Visconti Pens Factory Tour: The Art of Writing in Renaissance Florence

Visconti Pens Factory Tour: The Art of Writing in Renaissance Florence | Kirby's Grand Italy Tour

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Күн бұрын

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@alsaikali5753 6 ай бұрын

I’m a big fountain pen fan and follow many influencers in that area. This was, by far, the best video I’ve watched about a fountain pen brand. Also, the fact Kirby was able to get such inside access to a major brand like Visconti was particularly impressive. You can’t find another video like it on KZbin. The combination of CEO interviews, behind-the-scenes video, and the deep dive into the manufacturing and design processes were so impressive and enlightening. Bravo and thank you to Kirby!

@kirbyallison 6 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you!

@zeemzok 6 ай бұрын

The production in this channel is second to none! Well done to everyone involved! Keep the great work Kirby

@mph7282 6 ай бұрын

I recently returned from a trip to Italy and visited the Visconti flagship store in Florence. It was a nice little treat to view everything they had, and the lady running the store was a joy to talk to. I didn’t purchase anything at the store, but I own several Visconti pens, and they are wonderful to write with. I also recently purchased a Van Gogh model for my nephew for his college graduation, and I’m kind of kicking myself I didn’t buy it in Florence. As a full on pen nerd, I approve of this episode!

@newgrangetours3219 Ай бұрын

Love all that you do . Greetings from Ireland

@Mojo-IRE 6 ай бұрын

Italy has always oozed elegance and class. Just seems to come naturally.

@j.davidphillips9665 6 ай бұрын

Have you been? It certainly has its classy parts. But mostly it oozes garlic, corruption , and inefficiency.

@simonacarpano4947 Ай бұрын

@@j.davidphillips9665 Certainly much lessthan your country in terms of inefficiency

@GoodStuffGarage 6 ай бұрын

What a fascinating subject, and - as always - a very well produced episode. Handwriting is actually very important. It improves learning and memory. That's one of many reasons why it's crazy that many schools today have switched from handwriting to only typing on screens and pads. Back to basics is the way to go here!

@thisissweeney5494 6 ай бұрын

Indeed! I’m a High School English Teacher and the classes I teach are through Cambridge International which requires the students to take a written exam at the end of the year via pen and paper. So I pretty much have my students writing by hand for the whole school year and there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between typing and writing by hand.

@GoodStuffGarage 6 ай бұрын

@@thisissweeney5494 Fantastic! Well done!

@jmbaug1229 Ай бұрын

Thank you for this amazing Visconti documentary film ♥️ J.

@kevinlucas8437 6 ай бұрын

Such incredible craftsmanship !!! Those are pieces of art. What a privilege to see the creative behind the scenes.

@chunkychinn 5 ай бұрын

Hi Kirby. Wow, when life gets you down I can rely on one of your episodes to bring me back up again. I just adore these series's that you are producing, nomore than my favourite country, Italy, and one of my favourite Tuscan cities Florence. And to visit Visconti is just a little more icing on the cake. thankyou so much for showing that there are still real pens being made with such attention to detail. i just cannot get enough. But when is lunch being served? As always thankyou.

@mklelito74 5 ай бұрын

The quality of your shows now is just so next level! Love it!!!

@jeecreative 6 ай бұрын

The production quality of your videos is truly exceptional.

@sandrofazzolari8833 6 ай бұрын

Italy 🇮🇹 is grateful for your visit and fine grand tour. Bravo 👏 Next time maybe also Milano😊

@vicentegregorio6476 6 ай бұрын

Kirby as a fountain pen aficionado, collector and owner of a couple of Visconti pens I thoroughly enjoyed your video. A couple of years ago I visited the Visconti boutique in Florence, thanks for the reminder. Keep up the great work of quality, craftsmanship and tradition! Best.

@pgopal6 4 ай бұрын

I love fountain pens, big fan of Visconti, thanks for the video Kirby… Can you do a similar factory tour with Namiki pens from Pilot in Japan?

@downingbethune8758 5 ай бұрын

Dropped by the Visconti shop when we were in Florence a few years ago. I already have a much cherished handmade fountain pen, but one of these days I'll pick up a Visconti. I had to laugh when Kirby asked "What's the difference between the 14 carat and 18 carat nibs?" and Francesco replied "Just the carats of the gold." It would have been even funnier had he replied "Four carats." Kirby went on to try to clarify, "But does it feel different?" and Francesco basically replied, "Yeah, that too." Francesco looks like he borrowed a jacket for this shoot. The production of Kirby's videos has gone from amateur good to professional very good to now setting the gold standard. There's a lot of effort that goes into these shoots to make it look effortless.

