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Hi - I haven't been here for a while, but wanted to show off a new pen. I'm not an affiliate for this pen - instead I am the Hon. Secretary of the Detection Club, and have worked with Conway Stewart to create this pen, which is based on the weight and size of the Wordsworth, now sadly discontinued. It was one of my very favourite pens! This is the Detection Club pen from Conway Stewart in honour of the Detection Club. It is a glorious black with mostly gold trim. On the cap there is a red spacer - supposed to symbolise blood, because this pen celebrates the almost 100 years since the foundation of the Detection Club. The first members, from GK Chesterton, Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie all the way down to AA Milne (yes, he was a crime writer too), are all listed on the barrel itself, which has been laser-engraved with all the names (including Eric the Skull, one of the most important and longest-standing members!). The cap itself has a standard CS clip which works well, bringing to mind the pens of the 1930s. On the very top of the cap is a rendition of Eric the Skull with the name of the Detection Club. At the back of the cap there is a list of the Presidents of the Detection Club from the first to the present day. I am personally a long-standing user of Conway Stewarts. The first pen I bought was one of the original limited edition Churchill pens, which I still adore. I moved on, some years later, to buy a solid silver Drake, which I adore, and later still worked with the company to design a special version of the Winston. However, I find more and more that I need a smaller pen, something which can easily be held in a shirt pocket. I have an Indiana Jones model, which is excellent for that, but I have to admit, this Detection Club pen is slightly larger, considerably heavier, and makes for a much more satisfying writing tool. The weight, balance and diameter are superb for my hand. The fact that it sits in my shirt pocket is a great advantage, too. The pen uses the larger size Conway Stewart nibs, which are soft, and give a good line variation. I have been using the prototype model for some six weeks now, and it's going to be painful to send it back to the Detection Club to be stored in the archives! If you are interested in the pen, please contact Conway Stewart. It's a limited edition and will go on sale very soon. A video of the pen can be seen below, and a week later, on 24th October, I made a second video comparing the Detection Club pen with the Winston and the Indiana Jones. In my opinion, this pen would be my second favourite pen just behind the Drake, which I find utterly beautiful and perfect to write with. I'm just saving up (mostly excuses) to justify the expense of a new one! So, if you enjoy crime and mystery writing, and would like a pen to celebrate the authors of the golden age of crime writing, this could be a good pen for you. I hope you enjoy the videos.
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Experiences with Conway Stewart (Bespoke British Pens) lever fill pens?
velox brunneis vulpes posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
Hi fellow FPNers I'm considering ordering a custom-made Conway Stewart Marlborough lever fill pen from Bespoke British Pens (BBP). I've read horror stories of terrible customer service, leaking sacs and snapping/faulty levers in Conway Stewarts from before BBP took over. Could you please share your experiences with BBP-made Conway Stewart lever fill fountain pens? Have you had any issues and how were they resolved? The pen I'm thinking of ordering is not part of their usual line-up...is it advisable to ask them to make a pen with a filling system that's not usually in their production line? Your feedback would be much appreciated! Many thanks! Best, John -
Initial Review: Conway Stewart Series 100 "The Commander" Fountain Pen
donnweinberg posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
This is a review of a brand new Conway Stewart Series 100 - The Commander, in a Navy Blue color with Gold trim and an 18K CS Broad Nib. It fills either with an included screw-in converter or International Standard cartridges. Here are ten photos of the pen and its packaging, from the CS site, as the CS photos are far superior to the ones I took: I filled the pen with Birmingham Pen Co. "Cold-Steel" ink, a blue-black, by injecting the ink into the converter with a hypodermic needle, screwing the converter into the section, and moving some ink into the section with the screw converter. Then, I dipped the nib in some Fountain Pen Flush to get the flow going. After writing with the pen for a few lines, the ink began to darken. This process is cleaner than dipping the nib and part of the section in the ink and then wiping off the excess. Here's my initial writing sample: I am very impressed with this pen. It is beautiful to look at, wonderful to hold because of its relative lightness and balance (I never post the cap on the barrel), and has a springy nib that writes a wet, broad line. The objective measurements of the pen, supplied by Conway Stewart, are as follows: LENGTH: Capped 5.42"/137.8mm ; Posted 6.70"/170mm ; Barrel/Section/Nib only 5.08"/129mm ; Cap only 2.48"/63mm. BARREL DIAMETER: 0.52"/13.2mm CAP DIAMETER: 0.61"/15.5mm WEIGHT: 20g/0.71oz I got the pen with a broad nib, but also available for no extra cost are EF, F, M. The 18K gold CS nib was $70. The pen also is available as a Rollerball, with either fine or medium point. The cost of the pen as a RB is $514, so if you get the FP, the cost is $584 (i.e., the extra $70 for the 18K nib). Options I didn't get are as follows: Special Nib Options ($56), such as stub, italic, oblique. Special Engraving ($25) (name or initials) After putting this nice pen through the paces some more, I'll report back on its longer-term performance. So far, so very good.
