Onoto Winston Churchill Pinstripe Fountain Pen

[Gary1952]

I recently purchased an Onoto Winston Churchill pinstripe fountain pen. The pen comes in a beautifully finished wooden box which includes a certificate of authenticity (my pen is no 75 of 1874).

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/scavaci/DSC_1923_zpsc4ad12a5.jpg

 

The clip and band are 18 kt gold plated sterling silver. The following image shows the pen resting on a tray made from oak taken from the Blenheim estate (where Churchill was born).

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/scavaci/DSC_1940_zps59c4e45e.jpg

 

 

The quality of the pen is superb and the Number 7, 18 kt Onoto, medium nib is a delight to use: smooth and never skips.

 

The only downside is it is not a piston filler. It is fitted with a standard international converter.

 

I love the balance of the pen; it can be used for long writing sessions without any fatigue,

 

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/scavaci/DSC_1942_zps9565897d.jpg

Edited December 26, 2012 by Gary1952

[Frank C]

Beautiful photos. I like the oak from the Blenheim estate. I always use Diamine ink in my 261, Denim is in there now. (British pen, British ink!) I would have preferred a piston-filler, but it still is a great pen.

[Doug C]

A little more on the performance of the nib please. I have an Onoto Heritage, and it is going through some growing pains, having developed a leak that Richard Binder and Onoto are trying to analyse.

The pen itself is outstanding; the plunger filler is probably the smoothest I have, and the tiny nib is possibly the nicest fine stub I have (admittedly, it has been customized by Richard).

 

Good luck on this pen. It should be a winner....

[Gary1952]

Hi,

 

The nib is realtively stiff (minimal flex), however with a little pressure it does exhibit some line width variation.

 

The nib is extremely smooth and glides easily across the paper (Rhodia 80 g/m2).

 

The nib starts laying down ink from the second it touches the paper and never ever skips.

 

This is a precision made pen and worthy of serious consideration if you are looking for a new pen.

 

Regards,

[Jonst]

Hi Gary1952,

 

Thanks for the pictures and the review. I really like the look on the Churchill range.

 

All the best

 

Jon

[goldenkrishna]

Hello Gary1952,

 

Thanks for this preliminary review and the nice photos. I do not own an Onoto yet, though I have read that the quality of the Fps and nibs is very good.

Can you supply us with some handwritten samples?

Enjoy your FP.

 

With love,

goldenkrishna

[Gary1952]

Hi,

 

Writing sample as requested:

 

http://i817.photobucket.com/albums/zz94/scavaci/OnotoChurchill0001_zps5a0973f6.jpg

[Dhara lekhni]

Hi,

 

The nib is realtively stiff (minimal flex), however with a little pressure it does exhibit some line width variation.

 

The nib is extremely smooth and glides easily across the paper (Rhodia 80 g/m2).

 

The nib starts laying down ink from the second it touches the paper and never ever skips.

 

This is a precision made pen and worthy of serious consideration if you are looking for a new pen.

 

Regards,

 

Does ONOTO indicate nib-size on their nibs? If I am correct, some high-end pen companies don't display B, M or F on their nibs.

Thanks

Arvin

[Frank C]

Does ONOTO indicate nib-size on their nibs? If I am correct, some high-end pen companies don't display B, M or F on their nibs.

Thanks

Arvin

 

My Onoto Magna 261 has a gold nib that says, "ONOTO 18 CT 7 F"

[Dhara lekhni]

Does ONOTO indicate nib-size on their nibs? If I am correct, some high-end pen companies don't display B, M or F on their nibs.

Thanks

Arvin

 

My Onoto Magna 261 has a gold nib that says, "ONOTO 18 CT 7 F"

 

 

Thank you. It's good to know this. These are beautiful nibs!

[Frank C]

Does ONOTO indicate nib-size on their nibs? If I am correct, some high-end pen companies don't display B, M or F on their nibs.

Thanks

Arvin

 

My Onoto Magna 261 has a gold nib that says, "ONOTO 18 CT 7 F"

 

 

Thank you. It's good to know this. These are beautiful nibs!

 

I purchased my pen from richardspens.com. He is a well-known nibster. It is, without a doubt, one of the smoothest writing fine nibs I own.

[Dhara lekhni]

Does ONOTO indicate nib-size on their nibs? If I am correct, some high-end pen companies don't display B, M or F on their nibs.

Thanks

Arvin

 

My Onoto Magna 261 has a gold nib that says, "ONOTO 18 CT 7 F"

 

 

Thank you. It's good to know this. These are beautiful nibs!

