Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze 1.3Mm Stub

[Piro_Flipper]

I'm trying to come up with an explanation for that I can't think of anything... Strange indeed. Glad to hear you got it replaced without any hassle though.

[wpk123]

Great review. and fantastic pictures. I'm glad you have had all your issues sorted out.

 

Like you, I had issues with the inkflow but after Mike Masuyama had reground the nib to a 1.1 mm cursive italic and tweaked the pen, it's now perfect. He said the nib wasn't sitting properly on the feed. Now It's constantly in my rotation and I'm really enjoying the experience. I don't think I'll ever sell this pen. The warmth of the lava stone material as I wield the pen is so very unique.

[hsianloon]

Not a day passes by where I don't see a new review of the Homo Sapiens....some serious indoctrination going on here guys.. (nice pictures by the way, really captured the details)

[Piro_Flipper]

Great review. and fantastic pictures. I'm glad you have had all your issues sorted out.

 

Like you, I had issues with the inkflow but after Mike Masuyama had reground the nib to a 1.1 mm cursive italic and tweaked the pen, it's now perfect. He said the nib wasn't sitting properly on the feed. Now It's constantly in my rotation and I'm really enjoying the experience. I don't think I'll ever sell this pen. The warmth of the lava stone material as I wield the pen is so very unique.

Thanks! The problem I was having was not the with the inkflow itself but rather with starting the inflow. I keep hearing good things about mr. Masuyama, guess he really knows his craft well. Like you, I don't see myself ever not owning this pen anymore, it is just too awesome!

 

Not a day passes by where I don't see a new review of the Homo Sapiens....some serious indoctrination going on here guys.. (nice pictures by the way, really captured the details)

I think the HS just has a certain allure to a large audience... It is so different from the 'typical' fountain pen (insofar as there is actually such a thing) and yet it is not because it is a very outlandish or impractical pen. This is a pen that has its unique looks, outstanding tactile experience and great nib performance all going for it. For me personally, it has raised the bar of what I consider an exceptional pen to a point where I wonder if I will ever find a pen that can take its throne.

 

Thank you for the compliments by the way!

[Gloucesterman]

I really liked your review AND, personally I can NOT understand how a manufacturer can charge $650 or more for what seems to be very shoddy workmanship!

 

If these pens are made by a machine, their quality control is well below what I would consider to be an acceptable standard. If these are even partially done by hand - either find better crafts-people or don't sell it as a high quality item.

 

I have had four Visconti pens purchased 3-5 years ago - two Opera FP, one Almond Kalideo and an Opera BP. Each of those has been excellent pens. The Visconti pens I have seen lately always seem to have something "off" of defective that need attention. When spending that amount of money, the pen should be flawless.

 

But that's just my opinion...

[ever onward]

The clip has a nice spring to it, but it will have to be lifted if you intend to use it as it runs flush with the barrel and there is no rounding going on to allow it to slip on by itself.

 

I have a couple Viscontis, all of which have this clip, and I just don't get it. It is basically non-functional as a clip.

 

Thanks for your review. I hope you and the lava have a long and satisfying relationship.

 

best wishes,

eo

[JazzDoc]

Great review, Piro-Flipper!

 

In fact I just received mine (also the bronze with Palladium Stub nib).

 

I had a few small problems right away: the brown leather presentation box is beautiful, but the little drawer on the side of it was stuck fast. After some maneuvering with a modicum of elbow grease I was finally able to open it - appears that the glue which Visconti (or whomever) made the box with (or glued in the liner with) stuck to the catalog/booklet inside the drawer.
But that little booklet is not an owner's manual - NO OWNER's MANUAL accompanied the pen. I assume yours came with a manual?

 

The pen itself is gorgeous (to my eye), and I like the feel of the surface. I do feel that the plunger action could be a bit smoother, but it fills nicely.

 

I am surprised at what a wet writer this is. Handleable, but wet. Couldn't be used to make a quick note and close the notebook too soon!

