ConklinDuragraph Fountain Pen Cracked Ice - Extra Fine Nib, Precision Writing Instrument with Unique Design

Are all Conklin Duragraphs good? Can't say. But this one I have in front of me is superb. It has problems. Still—superb.Lemme establish parameters. My field of comparison is as follows:• 5 Pilot Metropolitans: 3 <F> and 2 <M>• 4 Lamy Safaris, all <M>• 2 TWSBI Ecos, both <B>• 2 Monteverde Monzas, one <M>, one <flex>• 2 Kaweco Sports, one <B> and one <BB>• 1 Pilot Prera <M>• 1 Parker Urban Premium <M>• 1 Conklin Herringbone w/a Bock #6 nib• 1 Pelikan Jazz <M>• 1 Monteverde Regatta Sport <B>• 1 Jinhao 159, we'll call it a <M>• 1 Waterman Expert <M>• 1 Faber Castell Loom <M>• 1 Levenger L-Tech 3 <F>Twenty-four pens in all, fourteen different "makes." Most of the instruments cost less than $25; only three were sixty. The item under review is a Conklin Duragraph, <EF>, "Cracked Ice"—roughly $46. It may be worth mentioning I have it inked with Diamine Oxford Blue, an extremely easy-peasy ink that never causes issues.GOOD• Looks every bit as nice in the hand as it did "in the bush." If anything, the pix on Amazon don't do the pen justice. Meanwhile, the "cracked ice" effect is hard to find on a $46 pen. (The other pen I have my eye on that has this is the Esterbrook "Blueberry"—$156, a little more than 3X as expensive as the Conklin.)• The nib is among the best I've ever used. Right up there with Faber Castell and Levenger (the two nibs that are proverbs in this household, meaning "Actually Good," not just OK). Juicy and smooth, with a little bounce.• The grip section is the kind I much prefer: flared a little, right before the plinth of the nib. Waterman Experts are like this. I think of this shape as a "classic old-school grip section," and I wish it were more common.BAD• The cap will not post in anything like a satisfying way. The YouTube reviews all complain about this. I hereby add my voice to the choir.• The threads on mine are not really done right. You can easily insert the pen in the cap in such a way that it gets caught wrong in the threads, and jams. Consequently, you have to insert with rather more care than you're accustomed to having to use.• One slight amendment to the first point under "GOOD." The nib in the Amazon photo has a yellow oval. Mine has the oval but no yellow. And I should've liked it to be yellow.NEUTRAL• The size is good *for me*, but I am a 6'1" male with big hands.• The weight is good *for me*, but I don't really care about weight. I like heavy, light, anything. I would say this pen, unposted, is a little bit heavier than an unposted TWSBI.One further note. My friend Catie bought a Conklin Duragraph, same week as I bought mine, and hers is a very different piece of goods. Her threads are just fine, her nib seemed finicky and "unforgiving" at first, and her oval is yellow. I conclude from this that the Conklin people are a shady operation. But, actually, isn't this kinda true of all pen manufacturers? One Lamy <M> is not necessarily like another. I have four, no two alike. And my Metropolitans are subtly different too. So I don't know what to think.Next move: Conklin "Orange Nights," with an ominflex nib, and pray it's a good one.Bottom line: I am very satisfied with my purchase and warmly recommend this pen to anyone who wants to see how far $46 can take ’em.

I worried about the Conklin fountain extra nib size, but this is pretty much fine line as the Faber-Castell fountain extra nib. highly recommend.

Based on the Parker Duofold, it is a good-looking pen that writes well, I like it a lot. It is smooth but has some feedback, comfortable to hold, a good writer.