I got my first Conway Stewart pen, an amethyst Jarvis Churchill Limited Edition. Number 17 of 100, to be precise.

I realize that those who love the vintage Conway Stewarts are probably rolling their eyes, but I am very happy with the pen. I had always admired the Churchill and was reading a biography on him when I the pen for sale on the green board. Apparently, Jim Sanders at PoohcornerPens had acquired it for a buyer who backed out so was offering it at a great price, and even threw in a beautiful CS pen case. The combination of the pen, the price, and the fact that I was reading a biography on Churchill at the time -- don't pretend you haven't used an equally lame justification for getting a pen -- made me pull the trigger. As an aside, I would highly recommend both Jim at Poohcorner Pens and the Martin Gilbert biography of Churchill. Of course, I have no affiliation with Jim, Martin Gilbert, nor Winston Churchill, although I do share Churchill's fondness for an occasional cigar and cocktail.

I am very happy with the pen. I didn't realize how big the would be and it has a lot of heft. In fact, it is the only pen I have ever used that I don't post the cap; the cap makes it too top heavy. But unposted, the pen feels great in my hand and it has a very smooth, broad italic nib. It has good flow, not too wet, and the line variation looks great. I also love the way the pen looks.

When I first received the pen, the nib clicked because it was misaligned. Also, the flow stopped after about half a page of writing, which I have heard was a familiar problem that Conway Stewart is aware of and fixes. I worked with Jim from poohcornerpens.com and Dick Egloff of Lux Brands, and got it back to Conway Stewart. When it came back, it wrote wonderfully.