Review: Visconti Van Gogh Mini

The Numbers:
Weight: 18g
Length (capped): 123mm
Length (uncapped): 115mm
Body Material: Italian resin
Nib Material: Stainless steel
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge only
Colours: Various

Intro:
My thanks to Sunny of Straits Pen for lending me this pen for review. The Visconti Van Gogh Mini is a pocket fountain pen that has already been discontinued. It is of a size in between a Kaweco Liliput or Supra (with used without the extender) and a full size fountain pen. The pen is shaped like an elongated bullet. The black resin body is accented with a traditional Visconti clip, centre band and drumrolls please screw to secure the clip. The screw thankfully is flush against the cap but it is quite an eyesore in terms of the aesthetics. Both ends of the pen is slightly pointed but just mildly so.

Packaging:
The small fountain pen came in a box bigger than it really needs. The box has a faux crocodile leather look. Opening the clam shell box reveals a suede like bed that holds the pen and a bottle of ink. The presentation is nice but I much rather a smaller box in general.

Performance:
The Visconti Van Gogh Mini is a simple pen especially this black resin version. The clip is the traditional Visconti bridge shaped clip. It is spring loaded for easy slipping over paper or fabric. The centre band feels slightly more chunky especially when comparing it to the size of the pen. The cap unscrews in about 1 and a quarter turn of the cap. The metal grip section is understandably short. Though on second thought the Kaweco Supra is able to provide me with a longer grip section. The metal grip isn’t very slippery because it is short. Plus it has a textured segment just before the nib. It helps to keep my grip on the pen. The threads are nice and smooth as well.

The Visconti Van Gogh is a fountain pen that takes only cartridges but I found it takes my tiny Kaweco squeeze converter though it was a loose fit. The converter still worked so I had wrote two converters worth. The stainless steel medium nib that came with the pen is smooth and not too much of an ink gusher. I do not have many European medium pens in my collection so I enjoyed the nib very much. Personally I think given that the Visconti Van Gogh Mini isn’t that small so it should be able to at least take the standard international cartridge or even the converter. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Conclusion:
This discontinued Visconti Van Gogh Mini is a stylish small fountain pen with a number of colours. What’s with that exposed screw on the cap? I wished they have bothered to hide it inside the cap. This pen doesn’t really perform very well as a pocket fountain pen. There are smaller and cheaper fountain pens that exist plus it is already discontinued so it’s all a moot point.

Cons: