Debating The Purchase Of A Visconti Medici

[DrAtomic]

I'm waffling over the purchase of a Visconti Medici and would appreciate input on owner's experiences with the pen. I'm looking at the large-sized pen as larger pens fit my hands better than the midi's. The reviews are (mostly) glowing, sans the occasional nib quality control complaints, so I've no doubt that it's a great pen. But is it more glorious than the older Van Gogh Maxi, Opera, Voyager, Amigdala, or Homo Sapiens?

I'm trying (in vain) to be more judicious about my purchases, and this one has me on the fence.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[eciton]

I have one. I've also had a number of (current) Van Goghs, an Opera Master, a lava Homo Sapiens and a London Fog.

 

The Medici is perhaps my favourite of the bunch, despite it having no ink window, and having gold trim (I'm a silver trim kinda guy). The faceted shape is just as comfortable as the round. I have a medium nib and it's on the wider side (compared to my other medium, in the London Fog), but writes very well.

 

The reason I like the Medici so much is the material. Photos don't do it justice. It really is absolutely stunning in person.

[DrAtomic]

I have one. I've also had a number of (current) Van Goghs, an Opera Master, a lava Homo Sapiens and a London Fog.

 

The Medici is perhaps my favourite of the bunch, despite it having no ink window, and having gold trim (I'm a silver trim kinda guy). The faceted shape is just as comfortable as the round. I have a medium nib and it's on the wider side (compared to my other medium, in the London Fog), but writes very well.

 

The reason I like the Medici so much is the material. Photos don't do it justice. It really is absolutely stunning in person.

Thanks for the insight. I've heard that the pen looks amazing in person, which is a huge check in the Buy column! Which color do you have? I see that they are in blue and a darker resin color along with the amber. Good to know that the facets aren't uncomfortable in one's hand.

I've not run across a London Fog. I'll have to look that up!

I've had mixed results from Visconti fine and medium gold nibs, with enough variation that there is overlap between the two. The fines seem pretty wet, so I'll likely go with that. I've got a Amigdala You & Me with a stub nib which is fabulous, but for daily writing I prefer something a bit less, um, bold.

Right. Says the man with fountain pens...

[aardvarkbark]

...Good to know that the facets aren't uncomfortable in one's hand...

...The fines seem pretty wet...

 

The Medici is my most recent addition. Like you, I prefer larger pens. I had found that the Omas faceted Paragons were more comfortable than round shapes, but they were slightly too small. This Medici maxi is an absolutely perfect mix of large size and faceted shape.

 

I've considered all Viscontis to be gushers, which has been a problem for me since I prefer EEF lines. I bought an EF, sent it off to Mr. Masuyama to be ground to an EEF and adjust flow, and I still need to use an uber-dry ink (Pelikan 4001) to get the fine line I desire.

 

The material has wonderful depth; it's a pleasure to look at. And the filling mechanism works well.

 

I strongly recommend Marco at Novelli.it as a source if you do decide to get one. Impeccable service.

[farazqamar]

I would suggest you hurry up if you are looking to get one of the brown ones as they are becoming more and more scarce to find.

 

+1 for Marco and Novelli

[DrAtomic]

 

The Medici is my most recent addition. Like you, I prefer larger pens. I had found that the Omas faceted Paragons were more comfortable than round shapes, but they were slightly too small. This Medici maxi is an absolutely perfect mix of large size and faceted shape.

 

I've considered all Viscontis to be gushers, which has been a problem for me since I prefer EEF lines. I bought an EF, sent it off to Mr. Masuyama to be ground to an EEF and adjust flow, and I still need to use an uber-dry ink (Pelikan 4001) to get the fine line I desire.

 

The material has wonderful depth; it's a pleasure to look at. And the filling mechanism works well.

 

I strongly recommend Marco at Novelli.it as a source if you do decide to get one. Impeccable service.

Thanks for the tip on the nibs (groan). Like you, I prefer a nib that isn't a gusher, which has been a challenge with both Visconti and Stipula pens. I'll keep Novelli.it in mind for nib work once (if) I get the pen.

The Opera Guilloche is very comfortable in my hand (square pen with rounded corners), but it's really unbalanced when posted, and I like to post my pens. How does the Medici behave posted? Back heavy?

 

 

I would suggest you hurry up if you are looking to get one of the brown ones as they are becoming more and more scarce to find.

 

+1 for Marco and Novelli

So right on the scarcity of the brown Medici pens! I visited Casa della Stilografica in June and they told me then that they were sold out and unable to get any of the brown ones. I've been looking at a couple of colors that are available, and brown is hard to come by. I hope to secure one soon!

[sansenri]

I don't own one, but own the Van Gogh Maxi, Opera, Voyager and Homo Sapiens.

