Conklin Duraflex With Omniflex Nib

[Gawain]

If you think that you would ever want to purchase a Conklin fountain pen, you may want to read my review (story).

 

I purchased the Freedom Conklin Duraflex with Omniflex Nib from Goulet Pens to complement my fountain pen collection and as my foray into Conklin fountain pens. (curious about my collection? my inked pens are listed at the bottom)

 

​As a gauge for what follows, this was my first and last Conklin fountain pen.

 

My Conklin pen would not write. Hard starting, skipping, big disappointment. A sales associate at Goulet Pens got me in touch with the Conklin representative who sent me another omniflex nib. Not much better. I wrote to Goulet Pens and explained that the omniflex nibs were unresponsive, hard starting, and skipped. I decided to try a Goulet #6 nib which I purchased. My first indication of what the real problem was, was that Goulet Pens included half a dozen feeds with the nib.

 

The Goulet nib didn't skip and started right away if I used sufficient force. I enjoy a very light touch on my pens, I do not enjoy bearing down, so I started to experiment. I opened the tines up, still too dry. I changed feeds.... ah, some better. I bought a pen from Fountain Pen Revolution that had a #6 nib and tried that. Best solution so far, but still not a pleasurable writing experience.

 

I bought this pen in July. I've been fiddling with it ever since. At the moment I have a Neosime .6mm stub and it writes just OK. The pen is beautiful, one of my favorites, the writing experience is the worst of all my pens. With the variety of nib manufacturers that have graced this pen, I must conclude that the problem is in the cheap plastic feed. I tried all 6 feeds GP sent me with varying results, but nothing satisfying.

 

Goulet tried to help... Conklin tried to help.... I have tried Conklin nibs, Goulet nib, FPN nib, and a Neosine nib with terrible to almost satisfying results.

 

My advise? Buyer beware.

 

My inked fountain pens:

Conklin Duraflex - Diamine Amazing Amethyst - Nemosine .6 stub

Hangdian Blue Forset - KWZ Standard Green #4

Jinhao X450 - Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses

Kaweco Sport - Akkerman Dutch Masters #1 Ceruleum Blauw Van Vermeer

Lamy Safari - Diamine Marine

Lamy Vista - Kobe #1 Suma Rikyu Rose

Noodler's Konrad - Noodler's Dostoyevsky

Pilot Namiki Falcon - Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue

Pilot Vanishing Point Extra Fine- Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji

Reform Demonstrator- J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche Ink

Rotring Art Pen - KWZ Standard Sheen Machine

Twsbi Echo - Noodlers Concord Grape

Twsbi Vac 700R - Noodler’s Texas Blue Bonnet

Waterman Hemisphere - Waterman Serenity Blue

Waterman Phileas -Diamine Aurora Borealis

Wing Sung 618 - KWZ Standard Azure 4

Edited August 25, 2020 by Gawain

[dan in montreal]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. They seem to be rather common with modern Yafa "Conklins". While I don't own an omniflex nib and can't attest to its failures first hand, it seems to be almost universally reviled. As for the feed, it's cheap plastic indeed. I had a super dry Duraflex and I ended up hacking the feed, like this:

It seems you've tried everything else. If I were stuck with such a pen and I wanted to keep it, that's what I'd do. A little surgery. 2 or 3 passes to widen the feed should work. Since you have a bunch of these crappy feeds, if you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world.

[Gawain]

WOW, thank you.....

Have to try this next..... "don't give up the ship".... LOL

[corniche]

Hi Gawain,

 

I've had the same luck... and I keep taking the bait because the Duragraph looks like the quintessential fountain pen... if they only wrote like it.

 

I've never had a Conklin or a Monteverde write well out of the box. All have needed tweaking or replacement nibs... their feeds are atrocious and I wish they'd switch to something else, because they make some beautiful pens.

 

Yes, you can tweak them; replace them, etc.; but I resent buying a $50+ pen that needs another $25 worth of work.

 

 

- Sean

[Stompie]

Wow, I got one recently and it worked fine from the get go. Very wet writer in fact, but as for flex, well, if you can get a 100lb weight going you may just get a bit of flex going but only if you lucky!

[jchch1950]

Wow, I got one recently and it worked fine from the get go. Very wet writer in fact, but as for flex, well, if you can get a 100lb weight going you may just get a bit of flex going but only if you lucky!

Omniflex nib without flex.!!

[BaronWulfraed]

Omniflex nib without flex.!!

It requires one to be omnipotent to produce flex...

[SpecTP]

I have three Conklin’s, 2 omniflex and a conklinetta. All are disappointing writers. They look good, but other than that, I have not had good experiences using them

[lovemy51]

i own three Conklins. sad to say that the best behaved nib is the pen i like less: the Victory -anyone remember this? i just never liked the metal section, plus too small....

 

i did buy a Mark Twain recently, only because i always wanted one and the price wasn't all that bad.... terrible nib, tho'. after tweaking it it performed a bit better, but i decided to get a omniflex fine nib for this pen. again, same issue... had to tweak it a bit and now it is just a "decent" writer. i do like the fact the is very springy.

 

PS. the third Conklin, i purchased in an antique store, but do not know the model (possibly the Glider)... and, yes, i know it is not a vintage pen, someone just acquired it and figured selling it as an antique

[pensmarht]

Flexible Nib Factory sells a number of different ebonite feeds, mostly for 743 or 912 FA models and a few Jowo/Bock conversions. They also sell a FPR ultraflex mated to a (I think double slit) ebonite feed in a screw in nib unit. I ordered it. It was okay. I would have fiddled with it, only it didn't screw into my Conid, but the nib unit itself seemed pretty good. Joey (the owner) tunes them before sending them out. Maybe give one a shot?

