Visconti Van Gogh Maxi Fountain Pen Review

[RyanM]

Today I'm reviewing a pen I recently purchased, as I thought it was time to start playing with the big boys. Yes. This pen was a visconti van gogh maxi fountain pen, and it's the most beautiful and intricate pen I currently own. Not to mention expensive. The specific pen looks like it has been hand painted, but you can also see inside the pen if you look closely, which I really like as a neat little feature.

This pen is also big. It is called the Maxi, a pen Visconti no longer produces, and posted it is a very long pen. It has a bit of weight to it, but I don't think it feels too heavy for its size. Just right, somehow.

Now to the nib on this pen. This nib is beautiful, (size 6?) and writes with a buttery smooth, if maybe a bit wet line. This nib is a 14k Medium, but really writes like a broad of the same type.

This pen has a screw on cap, as most pens of this price do, as well as a really neat section. It is metal, which could be a bit of a put off, as meta nibs can be a bit slippery, but this one has a really nice ledge and an almost knurled section on the end of it, to keep your finger in place. I do admit that after writing with this pen for a while, my hand became sore and tired, as such a big pen with a size 6 nib is not really the pen for writing for a long time.

This pen comes with a really nice Visconti converter. It looks different to most converters you see, maybe a bit more premium, but works like a good converter should. It is a screw in converter, which seems a bit pointless, but I guess this just adds to the premium nature of this pen.

So do I love this pen? Yes. I do. But it brings me to a question I am sure many people like me have faced. When do pens stop getting better? My previous favourite pen was a Parker Sonnet in a Matte Black with an 18k nib. I think the Visconti is a better pen, but really, by how much? It cost me $400, supposedly down from $750. Would I pay that much? I don't think I like it that much better than my $300 Sonnet.

I would love to hear from some people about what they think about this. The body of the Visconti is clearly better, and I believe is made of a Resin, which as I talked about earlier looks as if it has been painted, as well as is partially clear, so you can see inside, and I guess this is nice. But I don't really think the nib is better than my Sonnet, or even really than some of my cheaper pens, such as my Monteverde Impressa. (I'm not saying that the Visconti compares to the Impressa, I just would like to point that out). Every time I buy a new pen, I always can't wait to start using it, to get a feel for it, but with this purchase, I'm not sure I feel like that. I'm almost disappointed. I don't know what I really expected, but maybe a bit more? This pen is beautiful, it is weighted perfectly, and feels great to hold. But the nib is a bit wet. Even with Caran d'Ache Chromatics Cosmic Black, the ink I use in my 'premium' pens.

 

I would love to hear from people about what they think. When do pens stop getting better? And what is the best price for a pen, which mixes performance with price?

Thanks.

[Ghost Plane]

I have 6 of these and find the nibs comparable to my MB 149s. They're very restful to my hand, but I hold mine back on the section and don't "finger write" so the balance is perfect.

[Newjelan]

I have one of these with a B nib, and the brown swirly resin ("cappuccino"?). It was my only fp for a long time so for many years, I used it all day everyday for work and personal writing. I've never found it heavy and I'm a slightly smaller than average woman. The nib is smooth and the pen is definitely a thing of beauty. Mine is extremely wet and so I try to use inks that are on the dry side. It's a very special pen.

[maksim]

Great review.

 

I felt the same way with my Visconti Wall Street and my Parker Sonnet.

 

You hit the nail on the head. The Parker Sonnet with gold nib is an AMAZING writer. Where Visconti makes up for the price difference is in the work of art and feel of the pen.

 

Both.... are in my daily carry case.

[TassoBarbasso]

You paid USD 400??? Down from USD 700???????

 

I paid EUR 150 (USD 200 back then) when I bought mine... was I just lucky or did someone overcharge RyanM?

[jasonchickerson]

Ryan, your pen is beautiful. I think at this price point, you are paying for beauty.

 

For what it's worth, I paid $120 (supposedly down from $195) for my first fountain pen, a Lamy 2000, in 2013. It came with a very scratchy XF nib that wrote a F line, which I chose to smooth myself because I couldn't stand to part with it so soon. After a little work, I ended up with a buttery smooth, slightly stubbish XF/F pen that writes an upside down 4XF/3XF line with acceptable feedback. I love it.

