Creeks And Stypen. What Era Do They Come From? And More.

[cruelandbright]

Hi! I just found 4 Creeks and 2 Stypens that I 'lost' when I moved. I have since bought 2 Lamy pens. Cheap and cheerful but and no great loss if I lose them. I have a Waterman and an Esterbrook but prefer to keep them at home.

 

Now I have an excess of cheap and cheerful. I would like to know about Creeks and Stypens before I make a decision about what to do with them. Google wasn't helpful which is generally a bad sign.

 

This is my first post and probably not exactly riveting. Thank you.

[_R_]

The Creeks pens were a line of pens made by Stypen in the 90s and were commonly available in France, especially for school use. Stypen was bought out by Bic some time back.

 

I've got the same one as the grey one in the picture, but in black. The nibs are a little too stiff , I find.

 

However - they can easily be replaced - after a nasty nose-dive from a table, my Creeks was out of action until a gentleman kindly replaced the nib with one from a Recife pen and gave it a new lease of life.

 

Enjoy!

[Sailor Kenshin]

They're very cheerful and colorful and have nails for nibs, and write on the dry side, but if they come cheap enough, they make excellent experimental subjects.

 

They may be from The Big 80s.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I've got a Stypen Ergo-Plume in my rotation, and I like it. I have some other Stypens that are very like the Ergo-Plume too. The Creeks I almost got a few times. I have some other fountain pens that have the same nibs as the Creeks, some painted ones too.

 

The Stypens work. The fountain pens very like the Creeks work too. I was a little surprised at that when I first got a painted nib, but it really does work.

 

Yes, they appear to be from the '90s.

 

[theowens]

I just came into possession of a Creeks. Does anyone recommend a refill? I got a Pelikan style converter to fit but it's a bit too long.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Only the long Creeks accept converters. The short ones are cartridge-only.

 

If you have a long Creeks and the con still won't fit, try another brand, and check the converter's length.

[Splat]

Does anyone have a more exact answer to which converters fit Creek fountain pens? Sailor Kenshin when you say “and the con won’t fit”  what is a “con” please?

[Sailor Kenshin]

A standard international converter won't fit the short Stypens, but it will in the longer models.  Similar for standard international cartridges.  Pelikan cartridges and converters can be a tricky fit in anything other than a Pelikan.  Cartridges from Diamine, J Herbin and Waterman might fit.

 

I did some research, but can't find anything more definite on the era.  Probably 80s or 90s.

[Splat]

Does anyone have a more exact answer to which converters fit Creek fountain pens? Sailor Kenshin when you say “and the con won’t fit”  what is a “con” please?

 

Thank you Sailor, l’m interested to read of Recife’s connection to Creek pens. As I live in Paris where Recife is.  I’ve ordered their short converter which might work - they also supply nibs and section/ feeds that are said to fit Creek pens. I wrote to them to ask about a more flexible nib and await a reply.   Creek made some very attractive pen bodies, however this one’s nib is a nail!
 

Hopefully I’ll be able to comeback to this thread and answer the questions myself. 

[Splat]

I do now have an answer to my own question about which, if any, converters fit the shorter Creek pens? Recife’s small (minuscule) converter does ONCE IT’S ADAPTED. It fits at the section and feed end - a good push and it’s on. However the plunger’s extended nylon rod is much too long. The reasonably quick answer seems to be to pull the plunger out as far as its stop, take a hot needle and make a hole in the extended plunger rod about a millimetre from the reservoir and thread a stout thread through that hole and make it a shortish loop, then cut off and keep the rest of the rod.
You can then use the amputated rod to do what it was meant for - pushing the plunger to the front of the reservoir (leaving the thread hanging out).  Put the rod somewhere safe and with the front end of the reservoir fitted to the section and the nib in the ink, use the thread to pull back the plunger drawing the ink into the reservoir. BINGO! The full converter will now slide into and fit in the barrel. Just don’t get the thread caught in the barrel screw. This looks complicated but it isn’t, it only takes a moment or so to do. Your Creek pen now has a working converter and I can’t see why this technique wouldn’t work on other pens and converters.