Great video as usual! I just purchased a Conklin Coronet with a broad nib that I haven’t tried out yet, and now I’m even more excited to give it a go. Also, green is my favorite ink color, so thanks for sharing this one.
I have the same model in Forest Green, the only Conklin I owned and kept. It's a nice looking pen, but I had to put a replacement nib in mine to get it to write to my satisfaction. I love the look of the crescent-shaped breather hole, but I don't find the Conklin nibs to be all that good.
Great video, I own the same one in amber color. In medium and 1.1 stub nib. I love it. I see now why Mark Twain said what he did about Conklin fountain pens!!
I have the Conklin Duragraph Abalone Nights, with a fine nib. It writes very well and even gives some sheening effects, with the Birmingham Jade Inferno ink. BUT, I have a Conklin Coronet that was HORRIBLY sharp, and scratchy; nearly paper destroying sharp. Luckily, I was going to a pen show and got Kirk Spear from Pen Realm to work on it. He said that the nib was misaligned and had a burr. After his expert attention, the pen writes smoothly and well. It's never going to come up to comparison to a gold nib or my Esterbrook pens, but it keeps me from feeling like I threw my money away. Your ink is very similar to the Jade Inferno, which is an emerald/teal green with red sheen.
I have a number of Conklin pens. I have a Duragraph with a Titanium body and nib which is one of my favorites. As you have seen the resins are gorgeous, too. It has a nice weight and the balance. I have been a fan of Conklin pens for years. Yes, the nibs are stiff and I would avoid their Omniflex nib. It is very stiff for a flex nib. Thankfully Jowo now makes a much better version, called Elastic. You may have seem this nib on Leonardo pens. On my Titanium pen, I swapped the nib and put on a Bock Titanium nib on a Jowo feed. It works! I had to do it, it made sense to do it. I am glad you are enjoying the pen. I am looking forward to your Focus review.
I got one of the Duraflex pens (A duragraph with an omni flex nibs), and that was a horrible nib. Goulet Pens sells the newer Jowo flex nib and that writes very nicely now.
I've already commented on my issues with Conklin/JOWO nib/feed issues (3x 1x) all randomly skip in my All American which I paid full retail for even after writing half a page. I would never take a chance on a Conklin (which is, after all, just another Chinese pen with some dodgy marketing about Toledo etc) at any price when you can get any number of Chinese piston fillers from Wing Sung, Asvine and Jinhao that work out of the box at a quarter the price. I'd simply buy the Jinhao 100 if I wanted that look and feel, the chance of getting a good writer is seriously better.
This one does perform better than the wooden All-American. I also now have a resin All-American with a Broad nib. That one writes like a dream and even handles shimmer inks well. I do think there is a bit of a lottery in terms of the quality you get from Conklin.
I have two Duragraphs, one is green exactly like yours but with a Fine nib that I purchased on Amazon for $32 US. The other is red/white with a stub nib that I bought at a Pen Show for around the same price-$32 US. Both write really well, with the stub nib model being one of my favorite pens for writing cursive. Sorry you had a bad experience with your other Conklin. Hope this one serves you well.
Hello, I'm Brazilian and I purchased a Conklin Duragraph pen with a 1.1 italic tip on Amazon Brazil, unfortunately the pen didn't have a constant ink flow, it "failed" several times. I watched several tutorials on TH-cam, and saw several people say the same thing, do you have any answers?
@@rogeriosantos1379 Hi, I don't know if the italic and stub are the same but I find that with all my pens I have force ink into the feed if I don't use then in a week or so. I just twist the converter control forcing ink into the feed until a small blob of ink appears in a paper towel held near the nib and that seems to work OK for me.
@@rogeriosantos1379 I do get some flow issues still. I am slowly trying different things, deep cleaning the nib and feed, refitting the nib etc. I'll keep a record of the things I try.
I have a Conklin Duragraph and a Stylograph. Seem to be same size so not sure why a different name. Both are good writers although the nibs are exceptionally stiff. I often say I can use them as darts in a dart game and still write with them. Thanks for the video.
Great videos Gary. Can you please mention your website you get most of your pens from. It was a little hard to hear. I went into Dymocks Sydney and saw some of the Conklin range but they didnt have much of a range. Thanks
I tend to use either Cult Pens in the UK, or Appelboom in The Netherlands. What I tend to do is try and batch up my purchases to take advantage of free shipping levels.
@@GarryEves I'd save your money, the nib/combo is a crap shoot. For a lot less (and I know you have these) the Wing Sung 630 or Asvine P20 or one of the newer Chinese pans to try out and review. Most people are getting the message that, for the $$$, Conklin pens are generally unreliable.
@@kevinblack8365 I mentioned this on todays live stream, I only bought the wood All-American, a kind viewer sent me the Duragraph and the resin All-American. I have no plans to buy any more Conklins at the moment. I believe the same company also makes Monteverde pens, and someone mentioned on the stream that they have heard of issues with those as well.
