Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age
– Handwritten Review –
Specs:
- Description: A full size pen, crafted from lava rock and bronze
- Nib: Medium, 23kt Palladium Dreamtouch Nib
- Filling Mechanism: Powerfiller (vacuum plunger)
Handwritten Review Scans:
Intro/About:
Ever since I saw the Visconti Homo Sapiens, I knew I needed to add one to my collection. It was during the beginning of my fountain pen journey and a $650 pen seemed insane…fast forward a few years later and it didn’t seem TOO hard to swallow. I got a great deal on the pen at the DC Pen Show and I absolutely love it.It’s perfectly weighted and balanced and the lava rock exterior is awesome to hold. The 23kt palladium Dreamtouch nib is definitely living up to its name. Enjoy the review!
Appearance & Packaging:
The H.S. is an amazing looking pen. The lava finish is as stunning as it is unique. Bronze accents beautifully contrast the dark grey-black body of the pen. The nib is nicely sized for the proportions of the pen. I really love the imprint on the nib. It’s impossible for me to find anything about the pen’s appearance that I don’t like.
The packaging is as expected for a $650 pen. It comes in a black leatherette box with a cream interior. I’ll be putting the pen to good use, so the box will be filed away. It’s a great looking pen that is presented nicely. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here…
Nib Performance & Filling System:
The 23kt palladium “Dreamtouch” nib is SO close to being perfect. It’s buttery smooth, super inky and has the slightest bit of spring to it. However, I have noticed that it sometimes has a hard start on a downstroke. This can be quite annoying, especially with my small caps writing style that has a lot of straight up and down lines. When writing in cursive, the pen doesn’t have the problem, I’m guessing because of all of the loops and curves.
Maybe the nib needs some breaking in, and I will be trying other inks in it as well. The nib lays down a very wet line with zero pressure needed. The filling system is essentially an over-marketed (POWERFILLER!) vacuum plunger system that can be seen in the TWSBI Vac 700 and Pilot Custom 823. It easily pulls in a lot of ink, which is needed to keep up with the wet flow. The pen was easily flushed out. The filling system is a nice departure from the piston fillers that are commonly seen in this price range.
Feel:
I absolutely love the size, weight, and diameter of the Homo Sapiens. It’s substantial, but not overly heavy. Posting the cap is not recommended, as it throws the balance way off and adds a considerable amount of length to the pen.
The lava finish is what initially drew me towards the pen. It feels great. Not too much more I can say about it. It has the perfect amount of texture to it and it feels unlike anything else currently in my pen collection. The size is perfect for me as well.
Pros:
- Lava is so cool.
- Great looks
- Buttery smooth nib
Cons:
- Skipping on downstrokes
Conclusion:
The Homo Sapiens Bronze Age Maxi is my first Visconti and I love it. Awesome looks and unique materials, paired with the smooth nib and great balance make it a near-perfect pen for me. I’m going to have the nib checked over at my next pen show, but it wouldn’t stop me from recommending the pen. Thanks for reading!
Gallery:
edjelley.com - Fountain Pen, Ink, and Stationery Reviews 
I have it in Fine and it is *very* fine but a lovely wet writer. It is almost always in rotation. Love this pen.
Careful about cleaning it if you dip into the ink when filling: the lava material attracts water and ink is mostly water. But it feels so good in the hand.
Great review (as always), I have the same problem as you describe with the inflow on the first downstroke. As long as you keep writing if performs flawlessly but as soon as you stop for 15 sec, you have a skip or have to start with a bit of pressure. I’ve found that the nib has a little but of a baby bottom, not really bad, but enough to frustrate you 🙂 I’ve polished the nib with some mesh and reduced it a lot, have to repeat it to totally get rid of it. Keep up the good reviews!
Although at the less expensive end of the Visconti range I have a plain black Van Gogh. This is a lovely writer but whilst the ‘engine’ is good the ‘body work’ is not up to scratch. The barrel of the pen has effectively ‘disintegrated’ and the fact that it has fallen apart means the pen is unusable. Pleas to Visconti UK have fallen on deaf ears and I can only caution your readers about spending substantial sums on pens that fall apart after a few years.