Conid News - Update

[blopplop]

Conid is likely a dead project.  Wouldn't count on anything from them.

[Doug C]

Based on....? Or is this speculation?

[blopplop]

I guess some speculation is involved.  A company that's essentially shut down for a year and half... I don't put much hope in that.  Not trying to be negative, just realistic.

 

I am a big Conid fan BTW.  I'm blessed to own three and I'd buy another in a heart beat.

 

Dave

[Doug C]

6 hours ago, blopplop said:

I guess some speculation is involved.  A company that's essentially shut down for a year and half... I don't put much hope in that.  Not trying to be negative, just realistic.

 

I am a big Conid fan BTW.  I'm blessed to own three and I'd buy another in a heart beat.

 

Dave

I hear you.  I have two and like them both. 

[Karmachanic]

7 hours ago, blopplop said:

A company that's essentially shut down for a year and half.

 

 

As mentioned higher up the thread; Komec - the mother company is busy pumping out their main product.  Conid was/is a bit of a vanity side project, if you will, that used the same machinery in off hours.

 

If/when things settle down, and socienty is allowed to properly function, there is no reason to assume that Conid will not start to produce once again.  On the other hand, things may continue on the present path for several years to come.  Body in motion and so on.

[SilverStoneMetallic]

Hopefully they will be open when I am in a position to procure another.  It's the only pen I find myself reaching for more often than my M800's

[AlecG]

Good and not so good news. 
I live close by at 50 minutes drive from Conid and had the audacity to phone him. 
So I just spoke on the phone with Werner.
Really kind guy!

 

Not so good:
- They are still fully booked/overbooked with orders for their core business: CNC-producing close tolerance high quality parts and products for the process/medical industry. 
- This year it is not to be expected that they will start producing fountain pens again. 

 

Good:
- He was certain that they will start next year again. 
- They really like this side business, it's a hobby that went out of control (and don't we all know that?!?). That is their main motivation, I think. 
- A large amount of parts has been CNC produced and is ready for finishing and assembly (but not all parts that are needed for a pen are ready yet, so ordering a do-it-yourself-kit isn't possible. Sorry tried that 🙂 so that is a second reason to be sure they will get back. 
- But Werner was also really sure they would be back, because they ordered a really large amount of their custom nibs at Bock. They received it in May last year just before Covid started to mess things up. 
As nibs are an expensive investment, certainly when made to order with your own logo, they will again make the pens and sell nibs. 

 

 

For me personally it's a difficult one. My daughter wrecked my Pilot 823. And although it is a particular ugly pen IMHO, it is a really good workhorse. So I will definitely buy a Kingsize titanium demonstrator
But the only pen I have left is a Lamy 2000 and I really like the looks, but it's too small and doesn't hold enough ink. Yet my frugal/minimalistic nature prevents me from ordering another Pilot 823 for just 6 or 9 months or so. 
On the other hand, another 6 to 9 months with the Lamy 2k is really not something I look forward to. 
Then again, I'm also not in a position to pay 2 or 3 time the price on eBay/marketplaces. 

[A Smug Dill]

49 minutes ago, AlecG said:

I live close by at 50 minutes drive from Conid and had the audacity to phone him. 
So I just spoke on the phone with Werner.

 

Even though I personally care nothing for Conid either as consumer products or a business enterprise, I'd still like to thank you for doing that, and for sharing what you found out with the community for the benefit of the subset of members who are interested or outright fans of the brand! 

[A Smug Dill]

53 minutes ago, AlecG said:

My daughter wrecked my Pilot 823. And although it is a particular ugly pen IMHO, it is a really good workhorse. …‹snip›… Yet my frugal/minimalistic nature prevents me from ordering another Pilot 823 for just 6 or 9 months or so. 

 

Why not just buy a Wing Sung 699, then, if all you want is the ink capacity and vacuum-filling mechanism from a Pilot Custom 823, and then jam a (reusable) #6 steel or gold nib into the pen if you're not happy with Wing Sung's own nibs? Or, if you just want the large ink capacity in a workhorse, surely an Opus 88 eyedropper-filled pen or, say, a Fine Writing International pen that can be eyedropper-filled (even though it's designed to work as a cartridge/converter-filled pen, and come supplied with a converter each in the the retail package) can deliver that? The products of both those brands are relatively cheaper than a Pilot Custom 823, and fairly ‘indestructible’.

[AlecG]

2 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Why not just buy a Wing Sung 699, then, if all you want is the ink capacity and vacuum-filling mechanism from a Pilot Custom 823, and then jam a (reusable) #6 steel or gold nib into the pen if you're not happy with Wing Sung's own nibs? Or, if you just want the large ink capacity in a workhorse, surely an Opus 88 eyedropper-filled pen or, say, a Fine Writing International pen that can be eyedropper-filled (even though it's designed to work as a cartridge/converter-filled pen, and come supplied with a converter each in the the retail package) can deliver that? The products of both those brands are relatively cheaper than a Pilot Custom 823, and fairly ‘indestructible’.

The idea of buying a pen just for 6 months isn't attractive to me. The fact that the 699 is really cheap only makes it harder because to resist, but it still isn't a very durable thing to do. 