@howardcunix8677 6 ай бұрын

Thank You, Kirby, for bringing this video presentation to fountain pen aficionados! The original gold Visconti nib was 18k. Then there was a change to the 23K Dreamtouch Palladium nib. Then a change back to 18k. The Palladium nib was actually outstanding--on the condition it was tuned properly by either the factory or the Seller/Dealer. The true issue>QC was inconsistent but the nib was not the problem as many consumers thought. Question--With the return to the 18k nib, what is the writing experience/performance reported by the majority of users? With appreciation for the hard work that went into your Florence visit!

@kirbyallison 6 ай бұрын

I've enjoyed my nibs... not a ton of flex, but good feedback.

@HistoricGentleman 3 ай бұрын

@@howardcunix8677 nibs were decent when Bock’s technicians were still there during the set up / training… sadly Visconti has now returned to its normal nib QC of ship out whatever and hope it doesn’t come back. Sadly, most folks instead of returning the said faulty and or poor QC swallow it up and just spend the cash having third party nibmeisters correct what should have been done at the damn factory.

@howardcunix8677 3 ай бұрын

@@HistoricGentleman Understood, and, concur! :)

@EugenioCardoso 6 ай бұрын

Very interesting episode.... I recommend you to keep an eye in other Italian pen makers... Montegrappa, Leonardo, Scribo, Delta/Maiora and some others... Congrats on this amazing video!👏

@smashie2000 6 ай бұрын

I've had a Visconti Van Gogh Irises for a few years now, and the way it looks and writes makes it one of my favourites.

@seanyates4519 6 ай бұрын

The best part of the last pen, the Extase D'oud was not commented upon. The bottom unscrews giving access to a repository for oud fragrance oil. The pen comes with a bottle of fragranced ink and also a bottle of oud oil in a fantastic ornate presentation box. The perfume oil chamber is the unique part though.

@kirbyallison 6 ай бұрын

Quite the unique feature! I think they should re-release this feature!

@demetripapachristopoulos3295 6 ай бұрын

Great video! Another worthy piece. Thank you.

@lukemasid6931 5 ай бұрын

Kirby, thank you for this wonderful video. I've always been a Mont Blanc fan, but will now give Vissconti some serious consideration for my next pen.

@kirbyallison 5 ай бұрын

Thanks! Make sure you visit KirbyAllison.com if you're looking to pull the trigger! ;)

@gabrieleuboldi515 5 ай бұрын

Fantastic video! Thank you

@bluejay4069 5 ай бұрын

AMAZING intro!

@EasyMac308 6 ай бұрын

I started with fountain pens about the same time I started with cigars. Both give you a taste of luxury and a chance to slow down. You don't have to jump into the top tier immediately. There's a lot to enjoy in the $20 range. The Pilot Metropolitan is a great pen and will really let you know if fountain pens are for you.

@bartell1307 6 ай бұрын

I wished I had given one of the fountain pen for Father’s Day.

@Jomaxp 5 ай бұрын

What Watch is it you are Wearing in this video if i may ask Looks a bit like a Lange and soehne ?

@daudbangla 6 ай бұрын

wow, splendid. I hope in future I will collect Visconti homosepience

@saturngiuerl 6 ай бұрын

love it❤

@Shivris 6 ай бұрын

I own a few of their fountain pens. Fantastic pens but nib quality can be hit and miss for an out of the box experience for a pen that’s $500+. When I’m in the market to buy one of their pens I always buy from a retailer than can check and tune the nib before shipping it out to me. From a high end fountain pen standpoint I prefer Pelikan over all. The writing experience is better. That’s my opinion on it anyway. Armando Simoni Club (ASC) makes some fantastic pens using the old stock of celluloids from Omas when they went under. Omas had some of the best looking pens out there.

@jlozano2014 5 ай бұрын

Love my pelikan

@josegustavoespinosaj.9521 6 ай бұрын

¡Wowwwwww!

@drrider100 6 ай бұрын

What a great video!

@motor2of7 6 ай бұрын

The pens are beautiful but I struggle to write with something as large as a cigar tube.