I have several Conklin brand pens and have had little luck with them. They look and feel great but their performance is poor. I tried adjusting the nibs but again no progress. 2 of them will not even write! I wrote to the Mfgr for some help and got no reply. I would take them to a nib smith but I don’t want to throw good money after bad. I have stricken Conklin from my buying list.
There are many, me included, who have issues with Conklin nib/feed combos. Like you, Conklin is on my never to buy again list. I paid AUD$150 for my all American. For those $$$ I can get 4 different Chinese piston fillers or cartridge converters that write smoothly out of the box. It's a no brainer.
After years of fiddiling with my durograph with the flex nib, I gave up on it. No amount of work would make it write properly. I used cartridges or convertor adjusted the nib all on my own because I live in the Caribbean. I was about to change the feed and nib and decided to give it one more fill. The pen writes and it writes properly because I forgot to screw in the body all of the way. If I screw it properly or tight it will not write. It writes nice too. So disappointing. What am I supposed to do drill a hole?
Thanks for the video, Garry. I don't have a Conklin Durograph. I think this is an overrated pen. I can't see where it excels in relation to the Jinhao centennial or the Kaigelou.
I have recorded a video this week where I compare 5 Duofold-style pens including the Duragrpah, Kaigelu and John 100 - should be published in a couple of weeks.
Conklin is now owned by Rafa Brands in the US. I also believe the pens are made in China, but I have not been able to confirm this anywhere. I think it was on a Fountain Pen Network message board that I saw the comment about them being made in China.
FWIW, @inkquiringminds advised that he believed the Conklin All American is made by Jinhao. Conklin have Toledo on their nib and pen body. They do not actually say the pen is 'Made in' Toledo so technically not untrue or illegal, but certainly misleading. There is little or no connection between the original Conklin Company /pens although JAFA try to spin that yarn, Chinese made pens with German JOWO nibs, not much of the good old USA there.
Great video as usual! I just purchased a Conklin Coronet with a broad nib that I haven’t tried out yet, and now I’m even more excited to give it a go. Also, green is my favorite ink color, so thanks for sharing this one.
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I have the same model in Forest Green, the only Conklin I owned and kept. It's a nice looking pen, but I had to put a replacement nib in mine to get it to write to my satisfaction. I love the look of the crescent-shaped breather hole, but I don't find the Conklin nibs to be all that good.
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Great video, I own the same one in amber color. In medium and 1.1 stub nib. I love it. I see now why Mark Twain said what he did about Conklin fountain pens!!
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I like that ink! It’s looks to have slow drying time, but oh that beautiful sheen!
This is one of my favourite inks. I tend to use it for titles and headings as it looks so nice.
I have the Conklin Duragraph Abalone Nights, with a fine nib. It writes very well and even gives some sheening effects, with the Birmingham Jade Inferno ink. BUT, I have a Conklin Coronet that was HORRIBLY sharp, and scratchy; nearly paper destroying sharp. Luckily, I was going to a pen show and got Kirk Spear from Pen Realm to work on it. He said that the nib was misaligned and had a burr. After his expert attention, the pen writes smoothly and well. It's never going to come up to comparison to a gold nib or my Esterbrook pens, but it keeps me from feeling like I threw my money away. Your ink is very similar to the Jade Inferno, which is an emerald/teal green with red sheen.
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I have a number of Conklin pens. I have a Duragraph with a Titanium body and nib which is one of my favorites. As you have seen the resins are gorgeous, too. It has a nice weight and the balance. I have been a fan of Conklin pens for years.
Yes, the nibs are stiff and I would avoid their Omniflex nib. It is very stiff for a flex nib. Thankfully Jowo now makes a much better version, called Elastic. You may have seem this nib on Leonardo pens.
On my Titanium pen, I swapped the nib and put on a Bock Titanium nib on a Jowo feed. It works! I had to do it, it made sense to do it.
I am glad you are enjoying the pen. I am looking forward to your Focus review.
I've just put Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Ryoku in the pen, I'll be using it as my EDC tomorrow.
I got one of the Duraflex pens (A duragraph with an omni flex nibs), and that was a horrible nib. Goulet Pens sells the newer Jowo flex nib and that writes very nicely now.
@@RJayRoberts 👍
I've already commented on my issues with Conklin/JOWO nib/feed issues (3x 1x) all randomly skip in my All American which I paid full retail for even after writing half a page. I would never take a chance on a Conklin (which is, after all, just another Chinese pen with some dodgy marketing about Toledo etc) at any price when you can get any number of Chinese piston fillers from Wing Sung, Asvine and Jinhao that work out of the box at a quarter the price. I'd simply buy the Jinhao 100 if I wanted that look and feel, the chance of getting a good writer is seriously better.
This one does perform better than the wooden All-American.
I also now have a resin All-American with a Broad nib. That one writes like a dream and even handles shimmer inks well.
I do think there is a bit of a lottery in terms of the quality you get from Conklin.