Then again, writing with the 2000 isn't very attractive either. 

The 699 might win 🙂 

 

Certainly many thanks for the suggestion, much appreciated!!

[mauckcg]

6 hours ago, AlecG said:

Good and not so good news. 
I live close by at 50 minutes drive from Conid and had the audacity to phone him. 
So I just spoke on the phone with Werner.
Really kind guy!

 

Not so good:
- They are still fully booked/overbooked with orders for their core business: CNC-producing close tolerance high quality parts and products for the process/medical industry. 
- This year it is not to be expected that they will start producing fountain pens again. 

 

Good:
- He was certain that they will start next year again. 
- They really like this side business, it's a hobby that went out of control (and don't we all know that?!?). That is their main motivation, I think. 
- A large amount of parts has been CNC produced and is ready for finishing and assembly (but not all parts that are needed for a pen are ready yet, so ordering a do-it-yourself-kit isn't possible. Sorry tried that 🙂 so that is a second reason to be sure they will get back. 
- But Werner was also really sure they would be back, because they ordered a really large amount of their custom nibs at Bock. They received it in May last year just before Covid started to mess things up. 
As nibs are an expensive investment, certainly when made to order with your own logo, they will again make the pens and sell nibs. 

 

 

For me personally it's a difficult one. My daughter wrecked my Pilot 823. And although it is a particular ugly pen IMHO, it is a really good workhorse. So I will definitely buy a Kingsize titanium demonstrator
But the only pen I have left is a Lamy 2000 and I really like the looks, but it's too small and doesn't hold enough ink. Yet my frugal/minimalistic nature prevents me from ordering another Pilot 823 for just 6 or 9 months or so. 
On the other hand, another 6 to 9 months with the Lamy 2k is really not something I look forward to. 
Then again, I'm also not in a position to pay 2 or 3 time the price on eBay/marketplaces. 

Some good news.  I really want a full demonstrator Kingsize and a couple of nibs.  

[Frank C]

7 hours ago, AlecG said:

Good and not so good news. 
I live close by at 50 minutes drive from Conid and had the audacity to phone him. 
So I just spoke on the phone with Werner.
Really kind guy!

 

Not so good:
- They are still fully booked/overbooked with orders for their core business: CNC-producing close tolerance high quality parts and products for the process/medical industry. 
- This year it is not to be expected that they will start producing fountain pens again. 

 

Good:
- He was certain that they will start next year again. 
- They really like this side business, it's a hobby that went out of control (and don't we all know that?!?). That is their main motivation, I think. 
- A large amount of parts has been CNC produced and is ready for finishing and assembly (but not all parts that are needed for a pen are ready yet, so ordering a do-it-yourself-kit isn't possible. Sorry tried that 🙂 so that is a second reason to be sure they will get back. 
- But Werner was also really sure they would be back, because they ordered a really large amount of their custom nibs at Bock. They received it in May last year just before Covid started to mess things up. 
As nibs are an expensive investment, certainly when made to order with your own logo, they will again make the pens and sell nibs. 

 

 

For me personally it's a difficult one. My daughter wrecked my Pilot 823. And although it is a particular ugly pen IMHO, it is a really good workhorse. So I will definitely buy a Kingsize titanium demonstrator
But the only pen I have left is a Lamy 2000 and I really like the looks, but it's too small and doesn't hold enough ink. Yet my frugal/minimalistic nature prevents me from ordering another Pilot 823 for just 6 or 9 months or so. 
On the other hand, another 6 to 9 months with the Lamy 2k is really not something I look forward to. 
Then again, I'm also not in a position to pay 2 or 3 time the price on eBay/marketplaces. 

Thanks for posting this. I like my Conids and would probably buy another. As for your Pilot Custom 823, I understand. Custom 823s are my daily users. I recently sent 3 to Pilot USA. They were deemed to be irreparable. They did offer me a discount on some new pens, which I took advantage of. I would not want to be without my Custom 823s.

[maclink]

@AlecG Thanks for sharing.

 

Not sure I plan to get another Conid though.  I'm more interested in other nibs.

[Harold]

Thank you for relaying the information. Every time I've had to go to the IKEA that's right next to Conid over the past few months I've wondered how they were doing and suppressed the urge to be a creep and go say hello.

[peroride]

18 hours ago, AlecG said:

Werner was also really sure they would be back

Excellent news, thank you 👋 😀 I too recently heard from the grapevine of Conid's return.

 

With high quality, valued works like these, I have learned patience does pay off eventually.

 

2022/23 onwards!

[SleeperService]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:07 AM, AlecG said:

I live close by at 50 minutes drive from Conid and had the audacity to phone him. 
So I just spoke on the phone with Werner.

Thank you for doing this and sharing this info with us. I narrowly missed out just before their initial production pause, and was beginning to wonder if they'd ever be back. 

[SleeperService]

…so has anyone heard anything promising in the past couple months? 

[challer61]

Apparently not

[es9]

I really wish they would give us some info as to when they anticipate restarting -- even if the timeline has to slip.  

[maclink]

4 hours ago, es9 said:

I really wish they would give us some info as to when they anticipate restarting -- even if the timeline has to slip.  

 

I suspect that they're not in a position to do so.