Visconti Hs Florentine Hills (Extra Fine) Review

[ICantEvenDecideAMajor]

Hi all, finally got this pen back from repairs to do the long overdue review!

 

As a relatively new member in the pen community, this pen was a major purchase for me and I had no previous experience with Visconti or any Italian pen brands. I'll be narrating this review from the perspective of a noob so hopefully it'll offer a different perspective!

 

First Impressions

Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

 

Well, let's just say I don't mind being in this box after I'm cremated. The box is black ebony wood with a strong smell of polish (love it or hate it), the tray insert is leatherette with the nice Visconti logo embossed. Underneath is a lot of space where you can store accesories, etc. This makes an amazing display piece, but since I buy my pen to use it, the pen itself will mostly sit in my everyday cases. (I use a Pelikan 3 pen case right now, considering of getting a Visconti case). I am very impressed. Definitely what you'd expect for this price. Score: 5/5

 

Appearance

 

Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

 

I'm sorry there's ink in the pen right now but as you can see, it is still gorgeous. There is even swirls on the cap if you look carefully, which is nice. If I understand correctly, the swirls on the transparent section is actually celluloid inserted between the outer acrylic and the inner wall, and it appears that each pen's pattern is slightly different. If I remember correctly, the bands should be sterling silver. The center brand is engraved HOMO SAPIENS in black filled letters and the limited edition number on the back.

Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

The cap features the very recognizable Visconti bridge clip. I wish they'd enamel the "Visconti" on the clip with green background, but it works just fine. The pen uses the my pen system, and I plan on getting a green gem to fit it. I personally like the Blue Crystal better and the new London Smoke the least, but this was what's available when I was in the market and I love it a lot. Score: 10/10

 

Weight and Dimensions

At 146mm capped and with a decent amount of ink, it's about 40 grams. I consider this a large pen but not really oversize which is good. The grip section is quite concave and very comfortable. The pen does post but it does not do so deeply and you would basically be writing with a drumstick so not exactly a pen for posting. Unposted it's very well balanced, maybe slightly nib heavy but that could be a good thing. Since I'm mostly a poster, I wish the pen was postable but it's still great in the hand. I have tiny hands so the general pen is still a little big for me but manageable. Score: 4/5

 

Nib Performance

Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

 

The nib is approximately #6 size and is a monotone 23K Palladium dreamtouch, and here is where my experience went horribly wrong. I bought this pen brand new, the package was unopened, and the nib came to me in what is the most horrendous shape imaginable, the tines were twisted and bent and unaligned and it was not usable. I sent it to Dan Smith for a 45$ repairs, with instructions to "make it write exactly like what a good quality Visconti dreamtouch extra fine would", and the pen I received from Dan is nothing short of spectacular. It is the single smoothest extra fine I've ever used (granted the flow is heavy, it's not as extra fine as some other brands and it is nibmeister-ed). I'm going to skip the rating portion on this section because although I know I just got a lemon and it's now fixed, I simply can't give a score of anything for a brand new pen that was that horrible out of the box.

Untitled by Kevin Guo, on Flickr

In the writing sample where the Visconti suddenly turned dark, that's when I unscrewed the back knob to allow ink to flow into the lower chamber.

 

Filling Mechanism

The pen uses the double reservoir power filler, which is basically a vacuum filler with two chambers, and you can screw the back knob to unlock it and dump ink back and forth. Very neat concept, though maybe not as useful as you would think. Although you can easily unscrew the nib unit and flush the interior, you cannot disassemble the pen and maintain it yourself which is a bummer. Overall, a huge amount of ink capacity and a very innovative design, though I wish it was self serviceable.Also, I wish the motion could be as smooth as a Pelikan, though it's by no means bad. Score: 8/10

 

Cost and Value

This pen retails at around $800 in the US, and if you can escape import duties, it's considerably cheaper in Europe but still not an inexpensive pen. I can see how this pen is worth $800, but I probably won't buy it. I got this pen for quite a steal. (I refrain from exact prices because sometimes that discourage people from buying it for higher, even though that might have been a right price for a right pen for them). Even factoring in the repair and shipping costs, I do not regret getting this pen. I do expect this pen to accompany me for many years to come and hopefully dissuade me from buying other "grail pens" by being a grail pen (though unfortunately it certainly did not stop me from buying pens, as history has proven like a month after I got it...)

