Conway Stewart Turing-Welchman

[adim]

Hi all,

 

I'm completely new to Conway Stewart, having never owned a pen of their making and as such, I've only read some reviews and watched some videos online, most of which showcased vintage pens. For the new lineup, I just saw Michael Jecks' review of a Churchill and a Wordsworth and was really impressed, especially by the former.

 

But recently, I discovered the new Turing-Welchman pen, which appeals a lot to me, since I'm a mathematician, transitioning towards theoretical computer science and thus Turing is a very important figure.

 

But I would like to ask some advice from those of you who own(ed) modern Conway Stewarts and I would also like to ask for the opinions to be as unbiased as possible, of course.

 

I would very much like to purchase this pen, but mostly I'm wondering the following:

• How's the overall build quality, quality control and overall reliability of the pen, since if I get it, it will be a daily writer? I don't have many pens and I'm not a collector;
• How's the nib, from the factory? I'm interested in a broad width and would very much like it to be a wet writer, not overly polished and perhaps with a bit of feedback and spring;
• How's the size of the pen, its balance and feel? I reckon its shape is a general one in the lineup of CS, so if you have another pen of this shape and can compare it to other pens, I would very much like to see and read about it. Especially how does it compare with the Churchill, but also Pelikan M800, Montblanc 146.

 

I've mostly been using Montblanc 146s and 149s (also modern). I also have 1 Pelikan M800 and 1 M1000 so basically I will be comparing it to those. I know it's a c/c filler and to be honest, that's also a concern, especially given a broad nib and long writing sessions.

 

Thank you so much for any help! And since this is a LE, maybe you'll spare one for me in case I sparked your attention!

Edited April 24, 2020 by adim

[Writer01]

Thanks for the mention, Adim - best of luck with the decision!

[RPB]

Deleted as I repeated what you’d already said yourself, sorry.

Good luck with your pen choice as I too really like that Turing-Welchman pen

Edited May 23, 2020 by RPB

[adim]

Small update: I got one coming, hopefully by the end of next week! I ordered an M nib, since I didn't have any pen with a medium nib and from what I read, CS Churchills (of which this is also based) tend to be quite wet and wide.

 

I'll come back and post impressions after I get it.

 

Huge thanks to Mr. Michael Jecks (writerlywitterings on YouTube) for being extremely kind and helpful answering my questions!

Edited May 24, 2020 by adim

[adim]

I've received the pen about one hour ago and I'm in awe! It far exceeds any expectations I may have had and I'm so happy I bought it!

 

Let me detail but first bear in mind that it's my first CS and I only have a couple of Montblanc 146, 149, a Pelikan M805 and a Pelikan M1000 to compare so my experience is very limited.

 

First of all, the body is very light, lighter than the 149 I would say. I don't have a scale to weigh them, but it feels lighter in the hand. The cap is heavier, I assume due to the silver decorations, but I never post my pens so I don't care. The cap unscrews with about (less than?) a full turn to expose the medium nib in my case and a big section. It's conical in shape and my grip is usually high. I find it extremely comfortable, I would say even better than on my Montblancs.

 

The nib is a bit on the soft side, in the sense that I do feel the difference with respect to 146, 149 and M805, which are firmer, but the M1000 is softer of course. It's a very pleasant writing experience, as the nib is quite wet and the medium size is, I would say, a true medium.

 

It's my first expensive c/c pen (I had a Lamy Al Star, FC Loom and Parker IM) and if (a) it doesn't dry if unused for one-two weeks and ( b ) I'm happy with the ink capacity (I write a lot), this will definitely not be my last CS! I so love this Churchill shape, it's incredibly comfortable and beautiful!

 

Oh, and a minor quirk is that the "finial", which is supposed to be a rotor of the Enigma-breaking machine, is a bit loose. I mean it rotates freely. I guess it was supposed to be that way, but somehow from the pictures I had the impression it was not as loose. Not a minus, just a remark, to compare it with my expectations.

 

Now for some pictures. Excuse the potato quality and feel free to ask anything.

 

The pictures are hosted here, I hope they are visible.

Edited May 27, 2020 by adim

[bbs]

Very nice pen, Adim (the pictures ARE visible!), congratulations. I really like the red finials, and if the ‘rotor’ one spins, I think that’s a great design touch. Is there any etching on the top of the finials?

 

I tried a Churchill Poppy a few years ago and unaccountably decided it was too heavy for me. Then I saw the recent ‘All Will Be Well’ pen and decided I had to have it - and it is wonderfully comfortable to use, not too heavy at all. I love the little pug on the finial too!

