From the first moment I heard about the Churchil I was sold.
I knew I want this pen.I am a huge fan of BIG pens and I heard that this is a BIG pen.
I also think its a beautiful pen.

So I think this is the right place to ask how is this pen ?
How does it feels in real life and how does it makes you feel.

For me its not a question of if to buy it or not.Its more a question of when.

I have a Churchill. In many ways it feels like an oversized Parker Duofold flat top, though more beautiful and appealing. If you like big pens, this one should definitely be on your list. It's big but very light, and if you don't like the available colours, you can choose from several other colour patterns that CS offers as a bespoke service, for a small additional fee.

If you get a good one it is nice. I got 4 bad ones so I don't want to tempt fate and be disappointed again.


Kurt

I've got a Classic Black lever filler Churchill and absolutely love it.

It is a large pen, though not overly long when not posted. It's a wide pen, which is what I enjoy most about it. The section on them is also gently concaved which makes for a very comfortable writing experience, at least in my opinion. As said above, it is a light pen despite its size which is rather nice. Back to the topic of posting, I will say that I don't particularly like using mine posted as it is a bit large and long at that point, but I'm not of the posting sort anyhow so that's a non-issue for me.

If I had it to do over again, I think I would have went for the chased hard rubber instead of the classic black, but that's a purely aesthetic issue.

Could you please explain what was wrong with the pens you got ?

All of the problems were with the filling mechanism whether a leaking section, j bar cutting sac or sac not sealed to the section. As well a button filler would not fill more than a tiny amount..



Kurt

Did you get a lever or a cc filler? I've heard that the lever fillers are vulnerable to faults. My cc filler works like a dream.

There do seem to be some issues with some of the CS filler systems, I have a button fill Duro and that seems to hold very little ink for a largish pen, went back to CS once I think it had sprung a leak, no external signs, just the barrel got darker.

When it came back it may have held a tiny bit more ink, than before but not much, when I tested it wrote for just over 5 sides of A4 which didn't seem a great deal to me.

I think the pens look great and mine write well, I just can't help but feel it should hold more ink though.

Andy

I have two of them, one with a medium nib and one with a medium italic nib, and I love them both. I've had no problems at all with either pen, but they're both have converters, so I can't speak for the lever-fill version with the sac.

I have two, both lever fillers. I had one issue with a sac (came off) but was easy to fix and both perform well. There are many brands with known name but also with known faults. CS has sometimes some issues but usually design and quality are very high and once the issue is fixed, the pen works like a dream. In fact I have 2 Churchill, 2 100's a 58 and a modern Duro, beside several vintage ones. All are operative and only minor issues had to be fixed on some modern ones.

I must admit I am confused now.
I was hoping to hear only raving comments from you guys that own the Churchill.
When considering to spend 400$+ on a pen I must feel confident the pen will be reliable.

I will have to give it a serious thought.

My lever-filing Churchill leaked and would take up only enough ink to fill the feed. Sent it to the distributor who sent it to England. It came back and leaked worse than before and would take up only enough ink to fill the feed. Sent it to Richard Binder who did some major surgery on it. It still doesn't hold a huge amount of ink, but at least it isn't leaking. Apparently the bar was too long and kept cutting the sac. So he shortened the bar and made whatever other adjustments were necessary. Somehow though, I can't really warm to the pen. I keep expecting it to start leaking again.

If you're going to get one, get a cartridge converter filler. The pens are lovely to look at, well-balanced, and light in the hand.

DISCLAIMER: I'm a Conway Stewart dealer.

The Churchill is an excellent pen. It's big, but it's also very light, and if I used a pen that big it would be comfortable all day long. (When I test 'em I do it unposted!)

There are concerns about the lever filling system, and pens made during the tenure of Don Yendle are notorious for failure. I developed a modification that both increases capacity and enhances reliability, but since Glenn Jones took over at the helm I have not had to modify the fillers on any new-made Churchills to correct filler failures. (They still have very little capacity, but they do work properly.) I would recommend the C/C filler; Churchills with C/C fillers are quite literally elegant and a joy to use. The smooth, unbroken expanse of that long, fat barrel is just plain pretty. My favorite? The Red Arrows LE.

What are you confused about?

The pen IS reliable - if you get it as a cartridge/converter filler! The problem lies in the lever filler. It's a great pen, so don't let the negativity merchants here put you off.

