The most expensive pen I own that is completely useless!

I mean the title kind of says it all and yet we all still think that money buys perfection. It definitely doesn't. It is unfortunate but it's reality!
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[@kinogodt]

I'm ALL for more camera time for Parker! ❤

[@kinogodt]

And I really appreciate the book recommendations. Keep 'em coming, please. :)

[@ichirofakename]

1. The ongoing business success of Visconti is testament that... something something something. 2. Yes, please make a video on the travails of Visconti please.

[@TumescentPuma]

Bought a Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age from Appelboom during FPD, for around $590. For the price, I had to jump in with a first Visconti. I am hopeful there are no issues since Annabelle will check/tune it for me prior to shipping. I received an odd note from Appelboom accounting for a shipping delay due to a QC issue identified at Visconti. Maybe they are finally getting their act together. One should not have to worry if a $1000 dollar FP will write out of the box when you receive it..

[@RainmanP99]

Cahill. I have always heard it pronounced Cayhill. I am an avid reader; my (grown) daughter is a VORACIOUS reader. I discovered the Wheel of Time series when there were only two books, loved it, and recommended it to my daughter. She would go mad awaiting the next book, and re-read all of them during the longer wait for the last couple. Since then she has read it all over again two more times that I know of. I quite enjoyed how Brandon completed the series and went on to read quite a number of his books. While awaiting book 3 of the Stormlight series I guess I moved on the other types of reading and never got back to Stormlight. That has happened to me at least 3 times in my life. I will be thoroughly enjoying a series when suddenly my brain feels exhausted trying to keep everything straight, and I just stop, once right in the middle of a book. Looking back it has always been series with LONG books.

[@RainmanP99]

I very much enjoyed this video! I have never understood how any higher priced pen makers could let a pen go out the door without a great nib. The nib is the single most important aspect of the writing experience and about the easiest to swap or adjust as far as flow and smooth writing. In my mind there is no excuse for a premium pen to provide a sub-standard writing experience out of the box. As you point out, a Platinum Preppy or Pilot Varsity will be perfect 99.9% of the time. Even the lowly Jinhao 992 or 82 will be very good out of the box...or cellophane sleeve, most of the time.

[@jacobus57]

I'm really enjoying your new videos. They are relaxed, fun, and PARKER 😻😻 We have an fox orange girl and a buff orange boy, and they love to help.

[@debdp]

Cahill! 😉 We need to see more of Parker. She looks like a sweetie. 🧡 Glad to know that about Visconti. Personally, I have little or no patience with shoddy quality control. And the more expensive, the less patience I would have.

[@SimplyAubs]

Cahill! I DO love seeing Parker up close! 🤓

[@gamma2816]

Hahahahaha you just gotta love cats! xD "Oh you're trying to run a show!? Screw that! Wassup people! Who cares about pens, we got different brands of tuna and catnip to discuss am I right!?" xD A completely oblivious animal not even knowing what a camera is, yet it made so many smile all over the world, animals are so wholesome. :3

[@InkcredibleScribbles]

This happened to me with, you guessed it, a Visconti. A limited edition Visconti, sigh. Sent it back to Visconti for nib tuning and it was returned still bad. I still have the pen but I don't use it. Thanks for the Ryan Cahill recommendation. My mother's a massive fan of all the fantasy novels I see behind you but she's not heard of him ... Needed an idea for Christmas! Love your videos. x

[@LisaPottinger]

Depending on what's wrong with the nib, a good nibmeister can fix any issues for you, usually for about £30 or so. Anabelle Hillier from Opus Cinerus / Appelboom fixed the nibs on both my Bronze Age and Dark Age and they work perfectly now.

[@jacobus57]

It's a pen. It should write out of the box. Why is this hard?!?

[@tbayless8324]

Please don't ever remove her, so sweet. I don't have really expensive pens, since I have only been in this realm for about a year. And the most expensive one so far is my Franklin Christoph. I have had no problem with this. But I do have Chinese pens. My Asvines run so well right out of the box, my P20 to V-200 titanium, has a Bock nib writes so smooth. Sorry you got stung Kerry! So did Steven Brown. Maybe my most expensive pen will be a Waterman.

