I have an opportunity to pick-up either a "58" or "Dandy". Which would you choose and why (or wouldn't pick either?)?

It seems that there's mixed reactions (inconsistent quality issues, feed problems, too large/too small, etc. **but** there's many other folks that love 'em). How's the writing experience? Ink capacity?

I'm buying sight-unseen so I won't have an opportunity to see & test the pen and living in Nebraska, well....not going to happen either.

Thank you to all in advance.

Paul

Hi Paul:

I just picked up a 58 on closeout myself. It is the C/C type with a regular medium nib. I am very impressed with the quality, nice fit & finish and mine write like a champ! By far the nicest writing pen I own (not that I have anything else that price to compare it with). I would say Go for it!

IIRC, I'd go for the Dandy as it's a larger pen, but I may be wrong.

I have a modern CS 100 in the Nebula with a medium nib. It's what they call the piston filler, but it's really an integral piston converter.

That said, the fit and finish is unsurpassed. It holds a nice amount of ink - not as much as a true piston filler, but it seems like the integral converter is larger than most of the regular ones in c/c pens (could be wrong - just a guess). Regardless, capacity is ok.

The material is simply stunning - the depth of the colors, the pattern, etc. Words and pictures just don't do it justice. As to the nib, it's fantastic. Nice and smooth right out of the box. Good, we line that's a true medium IMHO. Skipping? Never! Excellent pen.

HTH, southpaw (let us know what you decide)

I have both a Dandy and a 58 modern and I love both pens!! Both have an Extra fine nib which writes with more ink than either my Charleston fine or my Aurora Ipsilon fine. The fit and finish are superb and the writing quality is excellent.I have noticed that the CS nib will write smoothly on "toothy" paper such as all cotton that a lot of my other pens don't like. Of the two pens I like the older, more classic style of the Dandy, and it is the pen that most often is in my shirt pocket. I have had no quality issues what so ever and they seem to hold as much ink as any converter or lever fill. Oh yes my 58 is a converter and the Dandy is a lever fill. The 58 is a classic black and the Dandy is the claret. I can't say enough about the beauty of the claret. I have used fountain pens for many years and own or have owned quite a few and I was impressed enough to try some vintage British pens which also perform extremely well.Now I have a focus to my hobby. Next I want a Nelson. I guess I better include that I DON'T work for CS or any pen related industry. Hope this helps!!

Dandy is NOT larger pen. The 58 and the Dandy are both considered smaller pens by today's standards. I actually consider them to be standard sized pens in the range of the Pelikan 400. Either lever fill or c/c filler is great on these pens. Having the option to use cartridges is pretty good when you travel, however. I found the 58 to be a wonderful pen when I was selling these and really wish so much fuss hadn't been made over the gigantic Churchill model. My favorite CS pens were always the Duro and the 58. I did like the Dandy but not as much as the 58. The italic nibs that CS sells are wonderful as well. The IF and IM nibs are particularly nice. The Italic Broad is a pretty big nib on the Duro and Churchill. A little more manageable on the 58 models.

These are great pens. You won't go wrong with either one. Underappreciated in my opinion.

Richard

That funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing! My next pen will be a vintage CS, it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Oops! My bad (just curious - what are the larger modern CS pens besides the CS 100 and Churchhill, or is that it?).

Churchill -- RFH
Duro -- Full Size Same nib as Churchill
Nelson -- Similar in Size to Duro but heavier Same nib as Churchill
Trafalgar -- Slightly larger and heavier than 100 Same nib as Churchill
CS 100 -- Full Size Same nib as Churchill
CS58 -- Standard Size Smaller nib shared with Dandy
CS Dandy -- Slightly smaller barrel girth Smaller nib shared with 58
Dinkie -- Small Pen nib of its own smaller than others

I bought a CS 100 for $370.
Beautiful pen.
Poor ink flow, skipped and ran dry.
Returned it to CS for "Service".
Poor ink flow, skipped and ran dry.
$370? There are dozens of <$50 that write far better than that!
Returned for refund.

Maybe some day I'll try a vintage CS, but I won't risk another new one.

Thank you all. I'm going with the 58. The Dandy is truly nice but I really love the vintage look of the 58. I'll take some picture once the pen is in my possession.

Have a great evening.

Paul