Survivor Pens - Visconti Homo Sapiens

I revisit the Visconti Homo Sapiens Fountain pen, first reviewed April 7, 2016.
Original Review: • Visconti Homo Sapiens
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[@PenultimateDave]

Hey Jason. As you know, I have over close to 80 Visconti Fountain pens, at one point I had close to 90, I sold a few. The two things that attracted me to Visconti, the first being the design, the second being the beautiful wet writing nib. I have the original 14kt and 18kt Gold nibs made by Bock, the 23kt Palladium nibs made by Bock and the newer 14kt and 18kt Gold nibs now made in-house. I still prefer the 23kt Palladium nibs over all the older or newer Gold nibs. As much as I liked Matt, and did listen to his rants on Visconti QC, I didn't have the same experience. Yes there will always be consistency, I have some lovely bouncy 23kt Palladium nibs, and some incredibly stiff nibs, is that a QC problem? No, I don't see it as a QC problem, I see it as a consistency problem. Some of us love super wet bouncy nibs, others prefer stiff dry nibs. I think a lot of the people that vented and ranted about Visconti QC was because they wanted a wet bouncy nib and received a stiff dry nib. I do recall Dante saying that he received a lot of complaints of the Palladium nibs being spring easily due to how bouncy they were, so he went back to the drawing board with Bock and made them more stiffer. I do agree there are QC issues but likewise with every brand, whether it's Visconti, Montblanc, Montegrappa. Look hard enough and have a large enough sample of pens from each company and it will be found. I know the magnet issues becoming demagnetised has been due to corrosion from inside the cap, another reason why I tend not to rinse out caps now days. There are screws in most caps that will hold that magnet in place and clips in place and will rust, so I always use a dry q-tip to clean out any wet ink left inside a cap. I know you have glued your finial on and I know others that have done that, I think with a strong enough magnet it might be possible to re-magnetise it. I have had some quality issues with the hook safe lock mechanism some where the cap is very tight to cap to the section, others where it's very loose. Ultimately though the looks of a pen is what attracts me to buying a pen, what keeps me going back to write with that pen is how the nib writes and performs, and that's why I have so many Visconti's still in my collection even though I've sold some. If I started over from scratch and had to buy pens from the start to fill my collection, would I go back and buy another 80 Visconti's? Probably not that many because our tastes in pens change over time, but I certainly would buy a lot of Visconti's because of how they write, the nib is the heart of the pen and when pen/nib write well, that's what interests me more. I'm glad you are still enjoying your Visconti Homo Sapiens, I still find it's the most comfortable pen and size for writing with for me.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Thank you for this very detailed reply! With your vast experience with Visconti pens, I would say that you can confidently comment on the brand. I've only ever owned 3 Visconti pens, though I did like all of them. Your experience is a whole order of magnitude greater than mine! Matt was a nice guy and thoughtful, but I always felt that he didn't have enough samples to generalize to a brand. Your own research about changes to the palladium nibs makes sense. I think I must have one of the softer ones. And it's glorious! You're the first person to offer a good explanation of my demagnetized finial. I live in an arid climate, so pen cleaning shouldn't be much of a problem. But, I can see where I created the problem those times I got a capful of ink: I tended to clean out the cap, dry with a twisted paper towel, and move on. Rust would easily be a problem. I did try remagnetizing with a neodynium magnet (perk of being a science teacher) but it only lasted a few days. Interesting about the hook-safe mechanism. I hadn't heard about that. Thank you for responding. Yours is the kind of response I've needed on this topic. I wanted lots of samples, and you have that experience. And you are right about Visconti: they make gorgeous pens.

