Visconti Day

[fabrimedeiros]

+1 for INEXPENSIVE overlay. With a soft 14k nib, not one of those steel ones.

 

 

+2 for INEXPENSIVE (relatively) overlay! soft14k gold or Pd, which is cheaper for Visconti.

 

-off topic: in fact, Palladium (even 23k or 95% pure) is far cheaper than gold 14k (or 58,5% pure), but to manipulate Pd (almost pure, like 23k) is more expensive. So the Pd nib reaches prices like gold 18k nibs or more expensive.

Edited March 27, 2012 by fabrimedeiros

[fabrimedeiros]

It all depends on how the window is built into the pen. If the window is round, there is less of a chance of the pen breaking. If it has corners, there is a greater risk. The reason is that a corner directs the stress put on the pen to one or two spots when it is dropped, creating a crack and breaking the pen upon impact. However, a round hole doesn't concentrate the stress in one area, letting the entire section and barrel take the fall, possibly saving the pen.

 

A similar failure-mode happened on an Airplane called the de Havilland Comet. They made the plane with square windows, but through repeated take offs and landings, the metal around the windows cracked at the corners. This lead the manufacturer to replace the square windows with oval ones, and all future commercial aircraft have been designed that way since.

 

 

Nice to know!! Physics rocks!!

[tenney]

Not a question, just a small suggestion...

 

I just got a Travelling Inkwell. Living in the USA, it would have been "nice" if the inkwell had it's liquid capacity imprinted on it -- for airport security purposes. Don't want some overzealous airport security questioning how many ml / oz the ink pot could carry.

[danygr1974]

Not a question, just a small suggestion...

 

I just got a Travelling Inkwell. Living in the USA, it would have been "nice" if the inkwell had it's liquid capacity imprinted on it -- for airport security purposes. Don't want some overzealous airport security questioning how many ml / oz the ink pot could carry.

 

This is a good proposal.

 

I want to thank also ghost plane and raging.dragon: very detailed posts.

I take note of the other observations.

C'mon guys, I want constructive proposal and critical questions.

[Ghost Plane]

+1 for putting the capacity on the Travelling Inkwell for travel purposes. I've swapped off to my c/c fill Van Goghs for travel to avoid the airport security issues.

[adyf]

C'mon guys, I want constructive proposal and critical questions.

 

 

Ok then.......ask him about repair turnround times.

 

UK - Italy - UK took 5 months. It was only a Homo Sapiens with the ink seepage issue. Just required an inner sleeve fitting.

Edited March 27, 2012 by adyf

[Ghost Plane]

Good point. Once service switched to Cole's, they began charging a service fee for warranty repairs. Seems like brand new pens shouldn't cost anything but the postage to get it to Cole's. Most of us have no bricks and mortar to buy pens from, so it's send it to seller to send off or send it direct, which should [in theory] be faster.

 

2 month turnarounds are the minimum I've experienced.

 

Given how many pens seem to need warranty work these days, either fix the QC or fix the turnaround or both.

[yamborghini]

That's rather strange. I recently had my Divina fixed under warranty which took a total of 3 weeks. It spent 1 week in the shop before it was sent. So essentially the turn around was 2 weeks.

[davidv7]

Hello, I am sorry I will not be able to be there ...

 

However my questions for Dante would be

1. How he feels about modern manufacturers (Visconti included) not having a "series" pen like in the old days (a la Pelikan). Let me elaborate - you have several pens from a manufacturer (Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Homo Sapiens,...) that come in only one size, but we know that hands and preferences in sizes are different.

So someone may really like a pen but doesn`t like the size of it and must choose another one.(the LE/s obviously are excluded). Is it the new smaller Homo Sapiens a step in this direction?

 

2. Why are the pens getting bigger and bigger? I have a wonderfull Visconti Ragtime that is beautiful and small, and it is almost 1/2 the diameter of any today Visconti, and much shorter.

 

3. Why there are so few models with ink windows? Is this a price or design issue?

 

4. Do they plan to reintroduce the glass Visconti ink bottle? That would be great since those were in my opinion the best ink bottles around (with box included). Now the plastic ones feel so cheap.

[davidv7]

Oh I forgot:

 

5. What is about the steel sections in cheaper models, why not resin sections?

[Ghost Plane]

+1 for the glass ink bottles! :notworthy1:

[trurl]

danygr1974 will certainly tell Del Vecchio the request of glass ink bottles, but you can find interesting to know what he wrote on May 5 2011.

 

He said that he prefers plastic because it's less hard than glass and it's safer for the nib, when it touches the end of the bottle during the filling procedure.

 

He also said that if a glass bottle falls it is more likely to break. And he added that in the past they threw away "mountains of glass bottles" because they leaked (very common issue among pen producers, according to his word).

 

(just reporting...)

