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My First Cs Pen


Vlad Soare

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Vlad,

 

If that's true, you don't have an italic nib, regardless of how it's labeled. If you do a nib swap, as Mary suggested, let us know how the new nib writes.

 

I write predominantly in italic script. I have 5 customized CS italic nibs, and they are among my favorite writers. They all started as stock IF or IM nibs that I wanted to have greater thick/thin line variation. I also have a Wellington with a IB stock nib that had sufficient line variation out of the box and still writes very smoothly.

 

Good luck!

 

David

Perhaps this would help Vlad: how were your nibs before they were customized? (I imagine that Vlad wants something that is satisfactory from the git-go and perhaps does not wish to engage in the extra time and cost of customization.)

 

Your last statement is in line with my observation: at IB you will notice some useful variation but not so below that.

Edited by FriendAmos
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Here's a writing sample.

If there's anything "italic" at all about this nib, then I must be totally missing it. :unsure:

Not only that, but it's also very fine, much finer than I expected. It's clearly finer than the EF in my Montblanc, and about as fine as the F in my Parker. Look at the close-up. Even though I tried to write as small as I could, the e's are still open (the paper is Rhodia dot pad, so the dots in the pictures are five millimeters apart). :)

Because of that, the nib has a lot of feedback. It's not scratchy, by any means, it just feels like a good quality extra-fine.

 

post-109883-0-53111000-1401516589_thumb.jpg

post-109883-0-42545600-1401516597.jpg

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OK, so I take it the plan to get a perfect Wellington would be first to send it back for a nib replacement, then send it to a nibmeister to adjust that. That will take God knows how many weeks, or most probably months. :(

This is so frustrating. :gaah:

What makes it so frustrating is that the pen looks and feels really gorgeous (the ugly new nib design notwithstanding). If it were an ordinary fountain pen I would simply return it for a refund and would move on. But I don't have the heart to return a pen that looks like this.

 

I'll make a decision depending on the reply I receive to my e-mail. I'll keep you posted.

 

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OK, so I take it the plan to get a perfect Wellington would be first to send it back for a nib replacement, then send it to a nibmeister to adjust that. That will take God knows how many weeks, or most probably months. :(

This is so frustrating. :gaah:

What makes it so frustrating is that the pen looks and feels really gorgeous (the ugly new nib design notwithstanding). If it were an ordinary fountain pen I would simply return it for a refund and would move on. But I don't have the heart to return a pen that looks like this.

I'll make a decision depending on the reply I receive to my e-mail. I'll keep you posted.

 

Mary replied in another topic, that CS can ask John Sorowka to finetune your pen. Why not send the pen to CS and ask them to send it on t John, together with a description of your wishes and perhaps a picture of the way you hold your pen? You would have it all in one go and save time.

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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This may work beautifully. The one time I got a wonky nib my side of things, CS arranged for Masuyama to deal with it and I got back a pen as wondrous in performance as in looks.

 

I wouldn't have all those pretty Churchills if they weren't awesome pens. :wub:

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Thank you. That looks like a very good idea. :eureka:

Ghost Plane, you also own a range of broad-nibbed Montblancs. In your experience, how do Conway Stewart nib grades compare to those? Thickness-wise, does a Conway Stewart IB resemble a Montblanc B, or a Montblanc BB?

Or, to put it another way, considering that I get along very well with a Montblanc B, but I find a Montblanc BB to be too thick, would you advise me to go for a Conway Stewart IB, or would an IM be more appropriate?

If I decide to have the nib reground into a slightly crisper italic, I believe its thickness will increase. In that case, I guess an IM would be a safer bet, wouldn't it? :unsure:

Edited by Vlad Soare
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I find IMs run between MB M & Bs. Perhaps in the ballpark of a 1.0? I've had them, but reluctantly gave them up as slightly too narrow for my preferences. The IB feels like most of my BBs and is also comparable to Visconti stubs (1.3), Delta stubs, Krone stubs and Omas stubs. Not as sharp-edged or cornered as my Auroras, nor as wet as my Ancoras

 

That being said, much depends on the nib and ink combo. I had a Jarvis with a very soft, flexible IF that, combined with a wet ink, was far superior to the IMs I've had. Waffled about letting it go for a long time.

 

My impression is that the newer nibs (I haven't had the pleasure of the latest new nib design yet) were stiffer than the earlier nibs of the modern CS. Have a chat with Mary and the company as to the feel of their newest nibs and choose accordingly.

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Perhaps this would help Vlad: how were your nibs before they were customized? (I imagine that Vlad wants something that is satisfactory from the git-go and perhaps does not wish to engage in the extra time and cost of customization.)

 

Your last statement is in line with my observation: at IB you will notice some useful variation but not so below that.

 

The IF and IM nibs had definite line thickness variation - not like Vlad's IF nib at all. However, they had less crispness than I like. Thus, I had them crisped up, mostly by Michael.

 

From the writing sample, I am 99% sure Vlad's nib was mis-labeled. The additional 1% could be provided by some macro photos of the nib tip - top, bottom and side views. However, 99% confidence would be sufficient to warrant action, in my book.

 

David

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David

 

I was commenting on *my* experience, part of which includes the observation that the CS IM nib that I tried did have some line variation but nothing to write home about; specifically, it had the same level of "stubbishness" that I get with ordinary Bs from some manufactures (the CS medium seems to be a bit wider).

 

Others have had an experience that is more similar to Vlad's. Some time ago Pentrace carried a review of a CS italic nib (IF) that included the following points:

 

* The nib is a "double-sided" nib, which, apparently, not too many (including CS) seem to know about.

