Loving My New Conklin All-American

[Maurizio]

I just bought a Conklin All-American in Tortoise Shell with a medium nib. I'm really enjoying this pen. It's girthsome which I really like, it's attractive, it has a nice fit & finish, it's pleasant to hold and write with and is lightweight; I like the unique rocker clip (not a real big deal but neat) and, it wrote reasonably well out of the box but will require just a little tweaking by me to get it writing the way I want.

 

I bought this yesterday at my favorite store ( which also happens to by near my office ) Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC. In the store I tried both the medium and the stub nib on Rhoda paper on the counter. I felt that the medium wrote more smoothly than the stub.

 

Out of the box the nib is smooth-writing but just a bit too dry for my taste. Fortunately, I've gained a little more skill at tweaking my own nibs to my liking with my brass feeler gauges and 10x loupe by practicing on several inexpensive Chinese pens so I'm sure I'll be able to tweak it to exactly the way I like it.

 

This pen does not fail my "Pilot Varsity test", but using that as a benchmark, I'd give the pen a B- on its - for me - out of the box writing qualities. I'm sure I'll have it writing the way I like it in short order.

 

At $75. - $80. street price I think this is a darn good pen.

 

I really like that Yafa is expending energy and money in reviving this American brand. However, they clearly state that this pen is made in China. To my mind, this is another example that Chinese manufactures can make some darn good pens when the conditions are right.

 

I pulled the attached photos off of their website but I'm in no way associated with Yafa. I'm just a satisfied customer who wants to share my pleasure here with a very satisfying moderately priced pen. The Tortoise Shell is the one to the right of the blue one in the first photo.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Maurizio

[rcrfc]

Received a Yellowstone All American fine in the mail yesterday. Out of the box mine wrote wet and smooth in my Rhodia Webnotebook. I was surprised at the girth of the pen but easily adapted to it. It is also very light for its size.

The writing experience is truly a joy, and the color is captivating. Conklin has a winner with this pen!

As an added bonus it will fit Goulet nibs as well as other nibs in their lineup (Duragraph and Herringbone).

[Maurizio]

Received a Yellowstone All American fine in the mail yesterday. Out of the box mine wrote wet and smooth in my Rhodia Webnotebook. I was surprised at the girth of the pen but easily adapted to it. It is also very light for its size.

The writing experience is truly a joy, and the color is captivating. Conklin has a winner with this pen!

As an added bonus it will fit Goulet nibs as well as other nibs in their lineup (Duragraph and Herringbone).

 

I think you're right rcrfc it's a winner.

 

Here's another photo of the tortoise shell model:

Edited May 20, 2017 by Maurizio