First impressions: Skeletor is here!

My very first Visconti has arrived today! 

Unfortunately my decent camera is at work, whereas due to a current dermatological autoimmune disaster I am not, so for now poorly-lit iPotato shots must suffice. I've never actually done a proper pen review before, so please dismiss all expectations of scientific process & structured evaluation; this post is largely formed of first impressions and a bunch of dodgy photos.

Box & papers: Original. Model no.: 290. Serial no.: 40/888. Fashion model: Fluffy.

The pen came in its original box and leatherette case, crocodile-embossed and lined in velvet. It was still even in the plastic sleeve! A top layer inside the box pinched the pen in place, and beneath that was the original card and information sheet on the Skeleton range.

Important tips are important.

The pen itself is wonderful to hold. The matte titanium filigree is smooth to hold, despite the edges; every one of those cutouts are perfect, and when screwed back on, the cap meets seamlessly with the rest of the filigree pattern. The lid takes no more than a full turn to seal. The filigree sits over a clear resin body that is a touch cloudy to my eye, not so clear as that on my clear 823 (when new, at least!), but then I've seen many other resin demonstrators with the same look.

It has a really nice weight - I am used to the Pilot 823, Conid Regular Bulkfiller, Vanishing Point, larger pens for a lass I suppose - and this felt just perfect to me. Chatterley Luxuries have one for sale here and post that the empty pen weighs 44g, making it the heaviest pen I've owned or even tried, but it has a great balance and does not feel unusually weighty to me. By contrast the Pilot 823 and Conid Regular Bulkfiller pens weigh 29g and 27g empty respectively, and they are similarly sized.

I tried gently posting the cap but it doesn't seem like it really wants to sit there, and since I rarely post lids I don't want it to, either. I keep all of my pens in their own leather cases, and so the lids stay in there whilst the pen is in use.

Perfect propping, prop.

Playing with it in the car on the way home, I tried the plunger and found it very stiff. I guess it's just sat in there for all that time not being used, so just gently worked the plunger a few times and it had loosened up a wee bit by the time we got home.

Despite its stiffness and disuse the first fill went very well! I had to pause midway to add an extra thumb's worth of pressure to get it right down - the vacuum generated behind the piston was very strong and it was still stiff in general I suppose - but once the stroke completed it immediately inhaled a gigantic chunk of ink that filled the main chamber to 2/3 full. Turning the pen over the anterior chamber drained back about an extra centimetre downwards to completely fill the main chamber.

Visconti's differential piston system seemed to perform better that that of my Pilot 823s as the single stroke filled the entire main barrel; Skeletor's anterior chamber seems gigantic too, given the surprising amount of extra ink that drained downwards into the main barrel. By contrast I would need to work the plunger twice to get a complete fill of the 823 as it will only half-fill the main barrel with one stroke. I did add a wee second fill on the Visconti today just to be sure I filled both chambers, mostly for visual purposes and partly for playing, but this is not necessary for normal use and of course means one could not drain the anterior chamber for flying.

The closest I have to a rich blood red in enough volume to fill a vacuum filler - it looks amazing in the barrel!

Well what a beauty to write with! The nib is smooth as silk and glides like butter. Buttery, inky silk. Unsurprised about the touch of baby's bum, frankly I'd expected it, but it's really not too bad and only skipped on the first letter three or four times. It's not like the start of every single sentence. The nib really doesn't flex much at all; pressing harder barely spreads the tines, and whilst the line is wider it's mostly just wetter. This is fine by me, it's big enough as it is and feels like it would be beautifully predictable and reliable for everyday writing.

The flow is very consistent, and upon lifting the nib I don't see pooling in the last letter as I do with the Conid titanium. It does seem wet to me but then the medium is far wider than my usual extra-fines, so given its consistency across all words I assume that this is probably smack-bang perfect! I always use extra-fine nibs, most commonly Japanese at that, so this rich nib is a very alien experience to me.. despite it being too wide for work I'm simply going to use this pen as much as possible anyway to gain more experience with different nibs, change up my handwriting a bit (i.e. write larger, haha!), and have some fun actually spotting sheen on the page for a change.

Today's ink was Yama-budo, which I don't think should stain (non-permanent and was fine in my clear 823 anyway), and I have Noodler's General of the Armies en-route for this pen on a friend's recommendation - that lurid colour will just look like toxic sludge peeping through the barrel.

Nib is not actually a Dreamtouch. (Just dreamy). Wups. 