Extremely smooth writer, no doubt.

 

I intend to use it a while and if the wetness bugs me then I'll have it adjusted by one of our nibmeisters.

 

Thanks again for a great review - with fine images!

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/b_d_bop/PENS-HomoSapiens_zps0d49bd60.jpg

Edited July 24, 2013 by JazzDoc

[Tumbleweedtoo]

Great review! I also have this pen, and I also had to have Mike Masuyama fix the nib on mine. It has been so long ago that if I remember right the problem was flow issues similar to what has been reported here. Mike said he was familiar with the problem and that he could fix it. He did a super job. I preferred to send it to him rather than send it back for replacement or repairs. I hope you continue to enjoy your pen! It is well worth the initial problems, and well worth having Mike Masuyama look it over and make any repairs.

 

All the best,

T

[monanza]

Thanks for the great review. The HS Bronze is very hard to resist.

[terminal]

I love this review. Very enjoyable to read and the photos are beautiful. The photos are so consistent... do you put them all through a filter? What kind of camera are you using?

 

I know what you mean about the 'dot-matrix' look of the bronze, but I always assumed it was meant to look like that. I think they are all the same... in other words, I think mine is the same as yours, so it made me think it was intentional.

 

Funny because mine is a broad and it just has this glorious wet nib. It's like... one of the only Italian pens I have that's NOT a hard starter. Makes me want to stay away from this nib.

 

Well, now I'm going to have to go ink mine up... I may try to photograph the dot-matrix part too or comparison.

[Piro_Flipper]

Great review, Piro-Flipper!

 

In fact I just received mine (also the bronze with Palladium Stub nib).

 

I had a few small problems right away: the brown leather presentation box is beautiful, but the little drawer on the side of it was stuck fast. After some maneuvering with a modicum of elbow grease I was finally able to open it - appears that the glue which Visconti (or whomever) made the box with (or glued in the liner with) stuck to the catalog/booklet inside the drawer.

But that little booklet is not an owner's manual - NO OWNER's MANUAL accompanied the pen. I assume yours came with a manual?

 

The pen itself is gorgeous (to my eye), and I like the feel of the surface. I do feel that the plunger action could be a bit smoother, but it fills nicely.

 

I am surprised at what a wet writer this is. Handleable, but wet. Couldn't be used to make a quick note and close the notebook too soon!

Extremely smooth writer, no doubt.

 

I intend to use it a while and if the wetness bugs me then I'll have it adjusted by one of our nibmeisters.

 

Thanks again for a great review - with fine images!

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/b_d_bop/PENS-HomoSapiens_zps0d49bd60.jpg

Hi Mark, like you my HS did not come with an owner's manual, just the instructions for the use of the polishing cloth. I have to admit that I did not even realize this as these often go unread in my case. I used some silicon grease on the titanium rod when I got mine and it is super smooth! As for the wetness, that is something I really like about this pen but it can be impractical in certain situations.

[Piro_Flipper]

Great review! I also have this pen, and I also had to have Mike Masuyama fix the nib on mine. It has been so long ago that if I remember right the problem was flow issues similar to what has been reported here. Mike said he was familiar with the problem and that he could fix it. He did a super job. I preferred to send it to him rather than send it back for replacement or repairs. I hope you continue to enjoy your pen! It is well worth the initial problems, and well worth having Mike Masuyama look it over and make any repairs.

 

All the best,

T

 

 

Thanks for the great review. The HS Bronze is very hard to resist.

Thanks guys!

[Piro_Flipper]

I love this review. Very enjoyable to read and the photos are beautiful. The photos are so consistent... do you put them all through a filter? What kind of camera are you using?

 

I know what you mean about the 'dot-matrix' look of the bronze, but I always assumed it was meant to look like that. I think they are all the same... in other words, I think mine is the same as yours, so it made me think it was intentional.

 

Funny because mine is a broad and it just has this glorious wet nib. It's like... one of the only Italian pens I have that's NOT a hard starter. Makes me want to stay away from this nib.

