again before they ship (will include dipping and writing to confirm that the pen writes well). Keeping my fingers crossed!

[whichwatch]

I have had quite a number of Viscontis and still do have several. With only one exception I have found them delightful. Great materials, beautiful design, and excellent writing broad and wet for the given nib size, just the way I like it.

[Johnny_S]

Buying a Visconti- What should I look out for?



IMHO, another maker.

I have owned four Viscontis and had non writing problems with them all, hard starts, skips and one had a faulty cap. All were bought new, two were gifts.

I don't want to contradict others who have had good results, perhaps I was just unlucky, I will say that they are easy on the eye.

[cj2020]

Thank you Whichwatch, I am glad to hear this. I think I am going to pull the trigger on the purchase, but gosh have to promise myself that this is my last expensive pen.

[cj2020]

Johnny-S I think the pattern of responses seems to suggest QC issues. I have heard that this has improved over the last 2 years. Hoping that this is the case.

[whichwatch]

Johnny-S I think the pattern of responses seems to suggest QC issues. I have heard that this has improved over the last 2 years. Hoping that this is the case.


I have found erratic quality to be an issue with virtually ALL Italian pen brands I have owned except Aurora, whose quality has always been excellent in my experience..

[cj2020]

I completely agree about the Aurora. I have the Aurora Hastil Cento and it is perfect in every way. Beautiful and modern to look at, excellent workmanship, and writes very well.

[cj2020]

Btw, the dealer that I am buying the pen from told me that Visconti is switching to gold nibs because the price of PD has increased and it costs more than gold at this point. The one I will be getting is a new 18 k gold EF nib.

[Robert]

Btw, the dealer that I am buying the pen from told me that Visconti is switching to gold nibs because the price of PD has increased and it costs more than gold at this point. The one I will be getting is a new 18 k gold EF nib.

That is very interesting - - especially since the principal reason Visconti went from gold to palladium some years back was cost - Pd then much cheaper than Au. Now Pd is about 10% higher in price than Au.

[AzJon]

I've had three Viscontis. Two with gold nibs, one with steel. The steel F nib wrote perfectly out of the box. The Medium (on a voyager - power filler) had a bit of baby's bottom, but that was easy to fix. The most recent had been sent to a nib meister before I got my hands on it and it writes like a dream.

I'm sure there are bad experiences with Visconti, but I seem to have only good luck with finicky pen brands.

[cj2020]

Thank you Az Jon. I am hoping that I have similar luck with Visconti.

[Chrissy]

Good luck with finding your perfect Visconti. :) I've never owned one but had the pleasure of trying two or three different ones at last year's Pelikan hub. They wrote beautifully and felt very well made. :)

[Freddie]

Have a few Visconti pens ... no problemo except Anniversary Voyager in Lapis Blue 1998 {known issue with celluloid and Ag clip}
55493

Fred
Words are like chameleons, which reflect the
color of their environment.......
Learned Hand

[cj2020]

Have a few Visconti pens ... no problemo except Anniversary Voyager in Lapis Blue 1998 {known issue with celluloid and Ag clip}
55493

Fred
Words are like chameleons, which reflect the
color of their environment.......
Learned Hand

I bought the pen and the Torpedo works beautifully. The Iroshizuku ink was too wet but after I switched to Pelikan 4100,it is working wonderfully.

[shirleytorresusa]

Wow, they are amazing, so sparkling! Great collection!

[Sandy]

I have 2 (new style) Van Goughs and one (old style) Rembrandt.

They don't like dry inks, or coated papers such as Clairfontaine. They skip with dry ink or coated papers.

So, if you have a problem with it - before you start fiddling with the nib - put some Waterman or Caran D'ache in it and try a different paper.

[cj2020]

Sounds good Sandy. Thank you.

[s_t_e_v_e]

Nice pens if they work but if you ever have to send it back for repairs, forget about it; It will take 4-6 months to be back and it might not even be repaired correctly and sometimes you'll not even receive your pen back because they've lost it!!

[cj2020]

Nice pens if they work but if you ever have to send it back for repairs, forget about it; It will take 4-6 months to be back and it might not even be repaired correctly and sometimes you'll not even receive your pen back because they've lost it!!

I really really hope that it never comes to that!

[FredRydr]

...and sometimes you'll not even receive your pen back because they've lost it!!
Goodness! How many did you lose to Visconti?

[zorin]

Recently got a Visconti Rembrandt in "Dark Forest".

Workmanship (fit and finish) isn't up to par with the cost, but it does write very good. It's wet and very fast (medium).

The cap on my example didn't match the barrel color-wise in both hue and pattern, and it was obvious as soon as I opened the box. It should have never left the factory that way, as it was just too blatant to be missed. I decided not to return it, but just use it.

[ASoultos]

Fantastic collection!

Do you also have more recent pieces?

If you ever need the feel to let one go lets be in touch!