Very first Visconti verdict: Amazeballs. I am really looking forward to playing around with this pen, giving it some love and some use, and coming to grips with that fatass babybutt; the finish and quality is just brilliant and the stealth filigree (how is that even a thing?!) styling of the Skeleton Titanium suits me perfectly. The only slight - slight - disappointment I have is that it is in fact serial number 40, not 42 - i.e. the answer to the universe and everything - as noted in the sale post. I'll live, but it is a funny coincidence that I am sat here watching Monty Python's Meaning of Life on the telly as I type this post!

Pilot Elabo Resin; Pilot VP; Conid Regular Bulkfiller; Visconti Ti Skeleton; Lamy Studio; Pilot 823; Pilot 912; Kaweco Raw Al-Sport

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Best laid plans: the predicted pens of 2016

On New Years Eve 2015 I made the following prediction of my pens for 2016. It was based upon an already well-established and extensively-researched wishlist, with the idea that it should keep me on the spending straight & narrow and enable planned purchases & saving strategies. The Pilot VP Minamo was already lined up with a good price at a certain retailer of reputed notoriety, and the Franklin-Christoph waitlisted since September last year, so I really felt quite certain of what I did and did not (rash purchases doomed for resale) want in my collection.

So, listed in anticipated order (and decreasing likelihood!) of acquisition, these pens were:

1. Pilot Vanishing Point Raden Minamo.
2. Franklin-Christoph Marietta 20 in Antique Glass.
3. Pilot Custom 823s in Smoke & Clear, with FA & F nibs.
4. Visconti Homo Sapiens Maxi in Bronze.
5. Visconti Homo Sapiens Florentine Hills. 

By mere days later, this list was already hopelessly off-point. 

I have been buying & selling online in fashion goods for over a decade now, and every time holiday season rolls around I always mean to make good use of the buyer's market that always arises when sellers are desperate for cash, but everyone is spending theirs on alms for the visiting in-laws and enough alcohol to endure said visits. Buyers are watching their accounts, not auctions, and whilst the world carefully limps through from Christmas Day to payday thousands of auctions close at ridiculous lows.

Historically I too have been claimed by this exact fate, wistfully watching the epic deals pass me by whilst eating leftover twiglets and vowing that Next Year Will Be Different. This year, however.. it actually was! This year I was ready, crouched and poised to strike snipe, such that when I espied a rare and beautiful NOS Visconti Titanium Skeleton lingering forlornly on a post-Christmas classified I snagged it for a song, and thusly entered 2016 with my very first Visconti. Well okay, there was a wee fire sale of my beloved 823 FA to assist my pre-prepared fiscal preparedness, but dangit I'm still claiming that as a seasonal shopping win!

Artist's impression; mine hath not yet arrived.

So that was a lovely surprise, thought I, but the rest of my predictions will hold firm.. but then.. then a beautiful birdie swooped in and carried me away.

I've been curious about Pelikans for a long time and they obviously have a great reputation, but the plain black or striated red / green / blue colourways did little for me (even the x05 silver versions), and so I'd really not at all been tempted. My collection purchases & lustings to date have been based upon the key themes of stealthy black, demonstrator, and raw metals of aluminium, brass, titanium, annealed steel; bling is not my thing, and despite my adoration for the Pilot 823 my unease with the gold trim was what sent me seeking an alternative that lead to the Great Conid Rush of 2015.

Just a few days post V-Day (Visconti Victory Day) however I discovered the newly-released Pelikan M805 Stresemann - silvertone hardware and stealth styling, with anthracite iridescence streaking down the sides and morphing from sombre greyscale to shimmering silver with changing light. Between these ribbons one might peek a glimpse of the ink colour and volume - a stealthy, sleek, titanium-toned demonstrator-ish birdie, just perfect for me!

Now normally the next step in pen lusting is to realise the cost and shy away in terror, but a rather rare occurrence, well, occurred: the pen was far, far cheaper to purchase within Australia than to import from the US or Europe! This to me is staggering, as I have never experienced this in buying luxury imported goods, not even when our dollar was on parity with the Greenback. Not just cheaper by conversion, but even in that the whole number of Australian dollars required was far lower than that asked of US buyers. Unbelievable. Obviously, I bought it (cue another fire sale of a beautiful leather briefcase I've had laying around), and with a lot of help from a wonderful friend within trudging distance of the store in question I even managed to secure one with an EF nib! 

Whoops.

So there we go. Hello 2016, and goodbye any naive aspirations of ever predicting my fountain pen future again. I shall thusly convert my Predicted Purchase List to a General Wishlist, continue watching the market and sale threads like usual, and simply snag what may come my way. Just like usual. 

