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Which Conway Stewart Are You Using Today?


mallymal1

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Marbled Blue #58 (early 50s, I think) filled with vintage (looks to be a late 40s / early 50s bottle) Parker Quink Washable blue. The nib was adjusted by John Mottishaw (see below) Perfect combo!

 

BTW: had a nice time meeting Mary Burke at the LA Pen Show a little over a week ago. Didn't have long to chat, as there were other customers, but a nice display, and she kindly gifted me a bottle of ink when I mentioned the FPN connection. It is a nice, deep green, attributed to Diamine; if anyone knows if it is just a rebranded stock color, I'd be curious to know...

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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I have found the simplest and cheapest fix is to find yourself a new converter.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, these are not inexpensive pens. Should one not expect that a part as trivial as a convertor should be shipped with the pen that allows it to work at maximum performance? Or that C-S would happily and willingly supply a better convertor if you contacted them?

 

I give a fair amount of leeway to a low-cost pen if there are things I need to address, but when I pay for what can easily be considered 1st-tier pens, I would expect more than hunting Amazon for a working ink supply. I bring this up because I saw the C-S pens in person at the LA Pen Show. I love a good pen, but only when it is a good pen in toto.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Ladies and gentlemen, these are not inexpensive pens. Should one not expect that a part as trivial as a convertor should be shipped with the pen that allows it to work at maximum performance? Or that C-S would happily and willingly supply a better convertor if you contacted them?

 

I give a fair amount of leeway to a low-cost pen if there are things I need to address, but when I pay for what can easily be considered 1st-tier pens, I would expect more than hunting Amazon for a working ink supply. I bring this up because I saw the C-S pens in person at the LA Pen Show. I love a good pen, but only when it is a good pen in toto.

You have a really good point. I have seen way too many reports of modern CS pens with nib/feed troubles or other QC issues out of the box - and these are expensive pens, which should work first time. Some of their pens really appeal to me, but it troubles me that nobody from CS has ever responded to an enquiry I have made. There are a couple of dealers that I trust to ensure that I would not be left with a lemon, but these guys work on tiny margins and I'm not sure that I like the pens enough to give them the hassle.

 

At least CS attended the LA pen show - they were conspicuous by their absence in London, and that for me was the final straw. I need to be able to try a pen before committing that amount of money. Not able to try means not able to buy for me.

 

You know what, I'll stick to my vintage CS pens. They are wonderful writers, look every bit as good (if not better) than the modern offerings, and even better - they are affordable.

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Ummph. After I noticed it was the same vocalists, I bought CS & never looked back. If you lurk in Penne, you'll notice a few who never find a Visconti to their liking, etc.

 

I'm a heavy user, not collector. After trying the IB nibs & a consult with Bryant to find the size & weight for me, I've bought heavily & never looked back. Go with what works for YOU.

 

Yeah, in a perfect world expensive things would work perfectly out of the box. But that's why builders offer home warranties these days.

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Low expectations are so easily met. Would that a savvy pen community such as this could stand for something better, and help improve the experience for all.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Low expectations are so easily met. Would that a savvy pen community such as this could stand for something better, and help improve the experience for all.

Rather than knock the brand of this forum, perhaps you could make some useful suggestions to the moderator. Rather than tearing down, why not build up?

 

I have rather high expectations for my fountain pens, and rather high standards for them as well. I have many great pens in my modest collection, some Auroras, Mont Blancs, etc. I have only 4 modern Conway Stewarts (but will certainly be purchasing more), and all are my favorites. A few had some minor irritating issues that perhaps they shouldn't have had. Once fixed, they are exceptional writing instruments. As far as I know, there is no other company presently producing such fine pens, in colors, patterns or metalwork like Conway Stewart. Their weight, their look, the depth of colors, the hand-done engraving (in many cases), the fit and finish, Conway Stewart has the whole package IMHO.

 

So, maybe you need to take a look at the modern CS (do you even own one, or are you just making assumptions based on what others have written here?) and judge for yourself. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. And as for low expectations being so easily met, I take it that you are talking from experience.

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Ahem! Gentlepersons, there is no need to become personal. Having established that some of us are pens half full and others pens half empty personalities, we can retreat to our desks and play with our lovelies in perfect accord.

 

Less CS for Jon means more CS for me. :happycloud9:

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I'll just take it that Mr. Warblerick has not read all of my posts in this thread, nor does he have any knowledge on what I have done, publicly and back-channel, to advocate for improved standards for a pen I admire.

 

And yes, GP, my 58 is right here in front of me, ready to send out a couple more notecards. I dare you to purchase another pen today... ;)

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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On pen hiatus until I've finished playing the real estate game. :(

 

Ouch. You have my sympathies (from one of the most brutal markets in the country, SoCal).

Edited by JonSzanto

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Using my CS 100 Coral Green with a nice springtime ink, Diamine Meadow.

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I'am using a Churchill Excalibur with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz

 

Same for me but with Noodlers Liberty's Elysium.

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I'am using a Churchill Excalibur with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz

 

 

 

Same for me but with Noodlers Liberty's Elysium.

 

And me, but Diamine Red Dragon.

(Black pen + deep red ink is gorgeous.)

I am no longer very active on FPN but feel free to message me. Or send me a postal letter!

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Again and again… Marlborough…

 

 

http://data.nimages.fr/arlboiscont27sy.jpg

+1 I'm using my vintage Marlborough ("woodgrain" lever-filler with a fine nib), loaded with Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi ink. Received 10 days ago, inked for the first time last weekend, it worked perfectly out of the box (I didn't even flush it out before I inked it :blush: ).

 

'Cat

"Relay"

SignalboxCat

 

 

speak truth unto power

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Still my Montague M with ESSRI. The only one of my modern CS that's always inked up.

The Good Captain

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

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