Visconti Homo Sapiens London Fog Le

[attika89]

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/999018175359fb2c6f0fb295d1bf095a.jpg

 

Visconti came out with the Homo Sapiens back in 2009, when I was starting to get into this hobby. The lava-resin with the bronze accessories was haunting me ever since, but things were not going in that direction what could lead me to get one. With the new editions coming out, the temptation got stronger.
The Crystal Swirls came out in 2014 which was limited to 1000 pieces and it’s still a favorite for many! Lovely deep blue patterns and rhodium trim! Then came the Florentine Hills. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the colors on that pen, it’s still a lovely addition to the line.

This year (2016) I made a decision that I need an Italian pen in my life. I was about to pull the trigger on the bigger Bronze HS, but I’ve been told that a grey-blue LE is on the way! There were some good signs that I might like this new family member in the Homo Sapiens line. Grey and blue are among my favorite colors, it’s a demonstrator, and it has a rhodium trim. Even though I would choose the bronze age over the steel age with the regular HS, I generally prefer the rhodium trim.

 

Then I saw the first photos of the LONDON FOG Limited Edition and I pretty much fell in love. There was no turning back form there. Filippo in the „Fountain Pen Group Buying” group on Facebook could get a pretty sweet deal on it, so I couldn’t be happier! Placed my order on my most expensive pen so far!

 

I did have a few concerns though. With the previous two editions some people received pens with less than satisfying patterns on their pens even though these were meant to have nice busy swirls over the barrel. It’s hard to foresee, so it’s a risk unless the seller is willing to send you photos of the pen.
The other thing was the nib. The dream touch nibs are not always a dream out of the box (based on some reviews and user experiences), and they mostly run wide and wet, so you need to take that into consideration when choosing the nib size.

I won’t save the punchline for the end of this, so all I need to say is that it didn’t disappoint in either of those areas!

 

And after this long prelude, here it is!

537/888

 

 

 

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/619388e8daab978273be8b3e8485e36e.jpg

 

The body is made of a mixture of acrylic and celluloid = 'arcyloid’ . This is how they got the swirls on the body. This material was used on the Florentine Hills as well, just like the sterling silver rings on the cap and barrel. The cap has some transparency, but that’s not the main feature. I love the twist-lock action of the cap! The play of blue-grey-white colors of the material on the cap, end cap and grip section is really interesting and has some chatoyance which is fun to watch in the light!

 

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/4c3b453c553a2f7484bc075cc2d6bad3.jpg

 

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/44ea72cd9b93b9499d22c9d03395f3bc.jpg

 

The London Fog also has Visconti’s power filler with the double reservoir. Some love it, some don’t. Especially cleaning is said to be more time consuming, but I’m yet to see that. Filling the pen is not a big hassle, buti f it’s your first pen with such filling system, it can take a little getting used to. It’s more about how to hold the pen (and depending on the ink, the bottle as well) to fill it though. Aside from the fancy name it’s basically a vacuum filler, but you don’t need to unscrew the endcap after a short while to keep writing, because the smaller reservoir holds a good amount of ink too! It can last a few pages with a fine nib.
The other, more advertised advantage is that you can empty the smaller ink reservoir to avoid ink from leaking during air travel.

 

After Sheaffer years ago, it’s Visconti who rediscovered the Palladium nibs and added the catchy ’Deam Touch’ name to them.
This pen has a 23k Palladium EF nib on it. Actually, a surprisingly true EF with great flow and smoothness to it! I was expecting a F/M line to be honest, but never a better surprise! Finer than the EF on my Pelikan M805, but those run pretty wide too anyway.
What people love about the Dream touch nibs is that they are springy! This nib is really responsive to general writing pressure differences, but I don’t really feel comfortable „flexing” it. It has a really nice softness to it, but I wouldn’t go further than that.
I love the overall writing experience!

 

 

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/de96e054a00a9027d9aa864f1d486680.jpg

 

http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/9dc8e603f835d287f6c48b5e27eeb722.jpg
http://kephost.com/images/2016/07/02/624792ac8b0846171bf28e3b26ef9f20.jpg

 

It is my most expensive pen, also my first Italian pen, and I have to say it really lived up to my expectations! The Bronze age HS is still on my list though! Maybe even got higher!

Edited July 2, 2016 by attika89

[visvamitra]

Great review. Personally I prefer bronze version but this looks really nice as well.

[mehandiratta]

Beautiful pen..

nd amazing review...

[Kenlowe]

Excellent review, thank you. stunning material used on the pen, very inventive.

 

I am so glad that London Fogs are not like this, the last one I saw that was really dense was in 1964, I stretched out my arm and couldnt see my hand.

Edited July 2, 2016 by Kenlowe

[Cyber6]

OMG!!.. Attila !!! Amazing review... is a GORGEOUS PEN... Outside of my budget right now for sure, but one day...

 

Thanks for showing us... :wub:

 

 

 

C.

[mulrich]

I love seeing the close up between the Visconti EF and Pelikan EF.

[888007888]

Really nice pen. Congratulations! Great review as well. You've made me look deeper into purchasing one for myself. I've owned 3 Visconti FPs and have loved them dearly. The HS maxi Bronze Age with a 1.3 nib. Sold that one as it was really too broad for everyday use. Picked up a second of the same model with a broad nib. Couldn't be happier. I also have the Opera Master Clear Demonstrator with a custom nib my Mike Masuyama. It was a BB that was ground into an lovely Oblique. Amazing pen. It's actually so nice that I don't use it as often because I'm afraid of losing it, so it stays at home a lot.

That London Fog you have is quite spectacular. Thanks for sharing!

Edited July 2, 2016 by 888007888

[attika89]

Thank you so much everyone!

