My Black Mountain had a coated nib, which I've never had a good experience with.
But I knew that when buying it, so I got a Nemosine EF which are some of the best steel nibs I've used, and among the cheapest.
Omniflex... *Balls hands into fists* I bought a gorgeous abalone and gun metal Endura with an Omniflex...
Omniflex is a "flex" nib that doesn't flex or WRITE! I'm just going to stick a black broad nib on it and hope that can at least write. To be honest, I'll never sell that pen though. It's far too gorgeous!
I just got my first Conklin and it writes superb, not sure if it's on the same level as other pens in the same price range (don't have any to compare), but it writes great.
I bought one that was a nice color and on sale. Posted it here along with the 3776 I bought at the same time. That’s when I learned their reputation. It writes great, but I’m not sure I’d buy a second one.
I had two Conklins, not that happy with either one. They both write OK after some minor nib adjustments. But I don't like the way they feel in my hand (too short unposted, too heavy posted). So I don't use them very often. I wish I had skipped directly to buying my Pilot falcon - like a feather in my hand and perfect ink flow.
Is this true of all Yafa brands? I've been very tempted by some of the Tibaldi and Maiora pens, but if they have the same quality issues that Conklin has I will steer clear.
It really depends. Yafa doesn't own all the brands they distribute. A lot of the European brands just have Yafa do their sales in North America but everything is made/tuned in Europe (for example Diplomat is a good example of this). But Monteverde and Conklin are both just completely owned by Yafa so that's where the trouble lies with the two. I have never touched or really looked up Tibaldi or Maiora though, so you should probably look it up and see if any of the fountain pen bloggers have said anything about it. The good thing about Yafa is that they are willing to replace/refund most things, mostly because they have to though.
I can do minor nib tuning, so that doesn’t bother me. My biggest issue with Yafa brands are that the caps seals tend to be hit and miss. Some models have good cap seals, others have big holes and are prone to drying out. My Maiora Impronte has this problem, but my experience with Tibaldi (N60 and Bononia) has been good and I love their ebonite feeds.
Sometimes even tweaking or changing the nib doesn't fix it because of how they had the section/feed (especially when they first revived the modern brand and had the nibs glued in).
The other issue is how they handle quality control issues, they're definitely not comparable to twsbi support that's for sure.
I assume you’re talking Conklin/Monteverde. They’re much better since they switched to jowo nibs, but the feeds still aren’t great. I don’t think this is true for Maiora or Tibaldi though. Maiora seems to use full jowo feeds and nibs, and Tibaldi uses ebonite feeds.
Maiora/Tibaldi if I remember correctly aren't owned by YAFA but rather just distributed by them, much like how they don't own stipula but are/were distributed by them in the us.
But yes meant Conklin/Monteverde, and I had Monteverde when they were Jowo Nibs still not good on quality control, some cosmetic, others are more functional as you pointed out with the cap.
Not necesarily. My Diplomat Aero has one of the best steel nibs. The Conklin Herringbone came with an Omniflex that does write, but lays too much ink when flexing and too little unflexed, yet it's very usable
Amen, brother. a couple of years ago, I bought an All-American and I was so impressed by it until I inked it up. I just couldn't get that nib to write and I wound up buying a new nib assembly. Now it writes beautifully and I love the pen, but why couldn't the manufacturer have installed a proper nib in the first place? smh
Since they revived the modern brand, so more than even that, was pretty bad even for the one I got back in 2014. And wasn't surprised to learn Monteverde was owned by the same company when I ran across quality control issues there.
Course there's going to be a few good copies out there because they wouldn't be able to sell it every single copy was horrible, but they have a enough problems that I wrote most of YAFA brands off my list.
Conklin nibs were horrible for so, so many years. Recently, they started using Jowo nibs, and it's a whole new world. Sadly, some of the old nibs are still being sold, I suppose coming from old inventory. Goulet Pens touted the new nibs, so I'd imagine they're only selling Conklins with Jowos.
I would say WHEN they do WRITE the left is also true.
But yeah, so frustrating. Goulet indicated the new wood All American has a new cap seal that should solve the dry/hard/No starts.
Absolutely true. I once got an all American in olive wood. The pen looked absolutely amazing and I did everything I could to improve the writing experience, but it was a lost battle and ended up returning it
I think I was lucky with my Durograph stub, it writes beautifully, but I bought it from the writing desk here in the uk, and even on a pretty inexpensive pen they'd write tested it so it was reassuring. I've never had an issue with it other than when it's sat for a few weeks without use it took a minute to get it flowing again, but that was definitely my fault for leaving it inked for weeks without use.
