Conway Stewart 286 Needs Help

[repairperson]

I got a Conway Stewart from my sister and the cap and barrel do not appear to be the same material. The barrel is a 286 and it is dull looking the cap on the other hand is shiny. I wonder if one of you experts could help me. Is this the correct cap for this pen?

[northlodge]

I got a Conway Stewart from my sister and the cap and barrel do not appear to be the same material. The barrel is a 286 and it is dull looking the cap on the other hand is shiny. I wonder if one of you experts could help me. Is this the correct cap for this pen?

I believe not. I have three 286's here, they all have cap bands

 

 

 

[Strang]

There should be a single thin cap band but it may just be missing from your pen. Otherwise, it looks like a 286 cap but probably not original to that body, for all the difference it makes. They are probably made from the same material (body and cap) but the body has faded noticeably. Does it have a peaked top cap, or is it a flat-top (both were produced?)

[red52ripple]

That's not a 286 cap, I'm sorry to say. It might be from a 475 which is bandless, has a gold clip and is the same diameter as a 286. Don't despair, though. The 286 is a very common pen and it shouldn't be too difficult to find a spare cap.

Regards,

[Strang]

I think it's difficult to see due to the glare in the picture but I think there was a cap band but it's missing now.

[kulindi]

Very interesting. I too have a 286 the colour of which is described in Jonathan Donahaye's book of numbers as "Autumn Leaves" but it does have a plain dark brown bandless cap...I inherited this pen from my grandmother and my memory of the pen goes back to the mid 1950's so the pen had the same cap at that point...As far as I can see there is no evidence that there was ever a band so whether of not the pen was originally purchased like that I shall never know...

There is a fpn member Mallymal who has a wonderful collection of 286's and is a wealth of information on that particular model, maybe he would like to comment also. He was able to provide me with an explanation in an earlier post also as to why the cap colour did not match the barrel.

Still a beautiful pen....

[repairperson]

There should be a single thin cap band but it may just be missing from your pen. Otherwise, it looks like a 286 cap but probably not original to that body, for all the difference it makes. They are probably made from the same material (body and cap) but the body has faded noticeably. Does it have a peaked top cap, or is it a flat-top (both were produced?)

 

Hello Strang

Yes it has a peaked cap and it does not show any signs of a cap band.

Edited January 26, 2012 by repairperson

[repairperson]

There should be a single thin cap band but it may just be missing from your pen. Otherwise, it looks like a 286 cap but probably not original to that body, for all the difference it makes. They are probably made from the same material (body and cap) but the body has faded noticeably. Does it have a peaked top cap, or is it a flat-top (both were produced?)

 

 

That's not a 286 cap, I'm sorry to say. It might be from a 475 which is bandless, has a gold clip and is the same diameter as a 286. Don't despair, though. The 286 is a very common pen and it shouldn't be too difficult to find a spare cap.

Regards,

Yes, it does have a peaked cap but there is no sign of their being a cap band

Edited January 26, 2012 by repairperson

[repairperson]

Thanks Kulindi.

Can a person tell which cap goes on what barrel? If this does match can you tell which one it does match.

Edited January 26, 2012 by repairperson

[repairperson]

Red52Ripple: If this is a 475 black and a 286 barrel then I am looking for two pen parts. Not easily found here is Canada I think.

[MikeW]

Red52Ripple: If this is a 475 black and a 286 barrel then I am looking for two pen parts. Not easily found here is Canada I think.

 

Both pens can be found on eBay, although not always as "parts pens". Of course, you can also put a WTB notice in the FPN Classifieds.

[red52ripple]

The pens that kulindi refers to are ones that were assembled from whatever parts were available because of wartime shortages. You could say, if you want, that your pen is an example of this practice, though it actually seems to have been done only with patterned pens. But who knows? It was a long time ago and Conway Stewart did even stranger things, such as fitting Summit-style clips, to keep sales going during the war. So that's one solution: keep the pen as it is: it may be that that was how it was made!

 

If you want to restore it to a fully authentic 286 you have a good cap – probably a 475 – and a good 286 barrel. As Mike W. has said, you can find the replacement part you need in eBay UK. An unrestored black 286 goes for around £25.00. You can recoup some of your losses by selling the cap and barrel that you will no longer need – someone will be happy to snap them up to complete projects of their own.

 

Regards,

[repairperson]

The pens that kulindi refers to are ones that were assembled from whatever parts were available because of wartime shortages. You could say, if you want, that your pen is an example of this practice, though it actually seems to have been done only with patterned pens. But who knows? It was a long time ago and Conway Stewart did even stranger things, such as fitting Summit-style clips, to keep sales going during the war. So that's one solution: keep the pen as it is: it may be that that was how it was made!