Hi Richard

Thank you very much for the info.
The Churchill is back to No.1 on my next purchace list.Oh and yes I will probably go for the C/C filler.

I spoke the truth about the Churchills (notice the plural in that I have experience with more than one of them) that I owned and do not appreciate being called names for doing so.

Kurt

Disclaimer: I am also a Conway Stewart retailer (and have been for about 7-years).

Not only has Conway Stewart improved the filling mechanism but more recently (say about 18-months ago) a new feed was introduced that has a greater capacity than the original, thus helping maintain ink flow especially when the pen is left uncapped for brief periods.

Even better, for the past few months pretty much all the Conway Stewarts we have sold have actually written quite well out of the box! This is a definite improvement on past output as now the worst cases are pens that need only very adjustments to ensure writing performance. It shows, to me at least, that the Company is committed to improving its product quality.

Martin

Sorry Martin, this sounds like 'damning with faint praise'!

Am I unreasonable in expecting that if I were to pay £300 or more for any new pen it should already be perfectly adjusted and should work first time with pretty much any ink I cared to use? Why should the company expect their dealers to do their final QA for them?

I would also question Richard's assertion about the improvement of the quality of pens produced in the 'post Don Yendle' era. There are numerous instances mentioned in this forum of new pens that don't work properly because of faulty feeds, converter fillers that leak, cracks that appear within a few weeks of delivery, prototypes that have been sold as production pens - and these are all 'Glenn Jones' era products. Things may indeed now be getting better - but it would seem there is still some way to go.

Andy

Conway Stewart is not alone in this respect. Not that that's an excuse, of course! You are correct, dealers should not have to perform final QA on this scale, but would you buy a pen from a retailer that didn't bother?



I cannot comment on any of those specific issues because thankfully we have not experienced them in recent times. What I can say is that quality took a dive shortly after the change of ownership - so much so that we nearly dropped Conway Stewart altogether. Quite a few pens were returned before the customer even saw them and even more nibs had to be swapped out because they were "Friday afternoon" jobs that were only suited to the scrap metal bin! Because of these issues we are particularly diligent with all the Conway Stewart pens we supply. Not an ideal situation I know but, as I wrote above, things are definitely getting better. In hindsight, we are pleased that we continued to support Conway Stewart (although comments about the current product line-up are probably best left to other topics ).

Martin

So the moral appears to be, if you are going to buy a modern CS, ONLY buy from a careful seller (such as yourselves, or Richard, or no doubt a few others) if you want a pen that is guaranteed to work first time because the company seem happy that the dealer is going to do final QA for them. Of course you should expect to pay a highish price because the dealer must recompense his time out of his margin on the pen.

If you take a chance on paying less for an ebay offering, you should expect to be faced with a pen that doesn't work and may need to be returned to CS for repair before you can use it (and may still be returned in an unsatisfactory condition, according to some of the other posts we see). Same applies to buying direct from a CS stand at a pen show!

Andy

Excuse me, what 'names' are you being called and what gives you the right to lecture me about what I say? I suggest you chill out - and accept that others don't necessarily agree with you.

What is 'truth' to you is not so to all other users. My experiences are different from yours. Accept it and don't be so touchy.

I apologise if I'm butting in on a family disagreement here, but I have to say that I tend to agree with andyr7.

I have been put off the new CS's because I have heard so much about them which worries me. Also, they would appear to be a bit overpriced, to put it politely. OK, they do look beautiful.

But as so many people have told me (and I'm no expert at all) - it is best to buy a vintage CS pen made by the original company. There are apparently many wonderful vintage CS's which have been restored by great people and many are still out there for sale.

And for one third of the price or less you can get an original pen.

Shostas

Standard line CS pens are not particularly overpriced when you compare them against similar high end pens. However, I would agree that the limited editions are way too expensive; I guess that this is because they only tend to be produced in lots of 100 pens. Once you get a discount from the RRP (which is easily available from many CS dealers), pens like the Churchill and the Nelson are quite reasonably priced, in my opinion.

Now wait a second here!

You called me a negativity merchant because I don't agree with your opinion of the Churchill. So why do I need to chill out when you lower the conversation by using a 'cute slur' because my opinion of the pen does not agree with yours?

I think you might need to chill out and realize that other people's opinions are different but by reducing them to a stereotype isn't a good way to discuss a pen.



