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Visit To Conway Stewart Factory In Plymouth

garythepenman

By garythepenman
in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe

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garythepenman Extremely Rare

garythepenman

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Hello All,

I shall be in Plymouth on Tuesday 5th Nov visiting the Conway Stewart factory :D

If any of you have any questions you would like me to ask of them send me a post. I shall hopefully take a few pics whilst I'm there as well, permission pending.

Really looking forward to it.

Zakk

A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to.

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RMN Museum Piece

RMN

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Hi Zakk

 

That's great. I have visited them 4 years ago, got a private tour with my wife, at the time when they just were introducing the new European editions. They were very friendly. I still have fond memories.

Got to admire their huge stack of various resins.

 

The building is not imposing, just some halls in a larger series. No big signs outside.

It is interesting what they can do on such a small space and with only very few people.

 

What I would like to know is if they are seriously considering following up on our plea for a dr Who pen....

 

Enjoy your trip

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Ghost Plane Ancient Artifact

Ghost Plane

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Totally green with envy. But then I'd probably need a second mortgage on my house if I went. :sick: :sick: :sick:

 

Any anticipation of future bespoke pens like they did earlier this year? (Still loving my amethyst Churchill)

Any plans for a Doctor Who commemorative?

Any piston fillers in the future?

More colors for the Churchill?

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georges zaslavsky Museum Piece

georges zaslavsky

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Enjoy and have fun

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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o1984 Near Mint

o1984

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I shall be in Plymouth on Tuesday 5th Nov visiting the Conway Stewart factory :D

 

We want some pictures ! We want some pictures !

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garythepenman Extremely Rare

garythepenman

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Hello All,

Well I've been there and done that but did not buy the T-shirt. I had a great time and was well looked after by Christine.

If you have ever doubted that you pen is not hand made, think again. From cutting the resins to stamping the clips, everything is a very hands on process. Even the gold or silver bands are put on by hand and careful examination of each process is scrutinised.

The resins which come in slabs are the best available from Italy. These are then cut into square rods before being turned by hand on a lathe. Sometimes the resin will just shatter and whole batches can be lost.

I saw trays of bespoke pen bodies awaiting the nibs, clips and bands etc..maybe one of them was yours.

Now for some pen model news:-

There is no such thing as a Dr Who Pen. Not sure who started the rumour there. The CS staff have never heard mention of such a pen.

The CS 100 will be available maybe in time for xmas but more likely new year. The delay is due to the die shattering when they tried to stamp the first clips. An new die is being sourced. The clip templates are first cut out from sheets of phosphor bronze, they then need the clips to be moulded and have the cs logo stamped onto them. This is the die that broke.

Regarding fillers:- CS are trying to source a boxed lever filler system. This is a drop in unit that allows for much more lateral strength such as seen in a vintage 388. Having just a lever held by a coiled wire is not ideal as there is only the pen barrel for support. Initially cartridge/converter.

The new CS 100 will have three cap bands, however these will all be the same, not thin-thick-thin.

Finally for those of you who want something different, just ask. The people at CS are very capable however if you request are certain filler system or colour that is not in stock I doubt they will get a whole sheet of resin or a one off filling system made.

So overall a very interesting and informative visit. If any of you would like to visit all you have to do is ask. They would be delighted to entertain you.

Zakk

A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to.

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warblerick Extremely Rare

warblerick

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Sounds like you had a great visit Zakk. How big is "the factory"; ie, how many employees, how many square feet (best guesstimate)?

And I assume you were kidding about the tee shirt?

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garythepenman Extremely Rare

garythepenman

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The factory is not very large at all, a typical factory unit to be found in a small industrial estate. There are several floors, the upper level being where the pens are finally finished ready for despatch. It was not a busy time and only a handful of employees were there. The shelves had stock that only required the gold or silver elements fitting so there was plenty of "blank" caps and barrels awaiting final assembly. These would be finished to fulfil orders. What I did get was a chance to fondle a Gatsby ballpoint. Absolutely gorgeous and a real statement of workmanship. Unfortunately I didn't have a spare £1300 to buy one.

A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to.

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georges zaslavsky Museum Piece

georges zaslavsky

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I will wait till I see a new CS 100 with a piston filling system, then I will decide

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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The Good Captain Donor Pen

The Good Captain

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I will wait till I see a new CS 100 with a piston filling system, then I will decide

Perhaps just a captive converter version of a piston fill. They've done it before, haven't they?

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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georges zaslavsky Museum Piece

georges zaslavsky

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Perhaps just a captive converter version of a piston fill. They've done it before, haven't they?

Yes, I think they still do it.

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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ArchiMark Collectors Item

ArchiMark

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We want some pictures ! We want some pictures !

 

Yes, that would be great....any chance of posting some, Zakk?

FP Addict & Pretty Nice Guy

 

 

 

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  • 2 years later...
DevonReviewer Dipped Only

DevonReviewer

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Evenin'

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead!

 

Living in Devon and growing up in Plymouth, I have always meant to visit the Conway Stewart factory. Has anyone been recently? Do you need to book a visit or do they have a customer facing store there? Dare I ask do they have a discount outlet? ;)

 

Also, they seem to have lost their website, conwaystewart.com redirecting to bespokebritishpens.co.uk. The range there seems limited and only available with double broad CS branded nibs, is there a story there?

 

I am really tempted by CS but do like a piston filler (or some sort of integrated mechanism), the best on offer seems to be a captive cartridge converter?

 

Best regards,

Chris

Follow me on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DevonReviewer

Follow me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/DevonReviewer

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Cryptos Antique

Cryptos

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The Plymouth-based company went into receivership in 2014. British Bespoke Pens bought the brand name and some stock and continue to make a small range of very expensive models under the Conway Stewart marque - note that on their website the CS pens start at £299.

 

EoC is a Janner in case you were wondering!

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AJ50 Rare

AJ50

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The Plymouth-based company went into receivership in 2014. British Bespoke Pens bought the brand name and some stock and continue to make a small range of very expensive models under the Conway Stewart marque - note that on their website the CS pens start at £299.

 

EoC is a Janner in case you were wondering!

Is this correct that British Bespoke Pens bought the brand name? I was of the opinion that the brand name was only purchased for possible overseas sales. Anyone know what the answer is?
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northlodge Vintage

northlodge

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There was a huge amount of discussion about this on another site (FPB).

 

Boiled down to a few words, your "I was of the opinion that the brand name was only purchased for possible overseas sales" might be a fair summary of the debate over there

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