Visconti Opera Typhoon Review

[CryptoDave]

This is my first review, so please forgive me if I have left out anything.

 

I just received the Visconti Limited Edition Opera Typhoon Fountain Pen.

 

Some Specs:

 

The Trim is Platinum Plated.

Filling System is really a Vacuum Filler, despite their marketing.

Nib is Chromium 18.

Body is Blue Resin.

I purchased the Fine Nib.

There were only 1,000 made (FWIW).

Capped: The Pen is 6" long.

Posted: The Pen is 7.5" long.

It is an Octagonal Shape.

 

My Impressions:

 

Appearance & Design(10/10): I really love this pen. It is a dark blue with light swirls of a very light blue/white. It reminds me of waves crashing against a dark sea. I use all of my pens for work and I would definitely consider this color scheme to be on the conservative side. Not ostentatious at all, but very eye catching in a subtle way.

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/UncappedPen_zps19cd4673.jpg

 

Construction & Quality: (10/10): This is a solidly built pen. It is very much on the heavy side, but I like that. Nothing flimsy here.

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/photo_zpsdf1d6d34.jpg

 

Weight & Dimensions: (9/10): This is tricky. If you do not like heavy pens, do not buy this pen. As I stated above it is 6" long capped and 7.5" long uncapped. The shape is octagonal, really a square withe edges shaved down. I have small hands and I find it very comfortable to write with. The pen posts very well. I found that when posted, for me, the pen became "back-end" heavy, thus throwing the balance off. If I had larger hands this probably would'nt be an issue, so for longer periods of writing I will leave the cap off.

 

Nib & Performance: (9.5/10): I went with a Fine nib, all of my pens are F or XF. The pen writes very smoothly, no skips etc..It is a bit stiff, but I like that. It puts down a nice wet, flowing line.

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/FrontNib_zps26571650.jpg

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/BackNib_zps1210c345.jpg

 

Here is a sample written on a piece of Rhodia Webnotes paper using Pilot's iroshizuku- tsuki-yo

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/Sample_zpse3fb473f.jpg

 

Filling System: (8/10): The reason I deducted points here is because I just dont buy their "snorkle" system. To me it's just a marketing trick. I suppose if you were bent on getting the very last drop of ink out of the bottle this would come in handy, otherwise, its just another piece of kit your going to have to clean. I have filled this pen perfectly without the snorkle device and it filled great.

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/Snorkle_zps71ef45ba.jpg

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/Filler_zps3dcc7c30.jpg

 

Final Score: 9.3 I really do like this pen, the color, the feel, the weight, the nib. My only caution is that it is heavy. I also like clip. The other unusual thing about this pen is that it is not a screw cap. It twists on and you rotate the cap or pen until they align, very nice.Same for taking the cap off, simply pull the cap and rotate it until it comes off.

 

http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/cryptodave/Cap_zps162fdf88.jpg

 

Dave

Edited December 21, 2012 by CryptoDave

[CryptoDave]

Please excuse my awful handwriting in the sample I posted in the review.

 

Dave

[jandrese]

Hi, thanks for the nice review. I tested one of these and also found the nib stiff, too stiff for me but otherwise a nice pen. Enjoy!

[CryptoDave]

I agree that the nib is stiff, but for me that really isn't a problem as I am heavy handed when I write. I tend to apply a lot of pressure on the nib when I write. I'm trying to stop this, but when I'm deep in thought, I can't control it.

 

Dave

[Lszuk]

Thanks for the great review. Is it true the nib takes longer to dry out than other nib designs, as touted?

[langere]

Thank you very much for the review! I have been considering buying this pen, mainly because of its (presumably) unique nib and filling system. But I guess it isn't that unique...

 

Erick

[raging.dragon]

Thank you very much for the review! I have been considering buying this pen, mainly because of its (presumably) unique nib and filling system. But I guess it isn't that unique...

 

Erick

 

The nib is at least somewhat different from anything else on the market. The filler is a double resevoir power filler that can be found on many other Viscontis, though this pen is less expensive than others with this filling system. The mosquito attachment is an extra that can be used, or not, as you wish. I think it would be occassionally for useful filling from sample vials (I find most vials are too small to easily accomodate oversized pens) or nearly empty bottles.

[CryptoDave]

Thank you very much for the review! I have been considering buying this pen, mainly because of its (presumably) unique nib and filling system. But I guess it isn't that unique...

 

Erick

 

The nib is at least somewhat different from anything else on the market. The filler is a double resevoir power filler that can be found on many other Viscontis, though this pen is less expensive than others with this filling system. The mosquito attachment is an extra that can be used, or not, as you wish. I think it would be occassionally for useful filling from sample vials (I find most vials are too small to easily accomodate oversized pens) or nearly empty bottles.

 

 

Agree, but I don't use vials. You are absolutely correct about the double reservoir which is a nice feature. Overall I like the way this pen writes, the feel, the shape and would recommend it. It may become one of my favorites, time will tell.

 

 

Dave

Edited December 22, 2012 by CryptoDave

[mrul]

Wow. Interesting pen. Thanks for sharing.

[Hellmut]

I got mine yesterday.

One sure thing: the filling system is... special. As in 'politically correct' special.

I like to switch inks from time to time, but I'm not quite sure this is the philosophy in the mind of the engineers behind this piston.

 

Pull the thing out and yee-haw, here goes all the ink that used to be inside. But not all of it. So either there's a subtlety

that evades my grasp, or you need to flush the whole thing several times with water before trying to fill it with some other ink.

 

Put the pen in the new ink-bottle, push the piston, and yee-haw there go bubbles everywhere.

Gonna get myself a raincoat and rubber gloves next time...

 

Mind you, I still really do love the pen for all the other reasons mentioned by the author of this topic.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Hellmut

[raging.dragon]

I got mine yesterday.

One sure thing: the filling system is... special. As in 'politically correct' special.

I like to switch inks from time to time, but I'm not quite sure this is the philosophy in the mind of the engineers behind this piston.

 

Pull the thing out and yee-haw, here goes all the ink that used to be inside. But not all of it. So either there's a subtlety

that evades my grasp, or you need to flush the whole thing several times with water before trying to fill it with some other ink.

 

Put the pen in the new ink-bottle, push the piston, and yee-haw there go bubbles everywhere.

Gonna get myself a raincoat and rubber gloves next time...

 

Mind you, I still really do love the pen for all the other reasons mentioned by the author of this topic.

 

Nothing is more convenient than a converter for switching inks.

 

Plunger fillers have a long history and over the years have been offered by many manufacturers including: Onoto, Sheaffer, Wahl Eversharp, Pilot, TWSBI and Visconti. Compared to a similarly sized piston filler, a plunger filler will hold a lot more ink while being only slightly more difficult to flush. In practice I don't find them any messier than other fillers which require immersing the nib in ink.