Yes and my multiple bad experiences should be discounted because I state an opinion different than your.

Stick around here for awhile and you might see someone get touchy in a thread ( unless the mods pull it). I was stating an opinion of your post- live with it


Kurt

Yeah, and I was stating an opinion of your post - live with that!

I'm not discounting your opinion, just stating that a potential buyer should not be put off by a few negative experiences that some people have had. And the term 'negativity merchants' was not specifically targeted at yourself, but at all those who seem to relish giving bad news to prospective buyers without considering different opinions of others. Now, I'm not saying you were doing this, but your post seemed to imply that I was targeting you.

I hope that clears the air.

But really people should be put off as there are know issues with the Churchill around the lever and button filler versions as well issues with the feeds. This is a quality issue and I see that in the thread they are working on it but there are alot of them out there still. So there needs to be the information out there that buying a Churchill might get you a pen with a trip to an after market repair person or back to the factory.


simple as that- buyer beware.


Kurt

You are right - I don't doubt it. But not all buyers will necessarily want the lever version of the Churchill. I bought my Churchill three months ago, a cc filler, and it has performed flawlessly. I use it quite regularly, as part of my rotation. I really believe that the quality issues are much more to do with the lever and button filler types, otherwise I'm sure I would have noticed something by now.

By the way, have you used a Nelson? It's a twist filler I believe. I am thinking of adding this one to my collection.

Here's my experience with a Churchill from a while ago.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...amp;#entry66068

Greg

The more expensive a pen, the harsher the criticism will be for such malfunction problems. The Churchill is nearly a $500 pen, which is a very hefty sum for a pen that is not made out of precious metal and that doesn't have any special intricate engravings or designs.

For me, the main attraction to CS has been the really nice finishes. I lost my chance to snap up a Duro for $270.

The Churchill is certainly not cheap, but when you look at the ridiculous prices being asked for Parker limited editions like the True Blue, the Churchill's price is not unreasonable. Yes, it's made of plastic, but it's an extremely beautiful acrylic of composite colours and much nicer than any plastic pen I've come across. And what's more it's available as standard in a myriad of different finishes, which you can increase with several others if you want a pen with a bespoke colour. And don't forget that you also receive a big cigar and a little booklet about Churchill in the gift box!

But as you said, the true blue is a limited edition and hence the price reflects its "limitedness" in addition to whatever it would have cost if it were a regular production pen, so the comparison doesn't seem appropriate. Btwy, I have seen the true blue being sold for $499 at an authorized dealer. What is the typical price for a Churchill nowadays, $450-480?


No question about the beauty of the finishes, and as I have already said, that is why I still look at CS pens. But I'd rather get the beautiful finish in a slightly smaller package for a lot less. You may still be able to find a Duro, for example, for around $300. Btwy, the nibs of the Duro, 100, and Churchill are all the same, so for the substantially higher price of the Churchill, you only seem to get a few slightly nicer finishing touches.

All Churchill pens are numbered, so I suppose this means they are also limited. Maybe Ms Burke can expand on this. Anyway, being a limited edition doesn't make the pen any better.



That's fine - the Churchill is not for everyone. That's why CS offers other models like the Wellington, the Duro, etc.

I suggest you have a look at post #13 here regarding modern CS numbering, which has always seemed to be bordering on the deceitful to me, as most people initially interpret it as you did. I hope Mary will correct me if I have explained the numbering wrongly in that topic.

Andy

Being numbered in no way implies being limited. I never said being limited makes for a better pen, but it certainly makes a pen more expensive than it would have been otherwise.

There has been a lot of comments about the Churchill, but I am going to add my experiences as well. I received my first Churchill as a gift from my wife on the occasion of our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in 2003, a blue button filler (a filling system that I particularly love). Needless to say, this was just months before the end of the so-called "Don Yendle" era. As beautiful as the presentation was, the pen itself did not work properly from the very beginning.

Just after the "Glenn Jones" group took over, I contacted Conway Stewart and subsequently sent the pen to England for repair. It came back and immediately leaked all over my hand upon first filling it. So, back it went again. At this point, I had a telephone conversation with Glenn Jones and others, after which they sent me a Churchill Combo (which is a variant that is no longer available) for my troubles along with returning the original pen after repair. This pen went back two more times, and still never worked properly.

