Made in “HOIO” – oops!
I checked the map and sadly there is no HOIO in the US, only a street in Hawaii – pen making in Hawaii, not a bad gig if you can get it!
The Conklin All American seen here in Sunburst Orange arrived a few weeks back from Goulet Pens. I had been looking at the Conklin lineup for a while and this beautiful orange resin caught my eye. Conklin started out back in 1891 and originally made pens through 1955. In 2000 the Conklin name was revived and they started producing pens again. Most recently in 2009 Conklin was sold to the Yafa Pen company in California. Working with Conklin’s original designs the All American is a throwback to Conklin’s 1930’s designs – with it’s trademark spring-clip and beautiful shape.
The medium nib that came on the pen is solid for it’s price range. It features the Conklin logo in a gold accent and “Toledo USA” engraved below (The stub comes in black). The medium nib is smooth with just a little feedback, and writes on the wet side without being a gusher. There is a little flex in the nib but nothing out of the ordinary (see the writing example below). After 2 weeks of use it starts up every time and has never had an issue keeping up even when sketching or writing quickly during meetings.
The resin body color is beautiful (I’m a sucker for orange). The depth of the resin is excellent and the light plays off the “fish-scale” pattern really well. The body is pretty beefy at 15mm in diameter but not so big as to be uncomfortable when I hold it. The postable screw cap has a gold Conklin-engraved spring clip that is easy to open. It comes with a standard international convertor but will take both short and long international cartridges as well. The screw cap would be my only real complaint on the pen – the threading is a bit shallow and it can be a bit hard to get it lined up properly from time to time.
In my hand the pen has a good weight unposted and the balance is perfect. With the cap posted it gets a little tail heavy but for those with bigger hands the extra length may feel better. The warmth of the resin is nice and the section allows for a good grip.
Overall a beautiful pen with a good nib and a great price. It also comes in a fine and a 1.1mm italic. Other body colors include “Tortoiseshell”(yellow with black flakes) and “Yellowstone” (a lava lamp mix of white, yellow and brown). You can check out all the options for the pens over at Goulet Pens.