[@PenultimateDave]

@@WaskiSquirrel Matt was a good guy, I loved watching his videos and his production quality was impeccable. I did feel that he was getting a little bit more critical of certain brands towards the end of his videos, Visconti being one of them. I suspect if he had not made those overly critical videos and waited 6 months before making them he would have been a lot less critical of Visconti, but I can certainly see where his frustration came from. I always thought Matt might come back to doing fountain pen reviews one day, but I doubt that will ever happen now. The cynic in me wonders why Visconti and many many other brands don't use stainless steel screws etc. I guess stainless steel can also rust but not as much. Or put some kind of glue/resin over the top of the screw to keep it more water tight. I guess that would then cause issues with removing the screw later on. I have heard of screws rusting in pen caps so badly that they eventually snap and can cause the finials of pens and clips to come loose. I noticed on about a dozen pens that I rigerously cleaned that the screws inside the caps had become rusted when shining a light inside the caps, that's when I stopped rinsing out my caps. I have heard similar views to yours where people have been able to remagnitise the caps but I don't know how long they lasted for. I know when Dante switched to Pineider he did the same magnetic cap closures but somehow built the magnets higher up so that way the caps would also align to the bodies better.

[@skyerandbuzz8814]

That pen has your footprint all over it just like my kaweco bronze sport. You just look at it and you know it's you. That pen is you!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It's amazing how the tarnishing of metal can give a pen its unique personality.

[@drew......]

It's funny, the different ways we evaluate pens. Some are very pragmatic, others have a unique & gorgeous finish, and some just write in a way that keeps us coming back. On a related aside, I bought a palladium Bock nib some years back. Right now I've got it on an Opus 88 eyedropper. The result is that super juicy, glide-across-the-page "Dreamtouch" experience.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It's amazing what a change a nib can make to a pen!

[@honeybee4423]

Dear Mr Waski...loved the walk around video and the revisit of a pen I also have with a palladium nib but I have yet to ink him up! Another pen that sits new in its box- I will get it out now that I have seen how much you love yours- I just hope my nib is as nice as yours. Thank you for reminding me with this fun video...Take good care now. Sweet Blessings Mand XOXO

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Please do! And let me know what you think of it!

[@MrAndrew1953]

We seek him here,we seek him there but we can't find old Waski anywhere- darn it all.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It was a busy period catching up!

[@jeffroberts532]

Nice walk! A Visconti Homo Sapiens has been on my list to acquire for years. I’d like the model with an ink window. But they are so expensive, even used, that I just cannot get myself to make the purchase. Thanks for the video.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Not scenic...but I've been walking to work since fall of 1999. I'll take that over good scenery!

[@christophermckellar1352]

I bought two Visconti Opera Master Cherry Blossom pens with the palladium nibs in double broad and 1.3 stub. The owner of Chatterly Luxuries from whom I bought them had them tuned since he was disappointed in Visconti nibs at the time. They have worked well. They have fallen into disuse, but your video has gotten me interested in them again. With much more experience between my fingers I am eager to see what I think of them now . Thanks! Most of the fountain pen community join with me in eagerly awaiting Blackbirds in Dakota Corn Fields ink. Get started on it please. Just imagine…!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I think tuning would solve a lot of the complaints I heard about thewse nibs. I hope you enjoy them now! I'm trying to imagine the colors in that ink. I know it must shade almost to black!

[@ichirofakename]

Glad you enjoy the pen enough to excuse its faults.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

The writing (the most important part) is wonderful. I think I got a good one!

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I have three premium Viscontis; a HS Bronze Age and two even more expensive Divinas. I really like my HS with the older Palladium (F) nib. I’ve tried out the newer 18k gold nibs, too. I prefer the Palladium, no question. Odd, because the palladium nib pens appear to hog the bulk of user complaints, so far. I’ve been very fortunate because I’ve had no issues with any of my pricey three Visconti pens. The brand undeniably has a QC notoriety. Luckily, it hasn’t hit me yet.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm curious about numbers: how big was the QC problem, and how much of it was because of people with a platform talking about it. I don't know the answer. I like my palladium nib, and I have an older Visconti with a gold nib from before they switched to palladium. Both are quite nice, though the gold is much stiffer.

