Two Issues With A New Visconti

[CJTC3]

Hey all,

 

So I just picked up my first Visconti - a black Rembrandt with a medium nib - and while I am relatively happy with my purchase, I have two issues...

 

The first issue that I seem to be having is with either the nib or feed. In the middle of my writing the pen begins to skip a bit on the first letter of what ever word I begin writing. When the pen does right though it is laying down a good amount of ink and is relatively wet. I've already soaked the nib and feed in hot soapy water and cleaned them thoroughly...I'm not sure what else I can do...

 

The second issue is with the "My Pen System." No matter what I do, I cannot get the name plate off of the cap. I contacted the retailer that I bought the pen from and they assured me that since it is a newer Rembrandt it can be taken off and replaced with the initials that they threw in for me...

 

If anyone can shed any light on the above problems I would appreciate it very much.

 

Cheers,

Charlie

[Bogon07]

The Visconti logo or MPS plate on top of the cap should come off easily with a magnet.

Some have had success with needles or pins to lever it off.

You could try pressuring the side of the V with your fingernail to see if that rotates the plate.

 

Could you be hitting portions of the page where skin oils are ?

Some of my Visconti seem particularly sensitive to that & I have to rest my hands on a piece of paper or blotting paper when writing.

 

It may be an idea to look at the nib under magnification to see if there is a bit of a baby's bottom or some problem with it.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Bogon07

[RMN]

About the "my pen system": Hold the top of the cap against a paperclip. If the paperclip sticks the top is magnetic and can be used for a monogram. If it does not react it does not have the "my pen"

 

The skipping sounds like a converter problem

 

Try the pen with a normal standard international cartridge. If it does not skip, the converter is the culprit.

If is keeps on skipping there is another reason, possibly a baby-bottom.

 

 

D.ick

[Inga]

Return it? If you really had your eyes set on the pen perhaps you can give it a second chance and buy it again.

[CJTC3]

The Visconti logo or MPS plate on top of the cap should come off easily with a magnet.

Some have had success with needles or pins to lever it off.

You could try pressuring the side of the V with your fingernail to see if that rotates the plate.

 

Could you be hitting portions of the page where skin oils are ?

Some of my Visconti seem particularly sensitive to that & I have to rest my hands on a piece of paper or blotting paper when writing.

 

It may be an idea to look at the nib under magnification to see if there is a bit of a baby's bottom or some problem with it.

 

When I get home tonight I am going to have to take a closer look at the nib - if it is in fact a baby bottom how should I go about fixing it?

 

Thanks,

Charlie

[CJTC3]

About the "my pen system": Hold the top of the cap against a paperclip. If the paperclip sticks the top is magnetic and can be used for a monogram. If it does not react it does not have the "my pen"

 

The skipping sounds like a converter problem

 

Try the pen with a normal standard international cartridge. If it does not skip, the converter is the culprit.

If is keeps on skipping there is another reason, possibly a baby-bottom.

 

 

D.ick

 

Thanks a lot for the advice! I did just try the paperclip check, and it did in fact stick to the top of the cap. I am assuming that the name plate is just wedged in somehow... In regards to the converter, is this a common problem? I'm going to have to check once I get out of work and throw in the old cartridge.

 

Thanks,

Charlie

[CJTC3]

Return it? If you really had your eyes set on the pen perhaps you can give it a second chance and buy it again.

 

I am thinking that if it is not either a problem with the converter or something on the nib that I can fix I am going to have to bring it back...it's sad, especially since I just had to send back my Waterman Carene.

 

Thanks,

Charlie

[AndrewC]

Try washing out the converter with a little soap and water. Unless you did that when you flushed the nib/feed. Oils in the converter can affect flow, and sometimes all it takes is a good soap and water rinse. Also, if you are cranking down on the nib while writing, try using less pressure. Moving the nib too far away from the feed will break the flow and you can get the sort of issue you are describing.

[CJTC3]

Try washing out the converter with a little soap and water. Unless you did that when you flushed the nib/feed. Oils in the converter can affect flow, and sometimes all it takes is a good soap and water rinse. Also, if you are cranking down on the nib while writing, try using less pressure. Moving the nib too far away from the feed will break the flow and you can get the sort of issue you are describing.

 

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll be sure to also try soaking and cleaning the converter a bit - The more that I think about it, the more I don't like the way that the converter fits, it doesn't feel all that secure

[Green Ink]

This is very interesting to me because I got a red Rembrandt a couple days ago that skips the first letter of about every third word.

 

A fellow in the store dipped the nib and I bought the pen because the nib was really great. It wrote wonderfully.

 

I don't get as good a flow with the converter as I did with dipping, and of course I get the missing first letters. The ink in the converter is Waterman's Inspired Blue.

 

I've tried 2 cartridges with it. Black comes out grey and brown is very pale. Those two are both Visconti inks.

