Visconti Nibs - Van Gogh Series

[carlos.q]

Could you please post some writing samples? Maybe compare with the Lamy and Jinhao?

[THRobinson]

Will do, may not be until the weekend though, the end of my week just got unusually busy.

 

But, funny you mention that because my plan for pen reviews, will be to always do a side by side with the LAMY M nibs, simply because probably everyone has one or is familiar with one.

 

I'll do a sample with the Lamy M, Lamy B, Parker M and Jinhao M nibs. I'll also make sure that the images are good quality and large so you can see up close the width variance.

 

 

I'll mention now though... probably all will have different inks. Which may affect things a bit, but, a few pens like the Lamy Red, is devoted to Noodler's Eel Rattler Red only, never had anything else in it, and I don't want to start flushing and cleaning etc.

Edited November 11, 2015 by THRobinson

[carlos.q]

Great!

[THRobinson]

I haven't forgotten you guys... been a busy week last week ending with the power supply on my new computer dying. 4 months old... luckily it has a 5yr warranty but still, gotta pay to ship it back first.

 

Anyways... the Visconti rep here in Ontario mailed me a writing sample of the the Visconti EF and F nibs, which is taking a very long time to get for some reason. They mailed it last week and still no sign of it, usually mail within the province is a few days not weeks.

 

Was waiting for it to arrive so I can do a full review, post samples, and post the F and EF samples with it.

 

Kicking myself for not asking for a sample of the B nib as well. :S

[Ghost Plane]

I have no idea how you write with those needle nibs, so the bafflement is mutual. To my mind, the Visconti B is a perfect nib.

[THRobinson]

I like how well my B nib writes on my LAMY pen, nice, smooth, can see great shading in that Apache Sunset ink... but only for sketching.

 

When I write, I'm essential Arial/Myriad Pro 12pt... I made the forms here at work and my printing is the exact same size. When I write, it's maybe a bit smaller... add in the loops and links, with a B nib there is no open space.

 

I'm not sure how people write with B on a daily basis, or 1.1stub... you guys must write up near 18pt and double lined or something.

 

I have a Duke Uranaus, because loved the retro-future look... but literally feels like writing with a pin. EF nib and stiff. I hear the paper fibres ripping when I use that one. Shame, one of those hooded nibs and narrow... else I'd look into swapping it.

[Ghost Plane]

1.3 is my daily carry and I love narrow ruling on my paper.

[THRobinson]

Any handwriting samples?

 

At work I have your basic ruled notepad from the dollar store... just scribbles and notes for when people phone in. Using a Parker M, but maybe could do a B with that spacing.

 

I have a Leuchtturm at home that I keep as a journal, and I think the spacing is closer together on those because things get messy real fast with a B nib, or even a wet M depending on the pen.

[THRobinson]

Well... the writing samples never came, waited a while, they told me to wait a bit more, emailed and said still never got them so they emailed me a free F nib.

 

Put the nib on today, wrote with it maybe 5min then CRACK! Barrel of the pen cracked in two places... I'm very easy with pens and don't press hard at all, so was very surprised to see that happen. Emailed to see about warranty since only used the pen maybe a dozen times. I went to take the cap off again to take another look, and the barrel came off leaving behind the metal threaded sleeve inside.

 

Not overly impressed with the quality of the pen at the moment, and annoyed because the 'swirl' was perfect... worried if warranty replaces is, the new one won't look as nice.

 

The F nib for Visconti though, is virtually identical to the Lamy M nib on my safari thickness/weight wise.

Edited January 2, 2016 by THRobinson

[cjr]

That's too bad about the cracked barrel. I'm surprised because there isn't much that can go wrong there. It must have been defective from the start.

 

I have three Visconti Rembrandts. I think they use the same nib units as the Van Goghs. They are definitely wider than expected and rather wet writers. I had a fine nib in mine and I sent the pen to Pendleton Brown who did a nice modification to it to make it his trademark "Butterline Stub". It is now a perfect daily writer with a hint of line variation.

[WireFox]

My Van Gogh has a hairline crack about 3mm long on the barrel where barrel meets barrel cap. I have no idea how it happened and whilst used quite a bit (until discovering TWSBI) the pen has always been molly coddled. I also found the nibs wide and very little difference between the medium and the fine I purchased to replace it. The VanGogh is currently sporting a TWSBI fine nib which lays ink down far better than the native nibs I had fitted.

 

To be honest I am not that impressed with Visconti. They are certainly overpriced and I found the component parts quite flimsy and loose fitting. Maybe I just received a bad one. The Visconti Salvador Dali which I purchased as a gift for my nearest and dearest seems to be far more solid even though it is essentially the same pen as the Van Gogh.

 

You are right to be concerned about the finish of any replacement. It is a lottery. To be honest my Van Gogh Sunflowers is pretty English mustardy and uninspiring yet I have seen photos of others that look stunning.

[THRobinson]

I do like my Visconti a lot, though dislike the grip a bit... way too smooth for my dry fingers. Otherwise, the Van Gogh with the F nib is pretty nice. I didn't have a chance to use the F nib for more than 15min though. It wasn't as smooth as the M, which I'll use my tuning kit to sort out after I get the pen back. $15 for warranty (shipping basically) plus whatever I have to pay to ship out.

 

The place (same that sent me a free nib) said that they'll do their best to find a barrel to match as close to mine as they can... but... agreed, a total lottery.

 

I wanted to get a Monteverde, had it down to 2 models... one was the Prima with the Turquoise Swirl, but my concern was that I'd get one like the Goulet pen site has for their display model... one small swirl near the section. Otherwise, no swirl at all... yet some online look amazing.

 

I ended up getting a Monteverde at Xmas, the Intima in Volcano Grey... I enjoy it more than the Visconti. Had to adjust the tines very slightly and now works great. Once I get the flow reduced a small amount, I'll smooth it out.

 

The Visconti for the price is great, but again, I got mine for about 1/3 the regular price by fluke. At full price... I'd be very unimpressed.

 

Side note... I bought my friend a TWSBI Diamond for Xmas, maybe I'll get a chance to try it soon.