Show us your vintage Conklin crescent-fillers - 1898 to 1930

[FredRydr]

I'll start:

This is a clipless Conklin 3NL in mottled red and black hard rubber, made between 1912 and 1920 based on the nib, the feed and the crescent. The flexible EF nib is marked with the early block letters CONKLIN 3 TOLEDO.

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[dneal]

I’d be interested in a brief overview of Conklin models and whatnot. I’ve occasionally contemplated a decent user grade BHR, but prices are all over the place.

[Jon Szanto]

That's an amazing pen, Fred. I've got nothing.

[FredRydr]

I’d be interested in a brief overview of Conklin models and whatnot. I’ve occasionally contemplated a decent user grade BHR, but prices are all over the place.

A brief overview? How to begin... Just post a question.

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A handful of my black hard rubber crescent-fillers, the oldest from 1904:

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In my mind, the BCHR pens are the classic crescent-fillers (steampunk), and rate among my favorites. If you can change a sac on a hard rubber section, know that the crescent-filler is the simplest pen you could ever deal with; the filler mechanism is just one moving part with nothing to snag a sac or scraper or tweezers.

Like other pens, size and condition matter when setting price. For a user pen, there are plenty of BCHR Conklins out there with worn chasing that pulls down the price. For a lower cost user, choose a model 30 or 20 (3 and 2 size nibs) which will range from flex to firm - you have to ask! Think in terms of shopping for a user Waterman 52 or 53. Nib attributes will vary. My favorite Conklin nibs for flex and size are their 4 size, in a 40 or earlier 4NL. Their nibs go bigger but the prices go up accordingly. And to confuse matters, Conklin would fit different size nibs into the same size barrel, and give them different model names.

As usual when spending your money, go with condition before size (subject to the nib attribute you want). Remember these pens are 100 years old, more or less, and they can be brittle, so treat them with care when disassembling/reassembling (especially the hard rubber lock ring).

Have a look at Conklin expert Pete Kirby's Pete's Pen Shop. His listed pens are his pricier best pens, so contact him to tell him what you want to spend for a user crescent pen with the nib attributes you want.

If you want to go deep into Conklin, find a copy of The Conklin Legacy by Alfonso Mur (2013).

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Now, how about some photos from the Geeks....

[dneal]

That’s pretty much the info I was looking for. Thanks!

[christof]

the only Conklin I have is this Endura OS - but it's a lever filler. Sorry Fred.

[FredRydr]

the only Conklin I have is this Endura OS - but it's a lever filler. Sorry Fred.

You're forgiven. ;-) That is a lovely pen!

Another photo showing what happens to a 100+ years-old BCHR Conklin (a 40 as I recall) when dropped three feet from desktop to slate floor. I had parts to replace the barrel and the lock ring.

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C'mon Geeks, post your crescent photos.

[penwash]

I restored and sold a few, but currently have none.

Would love to get a woodgrain ebonite one someday to accompany my Laughlin

[dneal]

Looking at Fred’s impressive “handful of some”, it’s dawning on me that no one else is posting pictures because he has them all.

[Jon Szanto]

An offshoot question for Fred or others: looking at the photo of the pen all apart, I've often wondered if the crescent piece creates a more full sac of ink. It appears that you would apply pressure more evenly over the length of the sac, rather than a lever filler, which tends to compress the front (nearer the section) than the back due to the way the pressure bar closes. It would likely be a somewhat small difference, but my eyes tell me that this is a slightly more efficient method of squeezing a sac.

And do the lock rings have just barely enough 'give' to them that they can slide onto the barrel without breaking? I would think that would be a place for extreme care in restoration.

[FredRydr]

It is true these pressure bars lay close against the interior surface of barrels in contrast to pressure bars attached to lever mechanisms twisted and bent over a century of use. The only obstacle to a complete fill is when the crescent could be pressed deeper than the outside surface of the barrel. I use a fingernail against the crescent in such case.

The lock ring does not go into the barrel, but is set in a shallow groove around the outside of the barrel to slide under the crescent, preventing the pressure bar from pressing against the inked sac. Lock rings are the most fragile part and replacements aren’t easy to come by, making removal not worth the risk.