I finally asked Richard Binder to look at it. After that, it has worked nicely and has been in regular rotation. Although I have to agree with what he wrote above, it does not hold very much ink (I think that my Richard Binder-designed Columbia holds more ink, but I have definitive way of confirming that). However, as long as I fill it first thing each day, it is sufficient to carry me through.

My initial disappointment with the pen was made all the greater because it was, externally, a beautifully made pen that was well balanced and a joy to write with. I love large pens, although I typically write with them unposted. This pen is no exception. Since its return from Richard, I have been finally able to enjoy it as a writing instrument and not just as a nice looking conversation piece in its presentation box.

So, having said all that, I would recommend the Churchill as long as it is a later pen and not one of the earlier pens. I would not be surprised if at some point I would get another Churchill.

Hi all,

I too was smitten by the beauty and craftsmanship of CS pens.
I like large pens, aka, the Densho size of Danitrio is my favourite.
The Conway Churchhill is perfect for me. I secured a 2006 Maki-e Churchill through the marketplace..
it was one hack of a deal. Truly outstanding piece of work. I will post pictures later.

Though the pen itself was perfect... the size, the feather-like weight , the craftsmanship..
BUT, unfortunately, like many of you, the nib and the feed system failed miserably!
Mary Burke has kindly agreed to change to their "new" feed system with the screw-in converter.
She promised that this will make the difference with "enhanced performance".
I have sent the entire nib and feed to her. Once the new feed system comes back to me , I shall report my
experience to this board.

Ernest

I have a CC Churchill on order with Martin which I'm expecting any day now. So I'll let you know how it performs when it arrives.

When I posted to this thread two weeks ago, it was a simple discussion of whether the Churchill was a good pen, and I put in my endorsement of the pen based my personal experience with two Churchills.

Since then, the thread has evolved into a larger discussion of Conway Stewart products in general. I own five Conway Stewart pens (the two aforementioned Churchills, a Duro, an Icon, and a Drake). They all worked well out directly out of the box and have been smooth and reliable writers. None of them has given me a moment's problem. I purchased these five pens from four different vendors, so this is not a case of purchasing from a "special seller" like Martin or Richard who adjusts the pens a the point of retail.

Thank you all for the very interesting and informative info.
I am at the process to choose my next BIG pen.
I just got the current grail pen (Delta Israel 60 special LE Vermail) and now I am hunting for the next pen.
I have already contacted Pam and got few prices including the CS Churchill.
The Churchill's price is one of the "cheapper" .
I also concider buying it from eBay.
I risk getting a leaky pen but I will consider that if I bid on it.
If it will leak I will send it to Richard as it seams like he is the best address for these problems.

I only wish that I had seen opinions expressed as frankly as yours when requesting an opinion on an item, pen or whatever, expensive to buy. There are some who expresses themselves: yes but not but maybe, that are not helpful at all. And there are some others that feel they are blasfeming when saying something is wrong with an item supposed to be good so their answers are more an excusble reason than an advice. Next time I want to know something about a FP, I will shure consider you as one of the first in my list, If you dont mind. vervavolant

I have a CS Churchill Black LE that I purchased from Swisher Pens back in 2002. This pen is a really big pen. The filling system on my pen is a plastic converter. Right out of the box it would not fill. I contacted Swisher and they had be send the Nib assembly back and they replaced it. It worked O.K. after that. I cleaned it up and put it away. Recently, I got it out and again the pen will not draw ink. I soaked the nib in water over night and got it so it was sucking water but it will not fill up the converter - only about 1/3rd full.

This pen is very comfortable to write with without the came. It is a very smooth writhing pen - I have a medium nib. The only drawback with this nib is its size. Again this is a big, big pen and it only has an average size nib.

If I was the head MF at Conway Steward, I would make sure this pen had a reliable filling system and not some cheap plastic converter that doesn't even screw in and I would put a much bigger nib on that baby just to make it look better.

Ken

I own one of the Churchill itd Editions (117/300), in the light grass green color. I don't remember the name of the color, but it is the one that they made in the comboe fountain/bp back around 2000. I also own a few Omas Celluloids/Duofolds/amd other large pens. I love the way it feels in my hand, and the nib is fabulous. I am a big guy with big hands, and the pen is a perfect fit. The only down side is that the pen is so big, it looks a little showy if you have it your shirt pocket. Especially since the clip is lower on the cap than most. If you do not own one, I higly recomend one for your collection.