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Hi all, Firstly, if this is in the wrong thread I apologise and will move it to the correct one if told to where. Right I am about to be the posesser of a Winston classic. Lucky me. So my question is to all Conway Stewart owners, what ink do you use and why? Thanks in advance. Kev
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Fountain Pens
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Fountain Pens
© (c) 2022 by OldTravelingShoe. All rights reserved.
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of Fountain Pens
© (c) 2022 by OldTravelingShoe. All rights reserved.
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I have been keeping an eye out for a vintage Conway Stewart as I am eager to try one and my trip to the UK was preempted by the pandemic. The CS no. 388 is described as small/slim. I am curious if that makes it comparable to, say, a Sailor 1911 S, which fits my hand really well, or if it is narrower, more like a Pelikan 20x. The CS 759 is also described as slim but from the pictures I've seen the 388 and 759 look identical in size, but it is hard to judge width. Any guidance would be appreciated. I don't like super narrow pens because of how I grip them, but I don't care for KOP/Meisterstuck sizes either! Thanks.
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of European Fountain Pens
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of European Fountain Pens
© (c) 2022 by OldTravelingShoe. All rights reserved.
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From the album: OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of European Fountain Pens
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Conway Stewart poem, though I am not Seamus
essayfaire posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
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How-to: Set, or change, personal info that others can see about me
A Smug Dill posted a blog entry in Sus Minervam docet
It helps to explore this yourself, revisiting once in a while if need be, and keep in mind where each of those personal info fields are entered. Don't leave it until the urge to change something specific to come upon you, and only then bother to ask the question! Invest the time surveying upfront, instead of waste it later waiting for an answer from nobody in particular. Most of the fields shown above are self-evident as to what they are. I think the only ones that could do with explanation are: Security and Privacy: There is only one setting under there, and that is a toggle for whether your online status (including ‘last active’ date or time) is visible to others Content View Behavior: That has nothing to do with what others can see about you, but only where you would like to start reading when accessing content Enable status updates: This toggle enables/disables the public feed on your profile page; if you disable it, then nobody (including you) can post publicly visible ‘status updates’ or any other message against your profile, but if you enable it, then anyone — friend, foe, or complete stranger — can post something there whenever, without waiting for you to initiate and then only reply to what you wrote Notification Settings have nothing to do with what others can see about you, and so is out of scope for this article, and I'm not going to delve into those right now. (You can look here, here, and here to wrap your head around how notifications work with respect to followed content.) N.B. There is a possibility that some of the above settings and data fields may not be available to Bronze members and/or Silver members, but I have no way of testing that or scoping it out. — • — Another way of getting to the Edit Profile dialog, and the way to change your profile photo (or ‘avatar’), is here: — • — Freeform, custom member titles that one enters for oneself are long gone, and have not been a thing since FPN came back from a long hiatus and platform upgrade late in 2020. -
Experiences with Conway Stewart (Bespoke British Pens) lever fill pens?
