Although my order had issues—the gift box arrived very damaged and the nib, even after the paid nib check, wrote extremely dry—Appelboom adjusted the ink flow to my preference. The gift box remained in poor condition, but the service ensured the pen now performs beautifully.
And the pen itself? Impressive. I own a large collection and this one takes the top spot. The EF nib writes buttery smooth, with a touch of feedback from the tine adjustment that makes it unique and full of character. It produces a beautiful line, especially in cursive, letting the ink shine even in such a fine width. I get about five A4+ pages per fill.
The look, balance, and tactile feel of the lava resin are extraordinary—warm, organic, unlike anything else. Even the filling system feels like a ritual, adding to its singularity.
All in all, a truly unique fountain pen for any writing lover, both inspiring and unforgettable.
The feel of Homo Sapiens is truly exceptional. The material
conveys a high-quality and exciting grip experience.
The weight and balance of the writing instrument supports this perception. The nib writes smooth - thanks to the tune & smooth service - and wet. A stunning fountain pen.
I got this pen recently in EF nib. Love everything about it. Got perfectly tuned nib along with gorgeous all black body. Of course great customer service and prompt delivery by Appelboom. Definitely recommend,
Once I got into fountain pens, I was always looking for something special. Not the usual gold-trim torpedo shaped and two-coloured gold nib pens, but really special. Talking of special materials, such as palladium or "only" stainless steel - you can get this from other brands with standard look and nibs.
But everything at once?
The Visconti Homo Sapiens Dark Age has it all. Specifically made of resin/lava it has a feel to the touch that is unique. It simply does not get slippery and is comfortable to hold. The nib has a nice dark-silverish shimmer and just enough flexibility to have a pleasant really special writing experience. The power filling mechanism is easy to use and the general design is unique and yet discrete enough to not arrogantly show off.
Absolute recommendation for this unique pen. The possibility of having it checked by Appelboom specialists before shipping was ensuring me that it may not have the so often reported flaw of unsatisfying nib quality.
I've ordered this pen from a few websites and had issues with nib quality, a classic trait of Visconti in that their QC is lackluster at best.
Ordering from Appelboom was amazing, quick, and customer service was excellent, ordered with the nib tuning and smoothing meant my nib came perfect straight out the box and the pen is an absolute delight. 10/10!
Quite unexpectedly, this has become one of my most used pens. The material feels quite unique. Very pleasant to the touch. No annoying fingerprints left on the material. Also, very robust. Doesn't seem to scratch easily. The clip is the usual Visconti awesomeness as is the unique Hook Lock. Weight of the pen hits the sweet spot.
I did replace the 18k Bock stub nib the pen came with using one of Visconti's no longer produced 23k Palladium nibs (EF). And boy, that nib is an absolute dream. Also, the nib is rose gold which IMO looks just absolutely awesome on the otherwise very dark Dark Ages.
Overall, I think this is easily one of the best pens ever made. IMO the only weakness is the filling mechanism. I'm pretty sure the pen has good capacity internally but the pneumatic filling mechanism seems to make it impossible to get good fills. So, the pen runs out of ink *much* faster than piston fillers of comparable size.
I wanted to own this pen for a long time and started to save for it. But when I saved sufficient money, the Stub nib became out of stock or expensive on most online shopping websites. Finally, I made a request to Appelboom for the Stub. Appelboom was kind enough not to provide me with a stub directly from the factory but also with an attractive price, discount code, free shipping and nib tuning support. Further, I made changes to my order twice they readily accepted it. Finally, they surprised me with a gift. I love the pen very much.
This is an expensive pen. That being said, I’d add that this is also a pen which is worth every cent.
The pen feels solid and well balanced without being heavy, even for a female hand. Just holding this pen is a pleasure the texture being so smooth. Also the ink flows beautifully giving a smooth writing experience.
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