Duragraph Fountain Pen Amber - S

I have been using fountain pens for going on 50 years...from the vintage Parker 51s I got from my Dad (still have them BTW) and the old Schaeffer which I've converted to an eyedropper right up through a pricey Visconti Voyager Kaleido...I love them...there is no finer writing instrument in the world. With all the pens I have, I've never owned a stub nib. When I saw that the Conklin brand was back and offered this beautiful pen in a stub nib for under $50 I knew eventually I'd buy it. Truthfully, I bounced it in and out of my cart for a week or so and finally pulled the trigger. Glad I did! First off, the pen is well made, well balanced and is a smooth writer right out of the box. I inked it up, ran a few 8s and the ink started flowing right away. The stub nib is interesting as you get broad down strokes and thinner cross strokes. From an aesthetic standpoint it makes my handwriting look better than it is. There is just the right amount of wetness and there is some feedback but not scratchy at all. I like a little feedback, some don't...to each their own. The pen posts just fine and does not seem overly big when posted. People with smaller hands may want to use it unposted but, again, the posted balance is good. As I just received the pen, I cannot yet speak to the overall durability but given the quality construction I see no reason why it will not last for generations. If you clean your fountain pens once in a while and run decent ink through them they will last a good long time...one of my 51s is a South America vintage from 1939-40 and writes well still. If you want a pen you can be proud of (pair it with the Duragraph Ballpoint for a nice set, I did) or that you can give as a gift...you will not be disappointed. For the price, again assuming it does not develop any problems down the road, this is a very high value writing instrument. It's not a Visconti or a Sailor or top end Pelikan but for a 10th the price you'll never feel underpenned!

This is a handsome pen, and the finish of the barrel and cap is, well... spectacular. Though there's very little metal in the overall construction, it has a nice heft to it, and it feels solidly made. I particularly like that it's a screw-in cap. The converter that comes with the pen is also a screw-in, so that's another plus; it's also pretty capacious, always a good thing with a 1.1 nib. I'll admit to a slight misgiving about the durability of the pen body screw-in feature; not being metal on metal, will the material hold up over time? As it is, I treat it gently when replacing the cap. The nib is smooth, very smooth, and the feed generous without being a gusher. I filled the converter with Private Reserve Ebony Green, waited for a few minutes, tapped the top a few times, and started writing. So far, three days, I've had no skipping or drying issues, the pen starting first time even after lying idle for twelve hours, which is, of course, what I should expect. All in all, I like it, like it a lot. Yes, it's somewhat top heavy for me when it's posted, but I have small hands and don't post my pens anyway, so that's not an issue, not for me anyway. Is it worth the price? That's a subjective matter I suppose, but certainly I feel that its looks plus performance merit what for me what was a bit of a splurge; it's now my most expensive pen and will probably continue to be so unless my son, who's just come into a bit of money, is feeling somewhat expansive when my birthday rolls around.

The build quality of the body is good, about what you'd expect at this price. The nib feels really nice, but your mileage may vary. I have two so far and one came out of the box perfect, the second did not write out of the box. It has good bones as they say and after a bit of adjustment it writes better than the first nib. It's pretty common to get nib issues out of the box with most brands, so I don't hold it against Conklin too much.

