Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age (Pd nib )

I purchased this pen “experienced” from another collector several years ago, not long after I’d broken through the $200 spending barrier and began acquiring “grail” pens. The model I have is no longer available at retail, as mine has Visconti’s 23k palladium “Dreamtouch” nib which Visconti discontinued ca. 2020. Current versions of this pen have Visconti’s in-house 18k gold nib.

This pen has enough distinctive features that this will be a bit longer of a review.

It is probably the best known pen model from Italian pen company Visconti during the Dante Del Vecchio era of the company. What makes this family of Visconti pens unique is the material they are made out of – lava from Mount Etna in Sicily, mixed with resin. That means that it has a unique hand feel, closest to that experienced with ebonite, rather than acrylic or even celluloid. It is warmer to the touch, in pen terms, but is totally free of the burnt tyre smell which comes with ebonite! The bronze trim on the Bronze Age also acquires a nice patina.

Other distinctive Visconti features that are not unique to this one pen are the hook-safe lock system, which allows it to be capped with a quarter turn, and the vacuum “power filler” filling system. Also, the magnetic “My Pen” finial personalization system if you buy new. And the characteristic Visconti clip shape, meant to echo the lines of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, where the company is based.

I bought this pen more because I felt like it is one of those classic pens that every serious hobbyist should own, rather than because I was in love with it. And I got it used, at a good price, from a reliable seller. And while I have used it, it hasn’t been at the top of my rotation at any time. I don’t know why exactly—perhaps it is because it is too dark and “masculine looking” for my taste. Or that I tend to match my ink colors to my pens, and I’m not fond of black ink!

Something about it called to me today, and I inked it up and started writing with it. I think I’ve been neglecting it unfairly— it is definitely going to go higher in my rotation.

The nib is wet and slightly soft, which is exactly the kind of nib I like. With gentle pressure I can get a touch of line variation from it. The nib is also nicely tuned – whether it came that way out of the box or its previous owner tuned it I don’t know, as even expensive Viscontis are notorious for coming with poorly tuned nibs. Some Italian pen companies are like Italian car companies, and Visconti is one of them.

It is a perfectly comfortable weight in the hand when writing unposted, and I doubt anyone posts it because it’s very back-heavy and long when you do. The section is deep enough and has a gentle flare that I find it comfortable.

It has had one major QC issue – one day as I twisted the cap off, the section just separated from the pen at the trim ring!

I took it with me to the next pen show I attended and gave it to the Coles of London representative – they are Visconti’s distributors in the US. He took it with him and had it repaired and shipped back to me in a few months, and only charged shipping, if even that. So, props to Coles for good customer service – like most luxury pen companies, they stood behind their product even though I admitted I had bought the pen secondhand and it was several years old.

I’m thinking maybe they also gave the nib a complimentary tune after working on the pen, which would make sense, as working on a pen can easily misalign the nib. It is a smoother writer than I remember it being. It was never a bad writer, but I just remember it feeling a bit more feedbacky and “finer” than it does now. Or maybe I had it tuned at a subsequent show. However it got this way, it’s now a really excellent writer, precisely to my taste, and I will be using it more often.

Ratings

Function:

* * * because of being a vac filler without an ink window. There are more recent variations of this pen that do have ink windows.

Value:

* *1/2 if at new retail price ($716 + tax) because of Visconti’s QC issues. Assume it will need its nib tuned by you or a nibmeister.

* * * * if bought used from a trusted private seller for the current going price, approx $500.

Rank in my collection:

* * *1/2

Faber-Castell Essentio fountain pen

Full-size pen with a #5 size nib. International standard cartridge/converter. Brushed aluminum barrel and section. Like all F-C pens, a distinctive design aesthetic. Current retail price $35-57 depending on vendor and color.