@Dennisdewengel 5 ай бұрын

and now i will need a nice pen,, i barley write, but its such a art

@MohammedBuhindi 6 ай бұрын

Very nice pens but let me tell you .. the service after purchase is non existent from my own experience. My pen has a problem that one part in the bottom detached from the pen and I tried to contact the company many times with no answer at all. Very disappointed because I love my pen. Never buying from them again.

@Cull_Obsidian 6 ай бұрын

The video was great! Glad I watched it. Just a shame that Visconti’s quality control is so notoriously poor and their customer aftercare service is just as bad. I’d happily buy one, but I think it would have to be from a used dealer who can assure the quality of the nib (because they’ve inked it)

@frankv7068 6 ай бұрын

Why Francesco jacket sleeve reaches his finger tips 🤣?

@charliefoxtrot7219 6 ай бұрын

I'm very interested in buying a great fountain pen and writing letters.

@Joedirt3349 6 ай бұрын

Cross man here!

@j.davidphillips9665 6 ай бұрын

Fountain pens are messy. But the ink stains on your hand are a badge of honour.

@kirbyallison 6 ай бұрын

Are you left handed? I certain have had some spectacular accidents with ink... but the new Visconti pens have such advanced internal mechanisms that I don't experience any problems with leaking. And with the dual chamber, you can even fly with these with absolutely no worry for ink leaking.

@bonkersblock 6 ай бұрын

I own the Michelangelo silver nib..

@-Nobody-1 6 ай бұрын

I cant be the only one who never actually buys pens. My whole life I’ve always just found them places. I also never know where my pens end up. Its the life cycle of a pen. Passing through many hands… being found… being lost…. For years. Ive never been like “oh shoot i need a pen” and havent been able to find one lying around somewhere within a couple minutes… I’ve found this true anywhere in the world. I just thought id post this and see if anyone else feels the same.

@TheRacerRich 6 ай бұрын

"Yager La Cout tri-ay" - Kirby's British is showing.

@kronides6335 6 ай бұрын

It is extremely baffling how complex the Latin culture can be.

@kojiattwood 6 ай бұрын

Firenze--also the birthplace of opera.

@hickorydickory 6 ай бұрын

caruso

@motor2of7 6 ай бұрын

I was in Florence 2 years ago, and unfortunately knew nothing about Visconti at the time. Maybe next time

@ThadySenior 6 ай бұрын

The spear of Alexander The Great is bent - upsetting to my OCD 😂

@mattp4293 6 ай бұрын

35 years and they're just now making their own nibs? So it's just a very basic plunger fill and over priced barrels and caps?

@s0hlless 5 ай бұрын

im not worthy of such pens because my handwriting is complete garbage. half the time i cant even read what i write

@HistoricGentleman 5 ай бұрын

It’s a shame that the passion at Visconti doesn’t match the level of quality control that the pens tend to leave the factory with…

@stuglenn1112 3 ай бұрын

Italian and quality control. 🤣

@borkwoof696 6 ай бұрын

You should travel to Argentina someday

@Nathan-vq9ch 6 ай бұрын

I maybe set in my ways , maybe I settle for things be as it may , I never wavered the behaviour was strange , let the Ink write of life's behaved

@j.davidphillips9665 6 ай бұрын

Would be lovely if you could expand your vocabulary a bit. Everything can’t be amazing. 😉

@paulos512 6 ай бұрын

0:41 still calling that a traditional game shoot?! Clearly a simulated clay day.

@kirbyallison 6 ай бұрын

Practice was with clays...

@paulos512 6 ай бұрын

@@kirbyallison Correct. As was the shoot itself. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Simulated shooting is probably the future and it’s clearly a stunning place to shoot. But game shooters can recognise that this was not a game shoot. Otherwise a fan of your content and this one was excellent.

@mattp4293 6 ай бұрын

And you can't even mix and match nibs with pens? I think Mont Blanc is producing higher quality at a lower price after watching this.

@miguelflorit4187 6 ай бұрын

Can someone tell him that his sleeves are ridiculously long? What a clown act 🫠

@kemmylove 6 ай бұрын

Zhey-zheh lekoot

@shanewilliams1216 6 ай бұрын

A dying art, as the young here in America, can not even read or write in cursive anymore !!! They quit teaching it a long time ago , Truly Sad !!! I used to have beautiful penmanship and prided myself on writing my reports and my teachers always complemented me. I shattered my right wrist in 2016 ( 56 yo ) and have a plate and 10 screws holding it together and my penmanship has really faltered as my hand doesn't feel like my real hand, feels robotic and the talent is not the same.