The chased Glider has been retired!

The Ivory and the Black have totally sold out, but as of 1/17/14 I still have a few of the Coral, so jump now if you want to add one of these really neat pens to your collection.

"Dear Norman, I have been using all of my CONKLINs copiously since receiving them and am now a true believer. The CONKLIN is truly a working man’s pen. I have decided that the Glider will be the “ plow horse “ of my bunch for everyday field work . My coral Glider has held up under some pretty extreme conditions  that it were never designed or intended to endure. It is still working flawlessly and appears no worse for wear. Therefore, with howls of approval from my “students”, I wish to purchase a black CONKLIN CHASED GLIDER with a “B” nib. This decision was voted on by the current training class and received the canine equivalent of a military “ OOOOOOO RAH “ !"
F. Y., Norman, OK

"Hi Norman, I received the pen yesterday. That was very fast. And the best thing: Customs did not intercept it! It is a very nice pen, with a great vintage look!  It writes very well. I am very pleased with it. Thank you very much and until the next time!"
T. U., Dublin, Ireland

"Norman, the 'Glider' is absolutely perfect! Thank you for providing quality instruments and stellar customer service."
L. M., Sunland, CA

See the ballpoint version here

Glider chased Coral fountain pen        $135.00   $108.00    Retired and permanently SOLD OUT

Glider chased Ivory fountain pen        $135.00    $108.00    Retired and permanently SOLD OUT

Glider chased Black fountain pen        $135.00    $108.00    Retired and permanently SOLD OUT

The Conklin company has described the new Glider well, so let me quote them directly:

Glider COLLECTION
TAKE A STEP BACK IN TIME WITH CONKLIN

The Glider fountain pen measures 5-3/8" capped, 6-1/2" posted and 4-3/4" with cap held aside. Although certainly a full-sized pen, it's comfortably light weight due to its resin construction.

After noticing the beautiful chasing of the Glider series of pens, you'll also probably notice the different coloration used for the clip, cap band and cap top of the three versions. The Black and Coral both chromed 'furniture', while that of the Ivory is gold-plated.

The capband is inscribed with 'Glider', beneath the clip, and 'Conklin USA' on the reverse. The band also sports six crescent 'C's. The inspired Rocker Clip design is perfectly balanced and will easily fit and hold firm in a shirt, thick jacket or coat pocket -- and does so with one finger upon the top of the clip. Almost 100 years later, it's still a superior -- and often copied -- clip design. It's engraved with 'Conklin' in script.

The top of the cap has a color-appropriate metal insert, engraved with 'Conklin' and 'Est 1898', the year of Conklin's founding.

Unscrewing the cap displays the two-toned steel nib which is engraved with the Conklin brand name, the historic “Toledo, Ohio, USA” mark and a special crescent shaped breathing hole. The nibs are available in M, F or the new stub sizes (the stub nib is monotone). I've found that the Conklin nibs run about a size smaller than typical western nibs. Hence, I'd classify the M as a fine and the F as an x-fine. The stub is a 1.1 mm medium. Please specify the nib size you'd like, by letter or 'stub' only, to avoid confusion when ordering.

The fountain pens come with a piston converter for bottled ink. As with all new pens, I recommend to run a dilute solution of dishwashing soap (two or three drops to a small bowl of water) through a new pen a few times, followed by water only. Step one is effective at removing manufacturing oils that can tend to make the ink less than enthusiastic in heading from the converter/filler to the nib, and step two removes the traces of the detergent you've used...which tends to have the opposite, diuretic effect. The pen will also take International-style cartridges, such as those from Private Reserve. The large, blue Conklin gift box, starter cartridges and warranty are included.

Glider
Ballpoint

Glider chased Ivory ballpoint        $115.00    $92.00

Glider chased Coral ballpoint        $115.00    $92.00

Glider chased Black ballpoint        $115.00    $92.00

The ballpoint version of the Conklin Glider uses a twist-action for extension/retraction of the point, and measures 5-5/8" in length...so is also an oversized pen... and the Conklin ballpoint refills are of the readily available Parker-style form-factor.

IMPORTANT SERVICE NOTE: Every nib that ships from His Nibs is closely examined under high magnification and tuned or adjusted if needed. About 85% of modern nibs need some adjustment out-of-the-box from the manufacturer for an optimal writing experience. Most commonly, the tines of the nib are misaligned -- which would cause scratchiness at the minimum; the slit between the tines is partially or fully closed -- which would starve the nib of ink and at best cause skipping; or the slit between the tines is too wide -- which will either again cause skipping, or conversely, flooding. There are other factors  -- such as separation of the nib from the feed -- that are inspected and repaired before any pen leaves the Palace.

The only 100% guarantee of course comes when the pen is actually filled with ink and written with for the first time, but our pre-shipping inspections and tunings have eliminated 99.99999 (my finger is getting tired) of the frustrations that a customer experiences when first using a new fountain pen. Although this can be time-consuming on occasion, it affords our customers a much more pleasant experience when receiving a fountain pen from His Nibs -- and saves us the frustration of dealing with returns!