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Battle Of The Giants

mongrelnomad

By mongrelnomad
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Silent Speaker Extremely Rare

Silent Speaker

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Both. I have often run out of ink when I was sure that I had (or should have had) more left to go.

And with the EF as well...

 

Disheartening, but I suppose I'll see how it goes when I actually get to handle one soon enough.

 

Thanks!

 

(still... this is just another niggling point that makes me edge towards the 149...)

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nvbrennan Extremely Rare

nvbrennan

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Great review. That red whirl is really something on the CS. I do think though that the nib looks a little small on the Churchill in comparison the the other two.

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mongrelnomad Collectors Item

mongrelnomad

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Both. I have often run out of ink when I was sure that I had (or should have had) more left to go.

And with the EF as well...

 

Disheartening, but I suppose I'll see how it goes when I actually get to handle one soon enough.

 

Thanks!

 

(still... this is just another niggling point that makes me edge towards the 149...)

 

There should be more than enough for a whole day's writing with the CS; since I have begun methodically filling it every morning I have had no nasty surprises.

 

I think the problem is at least partly mine: a psychological belief that a non-c/c pen should hold gallons of ink exacerbated by the inability to check the level.

 

Realistically, though less than any piston, the pen holds more than a converter (though without the flexibility of a quick switch to cartridges in extremis). Due to these limitations, it is pen which is rather light on the air-miles.

 

Do not let this put you off the CS. As I said, of the three, it is the pen I am most attached to, warts and all...

Edited by mongrelnomad

Too many pens; too little writing.

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mongrelnomad Collectors Item

mongrelnomad

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Both. I have often run out of ink when I was sure that I had (or should have had) more left to go.

And with the EF as well...

 

Disheartening, but I suppose I'll see how it goes when I actually get to handle one soon enough.

 

Thanks!

 

(still... this is just another niggling point that makes me edge towards the 149...)

 

On the subject of capacity, there's someone on the CS board trying the Churchill (c/c model) as an eyedropper. May be something to follow...

Edited by mongrelnomad

Too many pens; too little writing.

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Silent Speaker Extremely Rare

Silent Speaker

Posted
Posted

Both. I have often run out of ink when I was sure that I had (or should have had) more left to go.

And with the EF as well...

 

Disheartening, but I suppose I'll see how it goes when I actually get to handle one soon enough.

 

Thanks!

 

(still... this is just another niggling point that makes me edge towards the 149...)

 

On the subject of capacity, there's someone on the CS board trying the Churchill (c/c model) as an eyedropper. May be something to follow...

 

 

No.

 

If a modern pen comes with a lever, then always the lever.

 

Only the lever, ever the lever!

:ph34r:

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mongrelnomad Collectors Item

mongrelnomad

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Glad everyone enjoyed the review and thank you all for the kind words.

 

As I prepare for the next comparison review, The minis and maxis were (where needed) cleaned and placed back into hibernation.

 

It is telling that from this review, only one now remains inked and in rotation (and was used today): the CS.

Too many pens; too little writing.

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turban1 Mint

turban1

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Maybe the KOP and nib need a tube filling system...one that attaches by hose to a canister under desk ;)

 

Curiously, I once owned a Shmendrickson canister-filler, made in Leipzig in the mid-1930s. It hoped to rival eyedroppers and bulb-fillers, but it took some strength to operate the hand pump and it was cumbersome to write with the rubber hose connected to the ten-liter canister on the floor beside you. The pen flopped. In 1939 the firm came out with a special edition, elbow-operated, bag-filler commemorating the German invasion of Austria, but by then the war effort commandeered the rubber used to make the one-liter bags. Later that year they sold their machinery, and some of their elderly staff, to Soennecken. I'd provide a photo, but long ago I traded it for a 1911 musician's flute-pen (the flute holes leaked ink like crazy so I traded that too).

"People build themselves a furnace when all they need is a lamp." Maulana Jalaludin Balkhi (Rumi)

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  • 4 years later...
mongrelnomad Collectors Item

mongrelnomad

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Jesus a KOP in a rare marble red ebonite with a (now discontinued) King Eagle nib, that's gonna gain in value like nothing else.

 

 

Nice to see this thread come alive after being dead for so long. And thank you for letting me know the King Eagle was no longer of this world... Maybe I'll have to dust off the pen!

 

I think it may be time for an update. So much has occurred in the intervening four years, and I have so much more seat time with these pens, and with other 'giants' that have entered my humble collection. Hmmmmmm... where to start ;)

Too many pens; too little writing.

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flipper_gv Extremely Rare

flipper_gv

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Posted

 

 

Nice to see this thread come alive after being dead for so long. And thank you for letting me know the King Eagle was no longer of this world... Maybe I'll have to dust off the pen!

 

I think it may be time for an update. So much has occurred in the intervening four years, and I have so much more seat time with these pens, and with other 'giants' that have entered my humble collection. Hmmmmmm... where to start ;)

 

I was searching for Hakase reviews found this thread because of a single mention of "Hakase" in it. Anyway, that KOP is truly a collector's pen.

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JemC Rare

JemC

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@MongrelNomad your Battle of the... threads have been a source of information I refer back to pretty regularly. I'd be keen to read a new or updated battle of anything (but especially largish-to-Giants ;) )

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bleair Rare

bleair

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This review is a really nice comparison-of-well-known pens. Thanks.

 

What I think is interesting, because it matches my experiences, is your comments about how the CS feels in hand. I think this comes down to how thick the section grip location is (and whether there is a taper or curve or ending lip to the gripping location) and also the weight + balance.

 

The psychological impact of a low ink capacity is interesting too - though I suspect you've magnified the Sailor's problem by using it with that specialty nib. Where it outfitted with a typical Japanese "broad" nib the tiny converter would still be good for days, but with the King Eagle nib, just like a true vintage nib I bet you can drain the converter in a single day easily.

 

Thanks for posting this review, and I'd personally love to hear your follow up thoughts.

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mongrelnomad Collectors Item

mongrelnomad

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This review is a really nice comparison-of-well-known pens. Thanks.

 

What I think is interesting, because it matches my experiences, is your comments about how the CS feels in hand. I think this comes down to how thick the section grip location is (and whether there is a taper or curve or ending lip to the gripping location) and also the weight + balance.

 

The psychological impact of a low ink capacity is interesting too - though I suspect you've magnified the Sailor's problem by using it with that specialty nib. Where it outfitted with a typical Japanese "broad" nib the tiny converter would still be good for days, but with the King Eagle nib, just like a true vintage nib I bet you can drain the converter in a single day easily.

 

Thanks for posting this review, and I'd personally love to hear your follow up thoughts.

Thanks for the kind words. In really happy this series proved useful, although I always felt the "giants" was the least enlightening of the tests. I can definitely add further ezperience - seat time with the YoL Viceroy Grand, Namiki Emperor and Conid Kingsize Bulkfiller need to be included, at the very least.

Too many pens; too little writing.

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jar Ancient Artifact

jar

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Posted

Thanks for the kind words. In really happy this series proved useful, although I always felt the "giants" was the least enlightening of the tests. I can definitely add further ezperience - seat time with the YoL Viceroy Grand, Namiki Emperor and Conid Kingsize Bulkfiller need to be included, at the very least.

If you do a review of those three I'll add a comparison of my Platinum Izumo, Danitrio Takumi and a Montblanc Dumas.

 

My Website

 

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