[@MarcellHobbs]

Hello dear friend!

[@tbayless8324]

@@MarcellHobbs Hello Ma'am. I have been haunting your channel also. How have you been?

[@MarcellHobbs]

@ I actually haven’t made videos over the past two weeks due to coughs and sniffles. I’ve been sharing shorts. More videos coming soon!

[@tbayless8324]

@@MarcellHobbs I watch everything, the Galen leather NB's etc...I am sorry you are sick, and or suffering from allergies. I know my eyes are screaming, not enough eye drops help me.

[@MarcellHobbs]

@ I tested negative for C, Flu A / B. Doc said it was viral. Plenty of fluids and rest for 7-10 days. I feel fine now. It’s just difficult to video with interruptions.

[@amyalphabet722]

All the protesting and chatting from Parker is the best!! She is seriously so cute! My grail pen is a Visconti Homo Sapiens - I hiked up Mt. Etna in Sicily, so that pen made of Etna lava would have so much meaning to me. The stories about the quality control on the nibs is uugggghhhh!! PS, Cahill 😉

[@ScottEllerman]

Parker 🧡 (Cahill added to my recommend wishlist) I have looked and looked at Viscontis and I just cannot bring myself to buy a new one, for exactly the reasons you discussed. It's a shame because there are so many that i love the look of, like the Bronze Age HS, the Iris Garden HS, etc.

[@rosst2201]

I agree with what you’re saying entirely, I had picked up the Montblanc Origin 149, and tried it out for a week. The first day I inked it I noticed hard starts, and saw that the tip was cut unevenly, and the fines were also polished in evenly. The left tine was thinner than the right, and had a very rounded point. The right tine was wider and more squared off. Thankfully I had already expressed my interest in using their nib exchange for a BB with the ambassador at the boutique; so they were able to take it back and send it to have the nib swapped. Books; have you read New Spring by Robert Jordan? It’s a prequel that sheds a little more light on how Moraine and Lan met. Also, I’d suggest the books by Robin Hobb (starting with the Farseer trilogy, all but one of her series tie in with each other and have an order they should be read in for chronological continuity) they’re also very good.

[@LisaPottinger]

I hope that you got a nib swap from Montblanc. I bought the same Origins 149 and mine is fine but unremarkable for £1k pen. Having bought 8 Montblancs now, both new and second hand, I can honestly say I think Montblanc is highly over rated and not worth the inflated cost new.

[@rosst2201]

@ this was my first ever Montblanc, and they approved the swap without issue (I also took pictures of the nib just in case I needed them to illustrate the main issue), but since it’s a different imprint than normal they don’t have any on hand here and had to send it out, estimated return is maybe by the end of January or February.

[@janinescribbles6276]

Cahill! Bought a Montblanc 1912 Heritage with a B-ish nib. It turned out to have the classic MB nib issue, "bottom de bébé". I sent it to Anabelle and she fixed it wonderfully, but it's still too soft for me. So I probably will have to rehome it 🥲

[@LisaPottinger]

Anabelle is great. She fixed two of my Visconti Homo Sapiens (Bronze Age and Dark Age) so that they now write perfectly.

[@AleeshaSattva]

I found that my Pilot Custom 743 FA was horrid to write with when I first purchased it whereas my 742 FA was a dream. After using it (regardless)... its writing really nice now.

[@ThatLoganChick000]

My experience that is similar is with me destroying a pen that wrote perfectly to begin with. It is a Platinum 3776 Celluloid in the Tortoise material, and I LOVED it so much, but while cleaning it one day I snapped the feed in two. Sent it away for repairs. It came back whole but needs to be primed for every writing session now. So sad! So very Cahill.

[@christinecharbonneau4448]

You are describing my experience with my Visconti Crystal Dream. I MUST send it in to get it fixed, because no matter what I have tried (different ink, etc) I cry when I use it. Cahill!