 

I can imagine buying a different pen I like as well as my 2000, but I can't imagine finding one that I like better, at any price.

 

I think that part of the reason that more expensive pens are "better" is the fact that they are more expensive. The price you paid indicates the perceived worth of the pen. For instance, I'm not a fan of plasticky pens (demonstrators are cool but look a bit cheap to me.) On the other hand, the Conid Fountainbel Bulk-filler is one cool pen I would love to have. I think at $600-700, the demonstrator version looks quite grand. I wonder, though, if it cost $65, would it look like a TWSBI to me?

[Ghost Plane]

You paid USD 400??? Down from USD 700???????

 

I paid EUR 150 (USD 200 back then) when I bought mine... was I just lucky or did someone overcharge RyanM?

With the discontinuation of the line and the reputation of those gold nibs, the price point is creeping upwards again. Back in '07 I grabbed a bunch at $180 US, but I've seen them approaching $380 or higher on eBay. Many + shipping from Oz. Still less than the MB 149 which those big nibs approximate in performance. Visconti should have kept these in production. Pretty much the flagship in performance. The steel nibs on the latest Viscontis are good for ballpoint junkies, but the Pd nibs have never equalled the 14kt gold on the Maxis for performance, IMHO.

[ArchiMark]

With the discontinuation of the line and the reputation of those gold nibs, the price point is creeping upwards again. Back in '07 I grabbed a bunch at $180 US, but I've seen them approaching $380 or higher on eBay. Many + shipping from Oz. Still less than the MB 149 which those big nibs approximate in performance. Visconti should have kept these in production. Pretty much the flagship in performance. The steel nibs on the latest Viscontis are good for ballpoint junkies, but the Pd nibs have never equalled the 14kt gold on the Maxis for performance, IMHO.

 

 

+1.........

 

These are great pens with great nibs and good value.... as with some other Visconti's.......

 

[zchen]

I'd have to agree that the 14k nibs are better than any of the current Visconti Offerings (23k PD, Chromium 18 etc). It was actually reading some of Ghost_Plane's old posts that piqued my interest, and I was lucky to snatch a few of them before the prices started shooting up on the evilbay.

[RyanM]

You paid USD 400??? Down from USD 700???????

 

I paid EUR 150 (USD 200 back then) when I bought mine... was I just lucky or did someone overcharge RyanM?

Yes. I did pay $400 AUD for this pen. As I live in Brisbane, Australia, there are only a very small amount of pen shops, meaning that they generally charge more than the RRP.

[alexander_k]

I like my Van Gogh a lot. The nib is quite smooth and rather responsive, officially fine but more like a medium. The size is fine too but the metal section often tires me.

[Ghost Plane]

Mine are roughly 10 years out (I even have a vanilla with the older clip before the arch clip and it has the bayonet closure) and perform as well after extensive usage as new. With care, you'll get decades of happiness and your money's worth. They really are exceptional in performance.

[amble63]

Van Gogh Maxis are wonderful - like Ghost Plane, I have several. I usually have one in rotation. Don't worry about the price. $400 AUSD is about $310 US. Granted, I've seen Maxis go for anywhere between $200-$250 on FPN but then you would have to wait for one to turn up in the Classifieds, pay for shipping. . .I have no doubt that Ghost Plane is right about the prices going up now that it has been discontinued. So, just enjoy your pen!

[s_t_e_v_e]

Van Gogh Maxis are wonderful - like Ghost Plane, I have several. I usually have one in rotation. Don't worry about the price. $400 AUSD is about $310 US. Granted, I've seen Maxis go for anywhere between $200-$250 on FPN but then you would have to wait for one to turn up in the Classifieds, pay for shipping. . .I have no doubt that Ghost Plane is right about the prices going up now that it has been discontinued. So, just enjoy your pen!

 

Yes, just enjoy your pen and don't worry about the price you paid!

I have one (tortoise demonstrator) and the nib is worth every penny even at the price you paid.

The entire pen exudes quality! And these aren't getting any cheaper anyways!

[liberto077]

I also have one great pen