 

On a separate note, I have their ebonite feeds for my 743 and 912 and couldn't be happier. The flow helps to smooth out the tipping, allowing nibmeisters (I had Gena Salerno add and narrow the 743 nib) to grind the tip finer than they would otherwise.

[sansenri]

I own a couple of Conklins and experience is good with one and bad on another.

The good pen is an All American and the #6 nib in it writes decently well, no complaints.

The bad pen is a Symetric. The #5 nib was a nightmare. So soft that it would bend as I write and suddenly stop writing when capillarity between nib and feed was no longer maintained. It was as though it had been sprung.

I tried repeatedly to fix it but nothing. Finally I ended up swapping the nib out. I had a chance to buy a used #5 Visconti 14k nib, fits like a glove.

It is now totally another pen and the feed seems to work effectively.

The impression I have is they make rather nice looking pens, but the nibs are far below standard (possibly also the feeds, from what I hear).

[Honeybadgers]

FYI, you bought the pen like a month too soon.

 

The current omniflex is a well known turd. It skips, hard starts, barely writes at all, and barely flexes without springing the nib.

 

But Conklin just switched to JoWo nibs, and a JoWo omniflex is going to be in the pens very soon.

 

I'd see if you could get Goulet to exchange the pen for one with a newer jowo omniflex nib - Goulet will warranty defective nibs for 90 days (and they're not super obscenely picky like jetpens and look for reasons to tell you why the pen is actually fine)

[corniche]

...But Conklin just switched to JoWo nibs, and a JoWo omniflex is going to be in the pens very soon.

 

I'd see if you could get Goulet to exchange the pen for one with a newer jowo omniflex nib - Goulet will warranty defective nibs for 90 days (and they're not super obscenely picky like jetpens and look for reasons to tell you why the pen is actually fine)

Hi all,

 

This is why I'm giving Conklin another shot; the LE Endura made of abalone shell I just pre-ordered and the Word Gauge, (both with stubs), were advertised to have JoWo nibs. (Pen Chalet)

 

I'm also pleased to see that Goulet is stocking the new JoWo nibs separately, so I can revitalize the dogs I have. I love the look of the Duragraph, but most of mine have been dogs as far as writing goes.

 

Yes, I'm also familiar with JetPens; I bought a Falcon from them; which had a leaking section from the first time I used it - they told me since I inked the pen, I'd have to send it to Pilot - I never bought anything from them again. (Besides, their "free shipping" is a racket; the last time I checked there, all of their ink has inflated pricing).

 

 

- Sean

[Honeybadgers]

I also just got three conklin all americans (the "courage" limited edition line for first responders) with the new JoWo standard nibs, two EF and a B.

 

all three write flawlessly - good flow, not scratchy, absolutely zero hard starts or skips. With JoWo nibs in these pens, conklin is going straight near the top of my "budget quality" line.

[corniche]

I also just got three conklin all americans (the "courage" limited edition line for first responders) with the new JoWo standard nibs, two EF and a B.

 

all three write flawlessly - good flow, not scratchy, absolutely zero hard starts or skips. With JoWo nibs in these pens, conklin is going straight near the top of my "budget quality" line.

Hi Honeybadgers,

 

THAT IS GREAT NEWS!! I hope I have the same results. I was tempted by the Courage Series myself, (the charcoal and red ones at least), but held off, because they're limited editions and I'd thought I'd leave them available for actual first responders, but I think I am gonna pick up the new Southwest Turquoise finish. (That's already fitted with the JoWo nib and I find the "color" of the pen unique).

 

 

- Sean

[Boston Brian]

Having seen a video review on these pens on Goulet Pens and hearing that the broad nib was a terrific wet nib, I was all set to order one. However hearing some of these personal experiences I better think again.

[corniche]

Having seen a video review on these pens on Goulet Pens and hearing that the broad nib was a terrific wet nib, I was all set to order one. However hearing some of these personal experiences I better think again.

Hi Boston Brian, et al,

 

Just read the seller's description; if the pen is fitted with a JoWo nib, you'll have no problems. I have two recently released Duragraph's with the JoWo nibs and write as nice as my Leonardo's - for a fraction of the price.

 

Just watch out for the older colors - most of them will still have the bum nibs. I think the Goulet's were retrofitting the older models - but don't hold me to that.

 

 

- Sean

[Honeybadgers]

Hi Honeybadgers,

 

THAT IS GREAT NEWS!! I hope I have the same results. I was tempted by the Courage Series myself, (the charcoal and red ones at least), but held off, because they're limited editions and I'd thought I'd leave them available for actual first responders, but I think I am gonna pick up the new Southwest Turquoise finish. (That's already fitted with the JoWo nib and I find the "color" of the pen unique).

 

 

- Sean

 

Don't worry. First responders don't use fountain pens.

 

They all make fun of me for using one. But hose jockeys need their seatbelts color coded for a reason, and there's also a reason we call something "firefighter proof."

Edited September 11, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[Honeybadgers]

Having seen a video review on these pens on Goulet Pens and hearing that the broad nib was a terrific wet nib, I was all set to order one. However hearing some of these personal experiences I better think again.

 

The new JoWo broad is superb. Juicy as heck, very broad, flawless writer without a hint of hard starts, skips or baby's bottom.

[corniche]

Don't worry. First responders don't use fountain pens.

 

 

Okay, I may go for it then. 👍

 

 

- Sean

 

PS: Btw, thank you for your service; from the way you talk, I'm guessing you're an EMT or Paramedic.