Duke Century Review

[richardandtracy]

This is a review of the Duke Century Pen.

 

No, I hadn't heard of it before, either.

 

Duke appears to be one of the better quality Chinese pen brands. I have only had previous experience of the Duke 209, which is a very creditable alternative to the Parker Sonnet (combined comparison review here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/222537-sonnet-comparisons-with-lookalikes/ ). There are a lot of pens manufactured by Chinese companies that have an obvious western original that has been copied to a greater or lesser degree. This is not one of those pens, it is a Chinese original.

 

Which is why I was a bit concerned, actually.

I have not had a lot of joy with original Chinese designs. For an example of originality that was total and utter rubbish, take a look here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/236998-huashilai-marbled-celluloid-2210/

 

By the standard of Chinese pens, this was quite expensive, at £7.53, but I was prepared to risk 25.1% of my monthly pocket money based on the manufacturer's good name.

So, in addition to a photo, I suppose I had better try to describe it.

The metal cap & barrel have a satin feel, gold coloured finish, with bright gold coloured rings. The overall shape is vaguely reminiscent of a Yard-O-Led pen, but not any model in paticular. The shiny plated section tapers down to a nice size nib, which again echoes YOL proportions without being like any particular model. To reduce the chance of sweaty fingers sliding down the section, it is engraved with a barleycorn pattern that your fingers may be able to grip better. The section comes in one of two colours, chrome or gold coloured.

The pen came in a fairly nice card box, too. Which is unusual for pens in this price bracket.

OK, now onto a few objective details:

 

• Length capped: 138.85mm
• Length uncapped: 123.2mm
• Length Posted: 161.5mm (Posts very securely)
• Barrel Diameter: 9.65mm (rings are wider)
• Cap Diameter: 10.47mm (rings are wider)
• Section Diameter: 8.3 to 9.95mm over a 25mm length

   

• Weight: 32.4g capped, 18.9g Uncapped

 

　

Construction

The pen is an all metal pen and while it doesn't feel unbreakable, it feels easily up to heavy use.

 

The section is machined and bright plated brass with a barleycorn engraving. The low amount of taper and barleycorn engraving stops finger slippage even when hot & sweaty. The thread into the barrel is smoothly machined with no sharp edges and works adequately. The twist c/c is better than most Chinese ones, and works in such a way that you don't notice it. What more needs to be said?

 

The nib is an accurately plated, two tone steel nib, and is quite pleasant to look at, plated the same colour gold as the section.

 

The Barrel is a standard metal (probably brass) tube with threaded formed sheet metal insert at the section end, and a reduced diameter finial at the other end. The step to the section is negligible is you can ignore the threaded insert bulge and is comfortable to hold if you prefer to position your fingers there. The barrel and cap have an unusual dull gold coating that looks quite elegant, but does scuff a little and produce a different colour. The cap click grips the finial quite hard when posting.

 

The Cap has a very firm clip, going on to a metal body. The cap click is positive. The open end of the barrel has a sheet metal pressing to re-inforce it and protect the edge of the paint finish.

 

The quality of construction throughout is good, though the bright plating on the highlights does seem to wear after a fair bit of abuse.

 

Writing with the Pen

I like broad nibs. The nib on this pen is a slightly narrow medium, so is right on the lower limit of what I am willing to put up with. So, having expressed my prejudice, how does it feel?

 

I inked it up without flushing, and used it. And have continued to do so for a couple of months. The ink is Visconti Burgundy. In fact it's the same fill as went through the washing machine when I forgot to take the pen out of a shirt, and stayed there for a week. The interior of the cap was a bit wet and the ink in the feed slightly diluted, but otherwise it was OK.

The nib is surprisingly large in such a small pen and has a smooth underside to the feed - it's not the common or garden #6 feed seen in a Baoer/Jinhao/Kaigelu and has the same proportion relative to the section as my YOL Viceroy Standard.

 

The nib is nice and smooth, but suffers from baby-bottom (BB) syndrome, which makes it skip a bit at certain angles unless the c/c has been advanced to flood the feed or excessive force is used to attach the ink meniscus to the paper. I need to do a small amount of grinding to remedy the BB, and after that it'll be perfect.

 

It's a slender pen and the balance is close to perfect, with an even density all the way up the pen, leading to a balance point (unposted) of just below half way up from the nib, and no tendancy for the nib to flip up off the page even when posted. The pen density is such that it has a good heft, similar to my YOL Viceroy Standard, without being too heavy. If it weren't for the BB syndrome, I would like the pen much more than I do.

 

Durability

I have already mentioned that the pen has been through a washing machine. The painted finish is showing some signs of having been scuffed a little in the machine and the gold plated cap click section of the section is looking very slightly silvery. So, the durability for the price is pretty good.