[@ladybeavanerdventures]

I seriously still cant believe Visconti can get away with there quality and business practice as there pens arent cheap like I would love one so bad as obviously want one of the lava pens or the van gogh just at how pretty they are and the aura of wow. But some of they best pens I own are Twsbi love them and the cheapest of the bunch Platinum Small Meteor/Little Shooting Star they both never dry out and write beautifully

[@ChrisBliss-ln1cq]

I think...Parker may be Starstruck?!!😅 Pilot pens are among the best value for function pens out there, for me at least ; and do not neglect the vintage market ---Parkers, Onotos, Conway Stewart, et al, all well made and designed working pens. Reading has been my greatest pleasure in life, but then...I read a book all about how to do Lucid dreaming 😚. Oh Lordy, I'll just leave it there (-- but if you are listening Helen Mirren, in the dream you said you'd love to do that!! 😍😘🤗) Parker : Over to you...

[@catwhisperer911]

May I recommend the Dragons Of Pern series of books if you haven't already read them.

[@anadb147]

I love your channel. Cats, fountain pens, books… awesome ❤

[@karma13612]

Great video! Love your suggestions for dealing with a problem nib. It’s like having an attorney on retainer for when you might possibly need one! And I agree that ALL pens should be usable and write properly right out of the box. I was thinking of reading some SciFi but don’t know where to start. Any suggestions on a good series or even single book that would be a good introduction. Thanks and keep up the great videos 🙋🏼‍♀️😃👍

[@BlueMel_MH]

My Visconti Rembrandt steel nib was perfect, but the first grail Opera pen in a 1.3mm palladium stub and it was too wet and gushing, thus I had it ground to a broad cursive italic. Dan Smith did fab work and it's perfect. It definetely tempered my expectations.

[@judyjacobs5827]

Cahill. I got a big fat gold Parker as a wedding gift from my wasband. So romantic! (but not really). The thing did not write for love nor rage. Scratchy, flow issues, hard starts, ink starvation, you name it. Though the gift was really not the issue, after too many years, he and I are no longer married. Within this year or two I bought a pen that the seller claimed was a Visconti Van Gogh , and I knew it wasn't. I was right, duh. Later on I bought another pen, really a Visconti. Not a brilliant performer, but the resin is pretty. Did I, would I pay $1000 for this pen? Not likely. Give kudos to Emmy. My family is from Romania, and my brother's kid's name is Emmy.

[@irafuchstraum]

That's the reason why I hesitate to buy really expensive fountain pen. I don't use my expensive pens often since they are expensive. ^^

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

My problem is that, from time to time, I can drop one of them and it breaks. Ouch!!

[@LisaPottinger]

This is such a shame. Please use your expensive pens and enjoy them, even if you just use them at home. Pens are meant to be used and enjoyed

[@aikonoklas]

the thumbnail is hilarious!!😂😂

[@PensandTea]

😆😆😆

[@karinamcconell1828]

Cahill, thank you Kerry and I wish you a Merry Christmas ❤🎄✨️

[@ivaesty9186]

Cahill. I really adore the look of the Visconti Homo Sapiens Iris Garden, but I'm hesitant to purchase it because of the known nib issues. I'll continue to admire it from afar.

[@SimiLoraine]

Same here. Also, it's more expensive than the Broze Age; and, if I am paying that much for a pen that would probably need a nib adjustment, it's going to be made with hardened lava.

[@LisaPottinger]

If you really want the pen, buy it from a retailer that will check and tune the nib before sending it you. There are several around. This will limit any Visconti QC issues. For all their poor quality pens their pens are truly gorgeous and when they write properly they are not only beautiful but an absolute joy to write with.

[@Tia-p5f]

Thanks for the book recommendations. I'll have to try those out. Loved the kitty close ups!

[@brendadalton4706]

Love your videos, always seem to have to catch up. Keep making more.

[@tomsheehan4091]

Cahill. That was a very informative video; thank you. Please make a video on Visconti's quality control issues.

[@geraldjahnke3998]

Cahill! Thanks for the ramble! Hope you had a good morning.

[@opalg6162]

I have just discovered your channel, and I would love to see a video of how you got started collecting pens. if you have already done one, forgive me, this is the first video i have watched. But i intend to backtrack and watch them all. Oh, by the way, I love your cat. Please leave her in the videos.

