Duke 209 Fountain Pen

June 27, 2011

A few months back, I decided to pull the trigger on a Duke 209 Fountain Pen from Ebay, having read a few comments here on FPN saying that this pen was really nice.

First Impressions: 6/10

This pen actually came in a proper box, with two spare black ink cartridges. I didn't take any photos, and it wasn't all that impressive, but compared to all of the other chinese fountain pens that I've purchased, this was by far the most impressive in terms of packaging.

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/4809/duke209.jpg

Considering the price, I really wasn't expecting much either. More on the price later.

Appearance and Design: 8/10

For pictures please go to Hisnibs: (No affiliation, haven't even bought anything from there, but great photos :roflmho: .)

http://www.hisnibs.com/duke_209.htm

Surprisingly simple design, matte black with a gold band and clip. The gold colour on the band and clip is starting to wear off, despite the fact that I haven't used it much. Very slight wear, and it has been a few months. The matte black finish also tends to collect scratches, once again not too serious, but I take good care of my pens.

As you can see from the photos on hisnibs.com, it really is quite a pretty pen, and the 22k gold plated, dual tone nib is quite a work of art, especially for a pen as cheap as this one.

Weight and Dimensions: 8/10

Capped Length 132mm

Uncapped Length 118mm

Posted Length 145mm

Diameter (at thickest) 11mm

The pen itself is about 26g. I am unsure if this is with or without the cap.

The pen feels quite substantial in terms of weight, but it is quite a slim pen.

I personally do not post my pens, and the Duke 209 feels perfect in my hands, although I often use lighter pens: Pilot 78G, Reform 1745. This is because the pen is well balanced. It is not too heavy at the back, and this helps if you plan on writing with it for longer time periods.

When posted, I find the pen slightly back heavy, but then again, I don't usually post. I find it similarly balanced to the TWSBI 530, although slimmer and shorter.

Nib and Performance: 9/10 Medium Nib.

This pen has one of the smoothest nibs I have ever encountered, especially for a chinese pen. It is smoother than my JinHao X750, although the line produced is not as wide.

I personally prefer EF nibs, and so the score is 9/10, rather than 10/10. For fans of medium nibs, this pen has never skipped, wrote perfectly out of the box, I didn't have to do any flow adjustment, tine alignment, I didn't even have to flush the pen out first!

(I will be attaching a writing sample at a later date.)

Filling system: 10/10

It uses the standard C/C filling system, you either love or hate it. It happens to have a very well made convertor that comes with the pen, so I gave it a high score. The converter doesn't look cheap like most of the converters that come with cheap chinese pens.

Cost and Value: 10/10

I paid $0.99 and $8.99 shipping for this pen. I purchased it off Ebay from the seller Gotoschool88. What can I say? A pen that writes perfectly out of the box, is built solidly, has a good convertor, and comes in satisfactory packaging, all for under $10 shipped? 'Nuff said.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for an inexpensive pen that you won't feel embarrassed to whip out in public, that has a buttery smooth medium nib, and is well balanced, this is a winner.

July 1, 2011

Thank you for a very informative review.

I think that such a positive appraisal after a few months, from a user that has invested sufficient time to learn all of the different characteristics of a pen is indeed valuable. Thus, your positive evaluation of this 209 is inspiring for those in the market for such pen.

September 30, 2012

Just having a look at one on the auction site we never mention, and this review has helped steer me towards trying one. Thanks for putting it together for us all.

September 7, 2013

A few months back, I decided to pull the trigger on a Duke 209 Fountain Pen from Ebay, having read a few comments here on FPN saying that this pen was really nice.

First Impressions: 6/10

This pen actually came in a proper box, with two spare black ink cartridges. I didn't take any photos, and it wasn't all that impressive, but compared to all of the other chinese fountain pens that I've purchased, this was by far the most impressive in terms of packaging.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/4809/duke209.jpg
Considering the price, I really wasn't expecting much either. More on the price later.

Appearance and Design: 8/10
For pictures please go to Hisnibs: (No affiliation, haven't even bought anything from there, but great photos .)
http://www.hisnibs.com/duke_209.htm

Surprisingly simple design, matte black with a gold band and clip. The gold colour on the band and clip is starting to wear off, despite the fact that I haven't used it much. Very slight wear, and it has been a few months. The matte black finish also tends to collect scratches, once again not too serious, but I take good care of my pens.

