Problems with Conklin corrected

[Apollo]

It's been a couple of weeks since I purchased my second Conklin Duragraph in Cobalt Blue (first one was sold with regret) and I'd like to address a couple of issues I had with mine. First, the problem with ink flow. I've read several comments from Conklin owners who have stated that their Conklin pens exhibited poor flow. Some attributed this to the converter and suggested to try carts, others attributed the problem with the feed. Well, my Duragraph seemed to have problems with both nib and feed. Disappointed, I set the pen aside and went on to use a few others until I decided to give the Duragraph another go.

 

When I first inked the pen, it was out of a bottle of PR American Blue. Naturally, with the feed saturated in ink, the pen would lay down a nice wet line, but then start drying up to the point where it wouldn't write at all unless I shaked the pen. It was then that I noticed another problem. It seems the very tip of the nib would grind against each other when writing and get out of alignment. I could actually feel it and hear it happen as I attempted to write. Frustrated with the poor flow, I switched to Waterman Florida Blue to see if the ink flow would improve. It did not. Repeated flushing of the converter did not help either. I then began using cartridges, but got the same results. Then there was the issue with the nib. Emailing Conklin has not helped since they don't seem to respond to emails anymore. As such, I've taken matters into my own hands.

 

First thing I did was remove the nib and feed. Just a little tug and they both slide out. This is where I discovered that the main slot on the feed (the part where the nib is laid against) wasn't fully cut. I took an X-acto knife to it lightly in order to deepen the channel. This greatly improved the ink flow except for the problem with the nib's tip. Flossing the nib slit didn't seem to fix the problem either. As a result, I had to borrow a generic IPG nib from my Monteverde Regatta which happens to be a perfect fit. Now, the flow is superb and pen writes smoothly, albeit with a stiff nib. Eventually, I'll seek a nibmeister to fix the issue with the original nib, but I'll continue to use the borrowed one. A generic IPG nib taken from another pen wasn't what I had in mind for my Duragraph, but it now writes reliably, no thanks to Conklin

[southpaw]

Conklin SHOULD have to fix your pen. They make many nice looking pens at very reasonable prices, but I have avoided getting one due to the QC and CS problems. Sorry to hear they continue. Keep us posted and sorry to hear about your troubles.

[Apollo]

Southpaw, I don't think I'll be purchasing another Conklin anytime soon. Until I've heard that their quality control has improved, Conklin is a brand I'll stay away from.

 

So far, my Duragraph is undergoing recovery. It's filled with Parker Quink Black (for medicinal purposes) until I'm confident enough to switch ink brands. So far so good. It now starts writing for me without skipping or hesitation, but the true test will come when I set it aside for a day or two and see if there are any problems with the pen starting again.

[TheNobleSavage]

Thats a shame because Conklin pens are really nice looking. I had ZERO luck with my Conklin (Swisher) Nozac with the 14 kt gold nib. I sent it back to swisher twice and still problems so I took store credit!!

 

 

TNS

[Kelly]

I just sent back a Conklin Mark Twain - great looking pen but ridiculous for starting and skipping like a school-girl to boot. Also I was not impressed by the threads and how the cap fit to the barrel. I felt at any slightest pressure, the threads would be crushed. It felt very cheap to me. And you may ask, well, what do you expect for a $50+pen...get a Taccia and you'll see the difference - a top-quality pen and affordable. I won't be getting another Conklin, although I must say their colors are striking but I want to write with a pen not just look at it. My two cents.

[Jopen]

It is interesting to follow all the thread(s) on the subject. I'm new to the Forum but not so new to FP world... I have been FP user since I was 6 years old and never experienced the problems I am having now.

 

Yes, I buy a new pen, from a reputable make and "surprise" after the feed dries, the pen stops writng. No ink comes out from the reservoir (converter, sac or piston), yes, it happened to me with Delta (only Dolcevitas, not with LE's which are doing outstandingly well), with CS (only the latest of the 4 I have) and Pelikan (a M1000 F nib).