 

  On 7/2/2016 at 12:03 PM, visvamitra said:

Great review. Personally I prefer bronze version but this looks really nice as well.

I definitely see why! I've always wanted that one and it was a hard decision to make between the two! Haha! I still want to have a Bronze though! Such a handsome pen!

 

  On 7/2/2016 at 5:10 PM, 888007888 said:

Really nice pen. Congratulations! Great review as well. You've made me look deeper into purchasing one for myself. I've owned 3 Visconti FPs and have loved them dearly. The HS maxi Bronze Age with a 1.3 nib. Sold that one as it was really too broad for everyday use. Picked up a second of the same model with a broad nib. Couldn't be happier. I also have the Opera Master Clear Demonstrator with a custom nib my Mike Masuyama. It was a BB that was ground into an lovely Oblique. Amazing pen. It's actually so nice that I don't use it as often because I'm afraid of losing it, so it stays at home a lot.
That London Fog you have is quite spectacular. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! You have some amazing pens there! I really want to try an Opera Master, but I think it would be a bit too big for me.

Edited July 2, 2016 by attika89

[Tas]

Gorgeous looking pen.

May you enjoy it in good health and spirits !

 

Look at all that lovely ink swilling about inside it.

Ahh. . . to be able to tell how much ink you're carrying is such a benefit.

[Merackon]

Great review, as I have been waiting for a review of this for a while. Just wondering whether there is any sparkling in the pattern on the barrel as well?

[attika89]

  On 7/2/2016 at 10:12 PM, Tas said:

Gorgeous looking pen.

May you enjoy it in good health and spirits !

 

Look at all that lovely ink swilling about inside it.

Ahh. . . to be able to tell how much ink you're carrying is such a benefit.

 

Thank you so much!

Sometimes I just pick it up to see the ink moving in it I did it with my TWSBI too, but this is much more interesting! Haha!

 

 

  On 7/2/2016 at 10:14 PM, Merackon said:

Great review, as I have been waiting for a review of this for a while. Just wondering whether there is any sparkling in the pattern on the barrel as well?

Thank you!

It has that sparkling on the barrel as well! Yes!

If you click on my Instagram link in my signature, you'll find a little video of it. I can't post it here directly, but I might figure out a way later.

[neotobeo]

Attila:

 

Excellent review. Beautiful pictures and elegant handwriting! Thanks.

 

N

[attika89]

  On 7/4/2016 at 7:10 PM, neotobeo said:

Attila:

 

Excellent review. Beautiful pictures and elegant handwriting! Thanks.

 

N

Thank you so much!

[MsRedpen]

Atilla, thank you for the excellent review!

The pen looks fantastic....

For the time being, instead of adding it on a wish list, I will opt to check on your rewiew and pictures from time to time

M

[mulrich]

I got one in the mail today and I'm very happy. The colors are great; particularly the cap. The marketing materials showed a dark cap but most of the real life pictures show a lighter gray. At first I was disappointed but seeing it in person I really like the color.

[caleb]

Wonderful review. That Souten ink looks absolutely gorgeous.

[gerigo]

Excellent review. I really enjoyed the read! Your writing is also very beautiful, very worthy of these wonderful writing instruments.

 

It's also great to see the comparisons between the various fine and extra fines in your possession. Could you let us know what were the other inks you used in the other pens? The green in the Pelikan M800 tortoise is beautiful, albeit really more of a broad than a fine.

Edited July 6, 2016 by gerigo

[sannidh]

Thanks for the awesome review Attila !!

The cap indeed is a notch above the other HS LEs

Congrats on another lovely acquisition

[Nathanb]

Great review, thanks for sharing!

[attika89]

  On 7/5/2016 at 9:05 PM, MsRedpen said:

Atilla, thank you for the excellent review!

The pen looks fantastic....

For the time being, instead of adding it on a wish list, I will opt to check on your rewiew and pictures from time to time

M

Thank you! That's a great way to do it though! I use this method pretty often!

 

  On 7/5/2016 at 11:24 PM, Mulrich said:

I got one in the mail today and I'm very happy. The colors are great; particularly the cap. The marketing materials showed a dark cap but most of the real life pictures show a lighter gray. At first I was disappointed but seeing it in person I really like the color.

So glad to hear! I wasn't sure about how dark/bright it might be, but luckily it really is "just right".

 

  On 7/6/2016 at 2:10 AM, caleb said:

Wonderful review. That Souten ink looks absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you so much! I actually bought the Souten beforehand to match this pen. I love them both!

 

  On 7/6/2016 at 4:17 AM, gerigo said:

Excellent review. I really enjoyed the read! Your writing is also very beautiful, very worthy of these wonderful writing instruments.

 

It's also great to see the comparisons between the various fine and extra fines in your possession. Could you let us know what were the other inks you used in the other pens? The green in the Pelikan M800 tortoise is beautiful, albeit really more of a broad than a fine.

Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!

 

The M800 F is pretty broad yes... but it's a good writer!

 

The pen-ink combinations are:

Visconti HS LF - Sailor Souten

Pelikan M805 Stresemann - Omas Grey

Lamy Safari Dark Lilac - Sailor Shigure

Platinum Preppy - KWZ Honey

Pilot Custom Heritage 912 - J.Herbin Perle Noire

Pelikan M800 Tortoise - Sailor Tokiwa-matsu

Lamy 2000 - J.Herbin Cacao du Bresil

 

  On 7/6/2016 at 5:11 AM, sannidh said:

Thanks for the awesome review Attila !!

The cap indeed is a notch above the other HS LEs

Congrats on another lovely acquisition

Thank you so much!

Your review of the Florentine Hills made me want to do this review. You did a wonderful job there too!

 

  On 7/6/2016 at 6:24 AM, Nathanb said:

Great review, thanks for sharing!

Thank you!