As far as I can judge, by not having tried one, since you have just named four of my favourite pens (not just Viscontis), I doubt that it would match the Opera and the Voyager, but a lot of merit goes to their gold nibs, and the Homo Sapiens (bronze lava version) is in a class of it's own by material and finish. It could match the Van Gogh by beauty of material possibly. A nice pen nonetheless.

[dms525]

I have one of the original Brown Medici Maxi pens. I like everything about it - size, materials, filling mechanism, nib. Now, I have a number of Visconti's, all with Palladium nibs. All have been custom ground. The stubs (which I prefer) are too wide for my daily use, but at least half the nibs also had some flow problems, most often skipping. I finally decided that, the pens are so good, and the pens write so well after the nibs are re-ground and tuned, I would just figure the cost of nib work into my buying decisions. Yeah. A pen of this price should write well out of the box. They don't always do so. I've gotten over it.

 

And, to answer one of the OP's questions: It writes comfortably posted or unposted. It does post fairly securely.

 

David

[aardvarkbark]

...I'll keep Novelli.it in mind for nib work once (if) I get the pen.

The Opera Guilloche is very comfortable in my hand (square pen with rounded corners), but it's really unbalanced when posted, and I like to post my pens. How does the Medici behave posted? Back heavy?

 

 

To clarify -- I was recommending Novelli.it as a source for purchasing the pen. They do have the brown, btw. I use Mike Masuyama for nib grinding.

 

I write with all of my pens posted. The Medici is not back heavy. Actually, one thing I like about the Maxi is that barrel is sizable enough that I don't have to post the cap if I just want to make a quick note.

[DrAtomic]

I finally found just the right Medici! It arrived last night and I've been fawning over it since I opened the box. I ended up with the Rose Sovrano (brown) even though the blue and black versions were beautiful in their own right. This is my first Extra Fine nib in a Visconti, and I'm not disappointed. Although when using a pen of this size, a medium/broad/italic would seem to be more fitting and expected, but the extra fine is more usable for me in day to day.

It's a beautiful pen and I'm quite happy with it. It's sitting on my desk now waiting for me to stop using electronic media.

I think I'll heed it's call...

Thanks for all the advice and insight!

 

[sandy101]

I'm thinking of buying one of those. After 4 months of ownership, how is it going with the Medici?

[aardvarkbark]

I'm thinking of buying one of those. After 4 months of ownership, how is it going with the Medici?

 

I now have two, both of which have nibs ground and tuned by Mike Masuyama to reduce flow. And then I use Pelikan 2001 ink to further control. I gather that the 18k nibs that V is migrating to will provide greater stiffness than their palladium and even gold plated palladium do.

 

The size is good for what I'm looking for. Leonardo Grandes offer similar girth and size. A Leonardo 14k will be still even more rigid than a Visconti 18k and more than a 23k palladium, I imagine. With a steel nib...even more rigid.

Edited February 5, 2020 by aardvarkbark

[sandy101]

Yes, I'm getting the impression that the Leonardo's are good, if you get a good nib. I held a couple at the last pen meet.

 

I also saw a medici at a London pen meet, and the Arco silk is beautiful.

 

Most sellers still seem to have Palladium nibs, rather than gold in stock at the moment.

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

The oversize piston is the only version available. I'm looking at the Divina (Royal Brown) or the Medici. The captured convertor is putting me off the Davina, seeing that most convertors can a shelf life of 5 years in my experience.

Edited February 4, 2020 by sandy101

[lterry]

I have one of the original brown maxi pens with a fine nib and a Corsani 90th in stacked grey celluloid with a medium nib. I love the size, shape and filling mechanism of these pens. In my opinion, this is the size that I wish my celluloid Omas Paragons were. Both nibs on my pens are great. I got a fine for this one because the medium wrote too much like a broad. Would like to buy another one with rose gold finish.

[DrAtomic]

I'm thinking of buying one of those. After 4 months of ownership, how is it going with the Medici?

I love the Medici! It is all that I had hoped for. The resin is beautiful and the palladium nib works wonderfully. The only thing I might change is the Extra Fine nib. I think this pen needs a medium (or broad, maybe a stub) so that the line is a better match the size of the pen. The filling mechanism is the same as the Homo Sapiens' and hasn't given me any issues.

Size wise, it's smaller than the Opera Guilloche (which is quite a large pen even for me), bigger than the Voyager Typhoon, and the same size as the Homo Sapiens.

All in all, it was worth it and I'm more than happy with the pen.

[sandy101]

Thank you for the reply. I've seen one at the London pen club. I'm hoping to try one out, before I buy at the London Pen Show in March. I'm not sure if the size is practical for me (and may be able to picj up a medium at the LPS). I have one oversize pen, an ebonite one, and it is lovely - but being ebonite it is incredibley light.

 

I'll have a play in March and be in a better position to decide.

 

 

Thank you for your input.