 

After inspecting all of them, one had 3 small bits sitting in the channel (Dolcevita Oversize) and the rest had various ammounts of some silicone-like oil smearing the feed and channel. Cleaning did the trick but on one Dolcevita feeds which had an incomplete channel cut.

 

I am starting to think that there is very poor QC investment in FP makers mentioned, quite a pity as rest of quality is really good. Also to mention that those at least responded well to e-mail questions and offered perfect warranty service. No complaints at this respect, but on my case I always want to learn and to know more, and that is because I investigated all the cases. The most striking was also the most frequent and this was what I name "The Silicone Plague" also in some converters which just did not allow the ink to go down. It was just stopped by the air bubble which builded-up at the entrance of the converter!! :bonk:

[Apollo]

A few slip-ups in the manufacturing process can happen. Indeed, they're to be expected. However; if the manufacturer excercises a high level of quality control, these slip-ups can be kept to a minimum. I can understand having one pen from a maker that doesn't write as it should, but 3 pens from the same maker back to back? Add to that, the reports by others on how their pens from that same maker had to be sent back. That does it for me.

[Phileas Fogg]

FYI...FWIW......I bought a Conkline rollerball at Paradise Pens couple weeks ago.

I lookeda t it for an hour before decideing to take it home and try it out.

I should have left it their. The Conklin wasnt a bad pen but the QC was suspect.

It was very nice looking pen. Just little thing about them bugged me. The rollerball was Schmidt and I didnt like it at all, as it dragged across the journal paper I use........just my 2cents.

[Sonnet]

I just shipped out my purple Conklin Mark Twain Signature fountain pen for Conklin's repair center. It writes terrifically at first...then stops. Completely. To the point where I have to twist the converter and basically force more ink into the pen's feed and nib. It does all the time. I tried flushing the converter with a little bit of dish soap to clear out any manufacturing residues. I used less-saturated, free-flowing inks. I don't know how to do any modifications to Conklin nibs or feeds, so off to the repair shop it goes.

 

I almost bought it from Paradise Pens, Phileas, but wound up ordering the pen from a Crane's stationery shop. PP was the first shop [as far as I could tell] to carry the pink MTS pens back in the summer, when no one else even knew it was a new color. But Paradise Pens does not let you dip the pens at all.

[Apollo]

I just shipped out my purple Conklin Mark Twain Signature fountain pen for Conklin's repair center. It writes terrifically at first...then stops. Completely. To the point where I have to twist the converter and basically force more ink into the pen's feed and nib. It does all the time. I tried flushing the converter with a little bit of dish soap to clear out any manufacturing residues. I used less-saturated, free-flowing inks. I don't know how to do any modifications to Conklin nibs or feeds, so off to the repair shop it goes.

 

I almost bought it from Paradise Pens, Phileas, but wound up ordering the pen from a Crane's stationery shop. PP was the first shop [as far as I could tell] to carry the pink MTS pens back in the summer, when no one else even knew it was a new color. But Paradise Pens does not let you dip the pens at all.

Sonnet, sorry to hear about your Conklin, but it doesn't surprise me. One of the pen retailers I frequent decided not to carry Conklins anymore (and it wasn't because they weren't selling). What does that tell you? Please keep us updated on your Conklin. It'll be interesting to see if your replacement pen will be an improvement or not.

[Sonnet]

Well, it looks like Conklin received my poor pen over the weekend. We'll see how this plays out.

[garythepenman]

Apollo, sorry to hear about your problems.

 

Firstly you would think the feed slit would be cut correctly eh ?.

