Conway Stewart Churchill - Cartridge/Converter vs Lever

[gclyn]

Hi all, unfortunately, my desire to attain one of these pens came after the closing of Conway Stewart. I have been able to search and find some on ebay and elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the cartridge/converter versions are far and few. I have seen ones in the colour I like, but are lever filler only.

My question is to those out there is how durable is the sac of the lever filled pens. Do they require frequent replacing due to breaking down? I have never used a lever filled pen. All of mine are converter or piston only.

I know that they can be fixed easily, but is it a DIY project or should they be sent in to a professional?

Not sure if I should just try to keep looking for a converter/cartridge model.

Thanks

[Blue Note]

If the pen has been restored the sac will usually have been replaced. If so you are good for a long, long time before you need to worry about it. Make sure to ask if the sac has been replaced. The old Conway Stewarts have great nibs. Ask lots of questions if you are buying on eBay.

[Jon Szanto]

To the OP, gclyn:

Can you please confirm whether you are looking to buy a Conway-Stewart that is a vintage pen from the original company, or one of the pens produced by the modern company? If you are talking c/c pens, it is *obviously* one of the modern pens; when you say "lever fill", if you are looking at the exact same pen (and therefore modern) you should probably AVOID it in lever fill, as they had a terrible design and many pens had problems. The QC and bad design of the last iteration of the company is (somewhat) legendary.

[gclyn]

If the pen has been restored the sac will usually have been replaced. If so you are good for a long, long time before you need to worry about it. Make sure to ask if the sac has been replaced. The old Conway Stewarts have great nibs. Ask lots of questions if you are buying on eBay.

Thanks Blue Note..the pen is brand new. It is being sold from Germany.

[gclyn]

To the OP, gclyn:

Can you please confirm whether you are looking to buy a Conway-Stewart that is a vintage pen from the original company, or one of the pens produced by the modern company? If you are talking c/c pens, it is *obviously* one of the modern pens; when you say "lever fill", if you are looking at the exact same pen (and therefore modern) you should probably AVOID it in lever fill, as they had a terrible design and many pens had problems. The QC and bad design of the last iteration of the company is (somewhat) legendary.

Hi Jon, the pen that I was looking at was manufactured in 2012, so it's not one of the vintage ones. Ideally would love a c/c but the only one I found was in Honey Noire....Thanks for the information. Seems like people really DISLIKE the lever system or like it.

[Quantum Sailor]

I can't remember where I read it but when I was looking into the modern CS pens people were talking about a flaw in the design of the lever fillers in the Churchill pens. I believe it was something to do with the pressure bar actually wearing into the sac and puncturing it. I would check fountain pen network and google to verify the issue. I'm not sure it was all models or anything or even all Churchill models but some people were modifying the pens themselves to fix it if I remember correctly.

[Jon Szanto]

Hi Jon, the pen that I was looking at was manufactured in 2012, so it's not one of the vintage ones. Ideally would love a c/c but the only one I found was in Honey Noire....Thanks for the information. Seems like people really DISLIKE the lever system or like it.


I can't remember where I read it but when I was looking into the modern CS pens people were talking about a flaw in the design of the lever fillers in the Churchill pens. I believe it was something to do with the pressure bar actually wearing into the sac and puncturing it. I would check fountain pen network and google to verify the issue. I'm not sure it was all models or anything or even all Churchill models but some people were modifying the pens themselves to fix it if I remember correctly.

Yes, that is the situation I was referring to. One very vocal person who had done a lot of research got banned from FPN for the simple fact of raising the issue (repeatedly) in the C-S forum there. I believe he also talked about it here. I may try to research...

...annnnnnd, I found it!

C-S Lever/Sac issues (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/6062-Conway-Stewart-Churchill-Pressure-bar-cutting-into-new-sacs-help-needed)

Bear in mind this is not a reflection on all lever-fill pens, simply those that are badly designed/implemented, which these certainly seem to be. I would steer clear of these pens unless you want to have some work done on them to get it properly set up, and I encourage you to read that thread!

[HughC]

Avoid the pen, there's no parts if required. In 2012 the QC was even worse as it was a financial disaster.

