Conklin 1898 Doodle Review: A Retailer-Exclusive Fountain Pen With Character

Introduction

Conklin has been making fountain pens since 1898, and the 1898 model wears that founding year proudly on both its packaging and its cap band. This review focuses on the Doodle, one of a small family of retailer-exclusive versions that share the same body but each feature a custom resin from Jonathon Brooks.

The Doodle stands out among the exclusives for its deep purple and grey resin, and at $228 it positions itself as one of the more solidly built pens in Conklin’s current range. Here is what you get, what works well, and where the compromises sit.

First Impressions and Design

The pen arrives in the standard 1898 presentation box, which bears the year of Conklin’s founding. Inside you will find two cartridges, a use and care guide, and a small but genuinely useful reminder card explaining that the piston converter is threaded and unscrews rather than pulling straight out. That note matters: many people instinctively tug on a converter to remove it, and pulling on this one is the wrong move.

The custom resin is the star. The Doodle runs from deep purple through charcoal grey to near black, with every pen looking slightly different depending on where the material was cut. Some regions lean purple, others grey, and a subtle shimmer runs through the whole body. That shimmer comes from the same type of pigment used in automotive paint, and it gives the resin real depth in person. No two pens will look quite alike.

Build, Clip and Cap Details

The barrel angles up for most of its length before straightening out for roughly the last inch, then tapers down to a rounded end. The cap band is a genuine highlight: a quality metal band with 1898 on the front and an interesting decorative pattern wrapping around it.

The Conklin clip is the least convincing part of the design. It carries the company name and does rock back, which makes it easier to slide over pockets and materials of varying thickness, but the shape itself is not going to win everyone over. The cap twists off in about one and a half rotations to reveal a number six steel nib with the classic Conklin half-moon crescent breather hole and Toledo, USA markings.

Nib Options and Filling System

The 1898 is available in extra fine, fine, medium, broad, stub, and omniflex nibs, so there is a writing style for most preferences. The sample reviewed here carries a medium stainless steel nib.

Filling is handled by a threaded piston pump converter, included with the pen, and the pen also accepts standard international cartridges. The metal-reinforced converter nipple housing is sturdy, but the pen itself is resin, so dropping it is not recommended. If you prefer bottled ink and eye-dropper conversion, that route is best avoided with this model.

Writing Performance

On paper, the medium steel nib has noticeable feedback, best described as a light drag rather than a glassy glide. It is not abundantly smooth, and if line variation is your priority you will only find modest amounts, mostly when pressing down.

Ink flow sits on the medium side for the medium nib. Reverse writing is not this nib’s strength, and fast writing drains the feed slightly at first, though the nib keeps up fine on the whole. For everyday note-taking and journaling, it performs reliably.

Who Is the Conklin 1898 Doodle For?

This is a full-length pen with a grip that naturally guides your fingers into one comfortable spot. Holding further back puts the threads more in the way, though they are resin and not sharp or uncomfortable. Posting is possible, and the pen is long enough for it, but the cap is heavy and back-weights the pen enough to throw off the balance, so unposted use is the better experience.

It suits writers who value a distinctive, one-of-a-kind resin look, want a broad choice of nib grades, and prefer to write unposted with bottled or cartridge ink. If you are drawn to eye-catching materials over perfect nib polish, this pen makes a strong case.

Things to Consider Before Buying

A few points are worth weighing up before committing. The clip design divides opinion, so look closely at photos of the cap first. The nib has tactile feedback rather than buttery smoothness, which some writers love and others do not. And the heavy cap means the pen is best enjoyed unposted.

At $228, the price feels reasonable for what is on offer: quality custom resin, a nicely finished cap band, and a range of nib choices in a pen that is exclusive to a single retailer rather than widely available.

Conclusion

The Conklin 1898 Doodle is a distinctive, well-made fountain pen built around a genuinely beautiful Jonathan Brooks resin, with a useful threaded converter, solid construction, and enough nib options to suit most writing styles. Its quirks, chiefly the clip and the feedback-heavy nib, are worth knowing about, but for writers after a unique-looking pen at a fair price it is an easy recommendation.