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sebastien_morissette
May 9th, 2014, 05:35 AM
Fellows,

I'm looking at making my entry into the world of Italian Fountain Pens and I need your help. I need to learn a bit before committing to a purchase.

what should I get knowing that :


My budget is under 150$ USD excluding shipping
I am open to NOS, used but in perfect working condition, vintage but in perfect working condition, and brand new pens



I do have one question (for now)

How does Italian nib sizes compares to German or Japanese pens (a German M is usually bolder than a Japanese M)

thanks in advance.

gwgtaylor
May 9th, 2014, 05:52 AM
Most modern Italian pens from visconti, delta, stipula and Omas use German made nibs so very comparable. I think Aurora is the only major Italian brand still making their own nibs so that might be a good place to start. Possibly a NOS Aurora 88? Please correct me if I've made any inaccuracies.

chad.trent
May 9th, 2014, 08:56 AM
I own a few Italian pens (none of them high end though). I think my favorite is my Aurora Ipsilon. Great writer right out of the box.

john
May 9th, 2014, 10:36 AM
If don't mind the nib of Ipslon is a nail, then it is good for daily writing.

Lady Onogaro
May 9th, 2014, 12:41 PM
I recently bought a Visconti Rembrandt, and I really like it. It does have a steel nib, but it's a very smooth writer (I am pretty sure the Italian pens would cost more than $150.00 new with a gold nib).

cwent2
May 9th, 2014, 07:42 PM
I recently bought a Visconti Rembrandt, and I really like it. It does have a steel nib, but it's a very smooth writer (I am pretty sure the Italian pens would cost more than $150.00 new with a gold nib).

I did the exact same thing with a bit of enabling from my friends? Visconti Rembrandt Ivory, medium steel nib - also a very smooth writer. I am not quite ready to spend "that much" for the Gold Nib.

Murfie
May 9th, 2014, 08:38 PM
I'll echo Lady Onogaro's and cwent2's sentiments and suggest a Visconti Rembrandt. The Bock steel nib is just about as good as steel nibs go and I am very happy with both of mine, and I have just ordered another one from Novelli in Rome (current price is €75 plus €10 FedEx courier delivery). That's way under your budget, and I'm confident you will not be disappointed.

I have also owned an Aurora Ipsilon with a 14kt gold nib which your budget might just stretch to, but I really consider that the Rembrandt is far better value for money.

gwgtaylor
May 10th, 2014, 10:37 AM
My Rembrandt with a medium nib doesn't write at all. Terrible pen and wouldn't recommend it.

writingrav
May 10th, 2014, 04:45 PM
My Rembrandt has been a dependable pen but the magnetic cap closing device stopped working and the cap now is not secure

kaisnowbird
May 10th, 2014, 09:00 PM
I'm tempted by the new Delta Unica. Certainly entry level price, by Italian standard.

Waski_the_Squirrel
May 10th, 2014, 09:34 PM
I've never used one, but when I saw your thread title, the Delta Serena immediately spring to mind. I hear it writes a bit wide, but I think it's quite an attractive pen. It's on my list of pens I want to buy.

Bogon07
May 11th, 2014, 01:55 AM
I too would recommend the Visconti Rembrandt.
You could pick up a cheaper Delta on eBay there seems to be quite a few older NOS ones with steel nibs around.
In my experience Delta steel nibs appear to produce somewhat finer lines than the Visconti ones.

I would also suggest a Fiorenza Lux with a steel nib if you can find at a good price. They have some very attractive resins.

Do some eBay searches for the brands which interest you and keep and eye out - maybe watch a few to see how the prices are trending.
Good luck in your quest.


My Rembrandt has been a dependable pen but the magnetic cap closing device stopped working and the cap now is not secure
Was it some how de-magnetised or is there a problem inside the cap preventing the magnets contacting ?

alc3261
May 11th, 2014, 03:25 AM
Do check out Novelli, they do good prices on Italian pens.

Murfie
May 11th, 2014, 05:40 PM
Do check out Novelli, they do good prices on Italian pens.
They certainly do, but not on all brands. Their Aurora pricing is nowhere near competitive.

sebastien_morissette
May 12th, 2014, 06:56 AM
Thank you very much everybody for your great respond to this question. I am very tempted by the Rembrandt; I always found Visconti’s very appealing.
Now 2 more Questions:

1) Is the nib reactive to pressure or is it hard like a nail?
2) Would the Rembrandt nib is more on the wet or dry side?