[@ShariArts]

I bought a Visconti mirage mythos. It came with a terrible, and I mean terrible, nib. I sent it off to Kirk Speer to fix. He has had it for almost 5 months and I hope I get it back soon, but I know the nib will be good when it does.

[@tbayless8324]

Five months, you poor thing. Yikes!!! Gee, this makes me want to run right out and buy one...NOPE!!!😵

[@ShariArts]

@@tbayless8324 actually I sent the Visconti to Gena Salorino but I hope to get it back soon with a journaler nib. Kirk had my Pelikan, which is now on its way back to me thankfully. I will never buy another Visconti!

[@MarcsYoutube]

I enjoyed the book talk part, and will definitely check out Cahill. I've read the Song of Ice and Fire books after watching the show and really, really enjoyed them. It's not that the main plot varies that much from the TV show, but the books are so much better and deeper. I hope Martin will still finish them with a better ending than the show did. My most expensive pen is the Pilot Namiki 743 Falcon. I simply adore it!

[@JRDiaz-tn5kb]

Parker 🐈 loves 📸-time. And so do we viewers. Thanks for the video with the reminder for 🖋expectations.. it’s too bad manufacturers choose to skip Q&A before setting out the products. (btw: can you feature a fav pen with that mic? I know a new one is enroute, but I used to try and guess which one you were going to clip it too - I miss that) , thanks 😊.

[@FountainPenScott]

Thanks for the book recommend…I put it in my kindle library to check out next.

[@RnRG1985a]

Alway listen to the end. “Cahill”. Tell us more about the books you love! I’m listening to Sanderson’s new book and loving it. Will e looking into “Of Blood & Fire”. Thank you!

[@LivelyLaura]

So my really expensive pen that is more my fault than anything because I didn't know what I really wanted when I bought it was a Platinum Sakura. I got it in an EF and I didn't realize that it wasn't a Western EF (my first Japanese FP) and now I am leaning toward a western M. Thanks for your insight. I have 2 Visconti's and 1 I love and the other is gonna get sold! LOL Also Cahill!

[@SimiLoraine]

Cahill seems like an intriguing author. I, too, enjoy Fantasy books; and, have a fabulous female ginger. The things I've heard about Visconti nibs has me holding off until my more temporary financial responsibilities have been tended to; and I've saved up, so I can order from a retailer with a nibmeister in house, to tune the nib before I get it. I still want my own Homo Sapiens Bronze Age with, a soft butter flow. 🥰

[@March22012]

Cahill...whom I have never read. But then, I’m from the Andre Norton era.

[@Chickens_and_Pens]

Cahill!! I’m excited you talked about books!! I’m wanting to start wheel of time and storm light archive!! Help!!! Now I need Cahill too!! Love your video sucks about expensive pens not writing well!! Have a great day!

[@alexwhiteowl]

Could've bet it would be a Visconti! Glsd to hear Emy from PenVenture fixed it. If i ever get a fancy Visconti, it will be from him

[@faniro4792]

very interesting review! i have never purchased a visconti bronze because of what you're mentioning here. and i'll never.

[@psychophipps]

Parker looks almost exactly like my big ol' tomcat "Sir George, the Dragon Slayer" named because he will jump attack absolutely anything regardless of size, shape, or earlier negative interaction result.

[@PensandTea]

😆😆😆

[@vicdiciccio6637]

I just put Cahill on my Kindle. I'm a bit behind you in Wind and Truth but I don't want it to end. Five more Stormlight Archive books might take 15 or 20 years to come out.

[@PensandTea]

Yay for both books hahaha I’m so excited for you!

[@reveme]

What about a video on brand reliability? Like, the pen manufacturers with which you had bad experience and the ones that instead writes mostly five out of the box? You have a lot if experience that you can share in that regard 😊

[@pamelaboxall7015]

I had a real Honey I Shrunk The Kids moment watching this video - the huge cat's face obscuring the whole of my vision.

