Review of the Duke Ruby

[mfwebb]

Review of Duke Ruby

 

Introduction

I found Duke pens at HisNibs.com quite by chance and was struck by their beautiful appearance – and then by the unbelievable price. My first sight was of the Duke Golden Rings at $35 and I began to investigate further.

 

I bought a brand new Duke Ruby on e-bay from a UK seller at under £9, including postage and packing. It is listed on HisNibs and isellpens.com at $65 (approx £38) plus postage, and is currently on special offer at isellpens.com at $16.99 (approx £10) plus postage. I thought this too good a price to miss – even though the Ruby was not the pen I was initially looking for – so bought it to check the nib and writing quality.

 

Description

The following overall description is edited from isellpens.com:- “This is a Beautiful RUBY fountain pen made by Duke with a snap-on type cap. It is a beautiful filigree silver plate cap with an inlay of black lacquer in a unique design. It is crowned or jewelled on the top of the cap with a stunning Ruby. The gold clip has the Kings Crown logo and is stamped Germany. The pen barrel is a stunning black lacquer over brass and made with all metal fittings making this a solid pen. The pen features a 22 K Gold and Platinum Plated nib. I would consider this a medium-to-fine point that in some respects is closer to a fine point. This comes with a converter and can use International ink cartridges. It measures 5½ inches capped and 6 inches posted”.

 

As I cannot improve on the isellpens overall description, I will limit mine to my subjective thoughts on the appearance.

 

First Impressions

This is a beautiful looking pen. The barrel and cap are probably lacquer over metal judging by the weight, but I doubt that the filigree scroll on the cap, or other bright metal parts for that matter, are silver plate or white gold. I also doubt that the “jewel” in the cap is an actual ruby, although I have seen it described as such on other websites. The knock-down price just doesn’t sit well with descriptions such as “silver plate” and “real ruby” – or “gold plate” for that matter which is how the nib has been described.

 

The cap is a push fit which locks with a reassuring click. The filling mechanism is described as piston fill, but it is actually a removable converter. The barrel screws away from the section and is quite a sloppy fit, although it tightens up securely.

It was delivered in a magnificent crocodile-skin-effect snap-shut presentation gift box which is marked Fuliwen on the inside and came in a card outer sleeve also marked Fuliwen. The pen as advertised on HisNibs ships in a “large light grey gift box”. This is clearly shown in the photographs, marked “Duke “ on the inside. The same pen on isellpens is described as being supplied with a Duke Gift Box.

 

The Duke Ruby measures 5½ inches capped (same size as Pelikan M800) and 6 inches posted which is about 1/4 inch shorter than the M800. It is 10mm diameter and weighs 32 grams – my heaviest pen yet (the Pelikan 800 weighs 29 grams).

 

Nib and Writing Performance

My experience with nibs is based on 40 years with Parker Medium nibs and, more recently, with Pelikan Broad (equivalent to Parker Medium) and Pelikan Medium nibs.

 

This Duke Ruby is fitted with a “Medium” nib which I have seen described elsewhere as “light-medium”. This is a Fine nib by my standards. It lays down a fine wet line and is an incredibly smooth writer. I might not regard it (yet) as an everyday handwriting pen but it is an ideal form filler and ideal for writing small marginal notes in reports etc.

 

It has a lightly ribbed section, presumably for better grip while writing but I am not able to comment as I hold my pens on the barrel below the section during normal writing.

 

Conclusions

This has to be one of the best value pens around – an unbelievable buy for under £9 (about $15). I don’t know whether it is a genuine article or whether there are such things as Duke fakes; but I am delighted with it for now. It all depends, though, how durable it is under regular use.

 

If anyone else has experience of Duke pens at knock down prices, or why they should be available at such a huge discount, I would be pleased to hear.

[Judybug]

I have a Duke Sapphire which is very simlar to the Ruby. I think the nib is identical. I've ordered Duke Ruby pens for my daughters for Christmas. When they came in, I dipped each one and wrote with them enough to be sure the nibs are OK and they all seemed to write exactly like my Duke Sapphire.