 

Well, now I'm going to have to go ink mine up... I may try to photograph the dot-matrix part too or comparison.

Please do take a photograph of yours, I'd be interested to see if they match exactly or if there's some kind of randomness to the pattern...

About the stub nib, it is definitely a pity that so many of them seem to have this issue and require someone to give it some attention. That said, I completely adore mine and it makes the one on my Carène feel just inferior in terms of wetness and smoothness.

 

As for the photos, I'm glad you like them! I use a Canon 5D Mark II and basically just give each photo a similar appearance in post-processing. I didn't use any filters though.

[thott]

Please do take a photograph of yours, I'd be interested to see if they match exactly or if there's some kind of randomness to the pattern...

[.....]

[.....]

Hello,

 

All what I saw up to now, no HS Bronze was like the other. The surface has differences, the pattern was different,

the bronze fittings and the clip appearance was different (lighter, darker, more shiny).

 

When we bought it at Akkerman in Den Haag, we had the choice to select our HS Bronze out of 4 pens. I mean

to say, that every pen seems to has it´s own individual appearance.

 

I think it is hard to show it by photo. The differences are not so huge that you willl clearly see it in pictures. But they

are present!

 

At the Blog of MissElderberry http://thesebeautifulpens.blogspot.de/ I found the following saying:

 

"I've heard that Arabian carpet weavers purposefully put some mistakes into their work because they believe

no human is able - and allowed - to claim perfection."

 

It is these differences of the HS which makes, in my opinion, this pen so beautiful and interesting.

 

Btw. our HS nibs are flawless

 

Greetings

Thomas

[terminal]

Please do take a photograph of yours, I'd be interested to see if they match exactly or if there's some kind of randomness to the pattern...

About the stub nib, it is definitely a pity that so many of them seem to have this issue and require someone to give it some attention. That said, I completely adore mine and it makes the one on my Carène feel just inferior in terms of wetness and smoothness.

 

As for the photos, I'm glad you like them! I use a Canon 5D Mark II and basically just give each photo a similar appearance in post-processing. I didn't use any filters though.

As far as the camera: yeah they look like they were taken with something really good, so that makes sense.

 

Ok, here are some photos... just remember (as I overshare) you asked

 

So here is the left side of the clip:

http://www.suramar.org/fpn/HS_tst-4.jpg

and the right side:

http://www.suramar.org/fpn/HS_tst-5.jpg

here is the band in two pix:

http://www.suramar.org/fpn/HS_tst-6.jpg

http://www.suramar.org/fpn/HS_tst-7.jpg

[terminal]

I was also doing some writing with it. Man, mine is just about the perfect pen. It's really wet and just smooth and wonderful. It's not a hard starter at all. This is with Iro shin-ryoku on rhodia

 

http://www.suramar.org/fpn/HS_tst-3.jpg

[cednocon]

Thanks for the review! I am pre-ordering mine today and I think I'll make it a stub!

[thott]

 

[.....]

[.....]

Ok, here are some photos... just remember (as I overshare) you asked

 

Hello...

 

and here some detail pictures from me to compare. It´s the best quality I could reach :-)

 

 

Greetings

Thomas

 

PS: Ink of the writing sample is PR Electric DC Blue

Edited July 25, 2013 by thott

[terminal]

So far all three look about the same, right?

[Montblanc owner and lover]

for the question someone asked me in may(....sorry i always forgive to come back on the topics i've already readed once) He got probs of not immediate wrting and parts that don't fit togethers perfectly and pens are not reliable for the pistons,he really don't like them i'm sure he has got a big trouble one day with them. He nearly forbidden me to buy a HS Mazzi edition,saying it was not good,that it was more pens to look at than to write with,and he adviced me to choose something else...someone has ever seen a seller say "no don't buy this it's (bleep)"?? And i know him since a long time and he is a very fair man so...well i don't know but i trust him even if i'll surely get some visconti's some day cause i love how they look...