Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age

This exquisite pen was purchased in the first weeks of March 2021. But why am I only writing about it now? Well, because other than the looks it had nothing going for it. It was a terrible writer. I was utterly disappointed. I have been eyeing the pen for some time and at the time of purchase I paid more (extra RM300) as it was a new stock and the international price of gold had increased, further infuriating me. But, I just needed it in my collection. I had goosebumps all over just waiting for it’s arrival. 

When it arrived, the box was rather simple. Different from the overseas packaging I saw being reviewed widely on the internet. The overseas packaging was more rubbery inline with the packaging for my Lamy 2000. Disappointed?, in a way yes but packaging did not really matter as it will just end up in storage and not being used for anything. So I consoled myself by mentally thinking that I might have ended up paying more had the packaging been the ones I saw on the internet. 

This is the packaging the pen came in

The inside of the box housing the pen

The promotional materials that came with the pen. Enclosed is a lint free cloth to keep your pen always sparkling 

This is the packing generally being reviewed on the internet by many users, NOW see what I mean? My expectations were high because of the hype even from the packaging 

Snuggle fit of the pen inside the velvet lining 

Ok. Enough about the packaging. 

The looks, feel and overall ecstatics did not disappoint one bit. I was truly ecstatic and flushed by it. Stunning and a beauty from every angle. Solid built and carved out from the heavens. I was wowed! 

The pen cap utilizes a hook safe lock. The caping system prevents accidental unscrewing of the cap in your pocket, thereby preventing unwanted leaks. The cap is so easy to hook and unhook that it can be done in one hand. I have a video on this but unfortunately it is not compatible with IOS videos to download here   

 

The pen is made from basaltic lava  (from Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy) mixed with resin. Matt dark grey in finish with a ebonite rubbery look. But if far from rubbery. Don’t be deceived by its looks. It is virtually unbreakable and heatproof to over 100 degrees celsius. Rock solid in your hands. 

Slightly hygroscopic. It absorbs moisture in your hands. Using this pen for long hours will not make the grip section slippery. Warm to your touch and surprisingly soft, although it is built like a tank

Solid bronze trims. The clip is bridge shaped inspired by the ancient Ponte Vecchio bridge in Italy 

Picture from the net. Pointe Vecchio bridge, Florence, Italy

Vacuum power filler system made from titanium to resist ink corrosion 

18K gold nib. A beauty and a dream to look at. But that was about it. 

The writing was a major screw up, scratchy and skipped constantly. So much so I was so disheartened. I kept thinking I paid so much for a something that will end up a paperweight. I tried various inks but none was the wiser. The problem persisted. I used pressure to write (which I nave never done so with any of my other pens), yet it still skipped endlessly. 

Writing sample. I was so disheartened, that I chucked the pen somewhere and refused to use it or even see it. I wanted it to be a distant memory

The piss poor writing. 

My writing took a toll for the worst from the frequent skipping

Another thing that I was not happy was that the print Homo sapiens was facing the feeder

So much was not going for me with this pen. A pen was supposed to write on a its own weight effortlessly. 

More than a month went by. 

It was just in storage and I completely forgotten about the pen as I had managed to successfully block it out of my mind. 

Until one day, I followed up with Mr. Lai from PenGallery on another purchase and HE enquired about the Homo Sapiens Bronze Age. I informed him of my predicament and he assured me not to worry and to come by to get it sorted out. 

I did so in mid April. He tinkered with it for less than 2 minutes and it was sorted. He had a special tool to remove the nib and align the face of the nib to the word home sapiens. Another tool was used to separate the nib a litter making a gap to allow better ink flow from the breather hole.        

The problem was solved. It now wrote so smooth with the gentlest touch and I had used this as my daily writer since.

It is now not only beautiful to look at but a delight to use.

I wrote fast on purpose and not even a single skip. It is now a juicy wet writer. I purposely took a Fine nib as reviews from the net, the Medium on Visconti are like Broad on some other pens, due to its wetness. 

Thanks to Mr. Lai or should I say nib master

Visconti was founded in 1998 by Dante Del Vecchio and crafted in a 15th century villa in Florence, Italy.

Picture from internet, Villa II Chiuso 

Porsche Design P3110 Tec Flex Steel Silver Fountain Pen

Happy Chinese New Year 2021. 

It is indeed a much quieter CNY but with family members online it is still merry and special. CNY as any celebration is defined not by the amount of people around you but by the love you are surrounded with.  