 

I've done a lot of writing with my Sapphire. It is a fantastic pen!

 

Judybug

 

P. S. The Sapphire does not have the little ribs in the section like the Ruby does.

Edited August 31, 2006 by Judybug

[DrDiver]

I got the Duke Ruby from ebay for a staggering £6 including P&P! I was going to write a review as well but beaten to it.

I was amazed at the quality of the pen especially for the price. Even if you ignore the pen, then the box is worth the money!

In areas the inlay is a little rough (not as crisp as elsewhere), and the underside of the nib is plain plastic with no fins (which looks awful IMO) but it feels good in the hand and writes well.

As for the jewel, my sister showed me a card that she has from a company that sells fake jewels for arts&craft and it could well have been similar to the ruby on that.

 

I'm suprised to hear that its the same size as a M800 - I was expecting that pen to be much larger!

 

Dave

[mfwebb]

I'm suprised to hear that its the same size as a M800 - I was expecting that pen to be much larger!

 

Dave

The Duke Ruby is the same length as the Pelikan 800 but is not as thick. Being of all metal construction, it also weighs quite a bit more.

 

There is no apparent roughness on the inlay in mine although I agree about the plain plastic feed. Perhaps mine is better finished because I paid more

 

I missed out on the £6 deal. Someone bid against me and pushed me all the way to a fiver (plus the postage) before I realised that these pens come along at £3 every day.

 

No complaints though. For the money -- whether it's £6 or £9 they are staggeringly good writers. I have a Parker Duofold which is not quite as smooth a writer as the Duke Ruby. I am now looking out for a different design at the same price.

[DrDiver]

Glad that you like it - I'm pretty pleased with mine.

The inlay isnt rough as in it sticks out, it isn't as crisp as it could be in places, especially on the cap.

 

I really wish there was a pen emporium near Norwich that I could visit to see/try the pens first. I had the impression that the M800 was a large pen and it has been high on my next purchase list as the M200 are too small/thin. I'm fairly used to heavy pens with several metal ones, but I think the width is an important issue.

 

Dont you hate it when someone bids against you?

 

Some interesting Chinese pens about from the looks of things - I saw another Duke on ebay which I'm considering.

 

ATB

[*david*]

It's highly unlikely anybody would want to make a fake that looks just like a Duke, when for the same investment they could make a fake that looks just like something expensive.

 

But then again, it isn't impossible.

[mfwebb]

David,

 

I have 2 Pelikan 200's and the Pelikan 800. If you have your eye on the 800, don't hesitate. It is a superb pen.

 

It measures 140mm capped and 163mm posted. It is 13.1mm diameter and weighs in at 29 grams. Mine is the classic black version, fitted with a B nib. It is my signature pen of choice and I use it every day.

 

As you know, if you buy a Pelikan with a nib which doesn't suit, you can exchange the nib within 28 days.

 

I bought mine from Ray Adams at www.pelikanpens.co.uk At the time (back in June) he had them on special offer at £185. His regular price is £212. I ordered it with the M nib but didn't like it. Ray sent me the B nib and I could try them side by side for free. I settled on the B nib and sent the M back to him.

 

The 800 is a large pen and for me is the largest I would go for comfort. I did ask Ray Adams advice on the 800 and the 1000 as I was unsure which to buy. His advice was to go for the 800 as, in his opinion, the 1000 was too large for everyday use.

 

Having chosen the 800, I now know his advice was correct.

[DrDiver]

I can probably get away with writing with the medium nib on my M200, the fine on another one doesn't feel right - not for any length of time using it anyway.

 

The nib width that I like best is a Waterman Phileas medium - that is my preferred one for lengthy writing and flow. All the nibs on my other pens don't feel as good, or are quite a bit narrower. I do like my VP but have ordered a broad to try that.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the M800. It does look a fab pen and I'm still sorely tempted, especially following your input about it. I was leaning towards the broad nib myself. The 2 M200 I got from ebay - so I don't know how to get the fine nib changed, so at least with Ray that wouldn't be a problem. I was taken with the white tortoiseshell M400 but as its teh same size as the M200 I don't think its big enough. Going to try a Laban Mento which is oversized to see how I get on with that, and maybe even a Lamy 200 as everyone raves about them on here.

