New Diplomat Viper.

[Mechanical]

After reading @senzen‘s post, I checked the Goulet Pens website and they have the pen’s weight and dimensions.  They describe the steel nib as “Fine/Medium”…. which I would probably quite like.

[Driften]

I like the looks but I find my diplomat Aero section too slippery... 

[langere]

Based on this thread, I just ordered a blue Viper from Pen Chalet.  I should get it in a few days - they're fast with shipping.

 

I really like Diplomats since I first acquired an Excellence A2 in 2012, at the Washington DC Supershow.  Their nibs are fantastic.

 

Erick

[jchch1950]

The blue Viper looks intriguing, the only problem is the narrow M-F nib.

[Mercian]

7 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

The blue Viper looks intriguing, the only problem is the narrow M-F nib.

 

Well, Diplomat told me that the pen cannot accept the long versions of 'International' cartridges, and so I presume that its bespoke converter is also 'compact and bijou'.

 

As such, having a fairly narrow nib, which only dispenses one's ink prudently, strikes me as being describable as 'not a bug, but a feature' 😉

[Mercian]

I've now seen a couple of reviews of the pen, and a couple of 'unboxing' videos.

The converter that is included with the pen is slightly shorter than a 'normal' 'standard international' converter - e.g. the other ones made by Diplomat, or the Schmidt K5, or the ones made by Pelikan - but one video I saw showed the owner just about managing to cram a standard Diplomat converter to fit in to the Viper.

 

Here's a link to SBRE Brown's video review of this pen on YouTube → click me! ←

He raises the possible issue (common to the new Parker 51†) that, if one refills it using the converter and bottled ink, one might find that some ink gets stuck between the nib and the hood.
This might either flick out at an inconvenient moment, or gradually build-up in to an unpleasant sticky deposit (which was a complaint that I have seen levied against the old Parker 100 c/c pen).

 

I have to say that I am impressed - and gladdened - by the fact that Diplomat included an ink-agitation spring in the special converter that comes with the Viper.

I do wish that other manufacturers would take note, and do the same with their converters!

 

To get an idea of how wide its nib is this → other YT review ← shows a writing sample with Iroshizuku Kon Peki on an A6 Tomoe River dot grid pad (so, 5mm dot separation) at timestamp 4:14.

One of the videos that I saw showed that the cap has a plastic liner, and that it appears to seal well - although I would like to see a follow-up video to confirm that (the guy who made the video said that he would do another review after using the pen for a while, and specifically address that question).

 

The only question that I still personally have about the Viper is about the longevity of its magnetic cap closure system. Nobody will be able to answer that for a few years.

 

Price-wise, the only UK retailer that I have found selling it so far is Cult Pens.
They want £100 for it.
So, more-expensive than its price in the US or EU, but less-expensive for us Brits than importing it from either.

I did once see someone describe the Lamy 2000 by saying that it looked like the Germans had looked at the Parker "51"† and said 'Nice concept. But this is how you would do it properly'.
I don't know how much I agree with that statement, but I definitely think that the Germans at Diplomat saw the new, c/c Parker 51†, and said 'Nice concept. But this is how you would do it properly', and thus came up with the Viper.

 

Slàinte,
M.

 

† note that the modern pen's name does not include the " and " that are part of the vintage pen's trademarked name.

[senzen]

It's not like I need another pen, my one concern from the Brown review would be whether the section is slippery.

[HowardC]

The section is not slippery. The pen is average weight for its form factor, but is really well balanced and therefore feels lighter than it is. That’s a bit of a problem for me personally because my eye-hand coordination is no longer the perfectly fine thing that it used to be (which basically means I don’t necessarily need a heavier pen but rather one with a forward-weighted balance point). The nib is excellent, IMO, with just enough feedback to aid letterforming control. But, the forward part of the tapering section is just a bit smaller than the ideal diameter for my classical grip. 

 

As usual with anodized metal pens, I hold it for a half minute in order to transfer some heat from fingertips into the section. Thereafter, the feel of the section is great with no sense of any slippage. But… the narrowest part of the section turns out to be just a bit smaller than ideal. Average size hands here, with average length fingers - like, the statistical average for men in Canada and the U.S. 

 

Diplomat has been doing magnetic caps backed up by literally perfectly fitted cap seals for a long time. I’ve got an Aero that has been inadvertently exposed to a variety of magnetic fields (e.g., a bulk recording tape eraser while it was operating) with not even the slightest change of function (i.e., sealing, strength, alignment), and that I’ve been using weekly since the second day that the Aero hit Canada some years ago at my dealer in Toronto. The Viper cap works well and seals well. In action, it feels to me exactlylike a snap cap. The cap closure is very secure, so clip carry in a pocket, bag or pack has worked well for me. 

 

Between that and the factory nib tuning, there haven’t been any hard starts. The ink flow from the factory tuning can be exceeded during scribbling and very fast writing, but for normal writing - including extended writing sessions - there are no problems.

 

I like the Viper. I think that if someone with average size or smaller than average size hands is in the market for a very contemporary looking daily writer or casual note taker, the Viper should at least make the tryout list. 

[haikulover]

On 11/5/2024 at 5:47 PM, Mercian said:

 

I have to say that I am impressed - and gladdened - by the fact that Diplomat included an ink-agitation spring in the special converter that comes with the Viper.

I do wish that other manufacturers would take note, and do the same with their converters!

 

† note that the modern pen's name does not include the " and " that are part of the vintage pen's trademarked name.

Unfortunately, the agitation spring is magnetic. This makes it useless as the closure magnet prevents the agitator from moving.

Edited January 7, 2025 by haikulover
typo

[senzen]

Very useful impressions @HowardC.

[donnweinberg]

I paid $80 at the BWI Pen Show in March for a black Diplomat Viper FP.  I’m quite pleased with it.  I like its looks.  I like its feel.  Its included converter works fine.  The pen wrote immediately and is on the “wet” side and smooth.  Although the nib is in the fine-to-medium range (one size only), I’d say that it produces a nice medium line.  The magnetic-close cap gives a nice snap when placed on the pen.  So far, so good for me.

[jchch1950]

11 hours ago, donnweinberg said:

...  Although the nib is in the fine-to-medium range (one size only), I’d say that it produces a nice medium line.  The magnetic-close cap gives a nice snap when placed on the pen.  So far, so good for me.

A good reason to try one in a store.

[jchch1950]

The Viper is now also available in green, a nice colour that reminds me of a green Mamba serpent.

[VillersCotterets]

Nothing like pictures to convey the actual hue.
 

[donnweinberg]

I’ve got it in black, and I like this green one a lot, along with the blue.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A very sharp looking pen.

[donnweinberg]

It writes nicely also.

[davisgt]

This is what I wrote about this pen 9 months ago. Glad to see someone took my advice.  I should get a free pen as a bonus. 😁😁

On 10/4/2024 at 6:49 PM, davisgt said:

I just saw an advertisement for this pen today. Quite a sexy pen. I was disappointed that the only colors were black and blue.  You name the pen viper and you don't have one in green?? Marketing needs to be chastised.  

 

[Armo]

Finish apart, the silhouette reminds me very much of the lastest incarnation of the Aurora Duo Cart. Decent price too.

[Penguincollector]

 I didn’t know there was a green one now! This is definitely a line that I can see myself eventually getting all the colors.