Pininfarina Carbongrafite For Visconti Limited Edition Fountain Pen

[Dj Shift]

@WOBentley, nice name and profile pic. Do you own a Bentley or Rolls Royce?

[rockspyder]

I received mine today (thanks Bry!) and started using it minutes after the Fedex parcel landed on my desk.

 

But first, I have to say my anticipation was tainted with reservations about the actual functionality of this pen, after reading the usual plethora of assumptive expert opinions above.

I would not be sure, until I physically held and handled it, whether it would be useful or whether it would be better off as a display piece in the quirkier part of my collection.

 

I am all smiles. The material has a luxurious texture, the design is beautiful, and captures essential accents of the Pininfarina brand with bold simplicity. (despite earlier comments to the contrary. There is only so much dimension in a pen, in which to try and express any design). It comes with a matching container with the same finish, with a retractable display platform to mimic the nib mechanism.

It has a converter and a mosquito filler, giving some choice in filling options. I was just too curious to start, so I popped a Pelikan cart into it, expecting a long wait for the ink to travel, but it was at the tines in just a few seconds. The B nib is buttery smooth and juicy, spot-on delightful. I could write with this pen the whole day and not get tired of it.

The only thing I initially found a bit awkward, was the clip ending up between thumb and forefinger. In my usual hand position, this would cause the nib to be rotated anticlockwise too much. I had to rotate my hand clockwise a bit for the nib to be correctly positioned. As with all things, I no longer noticed it after a few lines were put down.

 

Overall, I am impressed and very happy with this pen. Very much different from the pack.

 

Well done Visconti and Pininfarina, keep up the good work!

 

[rockspyder]

 

Visconti previously worked with Carbon Dream, though I'm not certain where they're based.

Firenze, Italy. Practically neighbors with Visconti.

www.carbondream.it

[Dj Shift]

Well done Visconti and Pininfarina, keep up the good work!

 

I dont know if it's physically possible for Pininfarina to not make something perfect.

[Hanoi]

it looks like my Chinese jet lighter lol.

[georges zaslavsky]

Handled it and testwrote it at my favorite penshop in May where there was a Visconti exhibit. My main beefs with this pen are the following:

-the chromium nib is a nail and doesn't offer line variation even a sheaffer palladium silver f5 nib will give it a run for the money

-poor ink capacity and unpracticality of filling the pen

-huge price for a limited edition

 

Besides that aesthetically looking and technologically, it is a great pen but nibwise, it is nothing special.

[donbodadonbo]

Hello All-

To address some of the questions/comments on this topic:

—Bryant, thanks for posting the wonderfully large, detailed photos;

—humsin, it does come with a converter. It also fills with the Visconti Mosquito Filler, or uses small cartridges (2 fit in the barell at the same time)

—RMN, good point about the retractible Metropolis, how soon we forget. Although I like many things about the Metropolis, the retractible nib is not one of them. I have a very light touch, yet the nib seems to retract at the slighest touch to the paper. Visconti seems to have learned, because the Pininfarina does not have the same problem; the nib stays out until the body is twisted to retract it (so far).

 

—dancana, For me, the Medium writes very nicely, with ink flow more like a Broad, & I like it that way. There is no barell swivelling at all on my pen.

 

—beamcorp, I haven't experienced any drying out with this pen, although that happens with many of my other pens, & it's a real pain. I was told that this is partly related to the diameter of the feed tube. Nakaya seems to have an answer to this issue, as they customize the tube to what you like, & a typical Nakaya is less than half the price of the Pininfarina. If you don't want to deal directly with Nakaya (communication can be difficult), I recommend nibs.com (in L.A.); they do a great job with Nakayas.

 

For those who may not know, the nib is 18K gold, plated with Palladium, & writes very smoothly. The "airtight pressure system with automatic opening & closure" (per Viconti ads) is really not so "automatic". You manually twist the bottom of the barell with one hand, while holding the top of the barell with the other hand. Automatic? I think not. To me, "automatic" means you push a button & it vacuums the whole room for you while you sit in the chair. The "airtight pressure system" may be almost "airtight", but since I can see small gaps in the closure, I doubt if it is literally "airtight".

 

The weight of this pen was reported in some places, as being 1.2 oz., which would be light. But in reality, it's 1.9 oz. (with an empty converter). Although the balance is different (nib-end heavy), the weight is the same as a typical Officina RB, a Visconti Metropolis, a Grayson Tighe Titanium, etc., & it is not a light pen at all.

 

I like its looks a lot. In concept it reminds me of the Montegrappa America’s Cup Fleet Race (don't ask me why, it just does). In limited light, the barrel material looks similar to the wonderful Lamy Design 2000 (black Makrolon), but in direct light, the Visconti has a grayish-black appearance & seems to have "waves", while the Lamy is indeed black & has a uniform surface.

 

The one thing that really bothers me about this pen, as others have pointed out, is the mountain of a clip that is set dead center in the spot where my fingers need to be to grip the pen. Almost every fountain pen user has developed a personal horizontal (as well as vertical) angle with which the nib meets the paper. Some people like the nib tines to meet the paper as flat as possible. Others like the left or right corner of the nib to make first contact. This clip placement makes that personal preference very difficult to accomplish. You can't turn the nib clockwise or counter-clockwise in your hand, without cramping your wrist or putting the peak of the mountainous clip under or into a finger. For some people, this will cause your normal handwriting to change into something it's never been before. I normally grip a pen with my thumb & index fingers nearly on top of it, so the clip is fairly comfortable for me. With the Pininfarina, I use these two fingers to grasp both sides of the clip, not the pen. But I still don't like the clip placement, because I feel that it's more restrictive than I like, & I'd rather determine the nib to paper angle myself, rather than having the pen determine it for me.

 

I'd buy this pen again, because I like the ink flow, smoothness of writing, solid construction, & its unusual (but not bizarre) appearance.

[stopher]

I love the hightech with a modern steampunk aesthetic of the pen. Ghastly expensive for the one-percenters who will never use all the toys that they acquire. Money to burn, sure I would have one for closing special deals and contracts. That pen is not for daily use, nor is the pen I designed.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/76213702/1215-homage-to-the-quill

[raging.dragon]

I love the hightech with a modern steampunk aesthetic of the pen. Ghastly expensive for the one-percenters who will never use all the toys that they acquire. Money to burn, sure I would have one for closing special deals and contracts. [...]

 

Many people well outside the one percent can easily afford one or a few pens in this price range, and on FPN there are many non one percenters dedicated (obsessed?) enough to stretch their finances and purchase several, even many, such pens.

[RMN]

 

Many people well outside the one percent can easily afford one or a few pens in this price range, and on FPN there are many non one percenters dedicated (obsessed?) enough to stretch their finances and purchase several, even many, such pens.

Yeah, kidney anyone???

 

 

D.ick

[raging.dragon]

Just be glad pens aren't priced like watches - I've seen watches ranging in price between $5,000 and $10,000 described as affordable, and some brands sell their simplest, so called entry level, watches for $25,000.

[stopher]

 

Many people well outside the one percent can easily afford one or a few pens in this price range, and on FPN there are many non one percenters dedicated (obsessed?) enough to stretch their finances and purchase several, even many, such pens.

Good point. Forgot that prioritizing can make many things possible

[WOBentley]

I keep hoping Bryant will have access to some of these at his usual killer prices once they have been around for a while. I'd love one but the retail cost is too dear for me to justify.