Visconti Van Gogh Maxi - Evergreen (F Nib) Review

[Shinchan]

Visconti Van Gogh Maxi - Evergreen with Fine Nib

 

Appearance & Design (8/10)

 

I must confess that Italian pen makers really know how to impress with detailed packaging. I was very pleased with the packaging which came with the pen. There was even a retractable tray where the warranty booklet was laid. There was only one word to describe the packaging – SLEEK. This being my first Visconti, expectations quickly built up as I wondered how well the pen will perform

 

 

The pen's aesthetics did not come across to me as striking. It was more of a mellow swirl of dark gold with a tinge of green. I was actually hoping to see more of the contrast similar to the audacious cappuccino color which is also one of the 2 new colors introduced for the Van Gogh series. Nevertheless, the Evergreen exudes a lustrous sheen, which is an impressive sight to behold.

The Van Gogh cap comes with a flathead screw, which allows the tension of the clip to be increased/decreased simply by turning the screw clockwise/anti-clockwise.

 

 

Weight & Dimensions (8/10)

 

I have big hands, so I like my pens to be heavy. I can feel the weight of the Maxi on my hands without posting the cap, though I can do with a little more weight. I was actually expecting the girth to be thicker for a Maxi, so it kind of falls short in this department. Dimensions wise, the Van Gogh was almost comparable my Sailor 1911 Large Series, except for the thicker cap.

 

Nib (8/10)

 

Nib was a single toned gold 14k. I had ordered a Fine Nib to go along with this pen. Having only bought medium and fine nibs, I wished I had been more adventurous and went for a broad. One plus point about fountain pens is that you get to admire the myriad of engraved motifs on the nibs which varies from different pen makers. The intricate motif engraved on the Van Gogh nib is a wonderful piece of art on its own.

 

 

Filling System (5/10)

 

The Van Gogh uses the standard cartridge converter refilling system. Having read about a fellow FPNer who have had issues with the ink flow, I requested Swishers to test my pen for ink flow before shipping out the pen to me. Before attempting to ink my pen, I was careful to give the Nib and Converter a good wash with a mix of detergent & water solution as well. However, despite my best intentions, drawing the ink from the bottle using the Nib & Converter assembly proved to be a major challenge to me, since I was not even able to get the ink to fill up half the converter. There seemed to be a void between the Nib feed and the converter, since I could see the converter was sucking up more air than ink, and I was sure I had the nib fully immersed in ink before attempting to draw the ink by turning the piston. After numerous attempts of sucking air & bubbles instead of ink , I gave up and tried to draw the ink directly using the converter without the nib. That seemed to work since I was able to fill up almost the full length of the converted on my 1st try. I wiped the converter feed clean before screwing it back unto the nib feed assembly, and I turned the piston a few rounds to expel two drops of ink from the nib to ensure that the ink gets to the nib. :clap1: :roflmho:

 

Nib Performance (8/10)

 

The pen was able to start right away and I wrote a full page with no skipping at all. The Nib comes with a little flex, and the writing experience was overall a smooth one.

 

Cost & Value (8/10)

 

 

The pen comes with a good feel and weight, and the aesthetics appeal to the visual senses. For a Fine, the nib is quite a smooth writer. I am using a Sailor 1911 Naginata Togi for my daily writing, so I may be biased here in terms of benchmarking the smoothness of the writing with my Sailor pen. I managed to take advantage of the Memorial Day sale by Swisher, so this pen costs me just under 200 USD. For this price tag, I cannot think of any reason why you shouldn't consider this pen for your collection.

 

Conclusion (Final score, 45) – 7.5

 

I will definitely be using this pen as one of my writers, rotating it with my Sailor 1911. I would have given a rating of 5 for this pen if not for the issues I have had with the ink filling.

Edited June 2, 2009 by MYU

[greencobra]

You put up a nice review of this pen. I have the Swisher LE and never really warmed up to the pen. I'd bet I have two converters of ink through it then retired it. But I agree with what you said about it and funny, just before I got to where you wished you got it in a B, I was thinking the same about mine. Typical Visconti these pens, nice even flow, fairly wet. But I do hate that industrial screw in the cap. They should have a Visconti screw driver included. And you said "the pen’s aesthetics did not come across to me as striking", we're on the same page with that.

