Pencast: 1920’s Conklin Endura, My Great-Grandfather’s Fountain Pen

2014-04-23-a

I clearly did not inherit my mother's neat penmanship.

I clearly did not inherit my mother’s neat penmanship.

IMG_6689 2014-04-23-c IMG_6691 2014-04-23-d IMG_6697 2014-04-23-e IMG_6701 2014-04-23-f

The 1920's Conklin Endura is a fantastically wet and smooth writer, on par or slightly better than my Estie. There's something wrong with the cap, I think the lower threads are stripped, so I had to put a little cloth tape on the barrel to provide enough grip for the cap to stay on. That's not too bad a flaw for a nearly 90-year old daily-use fountain pen.

The 1920’s Conklin Endura is a fantastically wet and smooth writer, on par or slightly better than my Estie. There’s something wrong with the cap, I think the lower threads are stripped, so I had to put a little cloth tape on the barrel to provide enough grip for the cap to stay on. That’s not too bad a flaw for a nearly 90-year old daily-use fountain pen.

The second pen of the set is a 1950's Shaeffer "Snorkel" fountain pen, and it's possibly the most intricate and baffling mechanism I've ever seen in a pen. This one I may end up sending to a pen restorer just because the parts and tools needed cost as much as a full restoration. :P

The second pen of the set is a 1950’s Shaeffer “Snorkel” fountain pen, and it’s possibly the most intricate and baffling mechanism I’ve ever seen in a pen. This one I may end up sending to a pen restorer just because the parts and tools needed cost as much as a full restoration. :P

Updated: April 23, 2014 — 1:26 pm

7 Comments

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  1. Veery nice pen set! That’s very cool.

  2. What a great gift! Something your dad used to make his thoughts tangible.

    I too have a Sheaffer pen in need of restoration. I have a possible person here in state but I need to reach out and see if he’s still working on pens.

    1. … or, in this case, your great-grandad :)

  3. Congratulations on the superb pen set. It is really great they stayed in the family.

    Your mother writes very neatly!

    1. I was about to say the same.

  4. That is very nice, and a great story!

  5. Not only a couple of wonderful pens, but also with great history. Something to treasure even if you didn’t like to use them!

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