I've admired the Visconti HS for a while, but it was the smaller size and lower price of the new Steel Midi that finally got me to buy one. I'm not sure which I would have chosen had the bronze version been available in Midi size, currently only the in steel. I ordered mine from Bryant at Pentime.com. Full picture album here.
Vendor
Bryant is well-regarded, and I'm grateful for his service. He's responded to a few emails from me over the past years, but I had not bought anything yet, so I did not shop around when going for this pen. I assume that his price is pretty good, well under the retail price of $495, but I was going to buy from him either way. Emails were answered over the weekend (though I would think nothing of it if they weren't), shipping was immediate, and packaging was over-kill.
Overall Impression
There is no other manufacturer today at Visconti's level when it comes to innovation. Period. You have to pay a lot to get more than their low-end c/c fillers, unfortunately. But once you do, you get to some interesting stuff. The Midi size does not have the same neat-o filling system as the Maxi does, but that's ok. It does have the same innovative material lava/resin, and Dreamtouch nib. More on that later. I also appreciate the theme Bronze age/Steel age theme they have going with this pen, and like that the hardware is steel rather than plated brass. Well, least I don't hate it, as I usually do with themed pens.
Size/Weight
I measure it at 135mm capped, 120 uncapped, 163 posted. It posts securely, but clearly posting was not in the design. Because of the heavy, spring-loaded clip, it could be very bad posted, but because of its size the posted cap is in the web of my hand, so the balance is decent. I do like posting my pens when I'm away from my desk, so this pen will likely stay at home. Having tried the Maxi HS at a pen show, I was not expecting a good poster, so that's ok.
It is not a light pen with all that steel, but it's not heavy like metal body pens. Un-posted it's great--just enough weight for it to feel more substantial than a plastic pen. Other Visconti pens I've seen, plastic c/c fillers, are so cap-heavy the body of the pen never touches the table it's sitting on. I hate that--it just looks silly to me--but the tail of the pen has enough weight that this does not happen.
Construction
For a pen of this cost, I really expect it to be perfect. It is not. However, the defects are not enough to make me send it back. (Maybe the nib, though. More on that later.)
First, the good. It feels like a solid pen, like nothing is ever going to come loose on it. The rubbery texture of the lava/resin also makes it seem (and is reported to make it) indestructible. They bayonet style cap locking mechanism feels fantastic, and is the most secure-feeling cap I've ever felt. With this, I can really really relax when I stick it in a pocket.
I've read the filling mechanism described as "captive converter." This does not make sense to me. It is a piston filler, but no doubt because of the porous nature of the lava/resin, the piston moves within a plastic sleeve. The mechanism itself has metal components (see picture) and feels marvelous: smooth, freely moving, solid. The capacity is more than a c/c, but less than a Pelikan, for example.
The bad. The lava/resin is somewhat porous, which is fine, but not consistently so, which is not. The cap and body seem to be from two batches of material. It's not immediately obvious, and even upon close inspection it doesn't bother me, but it's there and worth mentioning. On the section, there are a couple of bumps, irregularities in the finish. On the filling knob, there is a small area that looks shiner/smoother than the rest. Did mention retail price is $495? I can't see how this is acceptable. My guess is that this is due to the innovative material, and likely if I exchanged it there would be some other small irregularities.
The Visconti medallion on the crown of the cap is magnetic and removable, part of their My Pen system, where you can replace the medallion with really ugly gemstones or your initials. It is very secure, and I doubt it would ever come off by itself. However, I cannot get it to seat correctly. It sits at a slight bevel.
As much as I like the cap locking mechanism, there are marks in the grooves which receive the cap. It gives it a rather unfinished look at close inspection. The clip has a tiny dent or ding. It is very sharp, defined. Like something happened in manufacturing, rather than someone damaged it. The Visconti logo across the clip seems to be painted on? It looks good, but appears pixelated close up.
Writing Experience
The nib...the nib! The palladium nib, another Visconti innovation, is wonderful. I think it's cheaper than gold, but also softer--what a winner for Visconti. My vintage Pelikans have the kind of flex that imparts a certain character to my writing, and the HS is not quite at that level. But it's got enough to make writing bouncy and fun, and I'm sure the bigger nib on the Maxi would be even more fun. With all these nail-hard modern nibs out there, it's quite amazing to write with this one. While I hate huckster stupid advertising nonesense, I will no longer sneer at Visconti for the moniker "Dreamtouch." Good for them, and shame on everyone else for wasting their time on gaudy designs, kitschy themes, limited edition jackassery, and other stupidity instead of coming up with this nib. (Yes, I know Visconti has their own gaudy, kitchy jackassery.)
It's also beautiful. Compare the nib scroll work to Aurora, which looks cheesy. Cheese whiz from a discount store cheesy. This is just beautiful. It is also very wet, which I expected from my research, and which I welcome. I tentatively got a medium, and I'm glad I did. I may leave it as it is, or really go all out and get it ground to get some line variation out of it.
Edit: I forgot to mention that after about a full page of writing, the grooves for the cap get rather uncomfortable. It's not an issue for shorter writing.
Or I may just have to get another altogether. The bad news is that it's skipping a lot. I've flushed it a few times, including with soap and water, and now on my third and wettest ink it's still skipping (thought not as bad as before). I will try it for a few more days, then try one more flush, and then I will need to contact the vendor. My guess is a baby-bottom problem. This is disappointing, but not at all unusual, based on my experience (scratchy Delta nib) and others I've read. I think any time you pay for a pen in this luxury price range they should just work--like my Pelikans
.
