Visconti Homo Sapiens with 23k Palladium Fine nib, a short review

[Ravi Gautam]

 

I could not decide which pen to buy as my first pen after getting a job. I wanted something special and unique. After searching for more than a year I bought this pen, a Visconti Homo Sapiens with 23k Palladium Fine nib. 

 

Packaging (2/2)

The pen came in a rectangular box along with a cleaning cloth. The box had a Visconti logo on the inside of cover. 

 

Appearance and Design (3/4)

The pen was gorgeous, it was made from a mix of basaltic lava and resin. It had a unique locking mechanism instead of threads and a spring loaded clip made of brass. The pen had a vacuum filler similar to Pilot 823.  

 

Over the years, the pen developed a beautiful patina on the clip and rings. 

 

Weight and Balance (0/4)

The lava-resin mix made the pen heavy at nearly 44gms. The pen had a poor balance, it was way more heavier on the piston side. Due to poor balance it was constant struggle to keep the nib in place. Due to its weight it was not possible to write more than two A4 size pages without having a wrist fatigue. The pen was more suitable for occasional note taking rather than a long duration writer. 

 

Nib (2/10)

The nib was a 23k Palladium Fine with the most beautiful scrollwork I have ever seen. Unfortunately, that was the only positive thing about the nib. I learned later and with my own experience that Visconti nibs are not known for quality control. The nib skipped frequently and even after changing inks and flushing it several there was no change in the performance. 

 

Overall Rating - 07/20 

 

After experimenting with the pen several times I came to the conclusion that it is not a good writer. Not even an average one actually. It's more of a collector's pen than a writer's pen. It is heavy, has poor balance and is equipped with a nib which is practically unusable. After keeping - not much using - it for more than six years, I sold it. I have decided not to buy another Visconti pen and to be cautious with other Italian brands.

 

 

 

[Mr. Pink]

I had been toying with the idea of buying one for a long time.  A couple of months ago it came down to the Visconti or a Delta.  After reading your review and a few others, I'm glad I chose the Delta, which is a joy to write with.  The Visconti - what a beautiful pen!  But pens are to write with, not to look at.   (OK, yeah, what a pen looks like IS important to me)

[Doug C]

The palladium nibs were not the best.  The new in house gold nibs, at least for the two I have are wonderful. 

The weight issue is another thing. I have a Carbon Dream that is back weighted due to the massive blind cap and I have the same issue.

[SpencerianDream]

I had the pleasure of trying a “good” example of the palladium nib a few weeks ago. To be honest it was a struggle, the pen was available to me for sale for a very good price and the nib wrote very well. Technically unobjectionable, we might say. And this one has a reputation that is larger than life. 
 

I felt a great pressure to buy the pen for this once in a lifetime opportunity and enjoy getting accustomed to the legendary nib. 
 

But really I have to say, I didn’t like it. The pen was not incredibly attractive. Balance was weird. The bayonet closure was ok but no better than other pens and I didn’t love the look and feel of the “threads.” And the nib didn’t feel any better than a dozen nice gold nibs I have. Very wet, overly broad, and nothing special. 
 

I put my wallet away and didn’t look back. 

[Ravi Gautam]

  On 1/21/2025 at 1:34 PM, Mr. Pink said:

I had been toying with the idea of buying one for a long time.  A couple of months ago it came down to the Visconti or a Delta.  After reading your review and a few others, I'm glad I chose the Delta, which is a joy to write with.  The Visconti - what a beautiful pen!  But pens are to write with, not to look at.   (OK, yeah, what a pen looks like IS important to me)

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But pens are to write with, not to look at.

 

Exactly my thoughts; I should have put them into my review. I don't have any experience with Delta but suggest anyone against buying a Visconti. I know a few more people who had bad experience with that brand.

[InesF]

  On 1/21/2025 at 6:25 AM, Ravi Gautam said:

The nib was a 23k Palladium Fine with the most beautiful scrollwork I have ever seen. Unfortunately, that was the only positive thing about the nib.

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Thank you for your short review! 👍 This sentence tells it all.