 

Bespoke British Pens were really helpful to deal with too - I had a minor tweak that I wanted to sort out regarding aligning the etching, and they enabled me to sort it out quickly and easily.

 

Enjoy your pen!

[adim]

Thank you, bbs! Yes, on the rotor on the finial there is some etching to represent a rotor on Turing's machine, as it can be seen here:

 

At the other end, there's the number (mine is #30) of 211, the total number of pens that will be made:

 

Indeed, Bespoke British Pens are great in communication and overall help.

 

I find the pen a joy to use and I do see myself buying another Conway Stewart, either a Churchill or a Series 100.

[RPB]

My experience was a polar opposite of yours. The pen is going back. I’m not going to bad mouth them on here as I have had nothing but help trying to sort it out. Alastair and Peter are both great people who do care. After much help and many suggestions it was me who decided to send it back for a refund. My nib tines were misaligned and so it somehow slipped by the quality check and test. Tbh, after that I was not happy with the price to quality ratio (I’ll call it). I saw a couple of things I wasn’t happy with so it’s going back.

My next purchase has now been the TWSBI 580 ALR Prussian Blue! lol

[adim]

My experience was a polar opposite of yours. The pen is going back. I’m not going to bad mouth them on here as I have had nothing but help trying to sort it out. Alastair and Peter are both great people who do care. After much help and many suggestions it was me who decided to send it back for a refund. My nib tines were misaligned and so it somehow slipped by the quality check and test. Tbh, after that I was not happy with the price to quality ratio (I’ll call it). I saw a couple of things I wasn’t happy with so it’s going back.

My next purchase has now been the TWSBI 580 ALR Prussian Blue! lol

I'm sorry to hear that and I'm quite surprised, to be honest, given that it's a LE pen which I guess was made to order.

 

The only minor annoyances I have with mine is that it writes finer than I wished (not its fault) and at times, I do have to rotate the convertor piston to get a better ink flow. It doesn't stop, skip or run dry, it's just that I like it wetter. I'm guessing I should try other inks as well as cartridges. As for the first issue, I'm considering buying another Churchill at a certain point with a broad nib and interchange sections or nib units if I feel like it.

 

But other than that, I've paid close attention to the details on the body of the pen as well as the tines and could not spot any aesthetic or functional flaw.

[RPB]

I'm sorry to hear that and I'm quite surprised, to be honest, given that it's a LE pen which I guess was made to order.

 

The only minor annoyances I have with mine is that it writes finer than I wished (not its fault) and at times, I do have to rotate the convertor piston to get a better ink flow. It doesn't stop, skip or run dry, it's just that I like it wetter. I'm guessing I should try other inks as well as cartridges. As for the first issue, I'm considering buying another Churchill at a certain point with a broad nib and interchange sections or nib units if I feel like it.

 

But other than that, I've paid close attention to the details on the body of the pen as well as the tines and could not spot any aesthetic or functional flaw.

 

Hey Adim, pls don’t think I’m trying to throw ‘shade’ on your post, I’m not. It’s just my experience and I’m glad you are enjoying yours!

Yeh they set the nibs up to around 5/10 for wetness. I asked about this as I wanted it wetter too.

My other pen makes are all a little dry and I can’t use the 3 Akkerman inks I have as they just don’t like those pens.

I’m going to get a wetter pen next time. Enjoy your pen Adim

[adim]

 

Hey Adim, pls dont think Im trying to throw shade on your post, Im not. Its just my experience and Im glad you are enjoying yours!

Yeh they set the nibs up to around 5/10 for wetness. I asked about this as I wanted it wetter too.

My other pen makes are all a little dry and I cant use the 3 Akkerman inks I have as they just dont like those pens.

Im going to get a wetter pen next time. Enjoy your pen Adim

Don't worry, I really wasn't taking it as if you're raining on my parade. I opened the topic to discuss various experiences, not to brag about mine of course

 

Also, as it's my first CS pen, I have no previous experience and I'm aware that there is a dose of luck to strike gold from the first attempt.

 

I just said I was surprised because I am, I was not expecting that but thabks for sharing!

 

Enjoy your TWSBI as well!

