Visconti Homo Sapiens

[Ghost Plane]

I got mine with an EF nib from Bryant, as well (can't say enough nice things) and have been using it for a few months now. I will admit that when I first started using it, I was disappointed. It was dry and wrote with a somewhat erratic flow, even after a thorough flush with clean water with a drop of detergent mixed in. Then I discovered my problem - I was using the Visconti ink that came with the pen. Once I switched to one of my favorites, Noodler's Legal Lapis, it writes with a nice, steady, wet line and has become one of my favorite pens, always in rotation.

 

It compares well with and handles similarly to,the MB 146 or Pelikan m800 line (another couple of favorites). I love the feel of the lava & resin mix body. When I squirrel away a few (ha!) more buck, I'd be interested in picking up their calligraphy set - from Bryant, of course.

You're not the only one who has discovered this. I have more bottles of Visconti black sitting because it doesn't seem to work in the Visconti pens as well as other brands. Yet put that same ink in another brand, say a Marlen Journal with a BB nib, and it performs very well. Odd :hmm1:

[garygsandhu]

I have an EF and it is marginally thicker than the medium sailor nib. Also. Note that the vacuum filler is made of titanium. So, this pen is made of lava, resin, bronze, palladium, and titanium -- wow!!

[nicholasyeo]

Wow, the photographs are nice! A beautiful pen!

[tanalasta]

Thank you.

 

The pen has been through quite a bit of use and variation over the last few months since I first reviewed it. I ended up swapping the nib to a palladium 1.3mm stub tuned by MikeItWork (with Bryant the middle-man who gave me a new nib at cost) after the EF went through a regrind, a drop and then became my learner pen for some micromesh... that I learnt a very expensive lesson from :embarrassed_smile:

 

The tuned stub writes gorgeously wet, smooth and is a delight to write letters or sign with. I fill mine with a Visconti travel inkpot and love the durability, balance and heft of this pen.

 

The original photos in the review are credited to Bryant and Visconti but here are some of mine.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/Deskshot.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/DSC_1852.jpg

[whichwatch]

Tanalasta, thanks for the update. I enjoyed your original review, which I just recently found, and the entire thread that it started here. Though new to pens, I have become more more and more interested in the Homo Sapiens, and even held one in my hand while visiting a pen shop out of town. It was tough to keep my credit card in my pocket!

 

I think I will be speaking to Bryant later this week. It would sure be a great way to start the new year!

[Trom]

Thanks for the nice review. I delayed my decision to buy one as so many people had problems with the nib out of the box.

[benkalziqi]

Nice SE530s, tanalasta .

[Koyote]

Thank you.

 

The pen has been through quite a bit of use and variation over the last few months since I first reviewed it. I ended up swapping the nib to a palladium 1.3mm stub tuned by MikeItWork (with Bryant the middle-man who gave me a new nib at cost) after the EF went through a regrind, a drop and then became my learner pen for some micromesh... that I learnt a very expensive lesson from :embarrassed_smile:

 

The tuned stub writes gorgeously wet, smooth and is a delight to write letters or sign with. I fill mine with a Visconti travel inkpot and love the durability, balance and heft of this pen.

 

The original photos in the review are credited to Bryant and Visconti but here are some of mine.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/Deskshot.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/DSC_1852.jpg

 

I would love to see a writing sample from that stub!

[dnb]

Thank you for the review. There are things that I didn't know about the pen that I saw in this video and the others that were with it.

[GOB Bluth]

Thank you.

 

The pen has been through quite a bit of use and variation over the last few months since I first reviewed it. I ended up swapping the nib to a palladium 1.3mm stub tuned by MikeItWork (with Bryant the middle-man who gave me a new nib at cost) after the EF went through a regrind, a drop and then became my learner pen for some micromesh... that I learnt a very expensive lesson from :embarrassed_smile:

 

The tuned stub writes gorgeously wet, smooth and is a delight to write letters or sign with. I fill mine with a Visconti travel inkpot and love the durability, balance and heft of this pen.

 

The original photos in the review are credited to Bryant and Visconti but here are some of mine.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/Deskshot.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/DSC_1852.jpg

 

I would love to see a writing sample from that stub!

 

+1

[fabrimedeiros]

Thank you.

 

The pen has been through quite a bit of use and variation over the last few months since I first reviewed it. I ended up swapping the nib to a palladium 1.3mm stub tuned by MikeItWork (with Bryant the middle-man who gave me a new nib at cost) after the EF went through a regrind, a drop and then became my learner pen for some micromesh... that I learnt a very expensive lesson from :embarrassed_smile:

 

The tuned stub writes gorgeously wet, smooth and is a delight to write letters or sign with. I fill mine with a Visconti travel inkpot and love the durability, balance and heft of this pen.