The photo of the pen in the box looks like a sculpture prepared for an exhibition. I like this random pattern of the pen body. And, quite similar to your experience, mine sums up to: those "high-end" Visconti pens are probably not made for writing.

 

[nm4]

I bought a HS Pd stub nib 5 years ago.  First one I got didn’t write…the seller (Italpens) was wonderful and sent me a replacement. It had some baby bottom but wrote quite well.  Loved it.  Then the plating came off…I sent for repair to Visconti and it was lost forever. Visconti, USPS, and Italian customs worked together to make sure I’d never see one of my favorite pens again..and receive nothing in compensation.  
 

Personally I loved the looks, weight, feel, and cap closure.  The filling system wasn’t that great though… 
 

N

[mulrich]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Visconti has obviously had problems. Not trying to diminish your experience, but just wanted to offer a counter example. I have a handful of Visconti's and they're generally terrific pens. A couple had issues when I got them but they were second hand purchases so it's hard to say where the problems originated. 

[akellens]

I bought my HS in 2012 (they were still relatively affordable back then, think I paid around 350 euro for it new).

The palladium nib had baby's bottom, and required a lot of pressure in order to write properly.

For a pen of any price point, that is not ok, and Visconti's QC those days was notoriously bad.

 

I sent the pen to a nib meister who was able to resolve the problem and turned the medium nib into a stub.

It is a wonderful writer now, with a nib that is fitting for such a stunning pen.

The overall experience has made me cautious of Visconti as a pen brand in general, so I understand your disappointment.

[Ravi Gautam]

  On 1/24/2025 at 5:47 AM, nm4 said:

Visconti, USPS, and Italian customs worked together to make sure I’d never see one of my favorite pens again..and receive nothing in compensation.

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I ordered a fountain pen from Ensso pens, shipped via USPS on 01 Jan 2020. 

Yet to receive the pen. 🙁

[jchch1950]

  On 1/26/2025 at 10:25 AM, Ravi Gautam said:

I ordered a fountain pen from Ensso pens, shipped via USPS on 01 Jan 2020. 

Yet to receive the pen. 🙁

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Five years is a slooow delivery if it comes. The doubt with the Visconti pens, after reading the opinions here, is whether the possibility of a pen needing extra work by a pen doctor is worth the design they offer.

[abstract49]

I am sad to see so many of you have had less than good experiences with the Homo Sapiens series!

 

I bought an HS early on, platinum nib, and I have loved it ever since.  At the Dallas PenShow over the years, I have come so very close to buying another variation, but for one reason or another, I have resisted (probably prices!).

 

That said, I’ll admit that Visconti has had QC issues over the years.  I have a Van Gogh that has never bee remotely satisfactory,  Now I have an Opera that I bought from a pen pal/friend, which I am anxious to try, but have not yet (soon!).

 

Well, best of luck to all of you and, if you should try another Viconti, I hope it was completed and factory tested on a good day! 

[kestrel]

The way to get a Visconti that is good out of the box is to buy it from a seller who will test and, if necessary, replace or adjust the nib before shipping it to you.  Anything else is a crapshoot.

 

My 5 pre-2000 Viscontis (4 Kaleido Voyagers and one Copernicus) all had wonderful nibs from day one.  My lone 21st century Visconti came with the worst nib I have ever seen on a brand new pen in a factory-sealed box.  Dan at Coles of London made it right, no muss, no fuss, and seven days door to door. 

[The_Beginner]

i recommend a vintage bexley nib if u want to find a reasonable replacement while you wait for repairs, it's what i eventually found after testing a few other combos that worked best.

[Ambien]

  On 1/22/2025 at 7:46 AM, InesF said:

Thank you for your short review! 👍 This sentence tells it all.

The photo of the pen in the box looks like a sculpture prepared for an exhibition. I like this random pattern of the pen body. And, quite similar to your experience, mine sums up to: those "high-end" Visconti pens are probably not made for writing.

 

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Probably, sometimes I like to look at pen reviews and photos in threads but I always feel sad when FP arrives, and the nib needs to be adjusted. 

 

I had a Visconti HS Bronze it was fine, and the unique material was neat. 

