Gentleman Stationer On Conklin Pens

[sciumbasci]

Gentleman Stationer, in an article regarding Stubs dated April 15, 2017 claims that

 

[...]Conklin pens are manufactured by Stipula in Italy, and you can find them at price points as low as $52 (or even below that with a discount code). If you like Conklin's designs, their stub is a great option.

 

 

This true? I had thought they were manifactured in China

 

source

[Driften]

Yafa owns and makes Monteverde and Conklin and distributes Stipula and Delta. I wonder if he the relationship went deeper then that.

[Maurizio]

Well . . . that's not true. I just bought a very nice Conklin All-American (tortoise shell, medium nib). It's available in fine, medium and stub. Right on the Conklin (Yafa) website, there's a pdf spec sheet which clearly states that these pens are made in China. Go see for yourself.

 

That's funny. I just went to the Conklin web site to make sure what I have written was accurate, and now no spec sheet. A quick google search found it though:

 

http://www.conklinpens.com/images/Conklin%20All%20American-FP%20Specs-Web.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Maurizio

[Ted A]

Fountain Pen Hospital is showing a 2017 limited edition crescent filler Conklin in sterling silver "hand made in Italy." I would suspect that they are made in different places based on different specifications. Some of the pens might be suitable for higher volume mass production while others have a need for more hands production

[sciumbasci]

Much disappointing. The wording on the article made me understand that even the 52$ pens were made in Italy.

[Drone]

At best, I speculate some poor person at Stipula in Italy gets handed a big box of Chinese-Made pen parts and is told to race against the clock assembling the parts into "Made in Italy" Conklin fountain pens which are then sent to Yafa Inc. in California for mark-up and resale.

 

Maybe Yafa figured out it is cheaper to assemble Chinese-made parts in Italy instead of California while at the same time they get a more prestigious Made in Italy stamp instead of Made in U.S.A. Maybe...

Yafa seems to own the U.S. modern Monteverde and retread Conklin brands, while acting as the exclusive U.S. Distributor for the Italian Stipula and Delta brands. See here:

http://yafa.com/

Example...

The new $99 matte carbon fiber Goulet Pens exclusive Conklin Nighthawk collection is, quoting the Goulet page at the link below, "100% made in Italy". See here:

https://www.gouletpens.com/conklin-nighthawk-fountain-pen-carbon-fiber-stub/p/CK81110-S

But let's not get over-enthusiastic about that "100% made in Italy" claim...

Remember the terrible $60-$70 Stipula Splash "Flex" pen? The Stipula Splash was just a slightly modified and rebranded dirt-cheap Pakistani-made school pen, the Dollar 717i. See Post #20 here:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/277436-stipula-splash/?do=findComment&comment=3211029

And as for the "100% made in Italy" claim for the Goulet exclusive Conklin Nighthawk pen...

Goulet Pens sold the Stipula Splash for some time, even after the users discovered what a fraud the pen was. Then just last week, Brian Goulet let it slip that he considered the Stipula Splash to be the worst pen he's ever owned. See Post #27 here complete with quotes and links:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/277436-stipula-splash/page-2?do=findComment&comment=3856236

Keep in-mind, Yafa Inc. is the common pivot-point between these brands. Just because a Conklin pen is supposedly "100% made in Italy", I would take that with a large dose of salt, no matter who sells it in the end - especially considering the Stipula Splash debacle.

Edited May 28, 2017 by Drone

[Maurizio]

Thanks for the interesting info David.

 

I'm really liking my All-American (especially after I was able to successfully tweak the nib to my liking - it wrote ok ootb but was dry for me), but I knew before I bought it that it was a pen made in China. I have no problem with Chinese pens and love my 2 Jinhao 159s. I think it's a little odd that Conklin is now, apparently, trying to subtly suppress the fact that the pen is made in China. As I noted above, while initially the spec sheet stating that the pen was made in China was right on their website, I had to hunt a bit for it to post it here.

 

For folks used to inexpensive Chinese pens the price of an All American ($76 street), is high, but for folks used to paying $100.+ for a good "next step" pen the price is reasonable. I really like my pen. It's quite handsome, I like it's fat girth, I like the smooth, though somewhat dry nib. I think it's a quality pen at a decent price. If Conklin was really smart they would lower the price just a bit to $50. - $60. street and they would sell a lot of them. At that price the All American is much better than a Pilot Prera or Twisbi or similarly priced pens.