I lost my father early 2021. I purchased this pen as a remembrance and tribute to him. I will always see this pen as a reminder of him. 

Always remembered and loved. Never forgotten. 

I saw this pen many years back but it never sparked any interest. I was at awe of its design but it remained unattainable to me, financially. Back then any product carrying the Porsche insignia was only for the elite. 

Slowly over time my mindset changed from just make do to wanting more in life. With my friend leading the path, I realized that there is more to life than just surviving and making ends meet. You need to enjoy and live life to the fullest. No regrets. 

Hence, from the first car my dad allocated us siblings, a 130Y Nissan Sunny, in time I purchased my own “genuine” Honda Civic EG9 1.6 Vtec, as my first car. It was initially Graphite Black which I subsequently changed after many years to Electron Blue. The B16A engine was torque and health with many external mods including a Tanabe G Medallion exhaust system. WKE123, was the number plate.  

The same friend who led me on the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) path, said something to me that I will never forget. Always keep upgrading in life. Don’t remain content and become stagnant. This is the same friend who said why waste money and drive BMW when a Honda Accord performs similarly at a much lesser cost. Indeed over time his mindset had evolved when he drove a friends BMW. He did the same to me, he said sitting in the passengers seat and drivers seat of a BMW is completely different. He basically forced me to drive his car.

He handed me the keys of his E46 325i and said step on it and kept forcing me to accelerate during corners and not hold back. That short 15 minutes drive, changed my perception. Everything about the car oozed quality. From the moment I held the steering, I could feel that it was completely opposite a JDM car. And mind you at that time I had even taken a ride in Tan Sri Azman’s 500hp R33 skyline. 

After driving the BMW, I could not drive my Civic anymore. The STRESS! 

Months before my son was born in 2008, I upgraded to a Volvo S60 T5. I did not follow the path my friend went as I wanted a turbo. Boost was on tap and the car was sturdy. Most noticeable when it rained. There was no longer clunking sound of rain drops hitting the roof when it poured. That was the first comment my wife noticed when she compared it to my civic. 

Overtime, with the blessing of god before my daughter was born, I added a Mercedes C200 to the stable.

I wanted one more car in addition to the Volvo and Mercedes and that materialized when I managed to own my very own Porsche 944 Turbo. Shortly thereafter we celebrated my fathers 80th Birthday in One World Group banquet hall in Glenmarie. 200 of his closest friends attended including Tun Salleh Abbas and Puan Sri Jeffrey Cheah. The event was grazed by 501st Legion Star Wars.

I am happy that I managed to achieve this for my father. I wish I could have done more. 

The Porsche, I took him on a few rides as he kept telling me to slow down. Furthermore, it was more at home in the workshop than with me. It would be with me for a few weeks and than a month in the workshop for numerous repairs and upgrades. The circle kept going like that.

Nothing like opening your front door and seeing that Silver Porsche, compared to the Volvo or Mercs.

But as God warranted, it was not meant to be. 

You can read more on what happened to the car in one of my previous blogs or the following news paper clipping.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/296734/porsche-944-turbo-goes-flames-shah-alam

I am grateful that God had allowed me to celebrate his 80th Birthday and take rides in that car before my dear father left us. His health was already not so good in 2017 due to stroke and I just needed to ensure I did the birthday celebration and purchase the car, as my final effort to bring him happiness knowing he did all right by us and we are nothing without his sacrifice and love.  He had worked tirelessly through his life, for us. 

This is why this pen is so important and I needed to purchase it. It was purchased on 11 February 2021 from Isetan KLCC. 39 days after his death. This Porsche pen will always be relevant and close to my heart.

The pen was enclosed in this soft supple rubbery case. Similar to the Lamy 2000. Nice, slick and clean designed pen. It is I think the heaviest pen that I own for its size. 

Two booklets and a warranty card are provided. I always thought that this pen was made by Faber Castell and not Pelikan. 

Every inch of this pen oozes quality. Reminiscent of my Porsche 944. Although it was an old car, the door still closed with a solid thud. The pen is the same. The metal cap is solid, sturdy and heavy. I feel that I can hurl the cap at someone in self defense without causing it much damage except the occasional scuffs.  

The cap is the screw on screw off type. Just about a twist and half to uncap it. The screwing mechanism is super smooth and precise. Just like the 944 manual gearbox. Agile, precise with a click. I don’t think i have any other pens in my collection that is as robust as this but so smooth to uncap. The barrel of the pen is the same. Smooth as silk to unscrew.