Thanks again !

Having said that, I will also have a look to those Delta's like the Serena or ipsilon

Alex2014
May 12th, 2014, 07:23 AM
Aurora Ipsilon Deluxe

sebastien_morissette
May 12th, 2014, 07:27 AM
Oh... Right: ipsilon is aurora not delta.

Bogon07
May 12th, 2014, 04:46 PM
Thank you very much everybody for your great respond to this question. I am very tempted by the Rembrandt; I always found Visconti’s very appealing.
Now 2 more Questions:

1) Is the nib reactive to pressure or is it hard like a nail?
2) Would the Rembrandt nib is more on the wet or dry side?

Thanks again !

Having said that, I will also have a look to those Delta's like the Serena or ipsilon


1) The steel nibs will react a little to some pressure but they are best used lightly to enhance their smoothness.

2)The Visconti steel nibs generally tend to be wet writers

Murfie has been able to obtain individual Rembrandts with Calligraphy set steel English EF flexible & 1.5mm italic nibs.
The EF flexible nib will respond to pressure, however I find it requires a lot of concentration to use that way and is easier to just use as an extra fine nib.
Murfie's photogaph of the EF Calligraphy set nib from http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/337-Visconti?p=78443&viewfull=1#post78443
http://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11280&stc=1&d=1399355717

The Girotondo per il Meyer is a Special Edition Rembrandt.
http://www.stilografica.it/writable/Penne/Visconti/MEYER/Visconti%20-%20Girotondo%20per%20il%20Meyer%20-%20Penna%20Stilografica%20foto%20testo.jpg
Personally I find the Delta nibs to be stiffer than the Visconti ones.

sebastien_morissette
May 13th, 2014, 09:50 AM
Thank you Bogon07 very instructive.

sebastien_morissette
May 13th, 2014, 09:52 AM
A shop in Montreal sells the calligraphy set in orange for 150$ Seems like a pretty good price...

http://www.stylo.ca/fr/produits/Visconti/Rembrandt-LE-(2012)/224_1913_0001.html

Bogon07
May 13th, 2014, 05:03 PM
A shop in Montreal sells the calligraphy set in orange for 150$ Seems like a pretty good price...

http://www.stylo.ca/fr/produits/Visconti/Rembrandt-LE-(2012)/224_1913_0001.html

"The Calligraphy Set contains:
- A medium-fine nib for contemporary stylographic writing
- An extra-fine, highly elastic nib for English Script
- A firm, square 1.5 mm nib for Italic or Gothic Script
- An inkwell
- A set of plastified blotting paper to clean your nibs without getting your fingers dirty
- Two magnetic stands to hold the nibs between one exercise and the next"

I would strongly advise checking with seller before purchasing to see if the M-F steel nib is included in the set as there are several versions of the Calligraphy set.
One set with the three nibs list and the other with just two nibs.
More than a few sellers list all three but only offer two nibs or have both sets - I had this problem a year ago & Mr Murfie found the situation still the same this past month.

Another thing to check is whether the grip sections are chrome or black plastic.

Murfie
May 13th, 2014, 05:25 PM
I echo Bogon's comments strongly. I found numerous sellers advertising 3 nib sets that on checking were found to be only 2 nib sets. Visconti discontinued the 3 nib sets some time back, but there are a few left but at a much higher cost. It would pay to ask prior to purchase. At the advertised price, even if it is a 2 nib set, it is just fair value remembering you will only get plastic sections, and a single Rembrandt with a metal section is less than $130 anyway.

Bogon07
May 16th, 2014, 03:28 PM
My Rembrandt with a medium nib doesn't write at all. Terrible pen and wouldn't recommend it.

What's the problem ?

Out of 30+ Visconti including three Rembrandts - the only time I've had one that doesn't write at all is a totally empty one.

sebastien_morissette
July 17th, 2014, 10:55 AM
Roaming the Sates on my summer vacations I have made a stop at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and recruited this Visconti Rembrandt to join my collection.

Another one down from my wish list.

VertOlive
July 17th, 2014, 11:27 AM
No expert, here, but I've recently purchased the Delta "Ivory Passion" pen with a Medium nib. Extremely smooth writer and lovely to look at. It was $160 shipped from Italy through an FPN classified.

HeresyHammer
July 17th, 2014, 11:51 AM
No expert, here, but I've recently purchased the Delta "Ivory Passion" pen with a Medium nib. Extremely smooth writer and lovely to look at. It was $160 shipped from Italy through an FPN classified.

