Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler

[jandrese]

I've already done a review of the Yafa era Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Filler. That review is here

 

This is essentially the newest version of the reasonably priced Crescent Filler. What's new? There are three new colors including this one, which incidentally Yafa thought would be the worst seller. It is, I believe the best seller, and was even featured in a magazine about watches, WatchTime. It is no surprise to me because this pen really stands out in a really good way. Also new, is a rubber gasket fitted over the ink sac at the section. I guess this is for extra security against ink leaks. Finally, the stub nib is new. What a glorious nib. Simple looking steel thing, but it writes like nobody's business. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Perfect ink flow right out of the box. It just feels great. Line width variation is excellent too. This nib really boarders on a cursive italic. Excellent.

 

 

 

Hopefully my picture show just how beautiful, vibrant, and cool this pen is in this coloration. Reminds me of tree frogs. This pen is, however, much less poisonous. Probably.

 

 

 

The material has fantastic transparency and the gold accents really bring the whole package together. The writing sample was done with the terrific new Diamine Grape, which runs perfectly through this pen. The scan shows black, but this ink is not black at all. It looks like what it is named after, but since the ink is not the star here I did not go to pains to color correct. For a pen with an ink sac this one holds a lot of ink, which is good because with this nib you will plow through ink.

 

 

Buy this pen. You will not regret it.

Edited June 15, 2012 by jandrese

[rockydoggy]

Nice review of a striking pen. I have one of the earlier models, a blue/yellow version of the one that you reviewed in 2010. Your write-up of this new release reminds me to dig mine out--I've not used it in a while. By the way, the pen that I bought back in 2009-10 came with the rubber gasket over the sac as well. I remember because I tried filling the pen as soon as I received it and it wouldn't take up ink. I contacted the seller--Speerbob I'm pretty sure--and he suggested that I check the sac. Turned out the gasket had come loose and the sac had popped off the section (it wasn't glued on); it was easy enough to refit the gasket. (As usual, Bob was good to work with.)

[rwilsonedn]

Wait ... they are using an o-ring to hold the sac onto the nipple, instead of shellac? That's ... unusual. I guess it would save time in manufacturing, but it sure seems like a weak point in the design.

ron

[jandrese]

Wait ... they are using an o-ring to hold the sac onto the nipple, instead of shellac? That's ... unusual. I guess it would save time in manufacturing, but it sure seems like a weak point in the design.

ron

 

 

I think the sac is glued on too.

[crazystan]

I so want one of these...

 

Thanks for the review(s)!

Edited June 15, 2012 by crazystan

[rockydoggy]

Wait ... they are using an o-ring to hold the sac onto the nipple, instead of shellac? That's ... unusual. I guess it would save time in manufacturing, but it sure seems like a weak point in the design.

ron

 

 

I think the sac is glued on too.

 

There was no sign of glue on the nibble with the first Crescent I got. Maybe it was a manufacturing mistake, but the o-ring was the only thing holding the sac on the section.

[Jim Holzemer]

Hello All.

 

What I find best about this model is that they use the "correct" rocker clip. It, in my

 

opinion, dramatically improves what is an excellent reproduction of an all American

 

classic!

[shaylenwilliams]

My husband got one of the green marble models as a graduation gift. Its B nib has a surprising amount of "springiness" to it. It's an okay pen, but I hate the way the edges on the locking ring look unfinished, and holding the crescent down repeatedly to rinse hurts my finger.

 

I'm really surprised your pen has gold accents and a silver-tone nib. Maybe I'm just OCD about "mixing metals" but that just makes my skin crawl.

[Uncle Red]

Shaylen, try repeatedly flushing a lever filler. My Waterman pens aren't so bad but the 2nd and 3rd tier levers are super thin.

[shaylenwilliams]

Shaylen, try repeatedly flushing a lever filler. My Waterman pens aren't so bad but the 2nd and 3rd tier levers are super thin.

 

I have several lever fillers, and I much prefer them to the crescent mechanism. It just requires so much pressure to depress it, and with those sharp edges, it hurts my poor little fingers.

Oh well, not my pen!

[His Nibs]

This is a terrific review Jandrese. I don't know how I missed it when you posted it.

 

I'm especially thrilled that you like the stub nib. I pushed Yair Greenberg (owner of YAFA/Monteverde/Conklin) to produce a stub nib for quite some time. The ones I shared with him from my own collection where actually the first he'd ever used. He purchased some of the Pilot 78G 'B' nib pens I carry (the nib is a stub/italic) and used those as the basis for the Monteverde/Conklin ones. They did a terrific job with them, as you've experienced.

 

I have to agree that it was a misstep to not have the Conklin stub nib have the oval logo in gold, as with the other Conklin nib sizes. That's something that I expect to be corrected in the future.

 

My own experience with the Crescent, as far as sales are concerned, is that the more expensive black chased version is by far the biggest seller. The green has always been in last place. :hmm1:

 

Please excuse me if I'm hijacking the thread, but I also wanted to mention that my 15th Anniversary sale continues through July 7th, and Yair is helping me celebrate by including free ink with the purchase of a Conklin, Monteverde or Delta pen from my site. Just go to the homepage to learn more if you're interested.

[Robert Alan]

... the pen that I bought back in 2009-10 came with the rubber gasket over the sac as well. I remember because I tried filling the pen as soon as I received it and it wouldn't take up ink. I contacted the seller--Speerbob I'm pretty sure--and he suggested that I check the sac. Turned out the gasket had come loose and the sac had popped off the section (it wasn't glued on); it was easy enough to refit the gasket. (As usual, Bob was good to work with.)

