Conid Minimalistica Avda Phi — Sailor Nibs

February 8, 2020

Hello all, this will be my first review here — my first post, for that matter — so do tell me if I need to make any changes to its format.

the pen I am reviewing today is the Conid Minimalistica AVDA Phi Special edition. If that mouthful wasn’t enough, my specific configuration is: M BCB BB SL. Which essentially means it’s all Delrin. What’s unique about this special edition is the cigar shape of the pen, rounded finals as opposed to the usual flattop, and the engraved clip.

I had been sweating over which Conid to order for a while, and deciding on this one was a slow process. I initially wanted a king size in all Delrin (not a huge fan of ebonite) but I found the pen to be too heavy once I got one in-hand. The section of the Regular, and the two exposed o-rings at its rear left me ergonomically and aesthetically turned-off, so it was out too. The slimline was too small and had a similar concave section to the Regular, which I didn’t enjoy. I have yet to try a giraffe...

I had two doubts about the Minimalistica initially: I don’t like how it looks with flat finals, and I was worried about the friction fit cap. Once I got one in-hand, and realized that you could get one with rounded finals, these concerns vanished. The feel of the uninterrupted rather girthy section of the pen was perfect in my hand. The weight and balance ideal. I ordered one immediately.

I went without a nib, as I almost exclusively use Sailor H-M and H-B nibs for my long writing sessions. I wanted to really put this pen to work. I placed the order in late June, had a Sailor nib ready to go in an FNF housing two weeks later, and then I waited. The pen arrived in October. By this time I had moved to Barcelona for work and the shipping took one day.

I opened the package, greased the o-rings on the piston, threaded in my nib of choice and inked my new Minimalistica with Tsuki-yo. Then I got to writing.

I write a good deal, try to get in two hours most weekdays and will do a longer session on Sundays. This pen is exactly what I hoped it would be. After a long session I have zero pain or fatigue in my hand or wrist. I don’t have to deal with filling in the middle of a session — ever — and the material feels so nice in my hands.

I have used six different nibs in this pen: Sailor H-B, H-M, H-F, H-F CSI (Kirk Speer), H-M CSI (Kirk again), and finally a Montblanc 146 Broad CSI (you guessed it, Kirk Speer).

Flexible Nib Factory truly has made my life better. Without access to these nibs, I’d undoubtedly be less happy with the pen. The nibs definitely write wetter than they do in a Sailor body, but not to an extreme degree. The Montblanc writes fine, like you’d expect, nothing incredible but the grind on it makes it fun to use once in a while.

I have used this pen everyday since its arrival, it’s been inked with Tsuki-yo, Fuyu-syogun, and Take-sumi. I could not be happier with its performance; I ordered another on November Second.

I will attach some photos of the pen below. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers!

February 8, 2020

Where did you get the extra Sailor nibs from?

February 8, 2020

Where did you get the extra Sailor nibs from?

I may or may not have a few extra bodies lying around...

In all seriousness, I have yet to find a way to purchase only a nib from Sailor. I have taken nibs from three black and silver 1911Ls, a Pro Gear ‘Ocean’ (which had a single tone nib, not sure if that’s normal), and a Pro Gear ‘Graphite Lighthouse’.

I love Sailor. Their nibs are almost all I use. Their ink capacities however... well, they’re the reason I was steered towards Conid.