velox brunneis vulpes posted a topic in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop
Hi fellow FPNers I'm considering ordering a custom-made Conway Stewart Marlborough lever fill pen from Bespoke British Pens (BBP). I've read horror stories of terrible customer service, leaking sacs and snapping/faulty levers in Conway Stewarts from before BBP took over. Could you please share your experiences with BBP-made Conway Stewart lever fill fountain pens? Have you had any issues and how were they resolved? The pen I'm thinking of ordering is not part of their usual line-up...is it advisable to ask them to make a pen with a filling system that's not usually in their production line? Your feedback would be much appreciated! Many thanks! Best, John -
Essential info sought re. Conway Stewart Dinkies-Pen and Pencil
LizWrites posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
Hi all, I just purchased a lovely vintage Conway Stewart Dinkie pen and pencil set, circa early 1950s (from Heritage Collections in the UK). Both write beautifully. (Picture below) But I wondered if anyone out there collecting them can fill me in on some basics: 1. How do I refill the lead in the pencil? Through the tip or the barrel? If the barrel, is there some secret to getting in to the barrel? 2. Similarly, how do I separate the fountain pen section from its barrel? 3. Is Casein a form of plastic? 3. Is the 1.2 mm lead readily available? Has anyone out there tried 1.1 mm lead, which I've seen for sale, and found it fits sufficiently well? ---Both pen and pencil seem to be so tightly connected that I fear if I try to open them, I might break something. Are they supposed to be this way? I started to wonder whether I am not supposed to open them at all . . . . But that doesn't make sense to me, since these pens/pencils were used by so many for everyday writing and they would have needed to get at them at some point or another. Many thanks for any help. Liz
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Conway Stewart Marlborough In Rose Ripple
FPNRLCC posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
I considered the Churchill to be the my favorite Conway Stewart design during my first few years or collecting pens. Its stepped clip grabs your attention without being ostentatious. It has an imposing size but remains practical even to those with smaller hands. It has a classic early 20th century design. And, it has a nice respectable name. I decided that if I could only have on Conway Stewart, it would be the Churchill. I ignored other CS designs like the Marlborough for the most part. In fact, I bought the top pen in the image below with the sole intent of reselling it for a small profit to help fund a Churchill purchase once a fairly priced one turned up. Half a decade later, the Marlborough is now my favorite pen design and I own a second one (bottom picture). The size is perfect for me. It rests comfortably in my hand unlike many modern oversized pens that make me feel like I'm writing with a marker rather than with a fountain pen. It maintains the same level of vintage inspiration as the Churchill does especially with that lovely knurling on the cap. It also preserves its link to British heritage with the name Marlborough as a potential reference to Churchill's ancestor the Duke of Marlborough. Most importantly, I have simply found myself writing with this more than the Churchill. The Marlboroughs I own are numbered 20 (top) and 03 (bottom). 20 has an F nib while 03 has a factory IF nib. They have different characters with 20 having more expressive mottling and 03 having restrained striations parallel to the length of the pen. Celluloid is the hottest material in the market, but, while I enjoy Arco Bronze as much as anyone else, ebonite has a special place in my heart as it evokes the strong wood that make up homes and furniture that have stood the centuries-long test of time. Rose ripple is a particularly attractive color. A pair of oxblood loafers allows a man to express himself beyond the sea of black and brown oxfords while maintaining an acceptable amount of formality. These Marlboroughs do the same for me when I use them out in the open in meetings. The color pops up just enough for people to take a second look without distracting them from what they're doing. This all made me want to learn more about this finish. I looked for catalogues of ebonite manufacturers online to see which of their rods resemble the rose ripple color the most. Stumbling upon, the German ebonite manufacturer SEM's catalogue, I saw that they had a few reddish ebonite rods. Their ponceau rods as shown below seemed to perfectly match the color of rose ripple. When I reached out to them, they confirmed that they provided the modern incarnation of CS with many ebonite rods. They said that ponceau does correspond to rose ripple while their night blue and cumberland colors correspond to CS' blue ripple and woodgrain. I have a hunch that the CS woodgrain is probably a mix of SEM's honey and cumberland but this is just speculation on my end. My contact couldn't confirm. It would have been appropriate for CS to name the Marlborough finish ponceau instead of rose ripple. I say that because 'ponceau' is French for poppy-colored and is rather appropriate for a pen with such English heritage - poppies being a strong symbol for the history of the First World War. As to the inspiration of the Marlborough's design, it began with a special commission by Andy Evans from Andy's pens. I posted the picture of my Marlboroughs on Facebook a few weeks ago. Andy replied how he commissioned a small set of pens from Conway Stewart inspired by the model CS200. CS unfortunately went into receivership