[davidv7]

@truri

 

IMHO I think it is more a cost issue.

[trurl]

@trurl

 

IMHO I think it is more a cost issue.

 

Of course it is.

 

I'm not convinced that glass is more dangerous for the nib than plastic.

[rbadger332]

@trurl

 

IMHO I think it is more a cost issue.

 

Of course it is.

 

I'm not convinced that glass is more dangerous for the nib than plastic.

The person filling thier pen from a glass bottle should very easily know that the nib should not be rammed into the edge of the bottle with enough force to cause damage, or even lightly touched, in my opinion.

[raging.dragon]

@trurl

 

IMHO I think it is more a cost issue.

 

Of course it is.

 

I'm not convinced that glass is more dangerous for the nib than plastic.

 

I have my doubts too. The nib tipping material should be harder than glass by a pretty wide margin.

[Gendo]

Yaaaaaay!

 

It seems many of the Visconti pens are coming out with odd body shapes that aren't convenient for long sessions, such as the Medina and Mecca, which I skipped buying. Are there any plans to return to graceful, user-friendly shapes such as the Ripples and Romanicas?

 

A lot of the higher end limited editions seem restricted to the stain prone white resin and gold furniture. Are there plans for larger sized pens in pretty colors? Silver furniture?

 

My greatest sorrow was the end of the old Van Gogh Maxi line, which represented MB 149 writing performance in gorgeous colors without finicky fill systems. The steel-nibbed Rembrandts are NOT what I'm looking for. Any plans for something the size of the LARGE Homo Sapiens in anything other than lava? I guess I'm one of the few who don't like the line and haven't bought a Visconti since it came out. I WANT BIG PENS IN GORGEOUS COLORS!!!

 

Any plans to add oblique nibs to the line? I would adore an oblique stub on something the size of a Romanica in fantastic color. Until then, I find myself buying the gorgeous LE Delta stubs in stunning colors that Bryant is offering.

 

COLOR???

LARGE SIZE ROUND PENS without wierd step downs to the section? Please shoot the designer who came up with squaring the circle nonsense that's uncomfortable. :ph34r:

An oblique 1.3 stub?

 

+1 on everything GP says above, especially "My greatest sorrow was the end of the old Van Gogh Maxi line, which represented MB 149 writing performance in gorgeous colors without finicky fill systems. The steel-nibbed Rembrandts are NOT what I'm looking for. Any plans for something the size of the LARGE Homo Sapiens in anything other than lava? I guess I'm one of the few who don't like the line and haven't bought a Visconti since it came out. I WANT BIG PENS IN GORGEOUS COLORS!!!"

 

I have been waiting and waiting for something new from Visconti because I believe their 14k nibs can't be beat (if QC has done its job). Finally, out of boredom, I bought one of the new Michelangelos. The pen is great and I will use it for meetings where a pull cap and small overall size make sense. But for my long journaling sessions, I need a larger pen with a 14k nib that is light weight. I think acrylic is an excellent material and it comes in lots of wonderful colors. If Dante were to start making pens of the size, weight, and color range of the old maxi Van Goghs and put 14k nibs in them, I would buy them.

[searcher18]

I have experienced Visconti quality problems and I resent paying Cole up front money to repair a pen defect that is not my fault. At one time, I was so angry that I quite buying Visconti pens for 2 months. Unfortunately, they are my favorite writer and I will keep buying these pens. Other wise, Cole has given me good service and I find that the distributor attends smaller pen shows and makes himself available. I wonder if the repair fee has something to do with their relationship to the mother company. After all, the warranty is from Visconti not the distributor and I expect Visconti to solve the problem. Their continued success will depend on their image of quality.

I think that it is survival time for many pen manufacturers and the Cadillac is more profitable than the Chevy. I think that one of their trademarks is innovation and this may explain design concerns. Apparently, white pens and spa memberships have some thing in common. Many of their purchasers are impulse buyers and will not use their product after purchase ( I do not intend to slur spas but it was the best example that I could think of } . My white pens do stain but I love their look.

 

If you want dull buy MB, but if you want innovation and color, Visconti is my choice.

[olivier78860]

"If you want dull buy MB, but if you want innovation and color, Visconti is my choice. "

 

I understand your point, but usability is a concern too. I love my Forbidden City limited edition, but this pen will never leave my home.

My Homo Sapiens is great too, but it will never leave my home neither, because of the absence of ink window (I can't get used to refilling my pen everyday).

[searcher18]

I carry 3 pens to work, so that I can change when one runs out of ink. I also leave ink at work.The hard part is not filling the pens but deciding which ones to take.

I am afraid that most top end pens were not meant to be used frequently. It is a commodity vs. art balancing act. Although, pens like the Doric Wahl were able to make a useful and beautiful but that was then.

Edited April 2, 2012 by searcher18