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Overview: The Visconti Homo sapiens is a grail pen for many including myself. The Homo sapiens is one of those pens that just screams flashy Italian design. From the basaltic lava that makes up for most of the pen to the bronze accents this is by no means an understated pen. I have the "older" model with the 23 karat palladium Dreamtouch nib which writes very well having been tuned by a nib mister (at first it didn’t write at all). I tend to take the pen on a lot of trips with me because of the high ink capacity convenient mechanism. In addition, the pen is virtually unbreakable under normal war and tear. The pen is defiantly an eye catcher, but it comes at a price. $620 is a hearty price to pay for any pen, however in the grander scheme of Visconti this pen falls on the relatively “affordable” end of the spectrum. The pen is definitely one of my favorites due to the pen's pretty design and good performance. Writing Experience: In the past there have been a lot of QC issues with Visconti Dreamtouch nibs. In June of the last year they transitioned to 18 karat gold nibs made by Bock in Germany. I have a Visconti Opera Crystal with an old style 18 karat gold nib and that may be one of the most pleasant nibs in my collection, so naturally when Visconti announced that they were transitioning to gold nibs again I was quite happy. This pen has quite a bit of spring to it and even though it comes with a warning that states “Don’t push, this nib will follow your dreams” I can get some line variation out of it. The writing is smooth now that the tines are now in alignment and the nib is quite wet. Overall, it was was worth the investment to make the nib write properly. Design: The design of this pen is classic. Compared with many Visconti pens that tend to have pretty over the top designs this pen may look boring. However, this is really not such a boring pen. The pen has an old feeling ascetic with the bronze trim and dark gray material that's warm to the touch, it really adds to my enjoyment of the pen. Now, let’s get into the parts of the pen. On top there is the "Visconti -- Firenze logo as well as some other decorations. The pen utilizes Visconti’s MyPen system which allows you to personalize the finial of your pen by using s strong magnet to take the little metal piece off and replacing it with a gemstone or your initials. The cap is made of the same lava material as the rest of the pen. The cap angles up to two rings just under the clip. The clip itself is molded after the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence. The “Visconti” name is set in enamel in the clip on both sides. From there, the cap just angles up a bit and transitions to a center brand that is on the barrel, not the cap. The cap attaches to the section with Visconti’s hook safe look mechanism, which isn’t really necessary on this pen because there aren’t any facets that need to line up, but it’s still a cool novelty. The barrel is pretty plain. It angles down about a millimeter from the ring to the blind cap. The pen is one of Visconti’s power fillers, which on this pen is just a vacuum filler because it’s a single reservoir power filler. In all, I like the design of the pen and I use it quite a bit. Measurements: Length (capped): 145.0 mm/5.71″ Length (uncapped): 131.0 mm/5.16″ Length (posted): 170.18 mm/6.70″ Diameter (barrel): 13.9 mm/0.55″ Diameter (section): 10.9 – 11.9 mm/0.43″ – 0.47″ Weight (all): 43 g Weight (cap): 17 g Weight (body): 26 g Presentation: Recently Visconti has changed their standard faux leather packaging to a slightly less expensive cardboard box, which is fine. There’s not much to say about it, but it carries the pen and does its job, so I can't complain. The pen comes nestled in a ribbon going diagonally across the box with “Visconti” branded on it. There is really not too much to cover about the box, so I’ll stop here. The Visconti Homo sapiens was a grail pen of mine for quite a while and when I finally got my hands on one it was clearly worth the wait. The issue with the nib really was off-putting considering this pen was the my first from the brand at the time I purchased it. This was a review that I enjoyed writing because I really like the pen. I tend to only review pens I enjoy because I’m not a big fan of hate-reviewing. My name is Charlie and if you have and questions, comments, or concerns please let me know in the comment below. As always, thanks for reading and make sure to tune in soon for another review! Note: Due to the size of the files I’m uploading I have to split some between two pictures to fit the maximum file size on FPN. Bottom part of writing sample

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1653_zps5edefb0e.jpg Hi As title says, I'm aware that there are already several reviews about this "modern classic" so I will not repeat for the 100th time technical details and such. This is more like some thoughts' gathering about the pen. Special thanks go to my russian friend Yuri, FPN fellow, who sent me the Dostoevskij book you see in the pictures and which I'll use to learn some russian (wish me good luck! ). The iteration I am talking about is the oversize bronze one. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1646_zpsbafd4840.jpg General feel. As some people know, I prefer hefty pens over light ones, therefore I appreciate how the HS weighs in my hand. After all I love my Ripple, so I definitely have no problems using the HS even for long writing sessions (although I don't post it, as it would be - of course - unbalanced toward the back. The cap issues 2 bronze rings and is quite thick, so it weighs quite a bit: http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1638_zpse7a9f201.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1642_zps8deb3ed5.jpg ). The pen screams solidity from each atom it's composed of, no way it's gonna break. Whenever someone asks me if it's "really indestructible" (granted that everything, with the right commitment can be destroyed) I answer with a small anecdote: I had a third degree close encounter with a very well polished glass wall. As my face was getting smashed by the treacherous wall my thoughts went to the HS, that was ejected, no, propelled in the stratosphere at Mac 5 speed. I saw the scene in slow motion, the pen rolling and after what seemed to be a lifetime it hit the concrete pavement... and kept rolling and rolling till it stopped. No scratches. I was breathless (maybe cause of the facecrash too? ). The basaltic lava material, as we all know, is porous and hygroscopic therefore it'll absorb humidity such as sweat or ..uhm.. steam or whatever. You get the drift. The color might vary, depending on how you "treat" it, literally: if you gently rub it with hands cream - I promise it won't have an impact on your sexual orientation - it'll always be dark gray, leaning to black. If you prefer it lighter, just let it "dry" and it'll assume a light shade of gray. Aesthetically, I love the juxtaposition between sober elegance and originality. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1650_zps36886613.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1648_zps39b35170.jpg Filling system and techie stuff (or something like that). You charge this pen with the Power Filler system, which I think is the best compromise between functionality and capacity. Chapeau. The cap locking system is the patented Hook Lock Safe, bayonet system for friends. No way you can lose the cap. I own this pen since May 2011 and the notches hasn't even started deteriorating, I hope it'll go on like this. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1645_zps8893fe4e.jpg Nib and writing sample. The nib is the 23kt Dreamtouch Visconti nib. It's the best one in my collection, smooth and responsive. I have talked about it elsewhere too, so I won't add much. http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1649_zps381cdea1.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1652_zpsea1226e4.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1655_zps2cea446e.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/DSCN1639_zps4f7004d0.jpg http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/Towelfree/HSwritingsample_zps7877dee6.jpg Cost/value. It's always hard for me to comment on such parameter, as I only buy the few pens I adore and which make my life slightly better , therefore to me each pen I review has a favourable compromise between price and value. Should I be forced to try and be objective, I think that this pen is a perfect balance between what it gives you and what it takes from you It's a perfect workhorse and I'm sure it'll accompany me for the years to come. Sorry if I haven't said anything new on this pen, but I wanted to share my appreciation nevertheless. Bye!