 

Hello!

Does the barrel unscrew from the section? How do you get to the sac? I have one of the earlier versions in a kind of marbled green with a fine nib that performs very well. Thanks for any info you have on dismantling this pen.

/Robert

[rockydoggy]

Hello!

Does the barrel unscrew from the section? How do you get to the sac? I have one of the earlier versions in a kind of marbled green with a fine nib that performs very well. Thanks for any info you have on dismantling this pen.

/Robert

 

I'm out of the country right now and thus don't have access to my pen. However, if I recall, the section is friction-fit into the barrel; I don't think that it took much more than a firm twist to remove it.

[jandrese]

... the pen that I bought back in 2009-10 came with the rubber gasket over the sac as well. I remember because I tried filling the pen as soon as I received it and it wouldn't take up ink. I contacted the seller--Speerbob I'm pretty sure--and he suggested that I check the sac. Turned out the gasket had come loose and the sac had popped off the section (it wasn't glued on); it was easy enough to refit the gasket. (As usual, Bob was good to work with.)

 

Hello!

Does the barrel unscrew from the section? How do you get to the sac? I have one of the earlier versions in a kind of marbled green with a fine nib that performs very well. Thanks for any info you have on dismantling this pen.

/Robert

 

 

Hi, the section unscrews. Just point the crescent down to make sure there is no pressure on the sac.

[Robert Alan]

... the pen that I bought back in 2009-10 came with the rubber gasket over the sac as well. I remember because I tried filling the pen as soon as I received it and it wouldn't take up ink. I contacted the seller--Speerbob I'm pretty sure--and he suggested that I check the sac. Turned out the gasket had come loose and the sac had popped off the section (it wasn't glued on); it was easy enough to refit the gasket. (As usual, Bob was good to work with.)

 

Hello!

Does the barrel unscrew from the section? How do you get to the sac? I have one of the earlier versions in a kind of marbled green with a fine nib that performs very well. Thanks for any info you have on dismantling this pen.

/Robert

 

 

Hi, the section unscrews. Just point the crescent down to make sure there is no pressure on the sac.

 

Thank you very much for the assistance!

 

I did some research and found a photo of a dismantled Crescent model from around 2008 in a Japanese "mook" (magazine book) called "Pen Brand" which I purchased at Kinokuniya in Seattle. It clearly shows a gasket where the sac attaches to the feed nipple. Today, I unsuccessfully tried to unscrew the barrel from the section using section pliers but it wouldn't budge. Perhaps I'll apply a little heat. I want to open up the pen since I don't think it is filling properly because of a possible air leak at the feed nipple.

 

Regards, Robert

[razr]

Wait ... they are using an o-ring to hold the sac onto the nipple, instead of shellac? That's ... unusual. I guess it would save time in manufacturing, but it sure seems like a weak point in the design.

ron

 

You're correct. I had one of these and the sac came loose...

[CoolFool]

I just bought a new stub nib for my Mark Twain purchased in 2011. Wow! It breathed new life into that pen. It cost about 25.00 to make the change, but what used to be a ho-hum pen is now one of my few favorites.

[de_pen_dent]

I just bought a new stub nib for my Mark Twain purchased in 2011. Wow! It breathed new life into that pen. It cost about 25.00 to make the change, but what used to be a ho-hum pen is now one of my few favorites.

 

Was this a replacement Conklin nib or something else? And may I ask where you got it? Thanks!

 

I have a MT in black, which I love, and recently got the green one with the same stub nib. I have found the stub to be less-than-ideal in terms of how it writes, to be honest. Required a bit of fiddling to work properly, and the ink flow from the feed is still not able to keep up with the nib, as it tends to run a little dry after I've written half a page or so.

 

I do like the look of the pen, though!

[CoolFool]

I just bought a new stub nib for my Mark Twain purchased in 2011. Wow! It breathed new life into that pen. It cost about 25.00 to make the change, but what used to be a ho-hum pen is now one of my few favorites.

 

Was this a replacement Conklin nib or something else? And may I ask where you got it? Thanks!

 

I have a MT in black, which I love, and recently got the green one with the same stub nib. I have found the stub to be less-than-ideal in terms of how it writes, to be honest. Required a bit of fiddling to work properly, and the ink flow from the feed is still not able to keep up with the nib, as it tends to run a little dry after I've written half a page or so.

 

I do like the look of the pen, though!

 

This is a replacement nib from Conklin. I bought mine from HisNibs.com. This pen has always been a slow starter for me, but once it gets going, it's fine. The new nib doesn't change the the hard starting issue and doesn't affect the flow. I do really enjoy the feel of it now - seems smoother, and of course the writing is more interesting. To help alleviate the hard starting, I use Waterman Black ink, reputedly a very free flowing ink (I first used PR Black Velvet, which was frustrating); I make sure to fill the pen frequently; and I always write a few strokes before I leave the house with it in my pocket.

Edited February 25, 2013 by CoolFool

[johntdavis]

Is there any way to flush ink out of this pen besides pumping the Crescent? I let it soak in water with tissue to wick out the ink from Wednesday afternoon until about 15 minutes ago, and it's still not running clear (though it's a much lighter shade now).

 

I unscrewed it to look inside and noticed the rubber sac is attached to the section with some sort of ring thing (a gasket?). I don't see a way to easily get it on and off.

 

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!