* In the normal writing position, which is probably what Vlad is doing, it is a normal (i.e. rounded) F nib.

* But turn the nib upside down, and you get an IF nib.

 

Fair enough, but most people expect the nib advertised as an IF nib to be an IF nib in the normal writing position. (I know I don't like holding my nibs upside down.)

 

Here's that review:

 

http://www.pentrace.net/penbase/Data_Returns/full_article.asp?id=360

 

As I indicated elsewhere on the CS forum, I have no problems with the dubious "italicness" of the CS nibs, and I actually like the nibs and pens that I tried, but folks might want to look around an reviews and samples of writing before they shell out big bucks.

Edited by FriendAmos
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I've tried it upside down, too. It's extremely thin (I would call it probably an XXF at best), unbearably dry, and almost (though not quite) scratchy. I could not use the pen like that on a daily basis. Besides, there would be no gain in using it like that, as I can still see no line variation at all.

 

 

folks might want to look around an reviews and samples of writing before they shell out big bucks.

 

I have. :)

Take a look at the video I posted above. That's definitely an italic, and the guy is holding it normally, right side up.

There's also the official writing sample, shown above.

So much for samples. As for reviews, I've read all I could find, and the general opinion was favourable to say the least.

 

None of the reviews or writing samples let me understand that "italic fine" nibs were actually round extra-fine. :unsure:

According to this thread a fine italic nib should be approximately 0.8 millimeters wide on downstrokes. Mine is clearly much less than that.

Oh well, enough whining. I'll decide what to do depending on the reply I receive to my e-mail. This week I'll be out of the country, so for now I can't do anything about it anyway.

Thank you all.

 

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I'm kind of baffled at the Pentrace article. They seem to suggest the nib was ground to be used on both sides, which I think is ludicrous. It's an example of a bad or incomplete grind.

 

Of course an IF isn't going to have a great deal of variation, and the CS nib is more "stub" than "italic", but the line variation should be there.

 

I've posted a few writing samples with my IF, and this is the first one I pulled up. Not the best picture, but you can see that there is line variation in the vertical/horizontal strokes at the end of the sample.

 

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Pens/Reviews019_zps718f4a3d.jpg

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Wow, the line variation is obvious. It's just what I was expecting. Not extreme, but obvious nevertheless. Mine doesn't come anywhere close to that.

Anyway, I received a kind reply today, that they will exchange the nib, and they will try to find an old-style one. That would be great. Looking at your picture, that's exactly the kind of nib I wanted. I love that design. I really hope they manage to find one for me. :wub:

I'll send the pen to them next week, when I'm back home.

Edited by Vlad Soare
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  • 1 month later...

Update:

I received the pen today with an italic medium nib. All I can say is: wow! It writes like a dream and has a very pronounced italic character.

Unfortunately, it seems they weren't able to provide a classic, monotone nib. And this one is so damn ugly. That big rhodium-plated area makes the nib look like it was transplanted from a different pen. Oh well... I guess I'll have to learn to live with the new design. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me.

Overall, I'm happy. The ugly nib aside, the pen itself looks nothing short of gorgeous, and it writes exactly as I wanted. This is probably going to become my favourite fountain pen.

Edited by Vlad Soare
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They used to have the nibs in gold and in rhodium-plated. Means they had to have double stock.

 

Now they have just one nib and can use it with either gold or silver-coloured trim, which will make the cost of nibs just that much cheaper.

 

 

I hear sofar they are keeping the nib-choice in sizes as is.

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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I'm wondering, can the rhodium be polished off? Will I get a nice, uniform, perfectly shiny gold-colored nib if I try that? Or will it end up patchy and even uglier than it is now?

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I'm wondering, can the rhodium be polished off? Will I get a nice, uniform, perfectly shiny gold-colored nib if I try that? Or will it end up patchy and even uglier than it is now?

A good jeweller-artisan should be able to do it, the whole nib should get a polish afterwards

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Thanks. I'll wait a few weeks, to see if it grows on me. But it's good to know I have this option, in case it doesn't.

Second question: the serial number engraved on the barrel is 472/210. I understand 472 is the color code, which is classic green. How about the 210 part? It seems too low to me to represent an all-time sequence number. Is it really the 210th classic green Wellington ever produced? Or does it have a totally different meaning?

 

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Modern CS numbering is a bit difficult.

 

there are 2 systems

 

1: for LEs" xxx/eee number xxx of an edition of eee

 

2: regular: ccc/yyy" number yyy of colourcode ccc for this model.

 

 

Now the last few years they have been doing special colour LEs on several regular series, 25 or 50 of a certain colour. I do not know if these are numbered ccc/yyy or xx/50

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Here's a writing sample:

 

post-109883-0-51344900-1405776570_thumb.jpg

 

It writes very smoothly, but it's quite dry.

After writing for a while, when the feed isn't so over-saturated anymore as it was immediately after filling the pen, it gets dry and has a tendency to skip (see the a in "italic", the a in "Diamine", the k in "kind"). I'm not blaming the nib or feed yet, as this kind of skipping may be caused by my lack of experience with italic nibs, which are more sensitive to position. I'll see how it behaves during the next couple of weeks before drawing a conclusion.

 

Skipping aside, I'd like the ink flow to be just a tiny bit higher. I'd like it to write just as it writes immediately after filling up the pen. In an older thread someone suggested unscrewing the nib/feed assembly and scraping the main channel of the feed a little, but I'm afraid to try that. :unsure:

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