 

I purchased my pen from richardspens.com. He is a well-known nibster. It is, without a doubt, one of the smoothest writing fine nibs I own.

I heard Onoto has it's own in-house nibster, that's unique. Does lifetime warranty apply to all the ONOTO pens?

[Frank C]

I heard Onoto has it's own in-house nibster, that's unique. Does lifetime warranty apply to all the ONOTO pens?

 

I believe that person is Mr. Binder. I would think that every pen company should adjust its nibs prior to sale, especially considering that these are often items costing several hundred dollars. Having said that, I know that some pen companies have better quality control than others. Most reputable companies will repair or replace a defective nib, but what a hassle to send a pen back and forth. Consequently, I purchase almost all of my pens from established nib tuners. They usually provide this service for free with the purchase of a pen. I didn't find any explicit statement of a lifetime warranty on Onoto's website, but since they are a very small quality goods manufacturer, I would guess that they would stand behind their pens. The last thing they need is some disgruntled FPNer flaming them.

 

Recently, someone in the classifieds was selling his Yard-O-Led to purchase more Onotos. I like my Onoto, but not that much.

 

I do have two minor complaints about it, The clip is very tight; it is hard to clip it to my shirt pocket. Also the cap takes six turns--I counted--to close or open. That is quite a few. Some Nakayas do take that many, though. Everyone I have shown the pen to has admired it. It is a pleasure to write with. I keep it filled with dark Diamine inks, currently Denim. British pens get British inks in my house!

 

I guess that you are seriously considering an Onoto. I suggest buying from Richard Binder. He can get any of the models available in England, just look at Onoto's and his websites. I will buy another someday, although one is not currently on my shortlist. Although, the sterling silver Magna is a truly stunning pen!

 

Best of luck,

 

Frank

[Silent Speaker]

I heard Onoto has it's own in-house nibster, that's unique. Does lifetime warranty apply to all the ONOTO pens?

I believe that person is Mr. Binder...

Perhaps in the US, but that's not exactly keeping it "in house" is it, considering Onoto's an English company?

-=-=-=-=--=-=-

The individual to whom people refer when they mention this is in the UK; if you purchase directly from Onoto (or, as I'd imagine anywhere else in the world except for I suppose from RBinder in the USA - and perhaps some places in Japan) then you'll have any extra customisations done by this fellow to whom I refer (if you ordered a stub for example). Additionally, every Onoto pen appears to be tuned by this man before leaving the UK anyway. I suppose an American buying from Binder gets the benefit of having two sets of skilled eyes pass over the nib.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As for warranties, I'm sure it'll state on their site, but I would imagine that this holds for all of their pens. Not the vintage De La Rue Onoto's mind you, just this modern stuff.

[richardandtracy]

I love the look of the pen, thanks for the review Gary 1952.

 

One thing I do not agree with, though, is the statement

The only downside is it is not a piston filler.

I regard this, conversely, as an upside. If the filler goes wrong, it's cheap and easy to change. Also, it runs out fairly quickly and is easy to flush. This means that changing colour ink is not a chore and can happen quite often. With a range of 17 colours at home, I like to change the ink in a pen almost as often as I rotate the pens.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

 

 

[jhataway]

I bought my Churchill Pinstripe from Richard Binder with an 18k medium nib. It turned out to be #1941, which is my birth year. Later, I got from Richard an Onoto Magna Classic black chased with a broad 18k nib. Both pens are beautiful examples of modern craftsmanship, and the nibs are the smoothest I have ever used. Unlike a lot of folks, I would like to see Onoto make this pen in about the Pelikan M600 size (or Edison Beaumont size). Other that that, I think the pens are great.

 

Jim Hataway

[de_pen_dent]

I just saw this pen at the local dealer today, so a nice coincidence to see this review bumped up. I was very impressed by it - it looked a LOT nicer in person than in the photos.

 

I was ready to buy it but they had the gold-trimmed LE one, whereas I'd prefer the regular, more reasonably-priced one.

[hari317]

I just saw this pen at the local dealer today, so a nice coincidence to see this review bumped up. I was very impressed by it - it looked a LOT nicer in person than in the photos.

 

I was ready to buy it but they had the gold-trimmed LE one, whereas I'd prefer the regular, more reasonably-priced one.

where?

[de_pen_dent]

Hari - Penz Solutions in Delhi. Local distributors for CS and Onoto.

[hari317]

Hari - Penz Solutions in Delhi. Local distributors for CS and Onoto.

thanks!