I have two Duragraphs, one is green exactly like yours but with a Fine nib that I purchased on Amazon for $32 US. The other is red/white with a stub nib that I bought at a Pen Show for around the same price-$32 US. Both write really well, with the stub nib model being one of my favorite pens for writing cursive. Sorry you had a bad experience with your other Conklin. Hope this one serves you well.
So far its been nice. I'm now on my second fill, this time with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku
Hello, I'm Brazilian and I purchased a Conklin Duragraph pen with a 1.1 italic tip on Amazon Brazil, unfortunately the pen didn't have a constant ink flow, it "failed" several times. I watched several tutorials on TH-cam, and saw several people say the same thing, do you have any answers?
@@rogeriosantos1379 Hi, I don't know if the italic and stub are the same but I find that with all my pens I have force ink into the feed if I don't use then in a week or so. I just twist the converter control forcing ink into the feed until a small blob of ink appears in a paper towel held near the nib and that seems to work OK for me.
@@rogeriosantos1379 I do get some flow issues still.
I am slowly trying different things, deep cleaning the nib and feed, refitting the nib etc.
I'll keep a record of the things I try.
Thank you!
I have a Conklin Duragraph and a Stylograph. Seem to be same size so not sure why a different name. Both are good writers although the nibs are exceptionally stiff. I often say I can use them as darts in a dart game and still write with them. Thanks for the video.
👍
What nib sizes you have?
Medium, fine and needlepoint by Kirk Spear
Great videos Gary. Can you please mention your website you get most of your pens from. It was a little hard to hear. I went into Dymocks Sydney and saw some of the Conklin range but they didnt have much of a range. Thanks
I tend to use either Cult Pens in the UK, or Appelboom in The Netherlands. What I tend to do is try and batch up my purchases to take advantage of free shipping levels.
I have two All American pens. Pens are just okay. I would take the Hongdian and Kaigelu, all day long over the All Americans.
I think my main issue with the All-American was the material. I may try another one in the future but with resin rather than wood.
@@GarryEves Yeah, I like the resin. One has green/purple/blue resin, and the other is a demonstrator.
@@GarryEves I'd save your money, the nib/combo is a crap shoot. For a lot less (and I know you have these) the Wing Sung 630 or Asvine P20 or one of the newer Chinese pans to try out and review. Most people are getting the message that, for the $$$, Conklin pens are generally unreliable.
@@kevinblack8365 I mentioned this on todays live stream, I only bought the wood All-American, a kind viewer sent me the Duragraph and the resin All-American.
I have no plans to buy any more Conklins at the moment.
I believe the same company also makes Monteverde pens, and someone mentioned on the stream that they have heard of issues with those as well.
I have several Conklin brand pens and have had little luck with them. They look and feel great but their performance is poor. I tried adjusting the nibs but again no progress. 2 of them will not even write! I wrote to the Mfgr for some help and got no reply. I would take them to a nib smith but I don’t want to throw good money after bad. I have stricken Conklin from my buying list.
So far this one has been OK, it's nice a wet and writes nicely.
I've just put a different ink in it to see how it goes with that.
There are many, me included, who have issues with Conklin nib/feed combos. Like you, Conklin is on my never to buy again list. I paid AUD$150 for my all American. For those $$$ I can get 4 different Chinese piston fillers or cartridge converters that write smoothly out of the box. It's a no brainer.
After years of fiddiling with my durograph with the flex nib, I gave up on it. No amount of work would make it write properly. I used cartridges or convertor adjusted the nib all on my own because I live in the Caribbean. I was about to change the feed and nib and decided to give it one more fill. The pen writes and it writes properly because I forgot to screw in the body all of the way. If I screw it properly or tight it will not write. It writes nice too. So disappointing. What am I supposed to do drill a hole?
I do find the Conklins I have a bit hit or miss in terms of quality. For the cost you would not expect that.
Thanks for the video, Garry. I don't have a Conklin Durograph. I think this is an overrated pen. I can't see where it excels in relation to the Jinhao centennial or the Kaigelou.
I have recorded a video this week where I compare 5 Duofold-style pens including the Duragrpah, Kaigelu and John 100 - should be published in a couple of weeks.
Sorry Gary, do you now where Conklin pens are made. I see Ohio US and then someone said China. Thanks
Conklin is now owned by Rafa Brands in the US. I also believe the pens are made in China, but I have not been able to confirm this anywhere. I think it was on a Fountain Pen Network message board that I saw the comment about them being made in China.
@@GarryEves Thank you Gary for the reply. Got it about Cult Pens. I might do the same.
Conklin pens have been made in Taiwan, Italy and other countries. The reference to Ohio is where Conklin was established.
FWIW, @inkquiringminds advised that he believed the Conklin All American is made by Jinhao. Conklin have Toledo on their nib and pen body. They do not actually say the pen is 'Made in' Toledo so technically not untrue or illegal, but certainly misleading. There is little or no connection between the original Conklin Company /pens although JAFA try to spin that yarn, Chinese made pens with German JOWO nibs, not much of the good old USA there.
$137? This pen sells for ~$45.
$137 Aussie Dollars - the exchange rate is awful at the moment