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Thread: Conway Stewart Part Deux

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    Default Conway Stewart Part Deux

    Let's have a look at some of the smaller pens.
    Starting with the smallest, the Dinky. I actually have seen smaller pens, that almost actually work, but they are novelty items. The Dinky was presented as the smallest PRACTICAL pen ever. This particular pen was purchased at the re-opening day event at Fountain Pen Hospital on Warren St. in TriBeCa, after the 9-11 closures of the area. If the Churchill is big, this one is small. They came in several colours, this one being Tiger Eye. It is cartridge almost-only, there being no readily available converter, though if you were fortunate enough to have bought one in the 1990s, the small-size Waterman squeeze converter will fit. My wife has one of those in her Waterman Lady Agatha, but prefers to use cartridges in the Dinky. She also likes the handy-dandy purse-size pouch.
    dinky pouch.jpgdinkychurch.jpgdinky nib.jpg

    In the medium size range, small for my hand but very suitable for my wife, are the Dandy and Series 58. The Dandy came in (I wish it were not in the past tense) in very bright colours. The Series 58 line is still there and has some special versions, such as the Seamus Heany with a lever-fill. Most have cartridge - converter fill. The same screw in standard international converter as the bigger pens fits. The 58 colour depicted here is "Nebula". You might also note, of you look closely, that it has a med. stub nib, which performs very nicely. It is my understanding that these series 58 nibs are JoWo #4, 14kt. The same degree of custom nib work and tip size range is available, as well as custom engraving.
    churchdandy88 open.jpg
    nebulanib.jpg

    The Dandy is sadly no longer made (at least by BBP - there are a few other brands that call themselves "Dandy"). The lever-fill is sturdy and effective. It is only 22 years old, so I have no experience trying to change the sac.

    Just for fun I include an "X-ray (just transilluminated) photo to show the translucent glow of the resin
    dandy xray.jpg

    Bottom line: I wish I could use and review every one of the BBP pens, but I'm not Jeff Bazos or that Twitter guy in real life. That said, I think BBP makes extremely good pens. They are not cheap, but less expensive than many "premium" pens, and IMHO a better value. In particular, I have found the customer service very very good. The customizations can take a bit of time, but try getting Pelikan to make a custom pen, let alone having one made by Santa Claus himself. And the fact they will supply nib units, replacement converters, etc. is a bonus in my view.
    The one "downside" for some is that these are truly bespoke pens. They don't have a thousand clones sitting in a warehouse ready to ship. They make them by hand when you order. Or is that the "upside"? After all, it does take a bit more patience to use a beautiful premium fountain pen, n'est-ce pas?
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    Last edited by Doctox; June 7th, 2023 at 06:17 PM. Reason: typo

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    Default Re: Conway Stewart Part Deux

    Doc,

    Great info on a timeless brand. Sadly I sold my Dandy a little while back but I still have 3 CS in my collection.
    One I bought last year after lusting after it for 20 years. A lever fill Churchill in flecked amethyst.

    A wonderful, wonderful pen.

    Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Conway Stewart Part Deux

    Hello,

    Continuing from Part 1,... Beautiful. Gorgeous. Envious.
    Do you, and your good lady, keep the pens loaded with ink, or just load which pen takes your fancies at any given time?

    '......having one made by Santa Claus himself',.... I am so going to be good for the rest of the year, I promise, and hope and pray that the chubby guy with a white beard and wearing red jim-jams, can get down the chimney and leave a little gift he has made special. Knowing my luck it would be a 'cotton reel tank'. Not that I'd be ungrateful, but Rudolf's nose would certainly light up when I had finished 'posting' it back to santa.

    Carpio
    "The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes” – Thomas Beecham

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    Default Re: Conway Stewart Part Deux

    I keep at least one “loaded”, usually the Winston, but frequently also the Dr’s pen or the Christmas one. My other usual pen is a PFM 4. My lovely wife of almost 48 years (in Oct) has the Nebula with med stub as her on- her-desk pen, but largely uses an older CS ballpoint with a red refill (as an accountant).

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