Here's another Conklin review! This resembles the Conklin
Endura in size and shape, so let's see how this stub nib holds up!
ABOUT
Body Material: Resin
Trim: Rose-gold
Length (capped): 5.5"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 4.75"
Length (posted): 6.6"
Barrel Diameter: 0.56"
Section Diameter: 0.43" - 0.47"
Nib material: Iridium
Weight: 0.9 oz
Fill type: Cartridge/Converter
Price: $135.00USD
Current Sale: $67.50USD
Where to buy:
Pen Chalet
Coupon Code: Use "gourmetpens" at Pen Chalet for a 10% discount on any pen until the end of the year!
PACKAGING
The
Conklin Glider was packaged in common Conklin packaging - a large blue hard case, with the pen nestled in a ruffled white satin bed that looks a bit like a casket - elegant and attractive, though morbid. I don't consider this box to be anything special though. There isn't much storage space, so I dispose of it. There were a pack of cartridges and a converter, but I immediately went for the converter of course.
APPEARANCE
The Glider is a good-sized pen, with blunt ends, a creamy ivory resin body, and rose coloured trim - both center band and clip. Like the
Endura, the clip on the Glider 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.
It looks like the coating is rippled a little - a chased effect.
The center band is slim and a little rounded. The body has a chased texture that resembles chased hard rubber vintage pens. In this case, it looks quite nice on the ivory finish, and appears to be attractive on the other colours as well (particularly the coral!). The top of the pen has the Conklin badge, which is cute.
What I find most interesting about the appearance of this Glider is that it resembles my vintage Conklin SS!
NIB & PERFORMANCE
The nib matches the size of the pen quite well, as with the
Endura. It is a single tone nib that is quite simple. I think it would have been nicer with rose gold plating as it would have matched the trim of the body better.
The stub nib writes smoothly and is not scratchy, which I did find pleasing, therefore in terms of its smoothness, this nib met my expectations. However, I kept writing and found the nib ran dry. The nib tines were very tight so a little bit of tweaking fixed this and the pen wrote better - wetter, but not gushing. Before being adjusted, flow was so dry that even on Rhodia, ink would dry within five seconds. There is no flex or spring to this nib, though there is line variation already as it is a stub nib.
IN HAND
Having written with the
Conklin Endura before, I was not expecting this pen to be heavy, and it isn't very heavy. It's quite comfortable to write with unposted. I don't find it spectacular to hold or use though. It doesn't warm to the touch or have any outstanding features that make me drool over it when I hold it. It isn't a bad pen to write with though, it just didn't "capture" me.
PROS & CONS
OVERALL
The price of this Conklin Glider surprises me - it's quite expensive, given what else you can get around the same price range. If you can find it on sale, it's pretty decent, but I would recommend adjusting the stub nib yourself to open up the flow a little (which is very easy to do, but you have to be willing to do it!). If you can adjust the nib, it writes quite nicely and is a great nib size. Don't forget it's very smooth, so that's great!
Check out SBRE Brown's review of this pen!
There are no affiliate links in this review.
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8 comments:
Thanks for the candid review, Azizah. I like the look of this one, too.
Oh man, glad to hear that I wasn't alone in finding my Conklin stub to run dry. I'm with you wholeheartedly on this one. It's a fine pen, but for the price it's just not worth it. I got the Mark Twain Crescent Filler, also through Pen Chalet and it was just "meh" at best. A $156 pen should be great, and this one definitely fell short. I didn't even think about it until now, but the plastic that the pen is made out of just doesn't have a great feel in hand. I've only inked and used the pen once, which is pretty disappointing. Oh well!
Lovely review - you are a pen and ink enabler! Meant in the best way. I may have to get that ivory pen and know i'll be looking for the summer purple ink. I wish pen chalet carried it too. Also wish they had the stub nib. After reading your review, I got out my Conklin Endura and inked it up. When I first got it, it had a nasty smell and was so light that it put me off. But now the smell is gone and I wanted to try out the nib to see how I liked it before deciding about the ivory pen. Nicer than I thought and a bit of spring with some pressure. Not really flex, maybe semi. Thanks for all your great reviews!
Yep. Couldn't agree more. If the feed can't keep up with a stub, they shouldn't offer a stub! Or.. you know.. they could just tweak them properly. CRAZY THOUGHT RIGHT?! Sigh.
You're welcome! Thank you for your kind comment! I hear the word enabler thrown around a lot lol. Happy to be of service :) Ah yes, I have read about the Conklin's steel being slightly springy, most interesting. It's just about the feed being able to keep up! ... Now I have to go smell these Conklins.
I agree. the steel nib should have been gold-toned. My glider is in black. I enjoyed the chasing on this pen, and thought they did that very well. Thanks for your thoughts.
Crazy indeed. I haven't inked it up since I finished the review. BOO.
The black one is VERY cool, I must say!
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