Appearance and Finish
The photos really don't do justice to the azure Dandy because they don't show up the green elements within the colouring. It really is a stunning little pen with a very high quality finish. This is one of the early Dandys, it came with a blue Conway Stewart box which also contained a bottle of Conway Stewart Blue. I've not photographed the box. Conway Stewart boxes are quite large with an imitation leather exterior and white satin insert.
The azure Dandy has some translucency to it and this is most obviously demonstrated by looking at the cap where you can see the threads for it screwing into the barrel.
The ebonite Dandy has a chased pattern which is prominent and well engraved. When this pen arrived I didn't expect to find that it was actually longer than the azure Dandy, it also has a large gold band on the cap, but the band is not hallmarked, again, this was another surprise. This pen came in the usual black CS box.
Both pens have clear engraving, on the azure this is on the barrel whilst on the ebonite this is on the cap.
Nib
The azure Dandy was purchased from a FPN member who didn't really get on with the nib and found that it skipped. Whilst I don't have any problems with this fine nib skipping, it isn't as smooth as my other Conway Stewart nibs.
One thing I do like with this pen is the way the section matches the colour of the rest of the pen.
The ebonite Dandy was purchased new and came with a medium nib. I sent it back to Conway Stewart for a nib swap to an italic fine nib. This nib is sharper than an ordinary CS nib, but still smooth. It's quite a wet writer and as a lefthander I don't get any effect from the italic. If I was choosing again I'd probably opt for an extra fine nib.
Filling System
Both of these pens are lever fillers which I like because I'm a fan of vintage pens. The lever has the CS logo on it the same as you would find on vintage pens. They may hold less ink that a piston filler, but as far as looks are concerned, these pens really suit being lever fillers.
Overall Opinion
One of these pens was purchased as a used pen, the other came new from a Conway Stewart seller in Spain. I like both these pens, but it has taken me a while to come round to liking the ebonite. When first purchased it went back to CS for about a month whilst its nib was changed. Then after it arrived back I realised that there was a small crack in the cap running from where the clip was fitted. That meant another trip back to CS and the cap was changed meaning that I got a newly numbered pen and a new guarantee card to match the new number. Finally I had my new pen safely back home. Wrong, the first time I came to use it the ink was very free flowing and close inspection revealed a crack in the feed so once again the pen went back on its travels to Plymouth for another new nib. It's been a great little pen since, but initially I grew to dislike the pen and it's problems because for the first six months I owned it, it seemed to spend more time back at the factory than it did with me.
In terms of value for money, I didn't pay full retail for either pen. I would have been prepared to pay more for the ebonite, but probably not as much as it would cost to get one done today as a bespoke model.
