Duke Carbon - a tale of two pens!

December 2, 2008

I have just got a Duke Silver Ring for about $15 including shipping. Looks good, very good finish and fit. writes okay, but not as good as SOME of my Dewens and Lambitous do. I would say the quality of this Duke pen is very similar to one of most of Jinhaos BUT... the pocket clip bent and never was back to original position...what a shame for a relatively expensive Chinese pen!. The cap does not really post well, fells off easily. The twist converter is not smooth. The verdict: not a good pen. Probably Dukes are overrated (judging on the reviews from others). You can get two Jinhao 450 for the price and they will be better pens. The main problem of my Jinhao 450 is that it takes noticeable effort to uncap and recap it. Otherwise Jinhaos are very nice pens.

If you buy ten different Chinese pens, you will get two-three overall excellent pens, four-five good pens (say, a good body but not a great writer, or a great writer but there is something else you do not like about the pen) and some two pens you do not really want to use. But, I believe the same statistics applies to any European or American brand. The only difference is that they cost much more than comparable Chinese pens.

Edited December 2, 2008 by adallak

February 24, 2009

After having bidden on a Duke Red (Vertical) Carbon I read this review so I was curious how the pen would start.

I found the already described problem: the ink didn't flow!

Never having taken out a nib from a fountain pen before I was quite exited....

I quickly managed and I found the nib not enough curved to let the ink come through.

Some pressure with a softly rounded Instrument was enough to cure the defect, the nib's now quite wet,

filled with noodler's Forest Green it writes smooth and beautiful.

I'm very grateful for all the advises written in here.

Edited February 24, 2009 by hadschihalef

February 24, 2009

Trying to edit one post I've now got two...I'm working on it...

Edited February 24, 2009 by hadschihalef

February 24, 2009

Actually, I have had very good luck with this particular Dewen Pen (Chinese).

I bought one for $3 including shipping on an ebay auction just for the heck of it and turned out to be a nice everyday pen.

Rocket style and a 22KGP Steel Medium nib.

One wrote beautifully right out of the box, while the other two needed about 10 strokes across a ladies nail buffing block to get a smooth, skip free pen.

The cap is very secure and the overall finish is very good. It looks and feels like a MUCH more expensive pen.

Have since given a few of them to friends and family members as "thinking of you" or "hope you feel better" random gifts since they are so cheap.

These are the best pics I can find on the internet.

http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/D62-2006FP3.jpg

http://www.goldquills.com/prodimages/D62-2006FP2.jpg

Overall, I still prefer the bouncier Pelikan nib. However, with this pen I can write faster.