Experiences with Conway Stewart (Bespoke British Pens) lever fill pens?

[velox brunneis vulpes]

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

[Matlock]

On 2/4/2022 at 4:53 AM, idle canine said:

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

Hi John,

 

I have a couple of lever fill Conway Stewarts from BPP and have had no problems at all, but I also have a couple from the previous set up and experience only first rate service.

I find BPP great to deal with but you sometimes have to wait a little while for your order to be fulfilled if it is not a standard item.

Hope that helps.

 

Peter

 

[velox brunneis vulpes]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:30 PM, Matlock said:

Hi John,

 

I have a couple of lever fill Conway Stewarts from BPP and have had no problems at all, but I also have a couple from the previous set up and experience only first rate service.

I find BPP great to deal with but you sometimes have to wait a little while for your order to be fulfilled if it is not a standard item.

Hope that helps.

 

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

 

Thanks very much for your feedback. I've read good things about Bespoke British Pens and your positive experience with them has increased my confidence!

I'm that much closer to pulling the trigger on ordering this pen! 

 

Thanks Peter! 🙂

 

Best regards,

John

[Targa]

I have not tried one of their lever-fill pens, but I have had and used a number of CS pens from before BBP and after.  The new BBP pens are very well made, and IMHO, considerably better made than before BBP.  The Winston seems to have been made with the WWII blitz in mind - it would survive a direct hit from a 200 Kg bomb.  And the service / communication with BBP is excellent.  

I have a lot of pens, and I like most of them, but after a few of the new BBP pens, I feel like everything else is second-tier.  

[donnweinberg]

Last August, at the Washington, DC Pen Supershow, I purchased from a "small" pen seller (no brick-and-mortar shop) with a single table at the show, a modern Churchill lever-fill pen that was NOS.  This model is still being sold on the CS website.  I paid $500 for a pen that on the website would cost around $700.  

 

I stored it away for a few months and took it out to fill, first with water, just to make sure it really was NOS.  It was NOS, as there was no hint of any ink.  However, although the lever moved normally, the pen didn't fill.  I checked the CS website, which listed Vanness Pen Shop (Tennessee) as the authorized U.S. repair site.  After getting in touch with Vanness' "Mike," I shipped the pen (in its box with all original papers) there.  Vanness is a highly reputable outfit, but it didn't have the correct size-type sac for the pen repair, and it is having difficulty procuring it.  No doubt, Vanness will get the needed sac and make the needed repair, and the cost quote is $20, which is fine.

 

My disappointment isn't so much with the delay, as this isn't a "pen emergency;" I have many pens.  No, my disappointment is with the fact that (1) CS isn't taking care of this under warranty (it's a NOS new pen) and (2) CS apparently isn't Vanness' source for replacement sacs for its own, currently sold pens (otherwise, CS could provide/sell one to Vanness).  I find the latter fact odd.

 

I'm very fond of CS pens, as I have a Winston Cherry piston-fill FP, an Evergreen Churchill C/C FP, and a 58 "Commander" C/C FP, all of which I purchased directly from CS within the past year.  Perhaps I should learn a lesson -- to purchase all CS pens directly from CS and not at pen shows.  

 

Any thoughts?

[donnweinberg]

I want to correct one thing from my above post.  The "Commander" C/C FP is not a Model 58; it is a Model 100.  Sorry.

[donnweinberg]

I had the lever-fill Churchill's sac replaced by Martin Ferguson and picked it up at the BWI Pen Show last weekend.  The lever feels right, but I haven't yet inked it.  I'll post again when I do.

[Paul-in-SF]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:29 AM, donnweinberg said:

my disappointment is with the fact that ... CS isn't taking care of this under warranty (it's a NOS new pen)

 

My comment about this is that "new old stock" isn't the same as new, and that there is really no way to prove that a pen really is NOS (in the sense of never having been used).  Even if the person you bought the pen from supplied you with their original purchase documents, most such warranties aren't usually transferrable to new owners. At least I would not expect them to be. 

[donnweinberg]

25 minutes ago, Paul-in-SF said:

My comment about this is that "new old stock" isn't the same as new, and that there is really no way to prove that a pen really is NOS (in the sense of never having been used).  Even if the person you bought the pen from supplied you with their original purchase documents, most such warranties aren't usually transferrable to new owners. At least I would not expect them to be. 

 

Good to know, Paul-in-SF.

[donnweinberg]

I inked my CS Churchill lever-fill FP (the modern version), with italic medium nib, a few days ago with Diamine Monboddos Hat (dark purple) ink.  The pen is a great writer and very light -- only 29g with ink (11g cap only).  The nib has a springy softness to it and provides some line variation without pressure and more with some pressure.