Conklin Crescent Filler Rainbow Fountain Pen
Founded in the late 1800’s, Conklin Pen Company is an established brand. It’s founder, Roy Conklin of Toledo, OH made the Crescent Filler iconic. He patented the design of the first “self-filling” pen in 1897, catapulting this model to notoriety. In fact, the Crescent Filler became so popular that it was a favorite of Mark Twain. Twain called it the “profanity saver” since the crescent helped prevent the barrel from rolling off your desk. He loved Conklin pens so much that he even became an official spokesperson of the brand. Over the years, the Crescent pen has seen many variations, including different use of materials and finishes in design. Latest in the line is the Conklin Crescent Filler Rainbow fountain pen.
It’s a limited edition, numbered out of 1898 pieces. I’m proud of the anodized rainbow finish on this pen. It truly allows a more distinguished profile. Yet, it’s not too bright and shiny to distract from your writing. The only question becomes which ink to pair it with! Would you try and find an ink that contrasts with these colors, or would you try to match it somehow?
The first thing I noticed with this pen is its weight. This is a heavier pen, made entirely of metal with the rainbow being a PVD coating. I liked thinking immediately, “Wow, this is a substantial pen”! Yet rest assured that your hand won’t tire from writing with it. It feels great in the hand, whether you post the cap or not. It sits comfortably, and I’m always happy with how the crescent doesn’t get in the way of my grip.
As for the crescent filling mechanism, it’s such an easy, simple system to use. Squeezing the crescent presses down on a metal bar that flattens out a sac inside the pen. It used to be a rubber sac, but now Conklin uses a silicone sac to make it last much longer. Also, as a quick aside, Monteverde inks work great in pens that use sacs like this.
In keeping with its origins, the Conklin Crescent Filler Rainbow fountain pen uses the original spring-loaded rocker clip that was patented in 1916. It’s the perfect balance of sturdy and stability meeting the ease of a quick, one-handed clip/unclip action.
I love the new nibs on Conklin pens. It’s equipped with a high-quality JoWo #6 steel nib. The Crescent Rainbow is available in extra fine, fine, medium, broad, stub 1.1, or Omniflex. So many great options to choose from!
What do you think? Do you have yours yet? You can check it out here.
Do you like what you’re reading? Subscribe to our blog to sign up for our monthly giveaway! Don’t forget to comment and share on social media for extra entries!