Conklin Duraflex - First Impressions

[zslane]

I was fortunate enough to get two Conklin Durflex pens that both work great. One is number 13xx in the series and the other is 17xx. My assumption is that these were from the second round of production, which may have benefitted from some fixes to the manufacturing and/or QC process after the first round of pens yielded sub-standard specimens.

 

I feel sorry for customers who did not receive a good Duraflex pen; it is my favorite pen right now, though I must confess that I do not use it for everyday writing (I have trusty Lamy Safaris for that).

[Dibutil]

Attempt:

Result:

 

 

 

Note that Ahab has finer initial line and DuraFlex had tines permanently bent on the stroke #2 while on #3 it already had no in in the feeder.

Fixing it is easy: just push the tines down at the feeder and to the center so that they align. But then, even on a medium stroke, they are spread again. Totally useless!

 

N.B: I can squeeze out more width from Ahab.

[JonSzanto]

Those pens are worse than I expected, and I didn't expect much. FOMO claims more victims.

[zslane]

That's very strange. I don't get any tine spreading with my Duraflexes. Perhaps I am not pushing down hard enough. I am only pushing hard enough to get approx 1.2-1.5mm strokes out of them.

 

I tend to get a lot of railroading and hard starts with my Ahabs, which I don't get with my Duraflexes.

 

Clearly, YMMV with any of these pens.

[JonSzanto]

Perhaps I am not pushing down hard enough.

 

A good flex nib does not have to be pushed down hard. That is why many people loathe these nibs and their concept of "flexible". "Bendable" would be more appropriate.

[Freddy]

 

A good flex nib does not have to be pushed down hard. That is why many people loathe these nibs and their concept of "flexible". "Bendable" would be more appropriate.

All nibs flex..once.............

 

You got that, Tuco?

 

Wah..wah...

 

Fred

[JonSzanto]

You got that, Tuco?

 

That name doesn't sound remotely Hungarian. Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out why one is -ible and the other is -able.

[Driften]

Attempt:

 

 

Note that Ahab has finer initial line and DuraFlex had tines permanently bent on the stroke #2 while on #3 it already had no in in the feeder.

Fixing it is easy: just push the tines down at the feeder and to the center so that they align. But then, even on a medium stroke, they are spread again. Totally useless!

 

N.B: I can squeeze out more width from Ahab.

 

 

 

Yes you got a bad nib, you should get it replaced. They are not all like this.

[Dibutil]

 

 

 

Yes you got a bad nib, you should get it replaced. They are not all like this.

 

Goulet Pens do not have spares and Yaffa are not responding. I am out of luck, I guess. Will try heat-treating it myself assuming the stainless is some sort of 440 steel. I may loose blueing but I have the chemical for this so it is easy to restore (and actually looks better than the Duraflex black).

[Driften]

 

Goulet Pens do not have spares and Yaffa are not responding. I am out of luck, I guess. Will try heat-treating it myself assuming the stainless is some sort of 440 steel. I may loose blueing but I have the chemical for this so it is easy to restore (and actually looks better than the Duraflex black).

 

 

I know they don't sell the nib separate, but if you bought the pen from them and emailed support they should take care of you. They did for me. My first nib did exactly what yours did and they sent me a new nib which does not have the issue. What did support suggest you do?

[Dibutil]

Interestingly, the Twitter and Facebook accounts of Yaffa's are both suspended.

[Dibutil]

 

 

I know they don't sell the nib separate, but if you bought the pen from them and emailed support they should take care of you. They did for me. My first nib did exactly what yours did and they sent me a new nib which does not have the issue. What did support suggest you do?

 

They gave me another channel to contact Yaffa, which is the web form on their site. I suspect that if no one monitors emails then nobody would care to respond to the web requests.

[Driften]

 

They gave me another channel to contact Yaffa, which is the web form on their site. I suspect that if no one monitors emails then nobody would care to respond to the web requests.

 

 

Strange they did not treat me like that. True it's Yaffa's responsibility, but in the past Goulet has gone out of their way to support me and other customers. Sorry you got caught holding the bag on a bad Conklin product.

 

Maybe you should start a thread on the nibs area about what you try to fix yours. Did you pull the nib and feed and reseat it? I don't think it will help but some have said that too much pressure on from the feed caused the issue and reseating fixed it. On the one I had I don't think it was heat treat. When I tried to close the nib gap it went right back to too wide with no pressure. It's not like it was too soft.