 

If you want to restore it to a fully authentic 286 you have a good cap – probably a 475 – and a good 286 barrel. As Mike W. has said, you can find the replacement part you need in eBay UK. An unrestored black 286 goes for around £25.00. You can recoup some of your losses by selling the cap and barrel that you will no longer need – someone will be happy to snap them up to complete projects of their own.

 

Regards,

 

Thanks for the information my sister seems to pick up Conway Stewarts but doesn't know enough to find ones with all their parts intact. She has also bought a 475 pink and black CS which I think is suppose to have a similar coloured cap. Is that correct? Do the colours have names or do you just call it pink and black

 

 

 

 

 

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[MikeW]

repairperson

 

A good (and free) reference for you regarding Conway Stewart pens is Jonathan Donahaye's Conway Stewart site

 

If you are really interested in pursuing a collection of Conway Stewart pens, I can also heartily recommend Fountain Pens for the Million by Stephen Hull. A must-have book for the CS collector - I have it and can vouch for it as in invaluable reference tool (and interesting book!).

 

Best of luck!

MikeW

[red52ripple]

I would expect that pen to have a cap the same colour. Pink and Black Marbled sounds good to me. Conway Stewart rarely gave names to their patterns. Most of the names we use nowadays were invented or recorded by the late Jonathon Donahaye, a great collector and cataloguer of Conway Stewart pens.

Regards,

[repairperson]

I would expect that pen to have a cap the same colour. Pink and Black Marbled sounds good to me. Conway Stewart rarely gave names to their patterns. Most of the names we use nowadays were invented or recorded by the late Jonathon Donahaye, a great collector and cataloguer of Conway Stewart pens.Regards,

Thanks MikeW and red52ripple for the sites and the information. I seem to have quite of few parts here. Caps,barrels I didn't realize I had this many Conway Stewart Pens. This is my last pen. It does not fit any of the pictures I have seen. Most with this type of cap(missing the clip of course) seem to be button fillers. Is this another frankenpen? This is a 479 greyie black marble.

Edited January 27, 2012 by repairperson

[northlodge]

repairperson: "If this is a 475 black and a 286 barrel then I am looking for two pen parts. Not easily found here is Canada I think."

 

If you really want to go ahead, and find you are struggling, I have a 286 black cap here. The problem I envisage is that your barrel is discoloured, and even a 286 cap would look like a mis-match. PM me if you want this sent (no cost, no tracking, just a gift).

 

Red52Ripple: "But who knows? It was a long time ago and Conway Stewart did even stranger things ???, such as fitting Summit-style clips, to keep sales going during the war."

 

Is this not a bit like taking a Ford Focus and sticking a Rolls Royce badge on the bonnet :roflmho: - the new owner would know they are not getting the real Summit experience - or on a more serious note I think Summit (Lang) actually produced some of the war time Conway Stewarts in their entirety, see the CS240 on my website as an example.

 

 

 

[red52ripple]

 

Is this not a bit like taking a Ford Focus and sticking a Rolls Royce badge on the bonnet :roflmho:

 

Perhaps a touch of hyperbole there. But in all seriousness I do take your point. Summits are extremely well made and always a pleasure to work on.

 

Regards,

[red52ripple]

Is this another frankenpen?

 

No, it seems like a perfectly normal 479. You'll need a chrome plated lever for that one, if memory serves me well. I haven't seen that pattern before.

Regards,

[futhark]

I would expect that pen to have a cap the same colour. Pink and Black Marbled sounds good to me. Conway Stewart rarely gave names to their patterns. Most of the names we use nowadays were invented or recorded by the late Jonathon Donahaye, a great collector and cataloguer of Conway Stewart pens.Regards,

Thanks MikeW and red52ripple for the sites and the information. I seem to have quite of few parts here. Caps,barrels I didn't realize I had this many Conway Stewart Pens. This is my last pen. It does not fit any of the pictures I have seen. Most with this type of cap(missing the clip of course) seem to be button fillers. Is this another frankenpen? This is a 479 greyie black marble.

 

I have a couple of CS pens that I am sure started out as "blue marble" pens, but they are today only slightly blue and closer to grey or charcoal marble in appearance like the one in your photo. As for the 286 in your original question, even if you get a black 286 cap, it is going to look strange with that low gloss barrel unless you polish the barrel. Or somehow make their surfaces comparable. The 286 is my favorite vintage CS model.