Visconti Homo Sapeins comparison pictures, weights and measuments.

[Chris Chalmers]

Enquiring bunny wants to know when the next shipment gets to Bryant! :bunny01:

Edited April 8, 2010 by Chris Chalmers

[Bryant]

Enquiring bunny wants to know when the next shipment gets to Bryant! :bunny01:

 

Today! Well, hopefully...

[Garvey]

I like the lava pen, but how much does the printed "Homo Sapien" stand out? The print is my only reservation....

[Chris Chalmers]

Enquiring bunny wants to know when the next shipment gets to Bryant! :bunny01:

 

Today! Well, hopefully...

 

:bunny01: :bunny01: :bunny01: Happy Bunny here - hoping 'hopefully' becomes 'certainly'!!!! Waiting to hear from you when you get them!!!

[Bryant]

Enquiring bunny wants to know when the next shipment gets to Bryant! :bunny01:

 

Today! Well, hopefully...

 

:bunny01: :bunny01: :bunny01: Happy Bunny here - hoping 'hopefully' becomes 'certainly'!!!! Waiting to hear from you when you get them!!!

Email sent!

[isaacrn]

Ohhhh...I cant wait. Im having one shipped to me with a custom nib. Now the countdown begins

[Chris Chalmers]

My pen and its companion are now in the air..............I look forward to arrival day - opening the package, deciding ink - and then trying that XF nib!!!! :bunny01: :bunny01:

[Dan Carmell]

I like the lava pen, but how much does the printed "Homo Sapien" stand out? The print is my only reservation....

 

Oh, the name is printed very deeply on the band and stands out very boldly. I've found that you can see the whole name at once but often "Homo" is centered directly under the clip when I cap it.

 

Folks will have to pardon me if I take some amusement at how our species name appears to make some folks squirm, but it does remind me of schoolyard days!

 

Dan

[RMN]

Got mine today

 

The lava feels wonderful. At first you think: rubber, but no.

It's velvety, but hard at the same time. Warm to the touch.

Weight is good. Not extremely heavy, but you feel the pen.

It looks stunning. Not severe black, like my Stipula Etruria, or my CS Doctorspen.

A sort of very dark grey, and the brass is much better than gold.

There are some in this forum who hesitate because of lack of color. I would say: Have a look at it in the flesh...

 

I flushed it a few times, then inked it. (Conway Stewart black)

That was partly a dissapointment. It skips. I have to exert pressure.

The nib is smooth enough, but flow not. (for my stub)

When it writes, it gives a lovely line variation.

 

Tomorrow I'll empty the pen, flush it again and try some Waterman ink.

So far I never had problems with Waterman ink.

 

 

D.ick

[Chris Chalmers]

What a disappointment, to have a skipping pen, but it may just need to lie quietly for a while, while the feed gets saturated with ink.........some of my brand new pens do that same thing. I have a mix of Waterman inks here that I call my 'doctor mix' - any pen not happy with me or other ink usually works magically when filled with this mix. Purple and blue make a lovely shade too!

Congratulations on your new pen!

 

edited to add......who makes Conway Stewart inks?

Edited April 11, 2010 by Chris Chalmers

[Ghost Plane]

Waterman or Herbin should be well behaved inks. Haven't opened the Conway Stewart inks that came with my pens as I have gallons of black ink. :embarrassed_smile: PR Tanzanite is loosey goosey in most of my pens as well, but might be a higher saturation than you want, depending on the pen color.

[Deirdre]

The lava feels wonderful. At first you think: rubber, but no.

It's velvety, but hard at the same time. Warm to the touch.

It's like ceramic, but warmer and softer.

 

Sorry about the skipping, might want to try the detergent flush and/or dilute ammonia flush (but not at the same time). I usually do detergent first.

[tanalasta]

Is it just me or I can't seem to see the ink window for the Visconti Homo Sapien?

 

I believe it's a power filler and not a double resovoir.

 

I so much want to buy a pen with a palladium nib just to try it out and am trying to decide between the WSLE, Opera Master Demo and this.

[Kamiyashi]

Is it just me or I can't seem to see the ink window for the Visconti Homo Sapien?

 

I believe it's a power filler and not a double resovoir.

 

I so much want to buy a pen with a palladium nib just to try it out and am trying to decide between the WSLE, Opera Master Demo and this.

 

There is no inkwindow becuase it is a single piston power filler and not a double reservoir. I would personally suggest this pen to test the palladium nib, then the Opera Master Demo (clear is the best, but blue is okay, amber is nice if you like gold accenting), then the Wall Street LE. Bry's the only seller offering the last two with palladium, just as a note.

