Duke 2

[AndyHayes]

First Impressions

The pen arrived in a black “crocodile skin” box wrapped in a white cardboard sleeve. The box was lined with “velvet”. Sold as a Duke Crown, this is described on this forum elsewhere as a Duke D2 so I will call it a Duke D2 too.

 

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/shetlink/DukeCrown1.jpg

 

Appearance

Very shiny black pen with silver trim, clip and a very decorative “waistband”. I am sure that there is a technical name for it but I don’t know what it is! A surprisingly attractive pen for one so cheap.

 

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/shetlink/DukeCrown2.jpg

 

Design/Size/Weight

A similar shape to a Mont Blanc with rounded ends. Capped it is almost exactly the same length as a Lamy Safari and slightly taller than my Parker 51. At 46 grammes empty it is 5 grammes heavier that a Rotring 600 FP full of ink. I never thought that I would own a pen heavier than the Rotring. I now believe that I will never own a pen heavier than this.

 

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/shetlink/DukeCrown3.jpg

 

Nib

I filled the pen with Visconti Green and the pen wrote straight away in a medium stylee. The nib is supposed to be gold with rhodium plating, but I have to say that a gold nib at this price seems very unlikely and it springs like a steel nib, hardly at all that is!

 

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/shetlink/DukeCrown4.jpg

 

Filling System

Unscrewing the body reveals the convertor that comes with the pen. I have almost paid as much for a converter as I paid for this pen. Unscrewing it shows up the awful engineering. The pen squeaks and it is though the threads have been threaded in different gauges. I couldn’t bear it so I put some lube on the threads, but although the squeak stopped it always felt as though you were risking cross-threading the parts when you screwed them together.

 

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb177/shetlink/DukeCrown5.jpg

 

Cost and Value

Very reasonable price and if but for the nasty engineering this would be a very good pen. It is the sort of pen that would make you throw away all of your Lamy Safaris as they now don’t look at all grown-up any more! I know as I have four of them.

 

Conclusion

The pen was coming from Hong Kong from an eBay vendor called FungShop and delivery was expected to take up to 20 working days. In the end it arrived in just over a week. It cost under £4 (US$8) plus shipping, which was about twice that. Being so cheap there were no customs charges on it. If you can ignore the engineering, which obviously I can’t, it would make an impressive looking gift for someone who likes fountain pens but is on a tight budget, or to introduce an older child to fountain pens. At this price they are practically disposable.

Edited August 5, 2007 by AndyHayes

[Jazzbaby]

I have the same model but I have no problem with the threading - screws on and off very nicely. Also writes well. My biggest quibble with the pen is that it is so heavy and chubby. I bought it originally because it was just that. I liked the look of a fatter pen and I liked the heavy feel. But as I write more and more each day (have to give those pens a workout ) I find that I am more drawn to my slimmer, lighter pens. All in all though, it is a great pen. The value is exceptional and not at all flimy feeling so I never worry when some family member decides to grab it to scribble a note.

[dayonfire]

I bought one of these on Fleabay for $5.00. I sent it to Pendamonium for a nib regrind to a 0.8mm cursive italic. It is now the smoothest, most pleasurable writing instrument I own. My daily writer. Not bad for a grand total of $25.00.

 

Michael

 

 

I have the same model but I have no problem with the threading - screws on and off very nicely. Also writes well. My biggest quibble with the pen is that it is so heavy and chubby. I bought it originally because it was just that. I liked the look of a fatter pen and I liked the heavy feel. But as I write more and more each day (have to give those pens a workout ) I find that I am more drawn to my slimmer, lighter pens. All in all though, it is a great pen. The value is exceptional and not at all flimy feeling so I never worry when some family member decides to grab it to scribble a note.

 

[Kabe]

how resistant is the finish?

[dayonfire]

 

I have seen no dulling so far.

 

how resistant is the finish?

 

[LouisA]

I have one. Great pen, doubles as a walking stick and martial arts weapon. It is one hefty pen but a very nice writer.

[Motomo]

I have one as well and it is one of the best two duke pens I have ever bought (with the top being a mini torpedo).

[donwinn]

I have one which I carry in my Franklin Covey wallet organizer. It is one of my most reliable pens, which is why it is always with me. I have not had any issues with misaligned threads. I got mine from www.goldquills.com, for $13.98, including shipping. (not affiliated, merely a satisfied repeat customer)They apparently are currently out of stock.

 

Donnie