Conklin All American Southwestern Turquoise!

Santa arrived early this year!

This beautiful pen was sent to me by a dear friend in New Zealand, who has better taste in fountain pens than even I do. I have wanted one of these since I first saw that they were available as a new offering by Conklin, in their All American line, and I am unworthy of such good friends! Look at this beauty. These pens are big, made of hand-made resin so that no two are quite alike. I am so thrilled with this pen that I thought a quick post about it was in order.

It came in the usual elegant Conklin presentation box:

Conklin has been touting that Omni-Flex nib of theirs for a little while now; hence that big label on the top of the box's sleeve. However, they were a bit notorious for less-than-idea quality control on these nibs when they first came out. I bought a Conklin All American "Old Glory" in the colorful red, white & blue pattern last year, and opted for the intriguing new Omni-Flex nib at the time, and regretted it. That nib simply didn't work, and I eventually had to replace it.

However, Conklin has stepped up their game! I suspect that someone at Yafa finally listened to all the complaints, or perhaps just got tired of seeing Omni-Flex pens being sent to their warranty repair center. Have a look:

You can click on that photo to "blow it up" for a bigger picture, if you like. GONE are the huge, broad-tips on those Omni-Flex nibs, that were the first ones to come out of Yafa's factories. This one is clearly a fine point, which is what you want on a flexible steel nib. The ink delivery is much more consistent and better-controlled now, and it lays down a smooth, neat line. It has quite restored my faith in the Omni-Flex nib!

I know this is a short blog post, but this wouldn't be complete with out a writing sample, and a flex demonstration:

The flexing works quite nicely, as you can see. (Stupid fox.) The ink was also sent with the pen, courtesy of Santa's other workshop in New Zealand. :-) It's Monteverde's Caribbean Blue, and it matches the blue tones of the pen's resin body & cap nicely. Look how it shades...! It even has a mild touch of sheen in there, which compliments the "deep blue sea" turquoise color. Nice, eh? If you are jealous now...it's okay. I will understand.

The Southwestern Turquoise theme is as American as the Old Glory one is, and I'm thrilled to say I own both of them now, thanks to very dear friends. It's about to get a bit of a workout as I answer a small stack of pen pal letters with it.

Assistant Editor Maggie approves:

"Woo hoo!! Dad got a cool new pen! Now gimme a treat."

Merry Christmas, and have a good night!