Review: Conklin Endura Green & Black Fountain Pen - Stub

This beautiful green and black marbled resin  Conklin Endura fountain pen comes from Pen Chalet - thank you Ron!

ABOUT

Body Material: Resin
Trim: Heavy chromium
Length (capped): 5.5"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 4.9"
Length (posted): 6.3"
Barrel Diameter: 0.5"
Section Diameter: 0.45"
Nib material: Steel
Weight: 24g/0.9oz
Fill type: Cartridge/converter
Price: $125.00USD
Where to buy: Pen Chalet

PACKAGING

The Conklin Endura fountain pen arrived rather nicely packaged in a large blue hard case. It does not seem to be anything like a leather case. The pen is nestled in a ruffled white satin bed is the pretty green and black Endura. Actually, it reminded me of a casket with its very elegant interior, morbid though it sounds. It looks rather attractive. Does this make the cut? The Keep It? cut, that is? Probably not, because it only holds one pen and the box itself isn't anything special.

APPEARANCE

The size of the pen surprised me - it is surprisingly large. Immediately I thought it was similar to my Pelikan M1005 (though it turns out it is slightly smaller).

The cap is round with a blunt end. There is a wide gold band towards the center, and another single indented ring towards the top. That one looks to be filled with a gold paint. Upon close inspection, it looks like it's not all that well done, although at a glance, it looks fine. The clip is also gold and has Conklin written on it. It has an interesting shape and extends quite far from the body on a spring. I don't like how far it protrudes, personally, but it is a very functional clip. The barrel is the same green and black resin, including the section. The end of the pen is blunt, to match the cap.

The engraving on it is quite small but is very legible.

 

I like the appearance of this pen. I think the green and black resin is quite lovely with its slight translucence that captures light very well, and the gold accents are the perfect warm highlight. The blunt ends are a little edgy and sharp, but it makes the material look really neat.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

This Conklin's nib is a good size to match the aesthetics of the body, and is simple in its appearance. I think it looks quite nice. I had a peek at the tines before writing - there was an even space between them but they were a touch too far apart so I gave them a little squeeze together before I started writing. Having done that, the ink flow was suitable and to my taste.

The nib had good flow and I tend to push my nibs to their ink demand limits (yes, even stubs). This one held up pretty well before the feed started to run dry. A gentle tap of the nib on the paper got the ink going again. I suspect this would not happen with the finer nibs.

For regular writing, it did quite well and I think most people will really like it. With the right ink, it looks very lovely - showing off fine qualities of ink such as the sheen and shading. I even tried to flex the nib a little and it did offer a little extra variation but it is not really flexible, and the tines needed squeezing together again when I was done.

IN HAND

Top to bottom: Pelikan M1005, Conklin Endura, Conway Stewart Marlborough Vintage, Noodler's Konrad. Yes. I know my Pelikan needs cleaning. I'm busy writing reviews for you.

Given the size of the pen, I was expecting this to be heavy. However, it is resin, so it is fairly light, therefore in hand, despite its size, it's easy and comfortable for me to write with. I have to use it unposted, but those with larger hands could easily post it and write comfortably. The threads are a little bit sharp but you won't notice them unless you move your hand around a lot or have a very tight grip.

PROS

• Attractive finish. 
• Very useful/functional clip. 
• Good weight and balance, especially for a large pen. 
• Very nice, smooth stub nib. (Also easy to adjust.) 
• Nice line variation and beautiful ink shading. 

CONS

• Details of indented gold ring at the top of the cap are a little messy.
• Too large for me to use posted. 
• Nib runs dry after awhile and needs priming. 

OVERALL

A nice pen from Conklin in a pretty finish with a decent, enjoyable nib that writes nicely and smoothly, though it needs priming if you intend to write with this stub for awhile. The best part is it offers fun line variation for users at any level. While the pen is priced a little higher than I'd like at its MSRP, if you catch it on a sale, it's an attractive pen with a decent sized stub nib. If the Endura doesn't strike your fancy, browse more Conklin pens at Pen Chalet.

A big thank you to Ron at Pen Chalet for sending this beautiful pen for review. I was not compensated monetarily for this review. Everything you read here is my 100% honest to grapes opinion.