[gclyn]

Yes, that is the situation I was referring to. One very vocal person who had done a lot of research got banned from FPN for the simple fact of raising the issue (repeatedly) in the C-S forum there. I believe he also talked about it here. I may try to research...

...annnnnnd, I found it!

C-S Lever/Sac issues (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/6062-Conway-Stewart-Churchill-Pressure-bar-cutting-into-new-sacs-help-needed)

Bear in mind this is not a reflection on all lever-fill pens, simply those that are badly designed/implemented, which these certainly seem to be. I would steer clear of these pens unless you want to have some work done on them to get it properly set up, and I encourage you to read that thread!

Yes, I read it over at Fountain Pen Network...he was not banned for bringing up the problem...according to the moderator, he/she felt that the poster was being rude and belligerent to the CS rep that was willing to help him solve the problem. The poster got really mad and stated some things the moderator felt were uncalled for. That was the reason for the thread being closed.

[gclyn]

Avoid the pen, there's no parts if required. In 2012 the QC was even worse as it was a financial disaster.

Correction, the pen was manufactured in 2006. I read where, not all the pens were bad and that CS actually fixed the mechanism....Anyone have a C/C Churchill in Walnut or Green they want to part with? :)

[penwash]

Wow, didn't realize that the company who produce the modern C-S can mess up the the design so badly.

If I were the OP, I'd go for the vintage ones. Those are lovely pens.

[Jon Szanto]

[QUOTE=Jon Szanto;174845]Yes, I read it over at Fountain Pen Network...he was not banned for bringing up the problem...according to the moderator, he/she felt that the poster was being rude and belligerent to the CS rep that was willing to help him solve the problem. The poster got really mad and stated some things the moderator felt were uncalled for. That was the reason for the thread being closed.

Um... it was both more complex and more nuanced than that, and there are a lot of people who had issues with the way the entire CS forum was run. I won't rehash it here, it's been done for a long time, but Paul-H was simply trying to get his pen fixed/addressed, and he ran into nothing but stonewalling. A very unfortunate moment, and not long after the company ceased to exist.

[HughC]

The moderator of the CS Forum had a financial interest in the company not just a "rep". The forum was so poorly run nearly all the major vintage CS collectors left and QC issues often shut down. The moderator in question here , ghost plane, has a poor record. There where many "victims" of the CS forum and it appeared a financial connection btween CS and FPN existed....note how quickly the CS forum changed name and moderation style once CS hit the ropes...

Paul was badly treated, simple as that.

[gclyn]

I think both parties were at fault...regardless, not surprising that a company going into bankruptcy would have QC and customer service issues. Unfortunately the consumers suffer.

[Jon Szanto]

I think both parties were at fault...regardless, not surprising that a company going into bankruptcy would have QC and customer service issues. Unfortunately the consumers suffer.

If you had been a member of that sub-forum for any length of time, it was an ongoing situation, not simply one person's speaking out causing him issues. As to the company, the QC and other problematic issues well pre-dated the bankruptcy, and were (arguably) contributing factors to CS tanking.

[carlc]

I'm with Hugh and Jon on this one. The CS forum on FPN was just an advertising campaign dressed up as an enthusiast forum.

Mary never wielded the stick -she always got GP to do it for her and that stick was wielded with enthusiasm to say the least.

[earthdawn]

Well I might say if you are looking for CS you might wait just a little bit longer to see what the future holds.

[gclyn]

I think both parties were at fault...regardless, not surprising that a company going into bankruptcy would have QC and customer service issues. Unfortunately the consumers suffer.

If you had been a member of that sub-forum for any length of time, it was an ongoing situation, not simply one person's speaking out causing him issues. As to the company, the QC and other problematic issues well pre-dated the bankruptcy, and were (arguably) contributing factors to CS tanking.



Ahhh....I see. That's unfortunate for that to happen.

[gclyn]

I'm with Hugh and Jon on this one. The CS forum on FPN was just an advertising campaign dressed up as an enthusiast forum.

Mary never wielded the stick -she always got GP to do it for her and that stick was wielded with enthusiasm to say the least.

That's a shame. Too bad hidden agendas had to taint "open forums."