An Old Conway Stewart I carry everyday

[bluemoon]

For last few months I am using a Conway Stewart 475 as one of my daily user pens.... along with a Vac major and 51 aero. I could not find a review of this pen, so I thought to do one myself....

 

 

 

A bit of history: I know very little about CS, but as far as I can find out in the net, this pen was made around 1937.

This pen is in black plastic/celluloid with a 14k nib and gold plated ( I don't think it is GF) clip.

 

Please forgive me for not giving numbers to individual parts, as I don't think I have sufficient knowledge/authority to give marks to a some 70 odd yrs old pen. I will just share my experience with it.

 

First Impressions: This is a seriously simple looking pen. Without any type of embellishment, and I love this simple look of this. I think this pen was made as a purely functional writing instrument, not any kind of style statement or jewelery. This also goes well with the simple dressing code that I follow. For me, it is perfect, attracting no attention, or questions like "what is this?".:embarrassed_smile: ....

 

Appearence: Just like a fountain pen... what it is! Ok, as I said before, it is a completely conventional design. It is black, so I am filling it with my favorite ink, Skirp black.

 

Weight & Dimensions : it is a mid sized pen.Capped length is 129mm, posted it becomes 163 mm. It is quite light. For my mid sized hand, it is quite comfortable unposted, but I find it very balanced and comfortable posted. The diameter is similar to vac major. One thing that concerns me that the cap has no trim rings, so I post it very carefully so that I don't end up with a cracked cap. overall a very comfortable to use pen.

 

Nib & Performance: The nib is a 14k semiflex fine nib. I find these nibs most suitable for my writing, as when I am writing fast, I can use it as a normal firm nib, and when I am writing slowly, I use the flex to add some character to my handwriting...(sadly, later I have to read it for everybody, as i seem to have an unique ability.. that is being able to read my own handwriting!).. The nib is lightly toothy if not held at an particular angle... I think this is because of the funny angular cut in the nib, but overall, a very pleasant nib to use, neither dry nor wet...

 

Filling System: This is the old trusty lever filler... I found this pen in working condition, and I haven't bothered with the sack... it is working fine for last few months, and the ink capacity is good for me.. I don't write a lot, and for me, a filling is good enough for a week. One thing I like very much is the little metal insert in the lever slot, which makes it less prone to breaking.

 

Cost & Value: I paid around $15 for this pen from flea market.. and I hadn't done anything other than a good flush to get it in working condition... I think this is very good value for money for a excellent condition CS, and it is a very good writer too....

 

Conclusion : This is my first and only CS, and I love it.... this has sparked my interest in CS, and if I find anoher one in similar condition, I will not hesitate to buy it.

 

 

I hope you find this useful and please excuse me for my awful photos.... I will try to click a few better ones tomorrow at daylight. I photographed it with a 51 for size reference.

Edited December 5, 2008 by bluemoon

[tomscs]

:roflmho: Nice review. I collect vintage CS , find them to be good writing pens for the most part. They do come in an array of colors, sizes etc. that tends to fuel an addict oops! I mean a desire for more.

[tnmike1]

:roflmho: Nice review. I collect vintage CS , find them to be good writing pens for the most part. They do come in an array of colors, sizes etc. that tends to fuel an addict oops! I mean a desire for more.

 

 

Me too--have several most with flex Duro or semi-flex nibs and one Dinkie. it's like eating chocolates. Can't just eat one. and ALL the colors are quite beautiful and the pens themselves are a dream to write with

[georges zaslavsky]

I have never written with a vintage CS but I have tried a modern CS 100 which was one of the greatest pen I have ever written with.

[hari317]

Nice review, Thanks for sharing with us Bluemoon. You are quite fortunate to have access to such good pens at such honest prices, however fortune favors the prepared so full credit to you.

 

Best,

Hari

 

[Abhik]

Hi Bluemoon! Some how I missed it when it was posted first! It IS a lovely no-nonsense pen. I simply like pens without any superfluous decoration.

Well written review. Lovely.

Thanks for sharing.

Abhik.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Thank you for the review. I am new to vintage CS (having just one -- a CS 27) and found your review very useful.

[pretzie]

Thank you for the review. I am new to vintage CS (having just one -- a CS 27) and found your review very useful.

Hi Bluemoon,

thanks for the nice review.An old writer still going strong after 70 years is amazing. You are lucky to possess a vintage beauty.

cheers

 

[ToasterPastry]

Great review! Should it not be moved to the Conway-Stewart section of FPN? I'm not normally the moderator for such things, just a hall-monitor.