[@hoozat007]

You say Cahill, I say Cahill… let’s call the whole thing off. 🙂

[@charis_explores]

Cahill 🎉 My really expensive fountain pen, that’s been a PITA is my Visconti Kaleido. Mostly filling issues, the nib was good. So same… Visconti. Why are they so beautiful, though! LOL

[@norm5785]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on your pen journey with the Visconti. Have you ever ventured into having a local small pen maker produce a custom pen for you? Everyone stay safe, warm, happy and healthy.

[@marilyngardner4269]

I have a Visconti Wall Street with a paladium nib. It's a gorgeous pen but the writing experience is meh. I'm trying to decide whether to send it out for nib work. Also, Cahill. So many books, so little time. How do you find time to time to read such tomes?

[@rubygoodman8364]

Purchased a Visconti Opera Master Savanna it was on the most beautiful pens I ever saw but I had to send it back. It was way too heavy and the nib was absolute garbage. There is no way I am going to spend that kind of money on a brand new item and then spend more money getting it tuned. Out of the question.

[@tiantuatara]

Cahill - some book recs for you - the Wraithblade series by S.M. Boyce, Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang.

[@ladybeavanerdventures]

All the Parker kisses Also love your shirt/jumper what is it based on as love it and ooo treasure goblin

[@helenskibinski9742]

I bought an Omas 360 in the Burkina celluloid. It writes like garbage and it's a pain to clean. I will always reach for a Kaweco before that thing.

[@artpherr]

Parker is so precious!!! 😆

[@davegoodridge8352]

Cahill, loved your cat!

[@karenholden4740]

Nice video and the information thanks

[@HagothVoyage]

It is unbelevible to me that people keep buying these expensive pens with crapy nibs. I buy cheap Chinese pens and almost every one writes great! Try a Hong Dian 1866. Great pens! Beautiful! writes like a dream out of the box!

[@vashdeath]

THIS.. just because a pen's expensive, doesn't mean it's good. you would think with the money spent, the inspection would match the price and quality it claims to me. not always the case unfortunately.

[@eddiecandelaria8691]

Funny you should mention Visconti... Bought a Claudio Mazzi called Apache. Thought it was made of " precious" resin but it was metal? Ok well, does it write? A big ,NO! Swapped sections and the feed with a $12 pen from India and the issue was resolved. I was lucky but disgusted. I have had better luck with jinhao, hongdian and majohn pens as the quality control has been a lot better lately. I wouldn't accept a visconti for free, don't need the headache..

[@impish22]

this title is crazy funny, thanks for sharing

[@PensandTea]

Hahaha thank you and you’re welcome!

[@jayebird1070]

A pen can come with a nib that is aligned, tuned, and STILL not be right for you the buyer. Just a bigger let down when it was expensive... Edit Cahill

[@kevinlandon7578]

By all means rant on Visconti!

[@psychophipps]

I talked with several nibsmiths when I went to the Commonwealth Pen Show this year, and all of them said they hated working on Visconti more than any other nibs. One went so far as to bluntly state, "They make nibs that simply aren't up to being nibs. The material they use is often too thin to hold up to real use." Add this to the well-known QC issues? No thanks.

[@PensandTea]

Yeah it’s pretty brutal!

[@babbkachan]

insta like for the dedication! I would give 100 extra likes just for the award worthy Parker footage if I could. The only Visconti I own atm is a Mirage Mythos and those are Schmidt(?) steel nibs, very nice writing experience but I wanna own a Homo Sapiens crystal dream or bronze age some day 😮‍💨 I thought when people talked about Visconti nibs being shitty sometimes that it was mostly their palladium nibs in medium to broad that got overpolished and were sent with baby's bottom but hearing about your experience with the gold nib made me realise their QC issues were more wide spread than I imagined. PS 100 MORE LIKES FOR WOT MENTION I FINISHED THE SERIES THIS YEAR, TOO!!! My Wind and Truth order got delayed even though my local bookstore said it would be ready for pick up on release date when I preordered it at the beginning of November T-T Cahill will go right on my tbr for 2025 that sounds right up my alley 🤌

[@PensandTea]

Oh you won’t be disappointed with Cahills work that’s for sure! And YAY for finishing WoT. Big commitment but definitely worth it at the end hahaha

[@themisterchristie]

First of all, Cahill. It's funny how the more expensive a pen gets, some of them the quality control suffers and becomes more like what you often get from cheap Chinese pens.

