Delike Brass Pen Long Term Review

[Honeybadgers]

TL;DR - one of the best pens made. It's better than the kaweco brass sport.

 

I've been beating on this Delike for several months now as a full time field pen (working as a paramedic I need a tough pen) and this pen has just stood up and then some. Didn't hurt that the "bent" nib is really just a spectacular architect nib.

 

Construction is just solid. No other word. It has a plastic insert in the cap with threads, which makes the single-turn cap/uncap (less than one turn actually) glassy smooth, but it's also proven to be tough as nails and doesn't scratch the barrel. It posts securely, and the tolerances are actually so good if you drop the pen into the cap by the back, it will bounce on the cushion of air it creates.

 

Elephant in the room - yes, it's very, very similar to the kaweco brass sport. But it has one major change that I think makes it a totally different pen. The barrel is about 1.5cm longer. This means it can use standard international longs or use nearly every converter made (I only have one that is too long) it also means the pen can be used briefly unposted in my large hands - a huge deal. And it's still absolutely a small pocket pen.

 

The section is nice, threads are small and unobtrusive, and even though it's very heavy, it's superbly balanced when posted.

 

There are only a few downsides, none of which are even remotely reason enough to not buy this pen -

 

The pen is inscribed with a dumb "war and peace" statement. Just position the clip over it, job done.

 

The clip itself wasn't very securely gripping the cap. Easily solved by putting tape on the jaws of some pliers and squeezing it tighter (dimensions are not quite the same as a kaweco, so a kaweco clip will not fit) but once I squeezed the clip tighter, it's got perfect tension and stays put in my uniform pocket.

 

The converter it came with was nice, but started leaking after a month. Tossed in a better one and no problems since.

 

Mine came with an EF nib - not bad, toothy but not scratchy, wet enough. But I spent $5 on a "bent nib" package for it and this pen writes spectacularly. I reach for it over stuff costing forty times as much. It is a fine grind architect nib, fine/ef down, medium cross strokes. Smooth and wet and PERFECT. You can buy the pen with the bent nib already in it for the same price. Nibs are in sections that screw out, the nib and feed can also just be pulled out.

 

It REFUSES to dry out, too. I set it for two weeks without touching it, starts the first time every time, never skipping or hard starting. The cap seal is honestly better than kaweco.

 

As of this writing, you can get this pen for about $15 shipped from eBay. And you need one. Believe me. I've put enough beating on it in four months to last a typical user a lifetime. In my eye, this pen is better than the kaweco. It's just so refined in its design details, whereas the kaweco pens try to get by on being quirky. I did notice that the facets in the cap are ground a little differently, one of them extends further up towards the finial than the others, but it's imperceptible in the hand and just gives it a nice handmade feel.

Edited November 4, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[Uncial]

They are great little pens. I ditched the clip and I'm told if you remove the lacquer it takes on a softness like the Kaweco would. I heard a rumour that they printed with War and Peace because the were made from recycled brass shells. Probably complete nonsense but it sounds nice.

[jmccarty3]

Sounds like a great deal. Did you have any difficulty getting used to the bent nib?

[Ted A]

Can you tell more about the bent nib? What it is and where to get it?

Thanks

[Honeybadgers]

Can you tell more about the bent nib? What it is and where to get it?

Thanks

 

It's available on its own in a two pack on ebay along with an EF nib (just look for delike bent nib on ebay) or in the pen itself. The two pack is $5. The nibs are #5 and a hair shorter than a standard #5 so they may seat too deeply in some #5 nib pens. But they fit a jinhao 992 and kaweco sport well enough.

 

It's really just an architect nib. slightly broader cross strokes (about a japanese F-M) and an EF-F downstroke. Lots of character without being obnoxious or requiring you to change your writing style. Very smooth, very forgiving, big sweet spot. Not flexible (it does spread a bit but it just instantly railroads)

 

It was immediately intuitive and easy to use. It fell in line with my writing angle (Which I'd consider extremely average)

Edited November 5, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[truthpil]

Thanks for the on this pen. Now that a brushed chrome option is available I'm seriously considering it.

 

The Delike Alpha and New Moon use the same nib unit. Some customers on Taobao have noted that the nib assembly is the same size as that of the Jinhao 991 and 992. Can you confirm that?

 

Also, do you think it's possible to pull put the nib and put something like a Knox #5 in instead? If so, then this would be the most versatile little pen ever.

[paperglo]

Thanks for the review on this. I'm fairly new to FPs, any recommendations on a specific converter for this pen?

[Honeybadgers]

Thanks for the review on this. I'm fairly new to FPs, any recommendations on a specific converter for this pen?

 

Literally anything you want. Honestly, as long as the original converter doesn't start leaking, I actually thought it was quite nicely made (and can be disassembled for cleaning)

[Honeybadgers]

Thanks for the on this pen. Now that a brushed chrome option is available I'm seriously considering it.

 

The Delike Alpha and New Moon use the same nib unit. Some customers on Taobao have noted that the nib assembly is the same size as that of the Jinhao 991 and 992. Can you confirm that?