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From cardboard to condo

I have not long since begun dipping my proverbial nib into the world of fountain pens, and as such my small collection of inky ephemera has remained easily contained.

A pretty Wedgewood box that once housed a pretty Wedgewood teaset has provided sturdy and convenient accommodation for my ink bottles, samples, dip pens, and tools for several months now without complaint. The lid, inverted, performs double duty as a placemat for the inky activities, and is thick enough that should a spill occur - so far, so good! - it should contain the liquid long enough for me to rush it to the sink before it sinks into the table. My inks are amassing slowly enough that it is not near running out of space, and whilst I am absolutely one for pretty containers and over-organisation in general (just wait until I share my office shots), I have remained very happy with this arrangement.

Yesterday however, whilst watching me transfer some ink or other into some pen or other, my human suggested that I house my precious pigments in the pretty wooden box in my study. The box in question, originally bought over eBay some years ago, is possibly of Indonesian origin and the type of thing you'd see in a Loot store - brass over warm-toned wood, with a warm-toned wooden smell to match, and a wonkily-seated catch. I bought it to use as a tea chest for assorted bags of loose teas, but too bulky to sit around in a kitchen, it instead became a repository for receipts, tags, and warranties.

I made the transfer this afternoon and it all looks rather splendid. Being around the same size as the Wedgewood box it has afforded only slightly more space, but significantly more style, and is handsome (and heavy!) enough to reside out here on the dining table rather than requiring transfer in and out of my study as before. I might see about pinning some simple cotton tape to the inside of the lid to hold my dip pens and paint brushes, affording greater organisation and making use of that deep lid.

The new home in its new home.

Of roughly the same volume, I think.

The trial vials were a pay-it-forward donation from a kind FPAu friend, and have provided a ton of learning and fun. There were a few more baggies of samples and things were getting very tight in here before I paid those onwards to other FPAu'ers myself.

Ta-da! Though that lid space is begging for conversion into an attic for brushes and dippers.

A relic of the box's receipt-receptacle days has found a new home; the patina of this 23yo Louis Vuitton bronze lock is a perfect match for the clasp of this box. 

Hobbes-approved. I foresee double-duty for this box as Cat Observation Point Two.
[COP1 is at the opposite corner of this table.]

Once the Australian dollar regains a modicum of dignity and value I'd love to join the monthly Ink Drop program of Goulet Pens. I've really enjoyed playing with these samples and love pottering around with my dip pens and these inks. I want to begin using dip and fountain pens for sketching, using fountain pen inks for both lines and, diluted, to wash watercolour through my illustrations. 

Once I do build my own collection of samples those can then live back in the Wedgewood, I think. It and the totally technical lid-tray technique are perfect for trial vial fun, and this will preserve space in the wooden box for ink bottles and such. It would not do for it to become so overcrowded as to provide an uneven observation platform for the Devonosaurus rex..

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A study in stealth

A recurrent theme on the FPAu group is of sharing watch and writing instruments together. I feel the relationship between these items is non-accidental; collectors of one fine work of engineering and design would naturally be drawn to another, and both are devices that are very personal to the user.

Anyway, here was my contribution to the discussion. I have something of a stealth obsession going on lately, black-on-black, instigated actually by my Pilot Veep of the same name. This pen is my EDC favourite, its EF nib & Sailor Kiwa-guro combo defeats even the cheapest copy and diary papers at work, and I find it comfortable for even longer writing sessions. In honour of my favourite, therefore, here is my first blog post.

Balance & stealth. Writing with the PO nib is the fountain pen analogy of a dancer balancing on pointe; it feels odd and vaguely confronting at first to be writing on the very edge-tip in that way, but the nib is smooth and addictive.

Stealth Ambit3 Peak. Incredible watch; we have covered a lot of ground together, literally.

That Citizen has timed many a resus; the diving crown makes it simple to mark the start time. It shows the scars & wear of nearly a decade of remote area paramedic practice, but is still my only 'tidy' watch and covers everything from office days to conference duty. Its career progression is I feel well-deserved, following its service in the prehospital trenches.

Black pack. Pilot 912 PO, Pilot VP Stealth, Lamy Dialog3 case (gotta preserve the Stealth!), Franklin-Christoph pen pouch. To left, Corban & Blair A5 leather pouch; below, matching Corban & Blair A4 leather portfolio, monogrammed.

The most perfect pairing. A more recent picture that I subjected to my hack Ps skills.

Beast on black. Louis Vuitton Tadao in Damier Graphite: Best. Workbag. Ever. Well worth the premium; I have lugged several kilos of laptop, paperwork, and notebooks in & out of work for three years solid, and it still looks amazing. 

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