[@PensandTea]

Right! It blows my mind sometimes

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

I can't believe companies don't check the expensive pens. Do they sell that many??

[@LisaPottinger]

That hasn't been my experience. Chinese pens from PenBBS, Asvine and Wing Sung 600 series have worked perfectly straight out of the box. Even Jinhao and Majohn nibs have come a long way and the majority of Chinese pens that I've bought have been good straight out of the box, ie they write! They may need tuning to write to my personal preference, very smooth and wet but they work!

[@themisterchristie]

@LisaPottinger I agree that a lot of Chinese pens are excellent, I didn't mean to disparage all Chinese pens, just meaning some of the really cheap ones.

[@miahoover9225]

Parker is great. I love her ears.

[@heatherhammerquist6239]

I tried to read Game of Thrones… I got 2 chapters in and found I have a deep dislike for the writing and characters.

[@PensandTea]

Yeah I’ve heard that the prose can be difficult if you’re not expecting it. I hope I do!

[@heatherhammerquist6239]

@@PensandTeamay you have better luck than me!😊

[@normm7764]

Visconti - - never again!

[@zharkinbaev]

My most expensive pen is Lamy Safari ))

[@charliemeizlish]

Cahill.😊

[@travwhitmer]

good morning parker! lol

[@ColoringAddict]

Cahill :D

[@sarahimedina7519]

You're adorable in the morning! Cahill

[@andreas9119]

Did you get stuffed on customs TWICE with that Visconti when it came to you the 2nd time? O, Canada... heh

[@Faxxxanadu]

Cahill!

[@scr5051]

Of war and ruin Ryan cahill , i read, greetings my name Óscar

[@PensandTea]

Hahaha

[@AleeshaSattva]

Cahill!!!

[@HerdingNomad]

Cahill🎉🎉

[@tessarotmify]

Cahiel

[@johnvoss2565]

That is probably the difference between a "Collectors pen" and a pen that is actually used for writing. Which writes better.. Mont Blanc or cheap Chinese knock off ?

[@og_hatman]

Cahill 😀

[@Elizabeth_attheBeach]

Cahill

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Hi Carrie. If he is an American then his name is probably pronounced, 'Kayhill'.

[@phoenixodwyer3810]

Caahil!!

[@muscidae]

Cahill. Ha!

[@kevinlandon7578]

cahill

[@scr5051]

You are beatiful, me gusta tu canal, un fan more, greetings Froom colombia south América, talk Froom montblanc, do you speak spanish,

[@PensandTea]

I unfortunately do not speak Spanish. I would love to learn another language but it doesn’t come easy!

[@scr5051]

@PensandTea I teach you for free

[@tessiermathieu7017]

Cah¡!!

[@mikelgomez5813]

Chh ill

[@LisaPottinger]

Typical Visconti!. They make gorgeous pens but their QC is dreadful. 75% failure rate on Homo Sapiens I've purchased over the years. Three of my Homo Sapiens had nib issues (baby's bottom, misaligned tines / scratchiness, dry with poor ink flow), all of which required a nibmeister to fix. Luckily, Annabelle from Opus Cineris / Appelboom adjusted them so they write smooth and wet, just how I like it. My most recent purchase, The Earth Origins Water Homo Sapiens Broad nib was perfect straight out of the box (first time ever). In my experience, Visconti steel nibs (Breeze, Van Gough & Mythos) have better nib QC all of which have worked straight out of the box. Couldn't agree more with your comment, only buy a Visconti Homo Sapiens from a retailer that will check and tune the nib before sending it to you, or buy it second hand at a significant cost reduction ( as much as 50-60%) and pay an experienced nibmeister to tune it to your specification. (Edited for typo)

[@barryporter6993]

Cahill

[@miahoover9225]

Cahill

[@marcelfeillafe]

Cahill

[@LilianaRose669]

Cahill

[@elspethdarby4015]

Cahill