 

Anyway, nice review. Thanks for doing it.

[Shinchan]

You put up a nice review of this pen. I have the Swisher LE and never really warmed up to the pen. I'd bet I have two converters of ink through it then retired it. But I agree with what you said about it and funny, just before I got to where you wished you got it in a B, I was thinking the same about mine. Typical Visconti these pens, nice even flow, fairly wet. But I do hate that industrial screw in the cap. They should have a Visconti screw driver included. And you said "the pen’s aesthetics did not come across to me as striking", we're on the same page with that.

 

Anyway, nice review. Thanks for doing it.

 

Hi,

 

thanks for the encouragement. Just contributing my part as a FPNer so that someone else can benefit from the review.

[MYU]

Thanks for your thorough and sincere review. Sorry you had filling problems with the converter. There must have been a peculiar situation of air trapped inside the section. Certainly a beautifully designed pen (albeit some rather uninspiring color schemes) and rather eye catching presentation.

Edited June 2, 2009 by MYU

[asimplemaestro]

Nice review. I'm currently waiting on one from Bryant (a blue one with a F nib). I can't wait to get it in!

 

-Marcos

[alvarez57]

You put up a nice review of this pen. I have the Swisher LE and never really warmed up to the pen. I'd bet I have two converters of ink through it then retired it. But I agree with what you said about it and funny, just before I got to where you wished you got it in a B, I was thinking the same about mine. Typical Visconti these pens, nice even flow, fairly wet. But I do hate that industrial screw in the cap. They should have a Visconti screw driver included. And you said "the pen’s aesthetics did not come across to me as striking", we're on the same page with that.

 

Anyway, nice review. Thanks for doing it.

 

Hi,

 

thanks for the encouragement. Just contributing my part as a FPNer so that someone else can benefit from the review.

 

 

Nice review! Pretty good for a beginner. Yes, any good review does help.

 

Regarding the pen, I have the Tortoise demonstrator...and it is stunning, at least for me . The converter system (although the screw cap has a nice "filigree" work) is annoying. Well, ALL converters are annoying to me. What I do is fill the Waterman extra-long cartridge with a syringe and voilá, problem solved.

 

I had the Fine nib reground to a crisp Italic and it writes beautifully. The nib is rather stiff, though.

 

http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/33537/2489589750105226730S500x500Q85.jpg

 

http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/42248/2350311680105226730S500x500Q85.jpg

 

Again, thanks for the review and I know you will enjoy it.

Edited June 5, 2009 by alvarez57

[pashafendy]

wow, good fp that cant be able to use in daily usage

Especially the nib, i like...

Thanks for the review

Edited June 5, 2009 by pashafendy

[Ghost Plane]

I have 5 Maxis, including the Swishers. They're addictive. One of mine, the Vanilla, has the older arched clip and bayonet closure before they came to the current configuration.

[Shinchan]

Brought my pen to work today...Pen starts to skip after writing less a page....and I had to twist the converter to force out the ink.....I seriously think there is a design flaw with the converter or the feed...there seems to be a void between the converter and the feed...Most annoying!

[Ghost Plane]

When you get home, try to soap trick to break the surface tension inside the converter.

[Shinchan]

When you get home, try to soap trick to break the surface tension inside the converter.

 

Hi GP,

 

had tried this the 1st time before I inked the pen, but no harm trying a 2nd time....Thanks!

[Mrsal]

i got my first van gogh a few weeks ago, had to switch out the section because it was a regular section but i ordered the limited swisher, and has worked fine ever since! and i only use m and b nibs for my writing, except for math which gets an f

[jack852]

I have a cappuccino maxi. I had the nib ground to a cursive italic. I didn't love the pen when I first started writing with it. It did skip some and I did not have great flow. Interestingly, over time, the problem has corrected itself and it is now a wonderful writer. With the cursive italic, it is a joy to write with.

 

I have no idea as to whether this is normal with these pens, but perhaps with a bit of use it will break in for you. I'm glad I kept mine.

 

 

 

[goodguy]

Lovely pen, thank you for the interesting review.

[breaker]

nice review and nice pics