 

Value For Money

In terms of a cheaper Chinese pen, it is quite expensive. It costs a similar amount to the near-disposable Parker Vector, however it will be a long lived pen. It feels good, and looks not too bad, and the way it writes is OK. So, value for money is good. Better than any Western pen. Is it better than many Chinese pens? That is a much harder question to answer. I think it's durable, but the aesthetic is different from what is common, so I suspect VFM will be subjective on whether you like its looks.

 

Conclusion

I think a pen manufacturing company can be judged on the quality of the pens it produces when not copying anyone else's pens. On this scale, Duke have proved themselves to be very competent, though not inspired. It is a good pen, well made, but will not set the world alight. However, they have also shown that, unlike Huashilai, they have a good grounding in what is needed from a fountain pen, which gives confidence for when considering the more expensive pens in their range.

 

I hope this review helps.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Pickwick]

As always you give vey good reviews with regard to Chinese made pens. Following your topics and threads you have accumulated a wealth of knowledge. The Duke reminds me of a dip pen one of my Aunts used for writing her correspondence {She was born the latter half of the 19th century, which dates me!}. I've tried out a few Chinese made pens and the ones I've kept is a Hero 892 which has a Parker 45 section and the nibs and feeds are compatible with the 45. Parker may have sold Hero the tooling. One thing I like with this pen is the free flow of ink which is somewhat unusual with a hooded nib.

 

My other Hero is a 752 solidly made and has proved a reliable and consistent writer.

[rwilsonedn]

Richard:

Great review, and what an interesting departure for Duke. I almost ordered one of these, but that little voice in the back of my head kept whispering "wait, this is not the YOL you really want but can't afford. You'll be disappointed, and it won't be the pen's fault." So I didn't click. But if they had run the barleycorn pattern all the way up the barrel, I would have been lost. It is really interesting to speculate on what might happen if the good Chinese manufacturers start doing tributes to beautiful vintage pens.

ron

[bobje]

Richard, fascinating review. Interesting question about new designs originated by Chinese pen companies. Maybe the Jinhao 126?

[richardandtracy]

I have to confess that the J126 is one I'm never going to get. The 'sharks mouth' style of hooded nib is a shape that doesn't appeal to me at all, and they all seem to come with XF nibs. I can just about cope with something as fine as a fine-medium (I prefer 0.8mm wide or wider), but I just loath fine or extra fine nibs. I could never do an objective assessment.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[zdeveric]

Richard,

Thank you for review.

I am not able to find Duke Century Pen anywhere. Where did you buy it?

Regards,

Zoran

[richardandtracy]

Zoran,

 

There aren't many about, the chrome coloured section version is here:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duke-New-Century-Golden-Barrel-Medium-Nib-Fountain-Pen-/271719957127?hash=item3f43c58287:g:TPkAAOSw~uhUnNBz

At the moment I can't find a gold coloured section version on e-bay.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[garyc]

Zoran,

 

There aren't many about, the chrome coloured section version is here:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Duke-New-Century-Golden-Barrel-Medium-Nib-Fountain-Pen-/271719957127?hash=item3f43c58287:g:TPkAAOSw~uhUnNBz

At the moment I can't find a gold coloured section version on e-bay.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Richard,

that pen pictured on the ebay listing seems to be much fatter than yours, has something happened to the aspect ratio of your image or is it just a 'trick of the eye' from having a long and thin image?

 

Cheers,

Gary

[richardandtracy]

I think something squiffy has happened to the first photo in the e-bay sale. The rest seem to have the expected proportions.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[lovemy51]

thx, Richard for a nice review, as always -specially for addressing the issue of the metal section grip....

 

the only thing that turns me off is the gold coating that might wear off in time.

 

regards

[richardandtracy]

....

 

the only thing that turns me off is the gold coating that might wear off in time.

 

...

I agree with you, and I think it's likely to wear off. However it's the reason why I went for the gold grip rather than the alternative chrome grip.

 

From its weight, the section is almost certain to be brass, so the exposed metal will be similar in colour once the under layer of plating is worn through too (brass seems to be copper plated first then an immensely thin layer of gold put on that). Once the gold & copper have gone, it will be goldish. The Chrome one, however will have goldish bits visible through a silver colour, which will look worse than goldish visible through gold.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[FrozenLand]

Thank you for the review.

I've recently tested several Duke's medium-range pens and bought a "Luminous Pearl". They're doing quite a good job, I must admit. A nice writer, quite "eastern" design, but convincing for me.

 

In the popular range, the variations in the nib finish quality and not consistent trace width labeling and are often claimed, what I confirm. I've had several Duke's pens below the 20$ limit; at the moment of delivery some of them were really excellent writers, but a part needed a special care, too.