 

The original photos in the review are credited to Bryant and Visconti but here are some of mine.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/Deskshot.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/DSC_1852.jpg

 

I would love to see a writing sample from that stub!

 

+1

 

Another 2 videos by Bryant showing the Pd (Palladium) stub nib.

 

If someone want to post another Pd Stub 1.3mm writing sample, it'll be great!

Edited January 16, 2011 by fabrimedeiros

[tanalasta]

Apologies for the delayed reply.

 

It's been rather hectic and I've only just found time to scan this in. Image colour corrected in Adobe Photoshop elements but take the colours with a grain of salt as I'm on my non-photoshopping laptop at the moment.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/Tanalasta/Fountain%20Pens/HS_Stub.jpg

[fabrimedeiros]

I think I'll also purchase a HS stub from Bryant. A friend of mine, Raul (nick here: raulfragoso), sent a letter that he wrote with that pen (HS Stub straight from factory) and Diamine Oxblood. Great pen! I want one!

[foxbf1]

Greetings,

 

I appreciated your review! I have really enjoyed mine, but have found the cleaning of the pen to be tricky as it does not allow you to simply to release ink. Any thoughts on the best way to flush the pen when changing inks? Brian

[Cliff O]

Nice review. I probably would have never bought one of these, but then yesterday I made the mistake of trying one out. The weight, feel and nib were an unbelievably good fit for me. So I ordered one with a fine nib. Can't wait to receive it!

[sjs]

Nice review. I probably would have never bought one of these, but then yesterday I made the mistake of trying one out. The weight, feel and nib were an unbelievably good fit for me. So I ordered one with a fine nib. Can't wait to receive it!

 

Same thing happened to me. Uninterested until holding it in person. But it's definitely become one of my favourites.

[tanalasta]

Greetings,

 

I appreciated your review! I have really enjoyed mine, but have found the cleaning of the pen to be tricky as it does not allow you to simply to release ink. Any thoughts on the best way to flush the pen when changing inks? Brian

 

Hi Brian,

 

It's a fantastic pen - I'm loving my stub for signatures and for personal correspondence with good paper.

 

In terms of cleaning, I run the nib under a running faucet (providing your tap water is of reasonable quality) and cycle the piston rod out, push it in to squirt ink/water out and wait a few seconds for the pen to fill and then repeat until clear. I also flick the pen (being VERY careful to hold it tightly and away from any walls or sinks) with the nib wrapped loosely in paper towellettes and flick it dry - although this step isn't really for the faint at heart and runs the risk of damaging your pen if you're not careful and drop it!

 

I advise against attempting to unscrew the nib unit by hand - although possible - without the nib tool, it is very easy to misalign the feed or bend the tines. Learn from my experience here :embarrassed_smile:

[meenatul]

Greetings !

 

 

That was a very nice review convincing me to buy the pen. Thanks for that. Overall the pen looks good and writes similar to some of my good pens (but still not as good as my Pelikan 600, 215 or MB and cartier trinity).

 

Looking at the pen I am not very confident about the durability of cap locking mechanism. If I use it daily will it last or will cause a problem in closing the pen.

 

Anyone have any observation / recommendation ?

[Torculus Resupinus]

Perhaps this is a small matter in the overall evaluation of a pen, but I do not like the pocket clip on the Homo Sapiens pen at all. While the design is artistically attractive, it is not a functional design that allows the clip to flow over cloth. Therefore, it is quite a chore to secure the pen into even a shirt pocket.

 

Looking at the pen I am not very confident about the durability of cap locking mechanism. If I use it daily will it last or will cause a problem in closing the pen.

 

Anyone have any observation / recommendation ?

I don't have a Homo Sapiens, but I do have a Divina Desert Springs, which has the same clip and cap locking mechanism. Neither is a problem!

 

The clip isn't fixed, but has a hinge and spring at the top end. If you pinch the clip about the middle, you'll see the bottom end lift off the cap, which lets you put the pen into a shirt or jacket pocket without any fuss. The spring then holds it very firmly in place, but you can lift the pen out without needing to loosen it.

 

The cap locking mechanism is very simple and robust, and also relies on a spring. Be sure to push the cap firmly on to the barrel in both putting it on and taking it off, and you won't damage the detents. You might cause wear if you try to rotate the cap without pushing in, but maybe not -- it seems to be designed to work if you do this. One advantage -- you'll never cross-thread the cap and the barrel!

[pickles]

The HS is a beautiful pen--I just got mine. I love the palladium nib, it writes very smoothly. My biggest problem is that it's insanely heavy--when I tried it out at the shop it seemed fine, but now that I've been writing with it, I'm finding it difficult to use for too long before my hand gets really tired because of the weight, even when I try writing with the pen unposted.

 

Has anyone else been having difficulties getting used to the weight?