Visconti Rembrandt, Waterman Perspective, Or Faber Castell Ondoro?

[pomilkatoch]

I am a new entrant in the fountain pen world and my knowledge is limited to what I have read online. I am thinking of buying a pen and the things that matter to me are: Writing quality (of course), solid build, and appearance. I have narrowed down to the following pens but am not able to decide because, besides the good comments, I have also heard some serious negative reviews about them - I am not sure how prevalent these issues are. Could someone please help me decide?

 

1. Visconti Rembrandt: I like the looks of it the most but I have read at some places (amazon) that there are issues with its ink flow and build quality.

2. Waterman Perspective: I almost equally like this one too but again have heard bad reviews on its build quality (lacquer coming out) and ink flow.

3. Faber Castell Ondoro: The looks are a little bland for my taste but if it turns out to be superior in quality than the above two then I may go for this one.

 

If you think some other pen (in similar budget range) is far more superior to the above three then please feel free to comment.

 

Please advise. Thanks.

 

[Tanzanite]

I only have one of these pens, the Visconti Rembrandt. It is a really good looking pen. I have only had it for about three months and when I bought it the ink flow was bad, but with wet ink it became good after a while and now it starts directly at contact with paper and do not skip any more. I have even tried less wet ink and it works fine. I had to do some work on the nib to get it working properly.

I have read both good and bad reviews of the pen.

[dneal]

The best quality (for a writer and durability / solid build) will be the Ondoro. It's an odd shape that may not suite all people, and I would try one first if I were you. FC's steel nibs are bulletproof, but write like nails with absolutely no give / flex (not that it's necessarily a bad thing). It takes international cartridges or converters.

 

There are a lot of other choices at that price point. Lamy 2000, Pelikan 200, Edison, Bexley, Gate City, Newton, Pilot, etc...

[stephanos]

I don't have any of these specific models, but do have at least two other models from each manufacturer. All else being equal, I'd go for the Visconti or the Faber-Castell, depending on specific finish and price.

 

But really, try before you buy, if you possible can. Your location flag says that you're in the UK - there's likely a decent bricks-and-mortar shop somewhere within your grasp, or perhaps even a pen show. It's really worth taking your time over it (builds the anticipation, if nothing else).

 

As dneal says, there are plenty of other options at that price point, too: going to a B&M shop would allow you to try lots out (though, beware! take just the cash you need to cover the one purchase and leave your cards at home). Failing that, check out some YouTube reviews (SBREBrown is usually both informative and entertaining, and I'm pretty sure he has reviewed at least the Visconti and Faber-Castell)

[Beckwith]

I'd go with the Faber-Castell based solely on writing quality, though I agree that it's a kind of odd looking pen. I agree with dneal that FC steel nibs are hard, but in my experience with them (Ondoro and Ambition) they are also very smooth. I don't own any Viscontis with steel nibs, but in trying them out I've found some to be smooth and some to be rough. In this price range, with steel nibs, I think FC is always a safe bet. But seriously, do try the pens out before you purchase them. And if the store you're at has multiple pens of the same kind, see if you can try several. Each nib, even from the same manufacturer of the same size on the same pen, will be at least a teeny bit different.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Beckwith

[shumanfu]

I have a smoked oak ondoro and it is a great writer and cool...