That's a stunning pen, VertOlive. I remember you posted pics of it in another thread. You really got a great deal. I'm mostly a Visconti man but my next pursuit is the Delta Dolcevita Mid-size. I'm saving up now so I can have it for the fall. It just reminds me of autumn which is my favorite season.

I too would like to join the choirs and recommend the Rembrandt. I had a Van Gogh and then a Rembrandt and both were wonderful writers with smooth steel nibs. Visconti is well known for their wetness and I've never had a "dry" Visconti.

Austin_Malone
July 17th, 2014, 08:34 PM
I would go for it I've heard rave review of the nib, the magnetic cap, and the My Pen System. Not to cause alarm, but I have read of isolated incidences of the Metal on the section/collar being removed over time with regular care.

raging.dragon
July 20th, 2014, 10:51 PM
Roaming the Sates on my summer vacations I have made a stop at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and recruited this Visconti Rembrandt to join my collection.

Another one down from my wish list.

Looks great. How does it write?

Mags
July 21st, 2014, 04:30 PM
Congrats/félicitations Sébastien on your pen.

Lady Onogaro
July 21st, 2014, 05:40 PM
Roaming the Sates on my summer vacations I have made a stop at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and recruited this Visconti Rembrandt to join my collection.

Another one down from my wish list.

If that's the purple one, that's the one I bought, though you have a lot more white in the cap of yours. Mine has a black section, though. I wonder what the difference is (why some Rembrandts with black sections and some with metal sections)?

HeresyHammer
July 21st, 2014, 10:13 PM
Roaming the Sates on my summer vacations I have made a stop at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and recruited this Visconti Rembrandt to join my collection.

Another one down from my wish list.

If that's the purple one, that's the one I bought, though you have a lot more white in the cap of yours. Mine has a black section, though. I wonder what the difference is (why some Rembrandts with black sections and some with metal sections)?

From what I've read, there are two versions of the Rembrandt that are almost identical except for the sections and by extension their weight. There is the standard versions of the pen which comes with the metal section. The only time that I've seen the plastic sections is in the calligraphy sets. In the past, the set came with three pens. One was metal, which usually had a medium or standard nib. This would be the pen in its customary form. The set also had two other nibs complete with their own feeds and sections. These sections were made of plastic. These would have been the "specialty" nibs which could be 1.5 mm and XF or some other arrangement. I think the three section sets are on their way out and have been reduced to two. I have seen recently some sets come with two metal sections, one metal section and one plastic section, or two plastic sections. It's very confusing and perhaps this varying setup helps Visconti cover a wide range of MSRP. Perhaps someone can chime in and let us know if the plastic section Rembrandt was ever sold individually or if it only came in the calligraphy set. The Rembrandt I owned had the metal section.

We should never forget that Visconti is an Italian pen made by an Italian company. Sometimes they do things that just doesn't make sense to the rest of the world. Trust me, I lived there for 4 years. ;)

fountainpen_forlife
August 28th, 2014, 01:20 PM
Yeah, I would agree with the Aurora Ipsilon. Nice pen. Definitely fits in your budget. I used to have an Ipsilon Satin Black...I think I paid a little under $100 for it.

igor61
August 28th, 2014, 02:49 PM
Aurora Ipsilon
Visconti Guliver
Lamy

tandaina
August 28th, 2014, 02:59 PM
(Lamy is German) :)

MyDarnSnakeLegs
September 2nd, 2014, 04:10 PM
My first Italian pen is a Delta Unica, and I just wrote a review of it. Really nice pen for the price ($85). http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-73bJE8HQTCs/VAYF6fmXLLI/AAAAAAAAWgc/G_Pae9uiBAU/s1600/Delta%2BUnica%2B%2B(5).JPG

Bogon07
September 2nd, 2014, 05:22 PM
My first Italian pen is a Delta Unica, and I just wrote a review of it. Really nice pen for the price ($85). http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-73bJE8HQTCs/VAYF6fmXLLI/AAAAAAAAWgc/G_Pae9uiBAU/s1600/Delta%2BUnica%2B%2B(5).JPG
Very pretty. That is an Anderson's LE Unica isn't it ?
The regular ones seem to have a more streaky/swirly acrylic.

