Conway Stewart Production

[Seney724]

"Back in the day," did Conway Stewart have any production facilities other than in the UK? Or, were all their pens manufactured & assembled in the UK before they were shipped out into their vast, worldwide distribution network?

[WhiteStarPens]

Hi there,

 

I think during the First World War (1914-1918) some pens were manufactured in the United States and are stamped as something like "made during war in USA" (please correct me if I'm mistaken). I think a few other pens from other companies bear similar stamps.

 

There were export models to the Empire and Commonwealth (#60 with two bands and a #60 doppelganger, the #57, and others) but I believe they were all made in England.

 

I'm not sure about the Belgian "le Tiger" pens, I've not held one to see the imprint, but I'm guessing they're just like the the other export models.

 

Hope my twopenneth helped!

 

W.S.P

[WhiteStarPens]

Oh, and I think they had steel nibs made in the US during their decline in the early 1970s.

 

Maybe some of the last dinkies were stamped "foreign" with on the barrel or nibs, now I think about it.

 

W.S.P

[CS388]

I've seen some of the 'Lumina' Dinkies marked HOLDER FOREIGN. I think this meant that the external parts of the pen were manufactured abroad (possibly Germany or France?), but I'm not sure where they were assembled?

 

I've never owned one of the Lumina pens, but I thought the colours were very striking!

[shalitha33]

Some of the late (70s ?) cheap plastic Conway Stewarts have nibs marked as made in U.S.A. one i have doesn't have any barrel imprints and the cap is marked as "Conway Stewart UK". Sadly those pens are of terrible quality. lot worse than the cheap Chinese pens which sells for few dollars. Plastic on these seems to shrink and crack this pen has a syringe type filing system made out of cheap plastic.

 

 

 

There is also mentions of a German made pen http://jonathandonahaye.conwaystewart.info/csbook/page9.htm#flighter .

Edited October 3, 2019 by shalitha33

[mallymal1]

CS 570 Lumina.

 

 

Barrel and caps made in Japan? (See page 200 Steve Hull FPFTM)

[northlodge]

Malcolm,

 

Are the two red caps on the wrong pens?

 

I have always wondered if the clip design change corresponded to the change away from the lever fill?

[mallymal1]

As far as I am aware, they are correct. The lilac lever pen at the bottom also has the 'arrow', rather than the 'diamond' clip. Steve Hull's book also has an example of a lever with and arrow clip.

 

Possibly, it's date of manufacture, with the arrow being later?

[northlodge]

I have received a personal email from Andy Russell, who most will know as being the author of the recently published book on the Dinkie:

 

https://www.englishpenbooks.co.uk/home/50-years-of-the-dinkie/

 

This website is updated as further information comes to hand, and includes details of the likely manufacturer of the lumina barrels:

 

Kato Seisakusho Company in Osaka

 

Andy also suggests that there was no clear point at which CS changed clip design, with it being more about what was available at any point in time. As such the lever fill and pressac versions of the 570 are both likely to be found with either clip.

[mallymal1]

Thanks, Paul, and thanks also to Andy..

[Dip n Scratch]

Shalitha33: You have just shown me an example of the CS pen I had at school.

That & the odour of Blue/Black Quink (with Solv-X)!

 

It was probably not that good against pens of that same decade too.

It would be a pile of poop if put against a current production Jinhao/Hero/Wing-Sung/Baoer.

 

Mother used to have a Dinkie 550 pen/pencil set at school. Had it four years, treasured because it was a present. Only for the cased pens to go missing on the last day. She loved those pens, she made that very clear when showing me some of her old exercise books.

 

Anyway. As of ten minutes ago I won a CS 475 in what looks like green/black marble. Has it's original box too. It is going to need dismantling, cleaning & a new sac of course.

It has a 14ct gold nib with a rather nice heart-shaped breather hole.