 

Next the nib, sounds like the nib slit is almost non existent. That is when the nib is a flat piece of metal it has a slit, when curved the slit gets tighter to the point where the tips of the tines rub together and miss-align. From what I've read and seen of Richard B's posts the nib slit should be wider at the breather hole and obviously get closer at the tip, in your case excessively so. I wonder who makes their nibs ?. Someone cross eyed ?. :blink:

 

Their after sales service exists ?. What a shame, such a great name in vintage pens being ruined by the modern one.

 

 

Gary

[Bill]

...But Paradise Pens does not let you dip the pens at all.

I've always been able to dip pens at the Paradise Pens near me. It must be a local management issue.

 

Keep us posted on the repair. I'm trying to figure out whether to send mine back or get rid of it.

 

Bill

[Sonnet]

So the Conklin was returned today...well, I think it was the one I sent to the company last week. Honestly, I'm not sure if they fixed it, or just replaced it with a different pen. To recap, it's the Conklin Mark Twain Signature fountain pen: purple translucent plastic barrel; medium, steel nib. It was sent back for near-constant skipping and drying-out problems. A package arrives today from Conklin-- the cheapest possible US Mail packaging you could use, and still get delivery confirmation. The pen is inside a little baggie sitting in a little box. So here's why I think they may have just sent me a different pen:

1. The swirls are different. As anyone who's seen this Conklin knows, it's practically impossible to find 2 COMPLETELY IDENTICAL pens, thanks to the different swirl patterns. The ones on this pen are markedly different than the swirls I remember from just last week.

2. The converter in the pen I sent in last week, was the Conklin converter that originally came with my pen. My only complaint about the converter was that the "Conklin" logo was almost completely rubbed off, after 4 months of ownership. This "new" converter? Some generic, unbranded plastic tube. It feels more secure in the pen than the previous converter, but the piston mechanism suffers my one pen pet peeve: it twists up and down too easily. Like, way too easily. So far, that hasn't hampered the pen's ability to draw up ink. But based on previous experience, it can be a pain to deal with.

3. The pen does write so far. I wrote almost a whole page in an extra-large Moleskine Cahier notebook [about the same size as the traditional, marbled composition books]. Not once did the pen skip or require me to force more ink into the feed. I then wrote 2 thank-you notes on Crane's 100% cotton stationery, which can be a difficult paper for some fountain pens. Again, the Conklin surprised me by how it just kept writing [what a novel concept]

4. My only other complaint/concern is the screw cap. It's a weird paradox of not "feeling" secure enough/screwing on too tightly. I'm not sure how to fix it, if I can. It's just how the threads on the pen barrel interact with the threads on the pen cap.

 

So there you have it. For me, it really boils down to, "what the heck??"

[Apollo]

Sonnet, thanks for the update. It does sound like they just replaced the pen with a new one. I'm glad to hear that you've had no problems with the feed, but I take it that the cap doesn't secure as well as the first one did? I would ask them to send me a new cap if that's the case, but please keep us informed on how the pen performs after being set aside for a day or two, and how it holds up in the longrun.

[Sonnet]

Sonnet, thanks for the update. It does sound like they just replaced the pen with a new one. I'm glad to hear that you've had no problems with the feed, but I take it that the cap doesn't secure as well as the first one did? I would ask them to send me a new cap if that's the case, but please keep us informed on how the pen performs after being set aside for a day or two, and how it holds up in the longrun.

Wrote some more with the pen today [still had Levenger Skies of Blue ink from Friday night in it]. It filled almost 3 pages of my large Moleskine notebook [page size: 5.25 by 8.25 inches (13 x 21 cm)] without skipping or requiring more ink to be forced into the feed. So that is a Very Good Thing. Now, about the cap:

 

It's hard to describe, Apollo. It's like, I turn the cap one 1/2 turn and it already feels like it will be too tight to remove the next time I want to uncap the pen. But overall, the whole "capping the pen" process doesn't feel as secure as with the previous pen. Hence, my confusion.

 

Now, will the pen skip when I load it up with a more saturated ink, like Noodler's or Private Reserve? We'll just have to see...