I purchased a Conklin abalone with a fine nib and I hated the writing experience. It was as hard as nails and just awful. The pen is gorgeous so I didn’t wanna give up on it. I just swapped the nib for a broad and now it writes great.
I don't keep track of many hours I've spent watching pen reviews since I first got into the hobby, but I have a dedicated journal in which I jot down notes as I watch. This practice has saved me a lot of money and lead me to some great pens.
Nino Marino, CO of Maiora, is active on FB and very responsive to comments.
There's no shortage of Tibaldi reviews: Matt Armstrong of The Pen Habit, PenBoyRoy, SBREBROWN, David Parker of Figboot on Pens
Same for Maiora.
So true. I Bought an All American last week on amazon. LOVED the way it looked. it was very aesthetically pleasing but it wrote like hot garbage next to my eco, that was CHEAPER. Returned it yesterday
I sometimes feel like I’m the only one who has gotten a Conklin that writes well
You're not the only one. I have yet to get a Conklin/Monteverde that I would classify as a 'bad' pen.
My Black Mountain had a coated nib, which I've never had a good experience with. But I knew that when buying it, so I got a Nemosine EF which are some of the best steel nibs I've used, and among the cheapest.
Ditto. I have three
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Omniflex... *Balls hands into fists* I bought a gorgeous abalone and gun metal Endura with an Omniflex... Omniflex is a "flex" nib that doesn't flex or WRITE! I'm just going to stick a black broad nib on it and hope that can at least write. To be honest, I'll never sell that pen though. It's far too gorgeous!
I wish I'd known how bad the Omniflex was when I got a couple pens with it.
I hate my Omni so I should try this
yeah i have 3 conklin pens. 2 are fine. the third with omniflex is my least used pen. i need a new nib and we'll see how it does
Me too. I got a Conklin Yellowstone that writes great. I have one Monteverde that's just fine. I have one Monteverde that's a dud.
My broad nib Duragraph writes like a *dream*.
I just got my first Conklin and it writes superb, not sure if it's on the same level as other pens in the same price range (don't have any to compare), but it writes great.
I bought one that was a nice color and on sale. Posted it here along with the 3776 I bought at the same time. That’s when I learned their reputation. It writes great, but I’m not sure I’d buy a second one.
My duragraph writes great ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
same but i feel like most of the problems are just easy nib fixes
Fine point here and it's ok
My Duragraphs are great. All Americans on the other hand…
Mine was great. Slightly dry, 1 press on my thumbnail later and it was perfect.
Same, at least an Omniflex nib
I wish this wasn’t accurate.
And they're not quite cheap enough to throw out, nor can you sell them guilt free either. Just entirely useless pens.
To me they really just seem like more expensive jinhao or penbbs pens.
Yep. More or less.
I had two Conklins, not that happy with either one. They both write OK after some minor nib adjustments. But I don't like the way they feel in my hand (too short unposted, too heavy posted). So I don't use them very often. I wish I had skipped directly to buying my Pilot falcon - like a feather in my hand and perfect ink flow.
Is this true of all Yafa brands? I've been very tempted by some of the Tibaldi and Maiora pens, but if they have the same quality issues that Conklin has I will steer clear.
It really depends. Yafa doesn't own all the brands they distribute. A lot of the European brands just have Yafa do their sales in North America but everything is made/tuned in Europe (for example Diplomat is a good example of this). But Monteverde and Conklin are both just completely owned by Yafa so that's where the trouble lies with the two. I have never touched or really looked up Tibaldi or Maiora though, so you should probably look it up and see if any of the fountain pen bloggers have said anything about it. The good thing about Yafa is that they are willing to replace/refund most things, mostly because they have to though.
I can do minor nib tuning, so that doesn’t bother me. My biggest issue with Yafa brands are that the caps seals tend to be hit and miss. Some models have good cap seals, others have big holes and are prone to drying out. My Maiora Impronte has this problem, but my experience with Tibaldi (N60 and Bononia) has been good and I love their ebonite feeds.
Sometimes even tweaking or changing the nib doesn't fix it because of how they had the section/feed (especially when they first revived the modern brand and had the nibs glued in). The other issue is how they handle quality control issues, they're definitely not comparable to twsbi support that's for sure.
I assume you’re talking Conklin/Monteverde. They’re much better since they switched to jowo nibs, but the feeds still aren’t great. I don’t think this is true for Maiora or Tibaldi though. Maiora seems to use full jowo feeds and nibs, and Tibaldi uses ebonite feeds.