 

Let the comments/questions/suggestions fly!

[dylim1]

I have one that I really enjoy. Glad that you're enjoying yours.

[sannidh]

Thank you for the review. I have one. Same problem, tines were misaligned but still wrote wet with some feedback. Could adjust them at home with loupe & thanks to the fact that didn't have to send it to a professional. I keep using up the secondary reservoir & enjoy the secondary reservoir filling

[visvamitra]

Excellent review of fantastic pen.

[mehandiratta]

lovely review....

I believe the pen if you are buying at such an expensive price should always write superb out of the box with no issues...

 

and even if there are certain issues then the company should offer some sort of refund for shipping for pen repair of any kind...

[Mulrich]

Quality issues from Visconti are frustrating, especially if you're paying for a LE. I get that regular production pens may run into quality control issues (although for the price paid this shouldn't happen). I would expect limited editions to go through a little more thorough inspection.

[whichwatch]

_{I enjoyed your review. I have seen this pen at shows, and it is gorgeous.}

 

_{How disappointing it must have been to receive a pen with badly misaligned tines! The writing sample looks like Dan did a great job on it for you.}

 

_{Seeing your pictures makes me think I may just have to go looking for one of these! :-)}

Edited May 23, 2016 by whichwatch

[ICantEvenDecideAMajor]

Quality issues from Visconti are frustrating, especially if you're paying for a LE. I get that regular production pens may run into quality control issues (although for the price paid this shouldn't happen). I would expect limited editions to go through a little more thorough inspection.

Yeah, and that's why I think this might be my last Visconti. I'm one of those people who have an obsession with quality and consistency. Might be sticking to the German brands for the future. Or Delta which I found very good quality.

[welcmhm]

Quality issues from Visconti are frustrating, especially if you're paying for a LE. I get that regular production pens may run into quality control issues (although for the price paid this shouldn't happen). I would expect limited editions to go through a little more thorough inspection.

 

I completely agree, it's very frustrating. I've purchased three Visconti limited editions. The first is a fine nib and wrote well out of the box, but didn't look right to my (untrained eye). I was able to take it to a nibmeister at the LA Pen Show who agreed that one tine had been bent outwards and the other bent inwards to meet it and was able to fix it on the spot pretty quickly. The other two are mediums and wrote and looked perfect right out of the box. I believe that Visconti has a nib exchange program (through Coles of London in the US), but I don't know how long the turnaround is.

[ICantEvenDecideAMajor]

 

I completely agree, it's very frustrating. I've purchased three Visconti limited editions. The first is a fine nib and wrote well out of the box, but didn't look right to my (untrained eye). I was able to take it to a nibmeister at the LA Pen Show who agreed that one tine had been bent outwards and the other bent inwards to meet it and was able to fix it on the spot pretty quickly. The other two are mediums and wrote and looked perfect right out of the box. I believe that Visconti has a nib exchange program (through Coles of London in the US), but I don't know how long the turnaround is.

I checked with them back then and they said it was about 8 weeks. The thing is, nib exchange is exchanging a working nib for a working nib and the one that came with my pen might as well be a solid block of metal.

[kakunofan]

Very helpful review, thank you!

 

It's neat that you were able to get it fixed relatively simply, but it must be such a letdown to open the pen and realize that the nib is useless. The heartbreak T_T

[ICantEvenDecideAMajor]

Very helpful review, thank you!

 

It's neat that you were able to get it fixed relatively simply, but it must be such a letdown to open the pen and realize that the nib is useless. The heartbreak T_T

Yeah, the cost and effort needed to get it fixed (sent to a nibmeister) was relatively minor, but the wait! It took 2 months from my first receiving the pen then getting it back.

[jimrie]

Any comparison on the softness of this nib compared to a pilot soft fine?

[ICantEvenDecideAMajor]

Update:

 

I have since had this nib nibmeistered into a waverly nib. It's mostly skip-free now, but still meh.

Edited February 20, 2017 by ICantEvenDecideAMajor