The exterior intersection between the barrel and the cap the Porsche Design engraved. 

The Clip is spring loaded and acts as a roll stopper. The gap between the clip and its cap is so small that it projects the image that it is cumbersome to open and hook on anywhere but to the contrary, it is super easy to open. A light tug will do. 

The weaving of steel barrel is reminiscent of any heavy duty piping on sports cars.

Stainless steel metal weaved hoses on a sports car. See what I mean!

The end of the cap has miniature balls that further acts as additional roll stoppers, should you accidentally leave your uncapped pen unattended.

The nib is as all Pelikans, top notch and super smooth. On the first ink fill. It wrote without any fuse and no skipping whatsoever, even on fast writes. No other pen in my collection can do this. Even my Montblancs had skipped once or twice but not this pen. 

Anything with the Stuttgart emblem must reflect so. That is what I see from this pen.

There are many reviews online expressing their opinion they will not purchase it, given its price point. But for me, it is more than a pen. It is a memory and a significance remembrance. 

https://youtu.be/9qFZcPd1WXk   

Free Pelikan ink was provided with this purchase for Isetan KLCC Valentine’s promotion. I choose the Orange Mandarin. 

The ink is a beautiful reflection of Mandarin Orange and true to the CNY spirit.

2020 and 2021 is NOT a year you GET EVERYTHING you WANT. BUT a YEAR to APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE.

My father, always remembered, never forgotten. God bless all. 

     

Why are Fountain Pens awesome?

The list is by no ways ways exhaustive but here are my top reasons why Fountain Pens are explosive:

1. They are Uber cool

St Dupont Stones Fortune L’Aquart Amethyst

If this is too flamboyant, just look at any Benu fountain pens

2. Colorful

Wood Notch Paula Abalone fountain pen

3. Various sizes to suite your hand size

From pocket size to Emperor size

4. Various nibs to suite your personal sorting style

From Extra Fine to Broad nibs

5. Beautifully design nibs

Steel, Gold, Palladium, Rhodium, Platinum and various other materials

6. Character

You look utterly classy and dignified. Shaken not stirred 

7. Used by various head of states to sign important documents

8. The materials used in making the fountain pen

It may range from wood, brass, copper, stainless steel, celluloid, ebonite, acrylic, makrolon and other materials

Omas Ogiva Arco Celluloid.  

9. Can be used to make art

10. Record your journal 

11. Various finishing

Maki-e urushi 

11. One pen but unlimited ink choices 

12. Nice clip 

13. Improve your handwriting 

14.  Nice storage boxes

15. You don’t misplace fountain pens

Honestly tell me how many kilometrico have you lost? 

16. A conversation starter

Mesmerizing and people will query about the fountain pen your re using.

Visconti Homo Sapien Bronze Age made from resin mixed with lava from the volcano of mount Etna.

17. Inheritance to pass down 

18. Attesting your John Hancock to a document in style

19. Wonderful community

* Note - All pictures taken from the internet. None are mine.

The Pen Habbit

If you are like me and got late into the fountain pen collection or even just started your wonderful journey of using fountain pens, you would had done must research on the internet to expand your knowledge.

For me youtube has been a great teacher. I learnt from Brian Goulet, Stephen Brown and many more. Even in our local community I had receive messages and advise from Mr. Lai from Pen Gallery and many more so freely sharing their knowledge and love for fountain pen.

In my initial stages of learning about this intricate hobby, I learnt a lot from Matt Armstrong through his website and youtube channel. However,I realized that they were old video’s and I could never find newer ones although I subscribed to his channel. 

In time I realized that he had decided to retire from his youtube channel and website and embark on the next chapter in his life, although he would still hold fountain pens dear to him.

In his last youtube video on 2 May 2018, he had eloquently described those involved in the hobby as a close knit community, very caring, loving and so willing to share their knowledge. He also shares the equipment and cameras used to make his quality videos. I find the same to be true here in our small close knit community of fountain pen, EDC and Toys collectors in Malaysia. I find them so talented, creative, artful and sincere. 

I guess whatever your hobby is, follow it with passion and perseverance, it would lead you to a wonderful community and open your world to new ideas and friendship.

Here’s to you Matt and all fountain pen users. God bless.

Artwork done by master penman Michael Sull

Here’s the link to his last video

https://youtu.be/QA5Wd8uOrZs