As you can see from the photos on hisnibs.com, it really is quite a pretty pen, and the 22k gold plated, dual tone nib is quite a work of art, especially for a pen as cheap as this one.

Weight and Dimensions: 8/10

Capped Length 132mm

Uncapped Length 118mm

Posted Length 145mm

Diameter (at thickest) 11mm

The pen itself is about 26g. I am unsure if this is with or without the cap.
The pen feels quite substantial in terms of weight, but it is quite a slim pen.

I personally do not post my pens, and the Duke 209 feels perfect in my hands, although I often use lighter pens: Pilot 78G, Reform 1745. This is because the pen is well balanced. It is not too heavy at the back, and this helps if you plan on writing with it for longer time periods.

When posted, I find the pen slightly back heavy, but then again, I don't usually post. I find it similarly balanced to the TWSBI 530, although slimmer and shorter.

Nib and Performance: 9/10 Medium Nib.

This pen has one of the smoothest nibs I have ever encountered, especially for a chinese pen. It is smoother than my JinHao X750, although the line produced is not as wide.

I personally prefer EF nibs, and so the score is 9/10, rather than 10/10. For fans of medium nibs, this pen has never skipped, wrote perfectly out of the box, I didn't have to do any flow adjustment, tine alignment, I didn't even have to flush the pen out first!

(I will be attaching a writing sample at a later date.)

Filling system: 10/10

It uses the standard C/C filling system, you either love or hate it. It happens to have a very well made convertor that comes with the pen, so I gave it a high score. The converter doesn't look cheap like most of the converters that come with cheap chinese pens.

Cost and Value: 10/10

I paid $0.99 and $8.99 shipping for this pen. I purchased it off Ebay from the seller Gotoschool88. What can I say? A pen that writes perfectly out of the box, is built solidly, has a good convertor, and comes in satisfactory packaging, all for under $10 shipped? 'Nuff said.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for an inexpensive pen that you won't feel embarrassed to whip out in public, that has a buttery smooth medium nib, and is well balanced, this is a winner.

a good review ，oh , I found this kind of the pen on the aliexpress

http://www.aliexpress.com/premium/DUKE-209.html?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&SearchText=DUKE+209&initiative_id=SB_20130906215624&catId=0&isViewCP=y

The price is not expensive but cheap ，maybe we can try it ！

February 6, 2014

While supplies last, we're giving away the Duke 200 series pens as a freebie for anyone who buys more than one Duke pen from us ...

TERI

February 7, 2014

Well, wish I knew this before last week.

February 8, 2014

I didn't have them last week, they only arrived on Saturday and it took a few days to sort thru them.

Teri

May 7, 2014

I didn't know about the promotion so when I recieved my freebie today, I was pleasantly surprised. Came to the forum to look up information about the pen. Can't wait to ink it and try it out. Thanks!!!

June 22, 2014

This is kind of an old thread, but I decided to say a word

This review, together with the pen having a set of 2 nibs (a normal nib and a calligraphy nib) made me become really enthusiastic about this beauty.

just to clarify, this pen has 4 sets i know of

1. normal nib, cartridges

2. calligraphy nib, cartridges

3. the pen and a roller pen (not sure which nib though)

4. the two nibs

September 13, 2015

I just received my Jinhao 159 and it writes beautifully. I've written elsewhere in FPN that Duke was my favorite Chinese brand. But this Jinaho 159 is excellent.

I find it intriguing that so many of us enjoy using and perhaps (though not always) tinkering with these Chinese bargains. I have a Pelikan M800 that I view as my most perfect pen. But most often I grab one of my Dukes. Why don't I grab the Pelikan? I don't know. But I assure you that I'm not trying to save or protect the Pelikan. I don't have to do that.

Most people love a bargain. Perhaps we not only love the experience of buying the bargain, but also the experience of using it. Perhaps it makes us feel clever to have gotten so much for so little cost.

Best,

Alan

OOOPS!! I accidentally posted in the Duke 209 thread. I meant to post in the Jinhao 159 thread. Can a moderator move it for me????

Edited September 13, 2015 by Precise