 

This happens with Clairfontaine and Rhodia and regular paper.

 

So thank you so much Charlie for posing the question and thank you all for your ideas. I want to hear how this comes out.

 

The store won't take the pen back. They told me to send it to Visconti.

[CJTC3]

This is very interesting to me because I got a red Rembrandt a couple days ago that skips the first letter of about every third word.

 

A fellow in the store dipped the nib and I bought the pen because the nib was really great. It wrote wonderfully.

 

I don't get as good a flow with the converter as I did with dipping, and of course I get the missing first letters. The ink in the converter is Waterman's Inspired Blue.

 

I've tried 2 cartridges with it. Black comes out grey and brown is very pale. Those two are both Visconti inks.

 

This happens with Clairfontaine and Rhodia and regular paper.

 

So thank you so much Charlie for posing the question and thank you all for your ideas. I want to hear how this comes out.

 

The store won't take the pen back. They told me to send it to Visconti.

 

Sends like we are definitely in the same boat...It really is unfortunate, but I hope that it is an easy fix. I'll definitely let you know what works (if anything does in fact work) as soon as I can. Good luck to you as well, and if you happen to come across any solutions please let me know.

 

Thanks,

Charlie

[AndrewC]

 

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll be sure to also try soaking and cleaning the converter a bit - The more that I think about it, the more I don't like the way that the converter fits, it doesn't feel all that secure

Check to see it is seated all the way. And I don't remember if that is a threaded converter seat or not, but if it is, a threaded converter would go a long way to helping I would think. Although I doubt the converters are threaded.

[CJTC3]

So I just got home from work and figured that it would be best for me to take a closer look at the pen. After a quick inspection, I have come to the conclusion that there are actually a number of things going wrong for this pen...

 

Firstly, after switching from the converter to the cartridge, I noticed that the ink began to flow much better than it had previously but still wasn't 100%. What I noticed though in doing this was that the cartridge fit much more securely than the converter did. After a bit of writing I switched back to the converter and played around with it a bit until I got a much more secure fit. Apparently - for whatever reason - there is a sort of sweet spot or angle that the converter must hit to "click" in to place properly.

 

Secondly, after looking at the nib with an eye loupe I saw a slight baby bottom. I have some micro-mesh on the way and hope that I will be able to smooth this right out.

 

Lastly, I think that the ink I was using was also playing a big part in the problem. My ink of choice (which I probably should have mentioned earlier) was Mont Blanc 90th Anniversary Permanent Grey. I haven't yet gotten the chance to check and see if anyone had thought this to be a dryer ink...but I think it had something to do with the issue... Once I switched to Noodler's Burma Road Brown the ink flow changed completely and was almost perfect. Has anyone else heard of, or had any issues with the MB Permanent Grey?

 

So with all of that being said, I think that once I smooth out the nib a bit, give it another good cleaning, and keep MB ink out of it, the Visconti will be good to go... The only other issue that I am having is in regards to the my pen system. The plate on the cap is most definitely magnetic, but the damn thing won't budge and I am afraid of damaging the pen...I've had no luck at all trying to pry it off...

 

Thanks,

Charlie

[gclyn]

Regarding the "my pen system" the cap should come off with a strong magnet, like an earth magnet, or one from a stereo speaker...weak magnets will not pull of the cap.

 

Another thing to try is to shim the nib with some brass shims, sometimes flossing the tine can remove any stubborn debris. Also maybe remove nib and feed and give that a good cleaning.

Edited August 15, 2014 by gclyn

[Koyote]

It seems that this pen just needs to go back to the seller. No new pen should take all of this fussing around.

[Raskolnikov]

In my personal opinion, ink played a big part over these issues. Which is what I had thought as soon as I started reading. I honestly dislike the MB permanent gray (along with the "mysterious black"), I found that it dried quite quickly and left some clogging residues. I only used one bottle so far though, so I might have been particularly unlucky.

[lahlahlaw]

Skipping on the downstroke of a new word is a tell-tell sign of a nib with baby bottom. Here's a simple drawing by one of our fellow members showing what it looks like (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1323306245__babybottom.jpg).

 

If this is the case, it will require grinding to correct the babies bottom. You would be better off simply sending it back for replacement and asking them to inspect the new nib to make sure you don't get another one.

[arran]

I had too many issues with Italian pens.Ihad to go back to my retailer three times to get another nib in order to replace a F Pd nib on my

Home Sapiens pen!Finally got it wright.

No mercy , when your nib is not OK , back to Italy or your retailer.

That is what you learn after collecting lots of pens!!

[georges zaslavsky]

Quality control is a hit and a miss, it seems.

[Green Ink]

It's me again with my Visconti Rembrandt problem. I started a new thread here. I'm still watching this one carefully in case a solution comes up.