and once it was bought and re-established (I believe this was unrelated to BBP and before BBP came in) the new owners released the production version of the Marlborough with the rose ripple as part of the first batch. The Marlborough is shorter than Andy's commissioned pens and unlike the commissioned pens, the clip was fixed to the Marlborough. The knurls were designed to make it easy to remove the clip. You would have been able to screw off the top blind cap with the grip from the knurls. That would certainly have been an interesting feature if it made its way into the final Marlborough release. Below is an image of a CS200 I found on Worthpoint (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/conway-stewart-200m-superb-mottled-hr-1778369286) Learning about the history of pens is one of the best parts of collecting. Many people find themselves absorbed in hours of online reading to figure out what makes a clip or nib special. Some people can tell not just what year but what quarter a pen was made in just by looking at the clip, nib or some other obscure part of the pen. People even debate about what proper name to call a pen (quite notable in the realm of Vacumatics). Knowing these minutiae and stories gives a comforting sense of pride and enjoyment to many people including myself. It was enjoyable to learn the history and design surrounding the CS Marlborough. Efforts like this are often reserved for hunting vintage pens however. I hope that we devote the same amount of time writing the history of modern brands like Bexley, Lamy, Danitrio, etc. the way we do for Parker, Montblanc, Wahl-Eversharp, Mabie-Todd, Pelikan, Aurora, etc. Cheers! -
British 1930's & 1940's Button Filler Pens.
Ricky2011 posted a topic in Great Britain & Ireland - Europe
Hi, just thought id share my selection of Stephens (1932) & Parker victory (1935-46) English made (discounting the first 5 years made in canada). when you look at the the period in general a lot of the the other makers were concentrating on lever fillers. would be nice to see what else is made during the period in button filler. regards Rick
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I have just bought a Conway Stewart 77 in green herringbone but the cap had suffered a trauma and the clip broken off cracking the cap at the break point. Any idea how this could be repaired or where I can get a replacement cap from? The rest of the pen and the nib are in great condition so I would like to be able to use the pen regularly.
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Conway Stewart Dandy Opinions
collectorofmanythings posted a topic in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop
Hello! I’ve been looking into possibly getting a modern Conway Stewart. I personally prefer gold nibs, and like the look of their Dandy model. I was wondering if any of you have any opinions on modern Conway Stewarts and/or this model. I haven’t seen really any review for it anywhere. Thanks, W. Major -
Hi I am new here so be gentle I have a modern 58 series Conway Stewart fountain pen.It is in a black presentation box with padding and blue ink. On the barrel it says Conway Stewart 300/113 Made in England and on the nib Conway Stewart 18ct Gold M It has a twist ink converter and is a reddish colour. Its never been used (I would like to find out roughly what it is worth before I use it) I got it through a competition win in the 1990s and the little book with it is not stamped or signed. I have tried to research it periodically over the years to find out the colour name and what it is made of in particular but have been unsuccessful so I have signed up here in the hope that someone can tell me how to find these things out. Can anyone help?
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I like celluloid, Omas, vintage (and of course modern too)... For a long time I resisted getting a vintage Omas Cracked Ice. The combination of the rare pattern and vintage Omas makes it quite expensive to acquire a senior sized or even a mid sized Omas Cracked Ice. I also have a vintage Conway Stewart Cracked Ice, which is considered one of the most attractive Conway Stewart patterns (along with Herringbone, Tiger Eye etc). So I convinced myself that I didn't need an Omas Cracked Ice. That is until the right moment came. Recently I was able to acquire a vintage Omas Cracked Ice in the lady/ring-top size. As I understand, the Omas is made of celluloid (cellulose nitrate) and Conway Stewart of cellulose acetate. Here I made some photographic comparisons. Some background notes: The Omas Cracked Ice pattern is known for discolouration. Most of the pens in this pattern are found in various discolouration on the barrel. Zero discolouration is extremely rare, as this celluloid (and indeed any "trasparente" patterns) is very sensitive to acidic ink. So my Omas is no exception, though I consider the discolouration here modest. I have seen better and some worse. 1. Both pens capped. Omas ring-top, 10cm long. Conway Stewart No. 24, 13.2cm long. 2. Nib side pattern comparison. 3. Feed side pattern comparison. 4. Omas nib side discolouration. 5. Omas feed side discolouration comparison. 6. Conway Stewart Cracked Ice cap and barrel, in cellulose acetate, no discolouration. 7. The "dark sides" of Omas Cracked Ice: Similar to the Arco pattern, the Omas Cracked Ice also has two "dark sides". This is what I love about this Omas version, that you can see that the Cracked Ice is revealed through cross-cutting the pearl like flakes in the celluloid, much like leaves in a pond! These "dark sides" are more intriquing than those of Arco in this aspect. I hope you find the above informative! I've always enjoyed handling a vintage 🙂.
