Advices For Buying A New Fountain Pen

[Corsacalimero]

Hi all.

I am new to the fountain pen world at the level shown in this forum. Now I am considering buying a new fountain pen and need some advices from this community.

I am an "Italophile" and would really prefer an Italian pen, especially from Florence since I go there every year. So the easy choice would obviously be a Visconti pen. However emotions cannot always rule and I would be disappointed if it would turn out to be a mid-range pen. So my first question is if Visconti makes pens in the high end area. I am not asking for the absolute top end, high end is good enough for me. After all I have a limited amount to spend on it. If not, what other brands would you recommend me to look at, preferably Italian?

The pen I am considering is the Visconti Divina Black which I find very elegant without being too much for daily use.

I do have a Mont Blanc 146 with 14k 585 nib. I am not sure about the nib but I would guess it is medium. How can I find out? I use it as my daily writing instrument. Unfortunately I have cracked the cap and do need to replace the pen with a new one. I haven’t told my wife that I can get a replacement cap though, and I will not either.

Regarding the nib material. Are we referring to the entire piece or just the point? I haven’t figured out if the Visconti Divina Black is equipped with Gold or Palladium nib. It seems that it is a Gold nib with Palladium plating. Is that correct?

Since my reference is Mont Blanc 146 with 14k 585 nib M (probably), which configuration of Visconti DB would be the closest to that pen and how would it differ. I like the MB 146 although I wouldn’t mind if it moved smoother over the paper.

Thank you all I advance.

 

/Peter

[jar]

First, welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. I do love my Italian pens but fear I have no Viscontis and so cannot help there.

[PAKMAN]

Love my Visconti pens! The Divina is a wonderful choice, I got the blue full size. Visconti dream touch nibs are wonderful. They tend to be a bit wider than the listed nib size in how they write. The medium is more like a western broad in my experience. I tend to get a fine or extra fine. I have 6 Visconti's now and am quite a fan!

[Corsacalimero]

Thanks.

 

6 Visconti. wow!

 

I have looked at the blueand it is really beautiful.

I might change my mind.

 

Is the wider Divina wider than the MB 146?

 

/Peter

[Bo Bo Olson]

I chase vintage German semi-flex pens.

Had I chased Italian....they too would be '30-50-60's pens with nibs with some flex.

It is too bad Aurora stopped making semi-flex pens 5-7 or so years ago.

 

My Italian is not good enough (0.01% if that) to chase vintage Italian pens...from Italy. I have a Columbus....forget if it's a '40 or '50's one. It is and always has been one of my top 5 pretty pens.

 

I have no interest in modern pens, in they have modern nibs which I find to be second quality at best.

[rwilsonedn]

Welcome! I hope you find the forum friendly.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by mid-range and high-end. If you just mean price, then you will know whether a pen is high-end before you purchase it. But beyond that the terms get very subjective, so you need to decide how you personally define them. It doesn't really matter to your enjoyment of the pen how others define them.

To many folks here any pen that costs over $100 is high-end by definition. To others, only pens that are entirely made by hand by traditional craftsmen count as high-end, and all factory-made pens with interchangeable parts are mid-range. To others still, mid-range and high-end refer to beauty of design, quality of materials, and quality of workmanship--maybe 14K gold fittings qualify, or vintage celluloid, or a filling system no one has used since the 1930s.

From that last point of view, some reviewers here (I wouldn't say it is a consensus, but it's a useful stereotype) have suggested that Visconti uses very high-quality materials for a manufactured, as opposed to hand-crafted, pen. Their workmanship is generally excellent, although their attention to detail and their consistency can sometimes be lacking. And most people find that Visconti pens write very well, although like all modern pens some will require further adjustment after you receive them.

I would strongly suggest that, since this whole topic can be so subjective, you visit a Visconti dealer and actually hold and write with the pens you are considering. Compare them side-by-side with your MB 146. When you find the right pen, buy that particular pen, not a differernt one of the same model that is still in its box. But decide for yourself, trying the pens with ink. It's not a question you can answer on-line.

ron

[zaddick]

Ron laid out solid advice. Read it carefully.

 

I don't think Visconti makes gold nibs any more. They are palladium or steel now. I have found the wider palladium nibs have had a baby's bottom on all my purchases. I am ot saying all the pens they make, just all the ones I have bought, maybe 6 or 7. I like some of their designs so I put up with it. The Pd nibs are also soft and somewhat springy which can be nice, but might be a big change from your MB of it is modern, say post mid 1990s, when the 146 nibs became very firm. The older monotone gold 14k nibs did have some softness to them.

 

You can also look at Aurora and, if you don't care about buying new, Omas pens (as they went bankrupt).

[Bo Bo Olson]

Visconti nibs are made by Bock....like many, many other companies. Stamped with the Pen company's name and design....could well be made to that companies specs, too.

There is nothing at all wrong with a Bock nib.

 

They have been making nibs since 1938 in Heidelberg then the pen capital of Germany. 8-10 or more companies were around Heidelberg.

I have some early Bock nibs' some that are semi-flex, others that are the then 'normal' issue regular flex.

If a company wants a nail or a semi-nail....Bock will make them.

[akustyk]

Welcome to the forum!

 

How do you find out if your Montblanc is an M? There's no easy way to tell. If you live in a large city, there might be a Montblanc boutique nearby. They will be able to tell you.

 

Regarding Italian pens, they are awesome! If you buy a Visconti, you will be pleased. As others have said, their nibs are awesome. Another brand to consider is Aurora.

 

Good luck and please be sure to share your decision with us, with lots of pictures!

[Calabria]

The only Italian pen I would consider buying is an Aurora. Visconti doesn't make its own nibs which is a deal breaker for me. There have been quality complaints as well. Aurora just lowered their prices, and while their models are not as eye-catching, the character of the in-house nib and ebonite feed are exceptional. I really like the sandblasted new 88 with pink gold furniture.

[Corsacalimero]

Hi all.

 

Thank you for all input.

 

I have read your inputs carefully and thorough and you have all indeed contributed to enlighten me.

 

Regarding high end, I was thinking of build quality. The Divina will be my absolute spending limit so handmade limited edition pure gold pens are not an option.

 

I also have a thinner MB than the MB 146 and I am quite confident that it has F-point and I felt it was a little bit too scratchy and decided to go for a M-point on the MB 146. I believe that the thinner MB was bought mid 80^th and the MB 146 1992. Both have a 14k nib. The MB 146 seems to give slightly wider lines and more dark lines, Is that more wetting that I am seeing? When comparing them now the smaller MB is actually a little bit smother and less scratchy which I prefer but the pen is too thin for me and actually the flow stop after a few words.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot find a Visconti dealer here in Stockholm Sweden. Therefor I try to figure out the soft way how it would be to use. Suppose that I have a medium 14k nib on my MB 146 from the early 90^th. How would a fine Pd on a Divina compare regarding line width, flex, flow, smoothness etc.

 

I fully understand the nib manufacturing issue for a connoisseur. However, at this point I will accept the fact that Bock is the supplier, which at the end of the day is a quite good thing.

 

/Peter

[Bo Bo Olson]

Something wrong with your MB in it should not stop like that. Is it still under warrentee if so, send it in.

[Corsacalimero]

I guess not. It was bought in the 80th. The 146 1992.