Homo Sapiens Plunger Stuck

[Rubicon]

So I FINALLY got my Visconti Homo Sapiens and I can't even fill it. I scoured the web on how to use a power vacuum filler and followed the instructions, but just can't pull the damn plunger out. I'm not sure if I'm unscrewing the cap right but it just won't come out. I could pull harder, but I just spent more than 400 dollars on this thing and I felt like I would break it. How do you even use this?

[professionaldilettante]

Did you unscrew the plunger first? It screws down flush with the body, and you need to turn it counter clock wise to unscrew it.

[macaddicted]

I just looked at mine. There should be a gap of about 1/8" once the tail cap is unscrewed, counter-clockwise as professional dilettante said.

[peterpen53]

I remember having had the same problem when my Voyager was new, that was the first time I saw a Visconti vac-filler. These plungers can be fairly resistant when not used for some time.Be sure to unscrew the blind cap until it is totally free of its threads on the barrel. Then pull out the plunger. It extends for about 2 inches or 5 cm. Try to pull it out slowly, so you don't smash it into the top of the barrel. After that follow instructions to fill. YMMV.Good luck!

[Rubicon]

Yep, I did unscrew it CCW so that it looks like http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5193/911wg.jpg. But it still doesn't pull out.

[professionaldilettante]

My guess is that it's just stiff from sitting on the shelf. If it really don't come out, send it into Coles of London for a repair.

[PenEngineer]

My Homo Sapiens is very stiff coming out of the barrel. Just keep unscrewing it while you are starting to pull it out. The filler is made of titanium, and the body is of rock.

You will be hard pressed to damage this thing.

[Rubicon]

I have another theory: It might be a piston filler. I got the new Steel Age fountain pen. I did some research and it indicates that the MIDI size will be a piston filler, while the oversize is a power filler. And unscrewing the cap completely, the inside doesn't look anything like the steel rod I'm supposed to see. It still doesn't make any sense, since I bought the oversized FP. But I put the FP in the Diamine ink bottle and started screwing it back down and it made the sort of bubbly noise that piston fillers make when they're taking in air. After doing this for a couple of times I stopped hearing the sound.

 

Edit: The mystery is solved. This thing is a piston filler. Unscrewing the cap, ink actually comes out. It works the same way as Lamy 2000.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Rubicon

[PAKMAN]

Yep, I did unscrew it CCW so that it looks like http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5193/911wg.jpg. But it still doesn't pull out.

 

Looking at your picture and my HS Lava I see a much thicker round non threaded metal sleeve on yours while on mine I see a 1/8" long threaded section and metal rod. I think your whole filler unit is threading out of the barrell instead!

 

Here is mine:

 

Edited March 2, 2012 by pakmanpony

[raging.dragon]

So out with the signature vacuum filler, in with a piston or captured converter like everybody else has. Well, that's disappointing.

[adyf]

It still doesn't make any sense, since I bought the oversized FP.

 

 

So just to clarify, you paid for the oversize power filler but have been supplied with the midi size piston filler? If so, you are going to take this up with the seller aren't you?

[peterpen53]

This is very strange. Although judging from the picture the nib seems to be big enough are you sure you have gotten an oversize? My original HS with bronze (and power filler ) is 13.1 cm or 5.16 inches, just barrel and nib. The midi with the piston filler is visibly smaller, including a smaller nib.

[leod]

is the midi the size of M600 or M800? also does anyone know if this is a captured converter?

[elderberry]

From the proportions this really looks like my own one which is a power filler. Maybe Visconti changed the filling system recently to something less fancy, but more reliable?

[peterpen53]

is the midi the size of M600 or M800? also does anyone know if this is a captured converter?

 

The midi is a piston filler, not a converter. I would guess it would be more the size of the M600, though I have not yet actually seen one.

 

 

Cheers,

Peter

[raging.dragon]

is the midi the size of M600 or M800? also does anyone know if this is a captured converter?

 

The midi is a piston filler, not a converter. I would guess it would be more the size of the M600, though I have not yet actually seen one.

 

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

I believe the maxi is pretty much the same size as a Divina, which makes it quite a bit bigger than an M800. Probably bigger than an M1000 too, though I'm not familiar enough with the M1000 to be certain. I've also seen side by side pictures of the HS maxi and midi, and while significantly smaller the midi wasn't completely dwarfed. So I'd guess it's about M800 sized.

[leod]

is the midi the size of M600 or M800? also does anyone know if this is a captured converter?

 

The midi is a piston filler, not a converter. I would guess it would be more the size of the M600, though I have not yet actually seen one.

 

 

Cheers,

Peter

 

Is it a piston filler like Pelikans or a Piston filler like the Divina midi (which is a captured converter from what i read somewhere)

 

maybe someone can measure the ink capacity of the piston filler?

Edited March 6, 2012 by leod

[eric47]

From the proportions this really looks like my own one which is a power filler. Maybe Visconti changed the filling system recently to something less fancy, but more reliable?

 

I think Pakmanpony's got the right idea. Based on clear pens like the Manhattan (single reservoir) and Voyager Anniversary and Wall St. LE, it appear to me that the threaded metal fitting (from the barrel) is probably still screwed into the plunger knob. That metal fitting has probably been pulled partially out of the barrel.

 

If that right -- big if -- then the pen should go in for repair.

[SylvainP]

From the picture it seems the same size as my HS bronze and should be a power filler.

 

The part that should stay in the pen when you unscrew the cap seems to stay in the cap thread so you are not pulling the titanium rod but the component inside the pen.

 

You will need to send it back I'm afraid.

[Rubicon]

This is very strange. Although judging from the picture the nib seems to be big enough are you sure you have gotten an oversize? My original HS with bronze (and power filler ) is 13.1 cm or 5.16 inches, just barrel and nib. The midi with the piston filler is visibly smaller, including a smaller nib.

 

I just measured the pen, and it came out about 13.5 cm from the bottom of the barrel to the tip. My order also says it's for oversize, unless FPH made a mistake.