Well worth it to purchase a Conklin Duragraph. This is the Ice Blue with a stub nib. I have several Duragraphs in various designs & nibs & they're by far my favorite pens in this price range. They're buttery smooth wet writers. Instant start, & no hard starts later. Cap designed well. Quality converter. The pen beautifully showcases your higher priced sheening shimmering pearling inks that have multiple color gradients (when using quality fountain pen paper). Pen writes great on regular paper too. See my video review for further specs that make this pen worth the price. Its a lovely writing experience that you'll enjoy. Also, Conklin lifetime guarantees their pens. I purchase a new one every year that will someday be heirlooms for my children & grandchildren. Once you buy one, you'll want more. I purchase them with the various nibs. Stub, broad, & Italic. Each nib works absolutely wonderful. Conklin uses the Jowo nibs which are high quality & are affordably replaceable should you need to. But, if you're taking good care of your pen, it's unlikely you'd need to replace the nib any time soon. I purchased my first Duragraph 8 years ago and the nib works as well as it did from day 1. Definitely highly recommend ANY Conklin Duragraph pen. It's worth the price for a fully enjoyable writing experience paired with great quality inks & paper! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Beautiful design and colors Very dry, nib feels like scratching a broken twig over paper, ink flow inconsistent. I have half a dozen stub nibs that cost less and more and not one is such a failure to write. Too bad I missed the return window; in hopes it would get better - no suck luck! The Conklin (Green) is sampled in Sepia ink on the right Last time I buy or recommend a Conklin

I bought a stub nib with the Amber but the stub nib isn’t quite what I wanted. Im moss is a fine or extra fine. I didn’t return it because I feel maybe in my future I will use the stub nib but I bought a fine jowo #6 to replace it. I didn’t want to return the body of the pen so this was the next best option. The pens “plastic” feels cheap for a MSRP of $60 usd although just paid about $32 usd for the stub variation. I have a nahvalur asfur bronze schuykil (sp?) which looks so much better even though it’s also plastic but I did pay msrp for it at $60. Functionally it’s pretty good - I had no issue with writing on the stub. No skips no hard starts but I haven’t used it often due to it being a stub nib. Getting my #6 fine jowo nib replacement soon. This pen is long when posted. And this pen I do not think was meant for posting. It’s is an awkward post. And I like to post my pens. It takes international ink cartridges and it comes with a screwed on cartridge converter. Which was a nice addition. The Conklin brand on cap is not etched or lasered in. It’s printed so also kinda cheapens the pens look. It’s ok I’m not disappointed but it could have been better.

This pen looks great. When I received it I cleaned it then loaded it with a high quality Diamine ink. Big letdown when the stub nib (or maybe the feed) would not give consistent ink to the paper. I could write a word and then the nib was dry. Nothing I did would get the flow to work so I cleaned the pen and returned it as defective. I really wanted to like this pen, but it just didn’t measure up.

I've been using this pen consistently for about 10 months at this point. I bought it with the stub nib and it's a great writer. The stub gives enough line variation to be interesting and give my writing character without being overly wet. In fact, I'd almost call this a somewhat dry writing pen. The size is good but it's pretty top heavy if you're someone who prefers to write with the cap posted. I like that the cap screws on and overall the build quality is great for the price. I would call this pen with the stub nib a perfect step-up pen if you're someone who enjoys Lamy Safaris (especially if you use the Lamy 1.1 mm italic nibs.)

Conklin bazen uçlarda problem çıkartıyor ama bu model tek kelimeyle harika. 1.1 mm stub nib'e sahip akıcı, keyifli bir yazım deneyimi sağlıyor.

De resina, se siente muy buen y escribe perfecto, bastante suave y muy bonita a la vista. Muy muy recomendada. Me gusta mucho. Un EDC sin duda.

This was my first Conklin and my first stub nib. For the price I’m very pleased with the pen and enjoying learning to use the stub.

Bought it as a gift. Beautiful pen, stub nib to use with shimmering inks that can cause flow problems. Received on time and nicely packaged.

Marchio storico decaduto, ora appartiene ad un fondo asiatico che raccoglie brand in difficoltà. Il fusto e’ oggi realizzato dall’italiana Stipula, marchio glorioso ma anch’esso finito in mano dello stesso gruppo. La qualità costruttiva rimane molto alta ma purtroppo il pennino non e’ realizzato da Stipula e qui arrivano le note dolenti: ci sono vistosi problemi di alimentazione e, sebbene il pennino abbia un bel tratto, spesso l’inchiostro viene a mancare quando non si esercita pressione o quando il tratto e’ troppo a lungo lineare. Un vero peccato, un’altra gloria della scrittura a mano probabilmente perduta.