Conklin Past & Present

[londonbooks]

I did not know until today that the original Conklin pen company went out of business in 1948 and the Conklin name was purchased by another company in 2009 and this company now produces a few models of these "new" Conklins. What I'd like to know is - how would you rate the quality of the pens produced today under the Conklin name ?

[gweimer1]

The first "nice" fountain pen I got was a newer Conklin Symetric, and based on what you posted, I must have gotten it when they were first introduced. Mine is a nice pen, although a bit on the bulky side. It's a converter fill, and writes nicely. It's just too big for my tastes. Remember that I knew nothing of pens when I bought this, and I've really only begun getting really into things this year.

[Tinjapan]

My first Conklin is a new manufacture of the crescent filler. I really like it. Writes very smoothly and I have had no promlems with it what so ever. Purchased as a remake, it introduced me to the original pens of which I now have many. Although it allows me to use it more freely than my vintage Conklins as it is plastic and I need not worry about it fading from sunlight or water, the vintage Conklins, at least the crescent fillers, are a real joy to use and are generally less expensive than my modern made Conklin.

 

Although I love my modern Conklin, have it inked and carry it every day, I doubt I'll buy another modern made Conklin. The vintage Conklins are less expensive and more fun to use.

 

 

[estie1948]

I believe the Conklin fountain pens made through the 1930s in Toledo, Ohio are quality pens and the ones that earned the reputation traded upon by the Conklin pens ever since the company name was sold to a cheap pen manufacturer in Chicago in the very late 1930s to 1940. I have several "Chicago Conkins" from 1940 and there after (such as a blue striped lever-filler and a green striped lever-filler) and am willing to testify that they are almost but, not quite, as good as an average Arnold or any of the common, nameless Wearever fountain pens (there never was a Wearever fountain pen company - it was a sort of generic name used by a number of different small time and inferior pen manufacturers).

 

As to the Conklin's of the 2009 company, I cannot comment from personal experience. I do have an acquaintance who ordered a "Mark Twain Crescent Filler" at a rather hefty price and had to return the first two before receiving one (the third) that was all together in the original box (the first two came in pieces in the original boxes!). The third pen did come completely assembled, but failed to function correctly. My acquaintance eventually returned the fountain pen in exchange for some gold plated items that had nothing to do in any way with fountain pens or writing.

 

I hope you have much better experiences with your new Conklin fountain pens.

 

-David.

Edited October 22, 2014 by estie1948

[londonbooks]

Well, the company has been in business for only 5 years and it could be they won't be making pens for long with those kind of negative results and reviews. They're probably good pens when you finally get one that writes right.

[jebib111]

One modern Conklin I'm sure measures up to the old ones is the Conklin Word Gauge made by Visconti with the power vac fill.

[SteveE]

Actually, to "split hairs" on the subject, the current "modern" Conklin Pen Company is actually the third incarnation of the name. We all know of the original company from the early 1900's through 40's. Then somewhere in the late 1990's, the Rosen family purchased the rights to the name. IIRC, the gentleman's name was Richard Rosen. Under his management, the company successfully made many models that paid homage to the earlier designs. Unfortunately, Mr. Rosen (senior) passed away and his son (Robert?) carried on with the business for some years. Rob hit on some rough times and eventually sold the business to its present owners, Yafa International. I'm not sure who now actually makes the pens, but to me they look Asian in their machining, etc. Fit, finish and function of the current pens is a bit unsure. I have quite a few Conklin pens, from a 1920's Endura through both iterations of modern ownership. Most of the modern pens can be made into excellent writers, usually only needing some basic nib adjustments.

 

Once adjusted, with their visible relationship to the pens of the Golden Age, these modern pens are among my favorites. (And, just to prove that, if anyone has any modern Conklin pens that they can't stand or do not want, just ship them to me. . . )

 

P.S. I have two of the modern crescent fillers - one from around 2000 or so and one from last year. The older one had bad case of baby-bottom on its broad gold nib. A Knox K35 fixed that. The newer pen works just fine right out of the box. If you can handle minor nib/feed adjustments, do not fear these pens. They're great values - especially when purchased on "special."

Edited October 27, 2014 by SteveE

[ndrwcn]

I picked up a Conklin Mosaic over Christmas - it was on sale from 140 down to 70. For that price, it was a steal. Beautiful, holding up nicely to daily use, good clip, smooth nib, very wet. Good ink capacity with the included converter. I like that the converter screws in. The grip is excellent - I used this to write at great length and it never becomes uncomfortable.

In comparing this to my other pens (Kaweco Sport, Lilliput, Pelikan 120, 200 and 400, Lamy Safari, Parker 75, and a few others) this is my favorite pen.

[The Crabby Rooster]

I too purchased a Mosaic over the holidays at a similar price point to ndrwcn. I'm very happy with the pen -- wrote well straight out of the box. I haven't used it much yet but I can see that this pen could very well become my favourite. I'm taking it to work and we'll see how it fares in rotation to my Lamy Safari. The styling and how it feels in my hand is, for me, so very right.

[smithno]

I have a Crescent Filler, an Endura Prototype from 2010, and a current Endura. I like them all a lot. The nibs required minor adjustment out of the box, but are now extremely smooth writers. All 3 are in my normal pen rotation.