 

Also, do you think it's possible to pull put the nib and put something like a Knox #5 in instead? If so, then this would be the most versatile little pen ever.

 

Pulled a 992 and tested it - close, but no. The section fits, but cross-threads.

 

And yes, it'll absolutely take a knox #5. Just tested, and while the nib sticks out a touch farther, it's still plenty deep to be usable. A kaweco nib unit is a little more closely sized (they run a tad shorter than a knox) but I don't see any problems at all.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[truthpil]

Thanks for answering my questions!

I just ordered one along with a New Moon 2 and some other new toys and look forward to messing with nib swapping.

 

The Jinhao nib units also don't work with JoWo #5 nib units. I just checked and the JoWo unit will fit but the threads don't match. I guess it doesn't matter anyway since the nibs swap easily.

 

It looks like this little bad boy is destined to get an upgrade to that Knox OBB you posted about.

[Honeybadgers]

Yeah, there's no real reason to ever expect a pen to accept a nib unit, none of them are universal.

 

I still think that bent nib is one of the best pen nibs around. You might find you enjoy it more than an OBB!

[paperglo]

 

Literally anything you want. Honestly, as long as the original converter doesn't start leaking, I actually thought it was quite nicely made (and can be disassembled for cleaning)

 

Thanks again, I'm really excited to get it in the mail.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Thanks again, I'm really excited to get it in the mail.

 

I do take that back - there was ONE converter I have that is too long, but it's also so long it doesn't fit a lot of my "normal" length pens too. So -nearly- every converter. If it's a normal one, it should fit.

[sdbruder]

Bought one delike, waiting for it.

[truthpil]

 

Literally anything you want. Honestly, as long as the original converter doesn't start leaking, I actually thought it was quite nicely made (and can be disassembled for cleaning)

 

There seems to be two versions of this pen, like with the New Moon and New Moon 2. The current version has a converter that looks like a chrome plated version of Platinum's converter. Is that the converter you had that leaked?

 

I think the older one had a converter that looked like a green Cross knockoff.

[pensuplier]

Can you tell more about the bent nib? What it is and where to get it?

Thanks

you can search the " brass fude pen " in amazon to purchase the bent nib . It is about 0.7mm

[alfredop]

you can search the " brass fude pen " in amazon to purchase the bent nib . It is about 0.7mm

 

 

I am very interested in architect nibs (usually I grind them myself), can we have a writing test of this fude nib?

 

Alfredo

[truthpil]

 

 

I am very interested in architect nibs (usually I grind them myself), can we have a writing test of this fude nib?

 

Alfredo

 

This isn't really an architect nib, but a fude nib which feels different but has some similar writing characteristics. The difference in line width between horizontal and vertical strokes isn't as great as on an architect nib. Also, with a fude nib you can get different line widths by altering the vertical angle at which the pen is held, the finest line when the pen is 90 degrees to the paper and increasing in width as the angle decreases. That effect also isn't as pronounced with this nib because this is an EF-F fude nib.

[Honeybadgers]

 

This isn't really an architect nib, but a fude nib which feels different but has some similar writing characteristics. The difference in line width between horizontal and vertical strokes isn't as great as on an architect nib. Also, with a fude nib you can get different line widths by altering the vertical angle at which the pen is held, the finest line when the pen is 90 degrees to the paper and increasing in width as the angle decreases. That effect also isn't as pronounced with this nib because this is an EF-F fude nib.

 

I disagree that it's closer to a fude than an architect when writing normally. I would firmly call it an architect nib (which is in essence a fude nib that isn't bent, rather ground to a flat) A fude really is supposed to be MUCH more pronounced than an architect nib, hence the paintbrush-like design and strokes. This also doesn't have the feathery bottom stroke that a fude nib has, it has a more crisp line, again like an architect.

 

Also on the converter - yes, mine was similar to the platinum one in appearance. I ordered another delike bent nib in case I ever lose this one, I might honestly order five or six more, I want to have this pen for the rest of my life) we'll see how the converter holds up. I hope mine was the fluke, because the converter it came with was smooth and nice feeling in the hand and disassembled for cleaning. But it's not like we aren't all swimming up to our eyeballs in SI converters anyways. The only way it could have been better is if it had a threaded in converter like the monteverde invincia.

 

If they took this pen, removed the war and peace logo, developed a gold nib with this bent tip, and put a good converter in it, they could sell it for $150 and it'd be a steal.

 

Uploading a writing sample video now. (ink is KWZ iron gall Green Gold, been in this pen for a few weeks and it really seems to like it.)

 

Ignore any and all skips or hard starts, I'm holding the pen at a really odd angle. This pen never skips. You can't really see the line variation in the first two videos, but in the third you can since I put my phone really close to the paper. Like I said, the nib is very subtle and just adds a ton of character without throwing your writing out of whack. You can see it's even got some softness, it flexes a little bit (to about 1mm) without complaining.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[jmccarty3]

Just got mine two days ago. I got the one with the bent nib, and it came with a Platinum converter. Writes beautifully. If you're thinking about a Kaweco Sport, I'd give this a serious look.