[Dibutil]

 

 

Strange they did not treat me like that. True it's Yaffa's responsibility, but in the past Goulet has gone out of their way to support me and other customers. Sorry you got caught holding the bag on a bad Conklin product.

 

Maybe you should start a thread on the nibs area about what you try to fix yours. Did you pull the nib and feed and reseat it? I don't think it will help but some have said that too much pressure on from the feed caused the issue and reseating fixed it. On the one I had I don't think it was heat treat. When I tried to close the nib gap it went right back to too wide with no pressure. It's not like it was too soft.

 

 

Times change and for sub-$00 product nobody will tear up themselves.

 

The feeder bent upwards helped holding the tines spread, I fixed that with some patience and hot water. The nib steel is not heat-treated, it bends like a tin can. I do not even need to take it out to bend the tines back into place.

 

If you are curious, I will post my report on heat-treating if I decide to attempt. There is a very little chance to succeed, I have no faintest idea of what kind of steel it is. Regardless of my guessing if this steel does not have sufficient content of carbon and chrome it will not accept any quenching and annealing, just as a tin can.

[JonSzanto]

It still makes me furious that a name that once made fine writing instruments, pens worthy of collecting and using nearly a century later, can now be laser-engraved on junk with no aftercare and people just shrug their shoulders. It isn't just the business aspect that is galling but the philosophy of disrespect as long as raking in bucks that I find appalling.

[Dibutil]

The response from Yaffa:

 

"We do regret hearing about the situation you have with the Conklin Duraflex Nib. We do have replacement nibs available ($30.00 cost plus S&H) due to the fact that the nib has been adjusted it is no longer covered by any warranty. If you wish to order a new nib please complete the attached form and return to me. "

 

-- effectively: if you used it then you are not covered. Nice going, Yaffa! No wonder your Twitter and Facebook accounts are blocked. I would want to post in both some VERY nice words.

[Driften]

The response from Yaffa:

 

"We do regret hearing about the situation you have with the Conklin Duraflex Nib. We do have replacement nibs available ($30.00 cost plus S&H) due to the fact that the nib has been adjusted it is no longer covered by any warranty. If you wish to order a new nib please complete the attached form and return to me. "

 

-- effectively: if you used it then you are not covered. Nice going, Yaffa! No wonder your Twitter and Facebook accounts are blocked. I would want to post in both some VERY nice words.

 

 

Most companies void the warranty if you admit to adjusting or messing with a nib. They don't say you can't use the pen and still get support.

 

I know I would be mad at spending $60 on a pen that does not work. I was mad as well, but Goulet took care of me.

 

I think if I was in your shoes I would try and drop in a #6 nib and at least have a pen to write with. I would also never buy another Yafa product. Mine came out fine, but I don't think I will buy any more of their products. Too many bad reviews on flow issues or bad quality control.

[Dibutil]

 

I think if I was in your shoes I would try and drop in a #6 nib and at least have a pen to write with. I would also never buy another Yafa product. Mine came out fine, but I don't think I will buy any more of their products. Too many bad reviews on flow issues or bad quality control.

 

 

I have lots of pens to write with, and many flex nibs among them! Yet Conklin looked so promising...

[ian1964]

I bought the Marlen Aleph some years back and this is what happened to my nib ( the nib looks identical to me!). I put the damage down to me being heavy handed and in all honesty prefer broad nibs anyway. I kept the actual pen ( because it is a work of art) and swapped the nib and feed with a Bock number 6.

[bass1193]

Regarding the Pen Chalet Omniflex pen, I jumped on it as soon as I got the email, without even bothering to read the description having assumed it would be the same as the Goulet version. I received number 249 of 300, and alas it's different than the Goulet Omniflex.

 

Same nib, but the trims are ruthenium plated, rather than rose gold. I was initially disappointed since I was looking forward to a rose gold and black Conklin more affordable than the gorgeous black chased Mark Twain Crescent. I've come to appreciate the stealth aesthetic that the ruthenium plate offers with the black resin body and black nib.

 

The nib works well, not seeming to have a temper issue like some have reported. It's not as snappy as a Creaper nib or of course either of my FA nibs or my lone Waterman 2.