Hi Everyone,

I had heard so much about the Visconti Van Gogh that I finally took the plunge and ordered a Midi with a fine nib. I specifically requested that the seller choose one with particular looks and that they test it for smoothness prior to sending. The one that I received is beautiful and is incredibly smooth, unfortunately the nib appears to be a medium instead of a fine. It is a little hard to tell because the nib size is partially hidden by a gasket that surrounds the nib. My question is for those who own or have used Van Gogh fine and medium nibs. Is it worth the expense and hassle to either get the seller to switch out pens or to have the manufactorer replace the nib? Is there a large difference in the nib width?

Thank you, in advance, for your responses!

Ken Jones, Visconti's US agent, is a very helpful and decent fellow. Contact him and ask him what he would recommend.

I'm not familiar with Visconti nibs, but it's possible that Visconti's version of a fine nib is more like the medium nibs of other brands. For example, I ordered several Lamy Safaris with fine nibs, after I had become accustomed to Esterbrook and Waterman fine nibs. The Lamy pens wrote significantly broader than my other fine pens, even though the Lamy pens were clearly marked as being fine. Perhaps you need a Visconti Van Gogh extra-fine nib. Of course, you won't know for sure until you can nail down exactly what you currently have.

I have Maxis, which are clearly marked where they can be seen, both on the older 2 tone and the newer single tone nibs. The nibs are lovely smooth, but run a little wider than the Asian products. Of course, I'm a B nib lover, so this is a plus to me. ALL the Visconti nibs, even the Pericles steel, are incredibly smooth, so that's definitely right.

I'm sure a Midi owner will be on any time now to assist.

Bock, who made your Visconti nib, tend to run on the wide size, so it maybe that your nib is a F, if you can write with it, and everything else is as you want I would probably keep it, otherwise take it back and see if Visconti can advise, or you could send it to a nib meister for a regrind!

i have the visconti oprera with a med nib and like it a lot. the line moves nicely from med to fine when writing. i once tested the vangogh with a fine nib and didnt buy it because i felt it was a bit scratchy. at least it was compared to the aurora medium that i bought. all that said, i think if you like the medium, keep it.

t

I have to say I don't agree. I have a Visconti Empire in F nib and it's definitely a true F.

The outer box should be labelled with the nib type. If you still have doubts, maybe you should send the pen back to the seller and ask them to verify that it is a F.

I have a Midi M nib. My Mother just bought a Midi F nib. Mine is filled with PR Fiesta Red, hers is filled with PR Copper Burst. At the moment, hers is writing wider than mine. We both prefer a M nib, so I think it has so much to do with ink, the difference in nib size at this point is negligible.

Please excuse the following, but it is an important lesson: I would also like to say that I will never ever again send a pen back for a new nib. I purchased a Caran d"Ache for my birthday this year, sent it away to Mississauga for a nib replacement (M to fine, as it is a really wide M) and then found out that it was sent back to Switzerland. That was over 6 weeks ago! I only had the damn thing for a month. I know more about ink and paper than I did before and if I find a really good deal on a pen that I love, I won't worry about the nib size because there is always room for manoeuver (within reason; M vs F is easy).

I am switching back to R&K Verdigris because I really miss my wide line. I'll put the PR Fiesta Red in something else.

IMHO, don't bother sending it back. You will be without this beautiful smooth pen and there is so much that can be done with ink and paper if you have a little patience. I wish that I had known what I know now when I sent my pen away. For anyone who has noticed the change in CdA Ecridor pens, I was looking for the old style (found it finally) because it matched my pencil and was silver, not Rhodium and now I don't know if I will ever get it back. Lesson learned.

Kath

I have a Visconti Kaleido Voyager with a M nib and the line width is only ever-so-slightly thicker than a Japanese M. Which makes it about the same thickness as an average Bock F.

But with slight pressure you can easily get a true M. Superb line variation

This Visconti runs on Reform's Green.