I own a Churchill with CC filler that I purchased about two years ago. It is a beautiful, well balanced, large pen. While the name orginally caught my eye. The pen is really nice. Only issue is the nib occationally catches a little, my conclusion was the one tine was a little higher than the other. I have considered sending it back to CS, but after listening to this thread, I think it is going to Richard. It just so happens that I ordered a lever fill Churchill from Richard last week. I prefer lever fillers... although I am a little concerned about its capacity. I am really glad I chose Richard as the vendor. While I am really think there is no excuse for fountain pens over $25 to have quality problems, if you like large pens, you must have a properly working Churchill in your collection. The overall design is wonderful. It is an instrument made for writing. Also, I must admit, I stand in awe of few, but Churchill is my idol.

JD

I have two Churchills and both had to be returned to Conway Stewart for repair. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I have one Churchill and Conway Stewart has one, as the one that I sent off in mid-December has not been returned to me yet. My Jarvis LE had a nib misaligned so badly that it made a clicking sound, and it would stop writing after about a page and a half. The second Chuchill would begin to leak after anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes of writing. The one that was repaired now works beautifully and it is one of my favorite pens.

Goodguy,

You probably have already made your decision but I wanted to update my post in case you had not, or in case anyone else uses this thread for research. In my previous post I mentioned that the second Churchill that I purchased leaked out of the box and that I had to send it back to Conway Stewart for repair. Well, it has been 17 weeks now and I still do not have my pen returned. I have made four inquiries and each time asked for an approximate return date. Everyone has been perfectly nice, every response has been only that they have the pen and cannot tell me anything more.

I had been planning on getting another Conway Stewart but now I am not so sure. I have bought two Churcuills and neither one worked out of the box. Now, I have waited nearly four months for a very expensive pen to be repaired and can't get even an approximation on when it will be done. If you do buy a Churchill, I would recommend going to a brick and mortar store and telling them that you will only buy it on one condition: if the pen does not work out of the box, you want an immediate exchange, not a mailer back to Conway Stewart.


Bill

I have sent my churchill to conway stewart late January through Dick Egolf from Luxury Brands, the contact info provided here. My lever filler mechanism was replaced with converter. Instead of barrel with a lever, I have a brand new barrel fit for a concerter filler. A solid piece. I cannot tell if it were lever filler, ever.

I admit it took some time, about 10 weeks. But it now fills ink with no problem. The nib was also replaced on this pen. Now it writes like a dream. I will never relinquish this pen. This is a keeper.

Alan

I bought a Churchill also because I like having a nice size pen. I liked it enough to later go ahead and get a Duro. In all honesty though I did have to return both pens for issues quoted elsewhere in the forum but they returned good to go and I use them a lot. Eons ago as young buck I had Triumph Spitfire sports car, it was lovely but maddeningly eccentric at times. You do have to realize that with hand made, hand crafted items, you sometimes get some variances. Perhaps they had some issues but they were prompt at addressing them and satisfied me completely.
The Churchill has always been my favorite writer because of the size, the look and the feel.

I have a soft top Triumph GT6! (Spitfire with a 6 cylinder engine) - I agree very like some FPs - it skips about and leaks regularly!

Another update: I finally received my Churchill back from the UK and it doesn't work. It writes fine for five minutes or so then just stops. So over four months later and I still have a very expensive stick of ebonite and metal.

That's a great shame. I had a Waterman Carene that wrote quite dryly so I sent it to Waterman so they could increase the flow. Came back just the same, so now I always send pens to Richard Binder despite them being brand new. I know you shouldn't have to do this but I have more confidence in the pen coming back from Richard writing properly first time than I do with the manufacturers. I am not talking about Conway Stewart specifically because I have no experience with their repair department but it seems that repair departments generally seem to replace nibs/sections etc and throw the old ones in recycle bins. People like Richard can tweak the original ink feeds and nibs so the pens write wonderfully. I have a new Yard O Led Standard Viceroy and CS 100 that I don't feel are up to scratch, they won't be going back to their respective repair departments they will be going to Richard. You face the choice of sending it back to the UK for another 4 months already suffering a loss of confidence or sending it to a nibmeister. I know what I would do.