MyDarnSnakeLegs
September 3rd, 2014, 06:57 AM
Very pretty. That is an Anderson's LE Unica isn't it ?
The regular ones seem to have a more streaky/swirly acrylic.

Yep. That's right. I really like this red. The blue one might be similar, but the acrylic is a little too dark to pick up as much detail and the white one is so white that it looks consistent.

set2374
September 12th, 2014, 11:48 AM
I guess I am a little late to this party, but I guess OP's question is a common one anyway. The Rembrandt was my first Italian fountain pen. I purchased it in black with a medium nib. It does write well, but I can't recommend this pen. The cap band on mine fell off right out of the box and I had to epoxy it back in place. Six months later the magnet holding the factory "Visconti" insert on the pen cap came loose and I lost both the magnet and the insert. I couldn't get any support from the company and had to buy a replacement, personalized insert and epoxy it in myself. A $150 pen should not have these types of QC issues. There are MUCH better options available. I just picked up a Montegrappa Classica in blue (pearlized resin, with silver findings and 14k medium nib) for $235 on the bay (new, with box and papers). Yes, it's still $85 more than the Rembrandt, but the difference in quality is night and day. Rather than spend $150 on a mediocre pen, save a little longer and spend a little more for a much better pen.

On the other hand, if you really must stick to a $100-150 budget, I did enjoy the Aurora Ipsilon (with a fine steel nib). It was a great writer and I loved that the cap posted with a clip, same as when capped on the section. It was smooth writer, with good ink flow. It was a bit small for my taste, but I think I am going to have to buy one again because it made a great pocket pen for when I am on the go. I definitely prefer the Ipsilon over the Rembrandt. For a bargain shopper, it appears Montegrappa discontinued the yellow version of the Parola. I see them selling on Amazon and eBay for anywhere from $75-110. Considering that it's a $225 list price (and in other colors it's going for much more), it's definitely worth considering if you like (don't mind the Yellow). I have no experience with the pen though, but at $75-100, I might have to give it a shot.

writingrav
September 12th, 2014, 02:44 PM
I agree about the Rembrandt. Loved it for awhile then the magnet disappeared. The cost to repair is prohibitive in relation to the cost of the pen. Recently bought an Aurora Ipsilon Deluxe and love it.

AtomicLeo
September 13th, 2014, 08:52 AM
I own two Stipula Vedo. I've enjoyed both and I beleive they are in the price range $100-150.

Nigel
January 26th, 2015, 03:20 PM
Good entry level Italian pens: Visconti Rembrandt, Delta Unica, Delta Serena, Delta Italiana, Monegrappa Parola. To name but a few. I have had many problems with the entry level pens from Aurora - misaligned nibs, even on the more expensive Ipsilon with a gold nib.

Frank
January 31st, 2015, 07:04 PM
++1 on the Visconti Rembrandt!

Ste_S
February 17th, 2015, 03:30 AM
Rembrandt's are a terrible pen in my experience.
First nib/feed I had wrote dry and skipped. Received a replacement, which also writes dry and skips (All flushed with water/dish soap/ammonia. Tried Waterman, Diamine, Parker, Montblanc, Visconti inks).
Also had the metal cap band come off after taking the pen out of my pen box. Amazingly it wasn't glued, just friction fit.
The Visconti branded converter doesn't 'quite' fit. You'll screw the barrel on to the pen ok, but in doing so it turns the piston in the converter, dumping a load of ink into the feed.

The Delta Unica on the other hand is a great pen for half the price of the Rembrandt. It wrote well and wet straight out of the box, and is now my EDC with Visconti Blue ink living in it permanantly.

Lady Onogaro
February 17th, 2015, 10:46 AM
I love my Visconti Rembrandt, but I had the nib tuned and reground from a M to an EF by Dromgoole's Nib Doctor. I have tried a Delta Fusion nib and did not like it at all. It seemed very dry. I also tried an Aurora Ipsilon with a steel nib, and I liked it better than the Aurora with the gold nib (go figure).

Bogon07
February 17th, 2015, 02:54 PM
Rembrandt's are a terrible pen in my experience.
The Visconti branded converter doesn't 'quite' fit. You'll screw the barrel on to the pen ok, but in doing so it turns the piston in the converter, dumping a load of ink into the feed.


That sounds suspiciously like some-one has possibly swapped a rollerball barrel which may have a bit of wading or plug in the end of the barrel to hold the rollerball refill inplace and this could be 'grabbing' the end of the converter piston when you are screwing the barrel into the section.