Conid, Eh?

[markofp]

I'd never heard of Conid until a few months ago, and I know that they are on a manufacturing hiatus at present. But the king size bulkfiller with the demonstrator body looks really, really awesome.

 

So, how are they as writers? I'm slightly skeptical of Bock nibs, but I'm sure they will experty tune them before shipping. Has anybody regretted their purchase, felt they were not worth it? My two favorite pens are the Parker Duofold Centennial and the Pilot Custom 823. How will it stack up, do you think?

 

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[silverlifter]

I'm extraordinarily happy with mine, a Minimalistica.

 

I think a pretty good gauge is the frequency (or, rather, rarity) with which they appear for resale, and the prices they command when they do.

[dms525]

I have a Regular and a Minimalistica, the "Monarch" special from Fontoplumo. I have 3 nibs - one each gold, titanium and steel - all ground by Conid to cursive italic. They are all excellent writers. The Conid pens are well made, and the filling system is an engineering marvel. There may be more beautiful pens, but I can't say any are better ergonomically or in quality of construction.

 

David

[OmegaMountain]

I have a Minamalistica with a M titanium nib. My only regret is not getting a fine nib because, as titanium nibs tend to be, mine is a wet writer. Otherwise, construction is to notch for a bespoke pen. There's a reason they had an order backlog that forced a hiatus.

[zaddick]

The pens are well made and the nib grinds were fine, but the standard models felt almost clinical to me. The filling system is novel, but now you can get a PenBBS pen for $40 that has the same system basically.

 

People do love their pens and they hold a lot of ink and are easy to disassemble, and it is easy enough to put in a different nib. I have owned a few and have one left, but I prefer other pens overall.

[silverlifter]

but now you can get a PenBBS pen for $40 that has the same system basically.

 

This is true. But my great grandchildren will be writing with my Conid. The same can't be said of a PenBBS.

[Marcwithac]

I have a Kingsize Bulkfiller and absolutely love it. It is almost always in my “filled” tray.

[Wadude]

They seem to be beautiful, well-engineered, decently writing pens, but I have yet to see a killer spec to justify the high prices they command. In my understanding, the overwhelmingly positive user feedback is more about the general feeling of the pen, rather than a specific merit (it just writes).

 

Although I was quickly made to reach for my wallet when I heard they might make a special edition in arco celluloid. So beautiful. Alas, from the rumors on FPN, it appears they were unable to acquire the rods.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Wadude

[sirgilbert357]

I'd reach for my wallet if ANY modern pen were made in Arco celluloid. Every time I see any pen made in that material, it's too expensive for me to justify purchasing (they are usually vintage Omas).

 

That is, hands down, my favorite pen material of all time and getting my hands on something made with it would be an "exit pen" for me. I could retire from ever even thinking about buying any more pens, LOL.

[oldrifleman]

I own Six, Two KingSize and four Regulars. All currently wear Titanium nibs and all are FANTASTIC writers. I have 3 all Ebonite pens (1 KS, 2 Regulars) and these are my all time favorite pens. They never fail, are way over Engineered and absolutely fantastic pens. The nibs are custom ground by their inhouse nibmiester and perform perfectly. I always have at least one of them inked in my rotation.

[whichwatch]

I had a Minimalistica but didn't care for it because I didn't care for the press-on cap (as opposed to screw on cap). I replaced it with a regular and am much happier. I also replaced the nib with one from Ralph Reyes and I use the pen almost every day.

 

I would gladly buy another Regular if I could find one.

[Doug C]

I have a Slimline and a Minimalistica, and I love both. Neither are perfect; the Delrin section on the SL is too slippery for my use and I don't love the ti nib on the M (but I like the slip on cap). That is more a function of the nib than the pen.

 

I would buy them again, and might get a third if and when supply is available.

 

I also agree with the comments on the Arco celluloid, but since I have an Omas Arco brown and an Oldwin in the Arco verde, I would not pay a premium for an Arco Conid at this point.

[sansenri]

I don't own one and somewhat regret non buying one earlier, but relatively steep price has kept me away, or I should say has pushed me to buy other pens first.

Of what I heard the Conid seems to be a case in which the pen matters more than the nib.

I've seen several Conid owner fitting different nibs in their Conids, such as Montblanc nibs, and others.

I believe this is probably a peculiarity of this pen, a high quality engineered pen, with high-tech design, built to last, that can take any high quality #6 nib to match it.

In that respect, it's still under my radar, when and if availability will be back to standard.

[SpecTP]

I own the kingsize bulkfiller with CAISO mounted with a titanium nib and a gold nib. Both nibs are exquisite though I prefer the titanium one over the gold. The pen is my every day carry and the first pen I reach for. I was able to order mine when Conid offered custom configuration of all the component parts.

[markofp]

Are these pens, the Bulkfillers, vac fill pens? Do you have to unscrew the back to write with them for any length of time (like the TWSBI Vac or the Pilot 823)?

[SpecTP]

Are these pens, the Bulkfillers, vac fill pens? Do you have to unscrew the back to write with them for any length of time (like the TWSBI Vac or the Pilot 823)?

not at all.

[silverlifter]

not at all.

 

The CASIO system is different to the standard bulkfillers, which do have an ink shutoff valve.

 

The difference between the bulkfiller and the Sheaffer/Pilot/TWSBI vacuum fillers is that the bulkfiller is a syringe filler: it draws the ink into the primary and secondary chambers by suction, and the piston head is then anchored to the back of the chamber, allowing for a bulk fill.

[stephanos]

Original questions:

So, how are they as writers? I'm slightly skeptical of Bock nibs, but I'm sure they will experty tune them before shipping. Has anybody regretted their purchase, felt they were not worth it? My two favorite pens are the Parker Duofold Centennial and the Pilot Custom 823. How will it stack up, do you think?

 

 

My responses, as an owner of more than one CONID model:

Superb writers, reliable, pleasure to use. I bought my first CONID in late 2015 and have not regretted that or subsequent purchases at all. Yes, they're pricey (understatement), but to me they were worth the money. I prefer the feel of my Minimalistica (for example) to the Custom 823 (which is also an excellent pen). I cannot compare with the Parker. The Kingsize is a very serious pen, and a delight to use. I would definitely go for demonstrator over solid body.

Having said all of that, I bought my CONIDS in person. This is definitely a pen and a price-point where buying in person is advisable, if at all possible, failing which at least get your hands on someone else's first...

[25_15_3]

Had 2 Minimalisticas. One a normal edition bought from Conid, another the Monarch from fontoplumo. Decent pens on the expensive side for what you get. Regular nib tuning was OK, not great. I've never seen people mention defects, but the two Conid's I bought were not perfect. The trim on the cap ring and back knob ring had noticeable lack of QC. Rather disappointing. These pens were also bought within the span of 1 or 2 years, so the QC hadn't changed since my first purchase.

 

The filling system is interesting, but wasn't great in use. I've tried various inks, with the knob open, and the pen would dry up for longer writing sessions.

 

Of the things I liked was that it was easy to take apart and the packaging was nice. Shame about not including tooling into the pricing.

 

I had wanted a Kingsize for the longest time, but I am happy with other pens I went with instead.

[oldrifleman]

My experience has been that Conids are my most perfect writers! I always have one or two inked and in my drawer. I can pick one up and know that it will write without hesitation and will flow perfectly (unless I let the user reservoir run dry). I like the Titanium nibs and they have a nice bounce and run very nicely.