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Hi All, I own a few modern Conway Stewarts in their various marbled/cracked ice finishes and I am wondering who makes the pen blanks for them? I know that SEM was their supplier for ebonite but I am not sure who makes the resins for them. Here are a few shots of my Conway Stewarts. If you aren't sure but you have a hunch of who is the manufacturer, please do share anyway. Thanks! Churchill in Honey Noire Belliever in Poinsettia and Duro in Cherry Red
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Having just picked up my grail pen, I was astounded by its size and thought a post such as this would be a useful reference. Take a look at the comparisons with a green Dinkie 540 (c.1950) and with its larger counterparts, a #77 (c.1958) , #58 (Red Herringbone c.1958 & Silver hatch c.1955) as well as with the c.1940s flat topped #1200 and the mighty Onoto Magna Classic (2019). The heart-breather nib design suggests my pen is a first edition. The #100 was released to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Conway Stewart in 1955. Later models featured one band, no bands and a Duro point with a circular breather hole, like the #77 and the Herringbone #58 you see here. Please add to this post with your own comparisons, if not for the sake of usefulness then do it for the eye-candy!
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I currently have an old celluloid CS 479 from the early 1930s on my bench that, not surprisingly, needs a new sac. It's in very good condition otherwise. Since I have not that much experience with CS pens, I wonder if anyone here can tell me whether the section is friction fit or screw in? Thanks a lot in advance. P.s.: Sorry, my previous post had a typo in the title, which unfortunately I cannot edit. Maybe a moderator can remove the earlier post.
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The pen that I'll be reviewing (or discussing) today is: "The Universal Pen Conway Stewart London No.489" I have had this pen for a bit over a month now, have used it everyday, and have found it to be a reliable writer. I managed to pick this pen up after doing some antique shop hunting, and managed to get it for only $23AUD. On that note, I think it is actually much better to go vintage pen hunting in person rather than online. It's more fun that way, not knowing what you'll find, and you probably end up with a nicer price, provided you're willing to do some relatively easy restoration work. This pen was made in England, in the late 1930s, so this is when fountain pens were generally moving away from the olympic-split style flex from the earlier period, and started featuring what I see as being *stiffer* nibs (though they still can produce very admirable amounts of line variation). It is made from a hard rubber, judging from the fact that what used to be black rubber has now faded to a dark brown, and also if you were to rub your finger on a patch of the pen and smell it, it should smell like old tires. It has a no.1, 14 carat gold nib, with what I see as a medium point (there's no markings in terms of size), and produces nice amounts of line variation. It also has an ebonite feed. Note how wide and deep the feed channel is. This means that this pen is an extremely wet writer (almost a firehose). This was very typical of vintage pens, requiring larger amounts of ink to accomodate for "flex writing". Also note the cutouts on the side. This allowed for any ink that had leaked out to be held, without dripping down the nib and forming blobs on the paper. I believe this was an attempt to mimic the spoon feed design from earlier Waterman pens, which were incredibly successful, and which was mimicked by many other pen companies. It also has a sac, very typical, and was filled via a lever on the side of the barrel. Also very typical. The pen itself is quite light, and is 131mm long capped, and 161mm posted. This pen can be posted very comfortably and securely, though whether you do so is all up to personal preference. a few notes: No, this pen is not for sale. This pen has been put through its paces, and has proved it's reliability by non-stop writing for 2 hours in English Exams, and a further 1.5 hours in that afternoon. It is VERY reliable. The iron gall ink used in the pen is wholly appropriate, due to many inks of the period being iron gall inks. Do not worry about the pen's current condition; it is part of a rigorous maintenance schedule, and is flushed out every single week. In addition, the ink used is formulated to be gentler on pens, and the pen itself, containing no metal parts excluding the gold nibs, easily stands up to it.
