Visconti nib replacement

[carlos.q]

I have a very nice Visconti Homo Sapiens Steel Age Midi with a fabulous 23k Palladium medium nib. (What a mouthful!) My only problem with this pen is that the nib is too wide for use outside my home, where I can use good paper. Thus I am unable to put this pen into regular rotation where I frequently have to use cheap paper.

My questions are the following:
1. Where can I get an additional Visconti nib in fine? (I want to keep the medium nib)
2. Do the Visconti steel nibs for Rembrandt and others fit the Homo Sapiens?
3. Are there other nibs that may fit this pen? Bock maybe? What size?

[Silverbreeze]

You can buy from Coles of London

If you are okay with eBay try that too


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[Silverbreeze]

Visconti nib units are pelikan price range a PD can be 250 USD easy


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[carlos.q]

Visconti nib units are pelikan price range a PD can be 250 USD easy


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Thanks for the info but that alternative seems to be a bit out of my budget. How about options 2 and 3?

[Silverbreeze]

Oh if you may want to email the Andersons see if they can order it for you. I have a HS fine that works okay on office paper


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[Silverbreeze]

Never tried Tracy Lee may know


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[carlos.q]

Never tried Tracy Lee may know


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Forgive my ignorance but who is Tracy Lee?

[Silverbreeze]

Nothing to forgive Tracy Lee is one of the Major Visconti collectors (she hates that word) on this forum

She is east coast USA so may not be on the forum for a bit yet


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[Scooby921]

I have a very nice Visconti Homo Sapiens Steel Age Midi with a fabulous 23k Palladium medium nib. (What a mouthful!) My only problem with this pen is that the nib is too wide for use outside my home, where I can use good paper. Thus I am unable to put this pen into regular rotation where I frequently have to use cheap paper.

My questions are the following:
1. Where can I get an additional Visconti nib in fine? (I want to keep the medium nib)
2. Do the Visconti steel nibs for Rembrandt and others fit the Homo Sapiens?
3. Are there other nibs that may fit this pen? Bock maybe? What size?

1.) Ditto on Coles of London if you want a new nib. Vendors can't source the stand-alone nibs (nib units). I asked around last week. I just ordered a new nib from Coles of London yesterday. I'm having a similar problem to you. I bought an HS Bronze with a 1.3mm stub and it's pretty much useless at work. Bought an extra fine to replace it. Thankfully the pen was used and half price. I've now spent enough on the pen and second nib to have just bought a new pen at full price. Ugh. At least I have a second nib for the money.

2.) The nib in an HS Steel Midi is a #5 nib from what I can tell. I have an HS steel Midi (fine) and a Michelangelo (fine). Nibs are the same. So long as the Rembrandt and Van Gogh are the same smaller nib size I expect they'll work for you too.

3.) I have compared shape / size and the nib from my Michelangelo is exactly the same cut / shape / size as the steel nib out of my TWSBI 580AL. That's probably your cheapest means by which to put a fine or extra fine nib into the HS. A little less flex likely makes it less of a fire hose as well.




Update: Pic of the three nibs side-by-side and stacked...HS Steel Midi, Michelangelo, TWSBI 580AL

[carlos.q]

Thank you Scooby for a most complete answer!

[hansdown]

Scooby921, I also have a HS Steel Midi and I have debated about getting the HS Bronze. Which of the two do you prefer? Do you use both pens or has the Bronze replaced the Midi?


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[Scooby921]

Scooby921, I also have a HS Steel Midi and I have debated about getting the HS Bronze. Which of the two do you prefer? Do you use both pens or has the Bronze replaced the Midi?


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The Bronze maxi will replace the Steel midi, but it's all about the nib option. The smaller nib in the midi and is only available in fine, medium, and broad. I've been using the midi with a fine nib for the last year. It's a great writer, but I've been wanting to try an extra fine. My handwriting is generally small and the wetness of the dreamtouch doesn't allow me to take legible notes during meetings at work. I'd love to use the HS more often, but for this reason I don't. Thus to get an extra fine dreamtouch nib and still own / use the wonderful basalt bodied HS I had to step up to the larger pen. My hope is that this combination is a fine enough line to be useful every day. I do thoroughly enjoy the feel and weight of the HS pens. I know I can get an extra fine nib much cheaper in other pens or variants, but I do love this combination.

Now as far as aesthetics go I will say that I am quite happy with the Bronze maxi. I bought the Steel midi the first time around because I thought the maxi would be too large. I have been very happy with the midi, but I do feel the maxi is more pleasant to write with. The slightly larger diameter section is more comfortable. The increased length and weight of the pen is negligible. Appearance wise I'm impartial to one or the other. I do feel the bronze trim looks really nice when it's clean and polished, but the whole patina / tarnish action is why I bought the steel age in the first place. The stainless won't tarnish and doesn't require the same maintenance. I know some like the patina look. This one (used) arrived looking all old and dingy. I spent an hour polishing the bronze and I much prefer it clean and shiny. Thus it will require more time and effort to keep it looking great. It'll likely require a couple new polishing cloths too as this one is pretty much done after one polishing session.


