Review—Danitrio Hanryo

[æon]

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I can't believe that no one has reviewed the Hanryo with all the praise here over Danitrio's raw ebonite pens. I got one from Kevin about 3 weeks ago, after only 5 days shipping to Canada. Mine is a polished finish with a fine nib.

 

First Impressions: I admit, I wasn't sure at first; the pen really could appear as a cheap black plastic marker until you give it a closer inspection. One of my professors, who uses fountain pens, tried to yank the cap off, and was very apologetic and impressed once he realized that it was a "real pen".

 

Appearance and Finish: 3/5 The smooth ebonite combined with the simple, elegant clip give the impression of utter simplicity, and seems to be more powerful than many pens with trim everywhere. A couple issues with the fit—the clip isn't secure side to side, and I wonder if it's supposed to move. It's spring loaded, but fairly loose, so that the pen would likely fall out if you bent over. The converter that came with it is a piston type, but sits fairly loosely in the section. I dropped the pen about a foot, and the converter came unattatched. And, if I really get critical, the section doesn't meet the body quite flush, there's the thinnest of visible lines.

 

Design/Size/Weight: 4.5/5 This pen is possibly the best feeling pen in the hand I've ever tried. Sizewise, it's pretty much exactly the same as a Pelikan M600, but the longer and more tapered section give a much nicer feel in the hand. I usually post my pens, but you can't really post this one, as the cap sits pretty high and disrupts the balance of the pen. Unposted though, the feel is perfect, and it's slightly lighter than the M600. I think ebonite is probably the best feeling material for pens; my hand gets slippery sometimes when writing, and plastic pens get hard to hold, but the ebonite Hanryo still retains grip. It feels warmer than plastic, and I'll admit to rubbing it between my fingers when I'm not writing. The cap comes off with three and a half twists of the wrist, more than most modern pens.

 

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Nib Design and Performance: 5/5 The nib is a very attractive two tone 18k, a bit shorter and wider than a Pelikan nib. It allows greater control as your hand is closer to the paper surface when writing (I had an M800 for a while, and found it hard to control because of the nib length). The fine nib is springy and lays down a perfect line. It's not a super smooth nib, but rather it gives a bit of feedback which I quite like. This might be my new favorite nib. Danitrio makes flexible nibs for some of it's larger pens, but not the Hanryo, so this nib is called "firm", but it's still fairly soft.

 

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Filling system: 4/5 The Hanryo is a cartrige/converter pen. I know that the Densho can be had as an eyedropper, but I don't know if I would like one, because I tend to want to change colours rather quickly. Aside from the issue with the converter above, it's been trouble free. The converter seems to hold quite a bit of ink, more than a short cart.

 

Cost/Value: 5/5 The pen plus shipping to Canada was $135. I consider it an excellent value for a beautiful ebonite body and almost perfect gold nib.

 

Overall Opinion: 4.5/5 What might say more than anything else is the fact that I used this pen without touching my other pens for at least a week. That's never happened before, so I consider that the sign of a pen close to perfection. I put a converter full of new Waterman South Seas blue through it, and now on to a fill of Private Reserve Avacado. Despite the few nitpicking issues, this will definately become one of my favorite pens.

[bdngrd]

Nice review, it certainly is a lovely looking pen. The Hanryo does not get much attention, it is good to see a review of it.

[Dr.Grace]

Great review! It's always good to get a fresh take.

 

There has actually been at least one other review and considerable discussion of the Hanryo on FPN. You should be able to find it with a search.

 

Don

[HyperCamper]

Great review! I really like the minimalistic look of that pen... ^_^

[Maja]

This is the exact pen I am hoping to acquire sometime this month so thanks for the preview, æon!

 

It sounds wonderful...

[FrankB]

This is a good review. Thank you.

 

The ebonite is a curiously inviting material, isn't it? I also love the feel of it, and I tend to hold the pen in my hand capped when I am not using it. I have gotten my raw ebonite pens in the matte finish, but that is just my personal preference.

 

I like the size and shape of the Hanryo, but, to me, the nib a quite small. Perhaps it is a little "short" for my taste. Because of that nib issue, I tend to use my Takumi size pen a bit more often. I really appreciate your fresh perspective on the Hanryo's nib size.

 

By the way, the clip is not supposed to move around or to be loose. You might want to talk to Kevin about that issue. He can probably address it for you, but I have no idea what you might end up paying in postage to accomplish the fix.