[yachtsilverswan]

I have been looking forward to trying the Homo Sapiens and the 23k DreamTouch Palladium Nib more than any pen I can remember. I really applaud Visconti and Mr. Del Vecchio for pressing ahead with functional advances in fountain pens - like their unique filling systems, like the ink pot, like their use of celluloid, and like the Palladium nibs. True, some are re-discoveries, but nonetheless Visconti seems to be willing to experiment in the marketplace with more than just external design. Good on them.

 

I finally had my chance this weekend at the Atlanta Pen Show.

 

The lava cap and body have a uniquely good feel in the hand - softly tactile with the same sureness of grip that Oakley puts on the temple pieces of their sunglasses for no-slip.

 

The bronze fittings look like rose gold - very nice and a welcome change from yellow gold plating. I hope they use bronze fittings in other pens.

 

The theme of the pen is creative and well executed. Like their design for the Divina Proporzione, Visconti seems to grok the magic of translating an interesting theme into an interesting design. Lava and bronze for a fountain pen - outstanding.

 

Now for the important stuff - the nib performance. I have heard such glowing enthusiasm for this palladium DreamTouch nib - that this nib marks a dramatic step forward in smoothness, a dramatic step forward in springy comfort, and a dramatic step forward in expressive flex. I was so prepped to love this nib.

 

I dipped the pen and tried the nib. And then I tried it again. And again just to be sure.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, this palladium nib is stiff as a nail - no spring, no flex. The only nib similar in my small stable is the short stout nib of the Waterman Edson - which gets very little play in my hand as a result.

 

I began asking questions and have now learned there have been two separate batches of these nibs. The first batch was springy and flexible - but unfortunately was very easily sprung - making it a "flex once and then send for repair." The second batch (undoubtedly including the pen I tried) was designed to be more robust, but in making the nib more durable, much of the previously cheered spring and flex were sacrificed.

 

I'm surprised to say that if I buy a Homo Sapiens pen, I will be ordering the pen with an 18k gold nib - maybe from the DP line. The new Palladium nib brought no joy to my hand.

 

Nib designers don't have much recent experience using palladium in fountain pens, so I suppose a few false starts should be expected. And if Visconti reworks the DreamTouch Palladium nib to be as safely springy and flexible as first thought, then I'll lead the cheering with my VISA card. But for now, this nib seems too stiff and lifeless in my hand to make the cut.

 

I was so prepped to love this pen. **sigh**

 

Back to my Divina Proporzione(s).

Edited April 12, 2010 by yachtsilverswan

[tanalasta]

Hmm... that's interesting.

 

I thought the joy of the palladium was that it was meant to be more springy and less prone to being 'sprung'.

 

Bry, is there any chance you can confirm this and whether your current stock of HS and palladium nibs are stiff as a nail or as others have previously described?

[WendyNC]

Ladies and gentlemen, this palladium nib is stiff as a nail - no spring, no flex. The only nib similar in my small stable is the short stout nib of the Waterman Edson - which gets very little play in my hand as a result.

 

I began asking questions and have now learned there have been two separate batches of these nibs. The first batch was springy and flexible - but unfortunately was very easily sprung - making it a "flex once and then send for repair." The second batch (undoubtedly including the pen I tried) was designed to be more robust, but in making the nib more durable, much of the previously cheered spring and flex were sacrificed.

 

Ack! Thanks for the head's up. How disappointing!

[The Dude]

its true, mine is stiff as a nail as well

 

EDIT: well, not stiff as a nail, but I definitely wouldn't call it springy

Edited April 12, 2010 by The Dude

[Dan Carmell]

Hmmm, this is very interesting and I will be curious to hear what Bryant says about this. I have two of the Palladium nibs in Xf and I have certainly pushed them at moments to flex a lot, without any negative consequences.

 

I'm not challenging anyone's actual experience, but these nibs have been available for so short a period of time that I would be surprised to hear that a substantial number of users have actually sprung their nibs (especially since we not seen any instances of it being reported from the large pool of users here) and that Viscount and Bock have been able to react so swiftly with a re-engineered batch.

 

Dan

[Siv]

I have a Pd 950 1.3mm stub on my ripple - is this the same family of nibs? I would agree that it's not flexible but it does feel soft to me - nothing like a nail. No huge line variation from this softness, just a slight spring to the touch.