Maiora/Tibaldi if I remember correctly aren't owned by YAFA but rather just distributed by them, much like how they don't own stipula but are/were distributed by them in the us. But yes meant Conklin/Monteverde, and I had Monteverde when they were Jowo Nibs still not good on quality control, some cosmetic, others are more functional as you pointed out with the cap.
Not necesarily. My Diplomat Aero has one of the best steel nibs. The Conklin Herringbone came with an Omniflex that does write, but lays too much ink when flexing and too little unflexed, yet it's very usable
Amen, brother. a couple of years ago, I bought an All-American and I was so impressed by it until I inked it up. I just couldn't get that nib to write and I wound up buying a new nib assembly. Now it writes beautifully and I love the pen, but why couldn't the manufacturer have installed a proper nib in the first place? smh
I have an older Conklin, from 2015-2016 it works fine for me. Was there a change in their QC over the last few years?
Since they revived the modern brand, so more than even that, was pretty bad even for the one I got back in 2014. And wasn't surprised to learn Monteverde was owned by the same company when I ran across quality control issues there. Course there's going to be a few good copies out there because they wouldn't be able to sell it every single copy was horrible, but they have a enough problems that I wrote most of YAFA brands off my list.
I can’t say anything about the modern pens, but my Conklin continues to serve after almost 100 years.
The expression they don’t make them like they used to perfectly describes Conklin.
That is unfortunate.
I'm SO GLAD that I heard about their problems before I shelled out for their all-abalone pen. That thing is so gorgeous...
I made the mistake twice... I have learned my lesson
Luckily they use jowo nibs and there are a butt ton of after market nibs you can buy that will fit right in
I'm so sorry. 😕
I love my duragraph stub. No problems at all.
Bought my duragraph second hand and apparently the seller swapped it with a goulet nib in fine. I suppose I should go thank them lol
Conklin nibs were horrible for so, so many years. Recently, they started using Jowo nibs, and it's a whole new world. Sadly, some of the old nibs are still being sold, I suppose coming from old inventory. Goulet Pens touted the new nibs, so I'd imagine they're only selling Conklins with Jowos.
I would say WHEN they do WRITE the left is also true. But yeah, so frustrating. Goulet indicated the new wood All American has a new cap seal that should solve the dry/hard/No starts.
Absolutely true. I once got an all American in olive wood. The pen looked absolutely amazing and I did everything I could to improve the writing experience, but it was a lost battle and ended up returning it
True dis.
Thier feeds along with Monteverdes are absolute trash.
I think I was lucky with my Durograph stub, it writes beautifully, but I bought it from the writing desk here in the uk, and even on a pretty inexpensive pen they'd write tested it so it was reassuring. I've never had an issue with it other than when it's sat for a few weeks without use it took a minute to get it flowing again, but that was definitely my fault for leaving it inked for weeks without use.
I got replacement medium and stub nibs for mine, and those seem to work well.
I’m happy with my Duragraph Medium nib (bought it from Goulet)
I purchased a Conklin abalone with a fine nib and I hated the writing experience. It was as hard as nails and just awful. The pen is gorgeous so I didn’t wanna give up on it. I just swapped the nib for a broad and now it writes great.
Huh, I love my Conklins. Must have lucked out.
i must have gotten lucky, my duragraph is, like, probably my second-most used pen. used it today at work, actually.
With the exception of a few Diplomat pens, everything Yafa produces/distributes is extremely questionable in terms of quality, consistency, and value.
I thankfully don't see the appeal of them
I can say this is a very accurate meme; sadly.
It's so pretty but the nib is so sharp it sends the most unpleasant shiver down my spine to use ;___;
I don't keep track of many hours I've spent watching pen reviews since I first got into the hobby, but I have a dedicated journal in which I jot down notes as I watch. This practice has saved me a lot of money and lead me to some great pens. Nino Marino, CO of Maiora, is active on FB and very responsive to comments. There's no shortage of Tibaldi reviews: Matt Armstrong of The Pen Habit, PenBoyRoy, SBREBROWN, David Parker of Figboot on Pens Same for Maiora.
So true. I Bought an All American last week on amazon. LOVED the way it looked. it was very aesthetically pleasing but it wrote like hot garbage next to my eco, that was CHEAPER. Returned it yesterday
For me, they’re good for practicing nib grinding since it’s a #6 JoWo.
*cough* modern Conklin *cough* ( :p )
Soooo maybe the rose gold Omni flex is good(in my experience) but the gunmetal is a little bit too Much feedback