Shahrin

One thing that surprises me on this forum is the fuss people make about nib sizes. The standard size for a nib is M - period. Now we're seeing trainloads of people, who are used to writing with ballpoints and rollerballs, wanting to have a similar writing experience with fountain pens, hence the rush for F nibs. I really advise newbies to the fountain pen experience to adapt to a rather broader line, as that is the most comfortable way of writing with this type of pen. The trouble with F nibs (and especially with XF nibs) is that the smaller 'footprint' of the nib makes it less smooth than it otherwise would be, and smoothness is one of the great advantages of fountain pens.

One of the other great advantages of fountain pens, however, is that they can be adjusted to suit us, rather than us adjusting to suit them.

It seems to me that if we were interested in a 'standard' writing experience we wouldn't be using fountain pens at all.

Well said.
And I will add. IMHO altering a nib, any nib, to ones on preference is an absolute joy.

.......or an absolute nightmare, if the alteration goes wrong.

FPLady,

I've tried both an F and an M nib in my Van Gogh Midi--both nibs were 14K gold, so if your nibs are steel, your experience might (or might not) vary.

Both nibs were buttery smooth. My impression was that the Visconti van Gogh F is around the same size as a size M in my Sheaffer No Nonsense pen but around the same as a Lamy Safari F. I've often heard that European nib sizes are slightly larger than American nib sizes or Japanese nib sizes. So without knowing which size you actually have, it might really be the F you requested, if you are not accustomed to European nib sizing.

The difference between the F and the M in the van Gogh was noticeable (as one would expect), but at the same time, I didn't think it was an enormous difference. I could have used either one, but that's just me.

These pen bodies can vary in appearance within each color choice, as you know. If you love the looks of your pen body, I would not advise switching the pens for the sake of the nib size, as you can switch the nib by itself. You might not like the new pen body coloring as much.

I'd try to find out for sure what size you have before proceeding further. If you already have an F nib, then exchanging it for another F would get you nowhere. Whether it's worth additional hassle or follow up depends on whether you think you won't love the pen the way it is now, I guess. As far as the expense, I suppose you're speaking of the shipping costs. If the seller truly gave you the wrong size nib, perhaps they will reimburse you for your cost to send it to have the nib swapped. If you go through Visconti (see below) and if the pen is still new, I don't think a nib exchange will cost anything. They will likely ask you how long the pen's been in use.

Perhaps you could telephone Visconti in New Jersey (800-847-2668), and maybe they can walk you through how you can find out what size nib you have, and, if you want to change the nib size, how you can accomplish that. I'm assuming you're in the U.S.--you can send the pen to Visconti's office in New Jersey for service, and they will do a nib swap on site (without having to send it to Italy or anything). I worked with "Pat" for a barrel replacement (mine arrived cracked from the seller, and she selected one for me within my color preferences) and for a nib size swap--she was very helpful as a liaison with the service department and was courteous to me. Pat was great. Anyway, they did my pen within a day or so and shipped it via UPS Ground as soon as it was ready (I live in the Northeast, so I had my pen back within a week).

Or, if you'd prefer to stick with your dealer, they might have some other ideas for you to consider. They might be able to do just a nib swap if they happen to stock the nib units or are willing to swap nibs within their own stock (I don't think many dealers do this, though).

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thank you all for your responses!! I really love this forum!

After getting out a magnifine glass I did confirm that it is a Medium nib. The top of the M is pretty clear. I contacted the seller and was told that they too had problems determining the nib size because of the placement of the gasket. The seller wants me to send the pen back to them. They really want to fix the problem, which I was very pleased about. So, the beautiful Van Gogh left me today. I suspect that the seller will replace the entire pen, but they might just replace the nib. Either way, I suspect that they will be able to get it back into my lonely hands much faster than I could if I had sent it off for a nib replacement.

I am aware that the Visconti nibs tend to run a bit wide, which is the reason that I posted the question. I have been using fountain pens for more than 20 years and appreciate the different sized nibs, but I tend to prefer fine nibs. I primarily use my pens for work, which means a lot of margin writing. My coworkers tend to complain if the line size is too large, and since I am the only one in my group that uses fountain pens I really don't want to be told that I can't use them! That would take all of the joy out of my work day!

I will let you know how it goes. Again, thank you all for your responses!