[@paulherman5822]

Can't speak to the Visconti palladium silver nibs, but based on the vintage Sheaffer's and 3xxx Esterbrook palladium nibs, those are pretty good. Any QC issues with Visconti seems consistent with certain types of Italian products. (You old enough to remember Fiat being a joke in the US?) And even other high end products. Not just from Italy. (Look at the issues with repair OdE had with a certain German brand. ) Kind of reminded me of the Mopar K cars. Either complete garbage or lasts forever (seen some with over 500,000 miles of abuse.) You got a good one. 😁

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Yes! I do remember quality concerns about Fiat and Alfa Romeo. And, yes, certain German brands of both cars and pens have had issues. I do remember the K cars! They were ubiquitous and it's amazing what a long run that basic platform had. Very happy with my Homo Sapiens, but I'm not pushing my luck by getting others.

[@Allthough]

Yeah, the HS bronze age has been on my short list for years now. Somewhat like yourself, I have some difficulty justifying pens over a certain price point. It may happen one of these days, but today is not that day!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Waiting until you can find a used one might be best. That's one thing that buying vintage taught me.

[@thepenman357]

On the reverse writing, it didn't look like you flipped the nib over, or maybe my elderly eyes are playing tricks on me 😂 OK, I should have waited a moment 😊

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It happens...and I'm sure I've forgotten once or twice!

[@thepenman357]

@@WaskiSquirrel You did it right, only after saying you were reverse writing 😆

[@impish22]

Looks like a nice pen, but probably won't be in my collection

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That's a good idea. Unless you can find it at the right price, it's a lot for a pen, especially since some have their issues.

[@klt479]

I purchased a new Homo Sapiens Crystal Dream a little less than a year ago. The gold nib has never allowed any ink flow at all, and it still does not write at all. It remains a beautiful expensive piece of junk.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

That is so frustrating, especially at that price. I had that with a Stipula. Funny thing is the nib is amazing in other pens.

[@patriot9455]

Maybe I am an old weird guy, an "old fashioned brain", you might say. I received a presentation quality "Quill" brand ball point pen many yeas ago. I used it in my paper logs ( long gone to electric logs, booooo) until I left commercial driving. I discovered it in my log book cover, which I am going to use for my ham radio items. It seems that after 15 years untouched, the ink has dried out. Do you have any contact information beyond the name,. city state, P.O. Box . I can find no other information . I would like to begin using the pen again, and it has not responded to a hot water ink treatment, SO, I need a new refill. Do they still make pens? I know the sell a variety of pens, even fountain pens, but that exact unit is sentimental to me. It rode with me for 2 million or more miles and has been in all 48 lower states with me recording what I admitted to in my log book.

[@WaskiSquirrel]

Sadly, I don't know much. I know they're part of Staples. And I know they have a website which I'm sure you found. www.quill.com/ Aside from that, you might look to see if any other ball point refills fit. A lot of ball points have a certain generic refill, and the Parker refill fits a lot of ballpoints as well.

[@patriot9455]

@@WaskiSquirrel The town I live in has no office supply store, and Wally World is not cutting it. I may have to go out of county, lol to get "the good stuff". If I do that, I might come home with a refillable fountain pen and a bottle of black ink. Being left handed, that means writing slowly so I don't smear it all up. That is one reason I found keyboarding easier that pen and paper.

[@patriot9455]

@@WaskiSquirrel I searched and found it. Staples is a source I used for office supplies when I lived in Alabama, and in Arkansas. Finding discontinued items requires being there to look on the shelves. My ability to travel is limited now, but if I get the opportunity, it will be a fun search

[@ibpopp]

Price, QC problems--and distance from Italy--have always put me off these Viscontis; and, it's just too big for my taste. Vivre la difference!

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I agree, though I do own this one. To be fair, it feels good in my hand. I have criticized some pens for being too big, but this one does it right.