Do I recommend it? If you've read the above, and you still want it, then get it. It's an interesting pen with unique features. Time will tell how dear it stays to me in the long run, but at this point I can at least say that I plan on always having at least one Visconti in my collection.
Vendor
Bryant is well-regarded, and I'm grateful for his service. He's responded to a few emails from me over the past years, but I had not bought anything yet, so I did not shop around when going for this pen. I assume that his price is pretty good, well under the retail price of $495, but I was going to buy from him either way. Emails were answered over the weekend (though I would think nothing of it if they weren't), shipping was immediate, and packaging was over-kill.
Overall Impression
There is no other manufacturer today at Visconti's level when it comes to innovation. Period. You have to pay a lot to get more than their low-end c/c fillers, unfortunately. But once you do, you get to some interesting stuff. The Midi size does not have the same neat-o filling system as the Maxi does, but that's ok. It does have the same innovative material lava/resin, and Dreamtouch nib. More on that later. I also appreciate the theme Bronze age/Steel age theme they have going with this pen, and like that the hardware is steel rather than plated brass. Well, least I don't hate it, as I usually do with themed pens.
Size/Weight
I measure it at 135mm capped, 120 uncapped, 163 posted. It posts securely, but clearly posting was not in the design. Because of the heavy, spring-loaded clip, it could be very bad posted, but because of its size the posted cap is in the web of my hand, so the balance is decent. I do like posting my pens when I'm away from my desk, so this pen will likely stay at home. Having tried the Maxi HS at a pen show, I was not expecting a good poster, so that's ok.
It is not a light pen with all that steel, but it's not heavy like metal body pens. Un-posted it's great--just enough weight for it to feel more substantial than a plastic pen. Other Visconti pens I've seen, plastic c/c fillers, are so cap-heavy the body of the pen never touches the table it's sitting on. I hate that--it just looks silly to me--but the tail of the pen has enough weight that this does not happen.
Construction
For a pen of this cost, I really expect it to be perfect. It is not. However, the defects are not enough to make me send it back. (Maybe the nib, though. More on that later.)
First, the good. It feels like a solid pen, like nothing is ever going to come loose on it. The rubbery texture of the lava/resin also makes it seem (and is reported to make it) indestructible. They bayonet style cap locking mechanism feels fantastic, and is the most secure-feeling cap I've ever felt. With this, I can really really relax when I stick it in a pocket.
I've read the filling mechanism described as "captive converter." This does not make sense to me. It is a piston filler, but no doubt because of the porous nature of the lava/resin, the piston moves within a plastic sleeve. The mechanism itself has metal components (see picture) and feels marvelous: smooth, freely moving, solid. The capacity is more than a c/c, but less than a Pelikan, for example.
The bad. The lava/resin is somewhat porous, which is fine, but not consistently so, which is not. The cap and body seem to be from two batches of material. It's not immediately obvious, and even upon close inspection it doesn't bother me, but it's there and worth mentioning. On the section, there are a couple of bumps, irregularities in the finish. On the filling knob, there is a small area that looks shiner/smoother than the rest. Did mention retail price is $495? I can't see how this is acceptable. My guess is that this is due to the innovative material, and likely if I exchanged it there would be some other small irregularities.
The Visconti medallion on the crown of the cap is magnetic and removable, part of their My Pen system, where you can replace the medallion with really ugly gemstones or your initials. It is very secure, and I doubt it would ever come off by itself. However, I cannot get it to seat correctly. It sits at a slight bevel.
As much as I like the cap locking mechanism, there are marks in the grooves which receive the cap. It gives it a rather unfinished look at close inspection. The clip has a tiny dent or ding. It is very sharp, defined. Like something happened in manufacturing, rather than someone damaged it. The Visconti logo across the clip seems to be painted on? It looks good, but appears pixelated close up.
Writing Experience
The nib...the nib! The palladium nib, another Visconti innovation, is wonderful. I think it's cheaper than gold, but also softer--what a winner for Visconti. My vintage Pelikans have the kind of flex that imparts a certain character to my writing, and the HS is not quite at that level. But it's got enough to make writing bouncy and fun, and I'm sure the bigger nib on the Maxi would be even more fun. With all these nail-hard modern nibs out there, it's quite amazing to write with this one. While I hate huckster stupid advertising nonesense, I will no longer sneer at Visconti for the moniker "Dreamtouch." Good for them, and shame on everyone else for wasting their time on gaudy designs, kitschy themes, limited edition jackassery, and other stupidity instead of coming up with this nib. (Yes, I know Visconti has their own gaudy, kitchy jackassery.)
It's also beautiful. Compare the nib scroll work to Aurora, which looks cheesy. Cheese whiz from a discount store cheesy. This is just beautiful. It is also very wet, which I expected from my research, and which I welcome. I tentatively got a medium, and I'm glad I did. I may leave it as it is, or really go all out and get it ground to get some line variation out of it.
Edit: I forgot to mention that after about a full page of writing, the grooves for the cap get rather uncomfortable. It's not an issue for shorter writing.
Or I may just have to get another altogether. The bad news is that it's skipping a lot. I've flushed it a few times, including with soap and water, and now on my third and wettest ink it's still skipping (thought not as bad as before). I will try it for a few more days, then try one more flush, and then I will need to contact the vendor. My guess is a baby-bottom problem. This is disappointing, but not at all unusual, based on my experience (scratchy Delta nib) and others I've read. I think any time you pay for a pen in this luxury price range they should just work--like my Pelikans
.Do I recommend it? If you've read the above, and you still want it, then get it. It's an interesting pen with unique features. Time will tell how dear it stays to me in the long run, but at this point I can at least say that I plan on always having at least one Visconti in my collection.
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