So I guess the short summary is this:
If I never picked up and wrote with a maxi I would remain perfectly happy with the midi. If you can find a maxi on the used market for a decent deal it's definitely worth picking up. I don't think it is so much better than the midi to justify buying one new just to replace the existing midi. If you own neither one, definitely go for the maxi in any trim you like.

[hansdown]

Scooby921, I also have a HS Steel Midi and I have debated about getting the HS Bronze. Which of the two do you prefer? Do you use both pens or has the Bronze replaced the Midi?


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The Bronze maxi will replace the Steel midi, but it's all about the nib option. The smaller nib in the midi and is only available in fine, medium, and broad. I've been using the midi with a fine nib for the last year. It's a great writer, but I've been wanting to try an extra fine. My handwriting is generally small and the wetness of the dreamtouch doesn't allow me to take legible notes during meetings at work. I'd love to use the HS more often, but for this reason I don't. Thus to get an extra fine dreamtouch nib and still own / use the wonderful basalt bodied HS I had to step up to the larger pen. My hope is that this combination is a fine enough line to be useful every day. I do thoroughly enjoy the feel and weight of the HS pens. I know I can get an extra fine nib much cheaper in other pens or variants, but I do love this combination.

Now as far as aesthetics go I will say that I am quite happy with the Bronze maxi. I bought the Steel midi the first time around because I thought the maxi would be too large. I have been very happy with the midi, but I do feel the maxi is more pleasant to write with. The slightly larger diameter section is more comfortable. The increased length and weight of the pen is negligible. Appearance wise I'm impartial to one or the other. I do feel the bronze trim looks really nice when it's clean and polished, but the whole patina / tarnish action is why I bought the steel age in the first place. The stainless won't tarnish and doesn't require the same maintenance. I know some like the patina look. This one (used) arrived looking all old and dingy. I spent an hour polishing the bronze and I much prefer it clean and shiny. Thus it will require more time and effort to keep it looking great. It'll likely require a couple new polishing cloths too as this one is pretty much done after one polishing session.


So I guess the short summary is this:
If I never picked up and wrote with a maxi I would remain perfectly happy with the midi. If you can find a maxi on the used market for a decent deal it's definitely worth picking up. I don't think it is so much better than the midi to justify buying one new just to replace the existing midi. If you own neither one, definitely go for the maxi in any trim you like.

Thanks for the great comparison! I picked up a HS Steel Midi about six weeks ago and really like the material and the pen but have wondered if I would like the larger size better. I got a very good price on the Midi or I would not have bought it and frankly wouldn't have paid full price for the larger size, I like your suggestion of finding a used Bronze Age. My Midi is a medium nib and I also have a Michelangelo with a fine nib. There is not much difference in line width between the two nibs. I agree that for daily use on a variety of papers I bet the EF in the larger size would be the way to go.


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[crystn625]

You can also mail the pen in to Coles of London for a nib swap - http://colesoflondon.com/docs/Viscon...e%20Policy.pdf
In summary you mail it in and they charge $25 to swap the nib.

[hansdown]

You can also mail the pen in to Coles of London for a nib swap - http://colesoflondon.com/docs/Viscon...e%20Policy.pdf
In summary you mail it in and they charge $25 to swap the nib.

Thanks for this link. I did not know this was available.


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[Scooby921]

You can also mail the pen in to Coles of London for a nib swap - http://colesoflondon.com/docs/Viscon...e%20Policy.pdf
In summary you mail it in and they charge $25 to swap the nib.

Wow that's fantastic. I didn't investigate this option as I wanted to keep the stub nib, but it's certainly more affordable than buying a new nib outright. Less the cost of shipping, you'd save close to $300 sending the pen in for a nib swap vs. buying a new nib.

[carlos.q]

You can also mail the pen in to Coles of London for a nib swap - http://colesoflondon.com/docs/Viscon...e%20Policy.pdf
In summary you mail it in and they charge $25 to swap the nib.

Do you know if this nib swap is limited to new pens?

[crystn625]

Great question, I have never tried... But they are super helpful and friendly on the phone I am sure they would be able to tell you if they have the nib of interest in stock.

[Scooby921]

I also recommend calling them. I tried using the email submission in their "Contact Us" section. It always failed / faulted. The phone call was quick and easy. Customer service was friendly. The total call lasted 4 minutes and I had a new nib on it's way by the end of it. I am a bit confused by the phone number though. Their address is North Carolina, but the phone area code is Palm Beach / Boca Raton, Florida.