Edited June 4, 2020 by adim

[voidoid]

The only minor annoyances I have with mine is that it writes finer than I wished (not its fault)

Hi Adim. Like you, I very recently acquired my first Conway-Stewart — in my case a Churchill Heather. I've had it in my rotation for a few weeks now, and am delighted with the experience. But I have the opposite problem from you w.r.t. “writes finer than I wished.” I generally go for a Japanese F or EF, and find that many European brands end up feeling too blunt for my tastes. With the Conway Stewart, I got the EF. And to my lights it writes like a M, more so given the softness of the 18k nib.

 

I've not thrown calipers on it, but I'd guess the tipping width is around 0.35 mm. Very wet writer, too. No complaints, as I love the pen. I just wish I could get it with a genuinely fine nib — say, around 0.2 mm — without having to send it out for a custom grind. But I realize that, at least outside of Japan, most folks seem to prefer their nibs on the broad and wet side.

 

The Turing-Welchman looks pretty sweet. Hope you stay safe and enjoy it in good health.

 

- Bruce

[adim]

Hi Adim. Like you, I very recently acquired my first Conway-Stewart — in my case a Churchill Heather. I've had it in my rotation for a few weeks now, and am delighted with the experience. But I have the opposite problem from you w.r.t. “writes finer than I wished.” I generally go for a Japanese F or EF, and find that many European brands end up feeling too blunt for my tastes. With the Conway Stewart, I got the EF. And to my lights it writes like a M, more so given the softness of the 18k nib.

 

I've not thrown calipers on it, but I'd guess the tipping width is around 0.35 mm. Very wet writer, too. No complaints, as I love the pen. I just wish I could get it with a genuinely fine nib — say, around 0.2 mm — without having to send it out for a custom grind. But I realize that, at least outside of Japan, most folks seem to prefer their nibs on the broad and wet side.

 

The Turing-Welchman looks pretty sweet. Hope you stay safe and enjoy it in good health.

 

- Bruce

Hi Bruce,

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I reckon the difference is that your Churchill Heather has the mono-tone flag nib, which is said to be softer than the duo-tone my Turing has. That's good to know for a future purchase, in the sense that, opposite to you, I am looking for broader nibs. So perhaps getting a broad in a mono-tone version will be as wet and broad as it gets.

 

Enjoy your pen as well, it looks really impressive!

 

Adrian

[FPNRLCC]

That's a very interesting finish (after looking at the pictures). I've only ever seen the images on their website until now. It has a very nice 'tooly' feel to it. Just the character you'd want from something modeled around the Enigma. I went to Bletchley Park before where they did a live demonstration of the machine. The pen captures the spirit quite well.

 

A few points of interest for you. From what I know, the Churchill was always a rather light pen (compared to it's size) before BBP came in. The old CS didn't put brass linings inside the cap and barrel which is why my old style Woodgrain is lighter than my BBP-era Honey Noire Churchill. I initially thought I wouldn't enjoy the added weight to the Honey Noire, but it actually feels alright

 

.

Edited July 22, 2020 by FPNRLCC

[adim]

That's a very interesting finish (after looking at the pictures). I've only ever seen the images on their website until now. It has a very nice 'tooly' feel to it. Just the character you'd want from something modeled around the Enigma. I went to Bletchley Park before where they did a live demonstration of the machine. The pen captures the spirit quite well.

 

A few points of interest for you. From what I know, the Churchill was always a rather light pen (compared to it's size) before BBP came in. The old CS didn't put brass linings inside the cap and barrel which is why my old style Woodgrain is lighter than my BBP-era Honey Noire Churchill. I initially thought I wouldn't enjoy the added weight to the Honey Noire, but it actually feels alright

 

.

 

Thank you for the details, much appreciated for a CS newcomer like myself! I do agree the pen has an overall "(mechanical) tool" look, but at the same time, I always found red and black an elegant combination. And the silver trim and details complement it very well. If only there was a rhodium- or platinum-coated nib available, as the gold there doesn't make any sense. But anyway, I am enjoying the pen quite a lot.

Edited July 22, 2020 by adim

[PAKMAN]

Wow great looking pen! Love the touch with the cap top! Enjoy!

[adim]

Wow great looking pen! Love the touch with the cap top! Enjoy!

 

Thank you very much! Although recently I've started using broad nibs more and the Turing is a medium on the finer side, it's a really pleasant writer and it feels great in the hand, so I'm really enjoying it more and more!

[FPNRLCC]

Unless you try out a pen in person, it's nearly impossible to know how wide its nib will be. I'm fortunate enough that it's easy to access our local nibmeisters here and for less than $20 they can modify nibs quite well. Very happy to see you're enjoying your pen!