To be honest I first bought this, a number of years ago, mainly because of its pink color–this shade of pink is one of my absolute favorite colors. I also wanted to try Faber-Castell since I’d heard great things about their nibs but don’t like their aesthetic enough to invest in one of their pricier pens, but whatever colors were available in their entry-level Grip at the time must not have appealed. And I wanted to have a snap cap pen with a sturdy clip. Sturdy snap cap pens with clips are handy for having in a deep pocket for quick jottings on the go. For me I always have one in my vestment pocket on Sundays.

It’s been on the sidelines in my collection recently as my collection has grown, and as my beloved Waterman Carenes have filled the “snap cap with clip” function. And I generally don’t get along with metal sections. But I pulled it out this week, as I’ve been trying to “shop my collection.”

It is lighter in weight than I remembered it. While the section is definitely aluminum with some substance to it, the barrel is very lightweight-if the specs didn’t say aluminum I’d wonder if it was acrylic. The cap is plastic. The clip is a spring clip and a great fidget item. Technically the cap will “post” but it makes the pen comically long and the posting isn’t at all secure. I’d only post if I absolutely had to.

This is the only metal section pen I have that I truly don’t mind or notice the section being metal. Unlike the Ambition and other more expensive F-C models, the Essentio doesn’t have that infernally short metal polished aluminum lower section which won’t fit your finger. That part is made so short on this model that it’s clear the only place to grip is up higher on the colored section, and because of the texture and narrow diameter and the horizontal channels, I find I don’t have the same issues with it I do with all other metal sections.

The one downside of the horizontal channels is that they collect ink when you fill the pen which can then be hard to get out afterwards, so might transfer to your fingers. So either syringe fill your cart or converter, or be very careful to only dip the nib and feed into the ink, not the section.

Unlike most c/c pens, it also has an ink window, which is a very nice feature.

My pen has an EF nib, for quick writing on bad paper. It is indeed a quality and attractive nib. A bit more feedback than I remembered, but nothing unpleasant at all. Paired with Robert Oster Claret on cheap paper, it writes a bit on the dry side, but with a wetter ink or higher quality paper, such as Plotter DP, it’s fine.

Overall I was glad to have put this pen back into rotation, and it may survive the Great Pen Purge that will come sometime within the next year.

It retails for approximately $58 but is on a really excellent half-price sale at Goldspot as I write this. Comes in several colors. It seems Faber Castell is de-emphasizing this pen in their lineup and offering fewer nib widths, so if you want to acquire one new, you should probably act now.

Function: ****

Value: ***
A bit pricier than entry-level c/c pens, but good build quality and nib and distinctive design. If on sale, a very good value.

Rank within my collection: **½

“Shopping my pen collection” series

As my pen collection has grown, some pens have fallen out of frequent rotation. I’m also trying to be more mindful of my spending. And within the next year I hope to sell a lot of my entry-level and mid-level pens to focus my collection more on my favorites, and get it down to a reasonable size.

So now when I get the itch to buy a new pen, I’m trying to be better about “shopping my collection”–spending some time with a pen I haven’t used as much rather than buying a pen. And when I have time, I’ll post a quick review of that pen here, with the tag #shopping my collection.

The review won’t be in depth, and won’t cover the pen measurements or specs, as those things are easily found elsewhere. It will be just my quick impressions as I reacquaint myself with the pen.

I might give the pen some fast subjective ratings, on a scale of 1 to 5 *s.

Function: How well does the pen function as a writing instrument?

Value: if it’s still purchasable at retail, do I think it’s a good value?

Rank in my collection: This is even more subjective than the other two. It’s where aesthetics and sentiment both carry a huge weight.
*: It’s already in the “purge” box and is definitely going to stay there. Doesn’t have a role in my collection going forwards. Probably an entry-level pen.
**: In the purge box and will probably stay there. Maybe filled a role at one time that has been filled by other pens or this pen in other colors since. Maybe an advanced-beginner pen.
***: Pen that I definitely like, and will keep if space allows. But if not, I won’t be heartbroken.
****: One of my favorites and regularly used. Secure spot in the collection!
*****: One of my absolute favorites. Would be very painful if it was lost or had to be sold.