[chromantic]

"I have decided not to buy another Visconti pen and to be cautious with other Italian brands."

 

My Optimas are not only beautifully made and feel good in the hand, the new ones have all been wonderful writers out of the box (I do have a three I haven't inked yet). They are all a pleasure to write with. My loveliest one is used, it has baby's bottom and I have another used that leaked ink into the cap. Altogether an overall positive experience with the brand.

[sannidh]

  On 1/21/2025 at 6:25 AM, Ravi Gautam said:

Weight and Balance (0/4)

The lava-resin mix made the pen heavy at nearly 44gms. The pen had a poor balance, it was way more heavier on the piston side. Due to poor balance it was constant struggle to keep the nib in place. Due to its weight it was not possible to write more than two A4 size pages without having a wrist fatigue. The pen was more suitable for occasional note taking rather than a long duration writer. 

 

Nib (2/10)

The nib was a 23k Palladium Fine with the most beautiful scrollwork I have ever seen. Unfortunately, that was the only positive thing about the nib. I learned later and with my own experience that Visconti nibs are not known for quality control. The nib skipped frequently and even after changing inks and flushing it several there was no change in the performance. 

 

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It's indeed sad to see you struggling with the Visconti Pd nib - I have been in the same boat.

I truly love both the Homo Sapiens I have.

They are exceptionally well-made, and I still use them after 9 years. Both (Actually even an Opera Master had their latest in-house 18k nib replaced by Visconti 🫠) pens had their nib issues - the lava version had a scratchy EF nib (long & short tine issue, I later swapped with an F nib) and the florentine hills one had a slight misalignment between the tines which I was able to fix.

A few suggestions:

• Visconti customer service is actually pretty good. You can contact them through their web form and they shall direct you to a country distributor. For India, Abhishek from Penspecials is one of the nicest people. You might need to provide the original purchase invoice for the pen.
• Nib Tuning. I have had outstanding experience with the nib tuning done by Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio. She may have a 3-4 month waiting time, but you can send the pens to her with someone travelling to US. I would rather pay $30 for nib tuning and enjoy the beautiful nib. 

 

The aspect which I don't quite agree is the balance of the Homo Sapiens pens (Not Opera Master🤯) - they weigh about the same as a Pelikan M1000, with the cap removed. I find the pens nicely balanced though of course, this is subjective and depends on personal preference. May be it's a matter of time and use when the nib is ready.

 

PS. You can apply some Nivea cream on the lava surface to make it spotless again

 

 

[Inked]

Hi there 

 

I have a few Italian pens and they are fantastic.

Aurora, Orion, Stipula and Visconti.

They are absolutely fantastic! Excellent nibs, great balance and great design.

 

I have had bad experiences with Montblanc, Pelikan, Cross, Waterman, Lamy...etc, but I would never throw the baby out with the bath water because of one bad experience or mismatched user/pen.

 

Sorry you had a bad go with your Visconti, but believe me, they do have one or two good pens....and so do all the others.

 

You just have to find pens with your name on them.

 

Inked

 

[Doug C]

  On 2/3/2025 at 5:40 PM, Inked said:

Hi there 

 

I have a few Italian pens and they are fantastic.

Aurora, Orion, Stipula and Visconti.

They are absolutely fantastic! Excellent nibs, great balance and great design.

 

I have had bad experiences with Montblanc, Pelikan, Cross, Waterman, Lamy...etc, but I would never throw the baby out with the bath water because of one bad experience or mismatched user/pen.

 

Sorry you had a bad go with your Visconti, but believe me, they do have one or two good pens....and so do all the others.

 

You just have to find pens with your name on them.

 

Inked

 

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Plus 1

[nm4]

I think the problem is that the percentage of bad Visconti nibs is alarmingly high.  I had hoped in house nib production would help them get the quality under control…but my experience with 5 of their nibs recently suggests it is even worse.  One bad nib I could forgive…5 is an atrocity.  (Both gold and steel varieties..not one put ink to the page) 
 

Here’s to hoping they resolve their issues.  I may never buy another but I have hope for folks like you.  They are beauties to behold…but pretty is as pretty does.
 

N