[Jon Szanto]

The lock ring does not go into the barrel, but is set in a shallow groove around the outside of the barrel to slide under the crescent, preventing the pressure bar from pressing against the inked sac. Lock rings are the most fragile part while replacements aren’t easy to come by, making removal not worth the risk.

No, I understood where/how they sit on the pen. I just was also assuming that, being hard rubber, they were likely somewhat fragile. If the only way to place the ring onto the barrel (or take it off) was to slide it on/off the end of the barrel, it would have to expand just enough to allow that to happen. I think I would try to not remove one of those rings for fear of breaking it into two or more pieces.

[FredRydr]

Conklin 3NL crescent-filler wrapped in a gold-filled overlay, circa 1923.

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[amk]

I've never seen one over here in Europe, though I did pick up a red mottled Endura a while back. Are crescent fillers just an American thing that Conklin never exported, or have I been unlucky?

[FredRydr]

I've never seen one over here in Europe, though I did pick up a red mottled Endura a while back. Are crescent fillers just an American thing that Conklin never exported, or have I been unlucky?

Conklin Pen Company of Toledo Ohio had agents in London and Melbourne as early as 1904.

This is the model pen that the company gave to Mark Twain in 1904, a Conklin 4. He is quoted in Conklin advertisements (see photo in earlier post above), ...Also, I prefer it because it is a profanity saver; it cannot roll off the desk.* It sports a No. 4 nib (smaller than Conklin's No. 4 nibs from 1905), a slip cap without a clip, and marked with patents from 1899 to 1903. Conklin collectors recognize the flat surface of the lock ring indicating an early pen.

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*Twain was no stranger to sponsoring fountain pens. A decade earlier, he extolled Wirt pens with his advertised quote, An absolutely perfect reservoir pen, a pen compared with which all other pens are frank failures.

[Kaputnik]

Conklin 3NL crescent-filler wrapped in a gold-filled overlay, circa 1923.

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Excuse me. I need to take an envy break...

Okay, I'm better now. I have a few old Conklin crescent fillers, but nothing that nice, so I won't bother with pictures of most of them. They aren't the most practical pens to carry around, although a couple do have nice nibs.

Here's a photo of one from last year's Inktober challenge. The prompt was "Uh Oh", and the pen spontaneously made a little uh-oh on its own. So I encouraged it to repeat. At least one of my other Conklins is less sensitive that this.

[FredRydr]

...I have a few old Conklin crescent fillers, but nothing that nice, so I won't bother with pictures of most of them....

I've written before, the BCHR pens are the classic Conklin crescents. So show your crescents!

This one wasn't faring well last week, but all it needed was a new sac.

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[Kaputnik]

Well, here are my vintage Conklins, after all. Haven't used any of them more recently than last year. The one on the left, with a not-soft-at-all #4 nib is, as I recall, the most reliable writer. The second from left is the one that was burping ink in my previous photo, As I recall, the other two were pretty reliable, although not pens that I would carry around in my pocket or laptop bag.



By the way, I also have one of those modern Conklin knockoffs, bought some time ago when I was getting a little bit of everything. A pretty run of the mill modern pen apart from the vintage filling mechanism.

[jar]

One of my Crescents:

[FredRydr]

Well, here are my vintage Conklins, after all. Haven't used any of them more recently than last year. The one on the left, with a not-soft-at-all #4 nib is, as I recall, the most reliable writer. The second from left is the one that was burping ink in my previous photo, As I recall, the other two were pretty reliable, although not pens that I would carry around in my pocket or laptop bag.

***

By the way, I also have one of those modern Conklin knockoffs, bought some time ago when I was getting a little bit of everything. A pretty run of the mill modern pen apart from the vintage filling mechanism.

Very nice!

What type of sacs do the modern crescent pens have in them?

And on the topic of sacs, your burping pen may simply need a fresh sac. Even an invisible pinhole will let air in (and ink out). There's not much else to go wrong with a crescent-filler if the feed hasn't been messed with.

Likewise, I do not carry my crescent-fillers in a pocket, though this has more to do with moisture (i.e., sweat) and old hard rubber. I carry my crescents (and other fountain pens, for that matter) in one to four Pelikan 3-pen cases tucked into the side pockets of my 13-inch laptop bag stuffed with stationary, postcards and postage instead of a computer.

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One of my Crescents:

Roosevelt might have used that very pen.