 

I need pens that I can write pages of notes with - but that is just one aspect of teh fun I'm having with them all :-)

[His Nibs]

I don’t know whether it is a genuine article or whether there are such things as Duke fakes;

 

There are both Duke and Hero fakes being produced. This isn't a comment on the eBay auction which you won, merely information that they do exist.

[mfwebb]

My 2 Pelikan 200's are fitted with a B and an M nib. I also have a spare M nib which I bought from Ray Adams for £10 at the same time as I bought the 200 with the B.

 

The B on the 200 is not quite as broad as the B on the 800 IMHO.

[DrDiver]

Think I'll be in touch with Ray to get a replacement to try out.

Christmas isn't *that* far away - maybe some hints to the wife will be picked up...?

[Dawn]

Hi thanks for the review. I have had my eye on Duke for a while and have just received the "crane". Its a really nice pen and I think that they are great value for money as they seem well made, write very nicely and come with a great box.

 

Dawn

[mfwebb]

I am so taken with the Duke Ruby that I have already ordered the Sapphire and the Khaki Squares. I have my eye on the Crane as well -- maybe next week.

 

I've been described over the years as a "pen snob" -- refusing to write with cheap pens. But the quality of these Dukes has won me over. The Ruby writes as smooth as anything else I own. But my Pelikan 800 is still my signature pen in daily use -- for now!!

[Guest Saints1976]

The 800 is a large pen and for me is the largest I would go for comfort.  I did ask Ray Adams advice on the 800 and the 1000 as I was unsure which to buy.  His advice was to go for the 800 as, in his opinion, the 1000 was too large for everyday use.

 

Having chosen the 800, I now know his advice was correct.

I bought an M1000 from Ray quite some time ago and, for me, it is my first choice of pen every day. So for me his advice would have been wrong

 

My advice would be to go along to a Pelikan dealer who has a shop, such as the Harrods pen store, try them out and once you know the one you want then buy it from Ray

[mfwebb]

My advice would be to go along to a Pelikan dealer who has a shop, such as the Harrods pen store, try them out and once you know the one you want then buy it from Ray

I did that with the 800 at the Pen Store in Debenhams in Sheffield. Didn't try the 1000 though. If the alien shop assistants at the Pen Store had been the least bit interested in me or selling a pen, or helpful in any way, I might just have bought the 800 from them, even though the price was full retail!!

[DrDiver]

Was that Meadowhall Debenhams or in the City?

[mfwebb]

Was that Meadowhall Debenhams or in the City?

Meadowhall

[DrDiver]

Thats good - I had forgotten that one of the big department stores in MH had a pen counter - was a good few years ago since I looked at them there. Next time I visit home I'll pay a call there.

Thanks

[Abhik]

Hi! Just read your review of Duke Ruby! Could not agree more that this pen writes superbly! I feel much better because I got this pen as gift from my Chinese friend!Brought from China on his return last week!

I received with another pen Hero55 ( I wrote about it on 16th Feb07 in Writing Instrument forum)!

Over the week end dip tested first then filled up both!

Now my Ruby is filled with Pelikan Brown. It's writing smooth wet fine lines without any single problem!

Now for the "Ruby", certainly its a plastic imitation which are used in custom jewellary!

I found ergonomically very balanced. O.k. my hand is not very large! Posted or unposted it writes the same way!

Beat dans down many costlier famous manufacturer!

I am satisfied.

I also like to support Mr. Norman's (hisnibs) comment that there are fakes of Hero and Duke. Its true! I have seen it in India. As Hero has good user base there, you find some pens with "Hero" name on it which does not write properly.

I am contemplating to write a review of Hero 55! Interested?

abhik.