Duke Sapphire

[KellyMcJ]

In the interest of honesty I must state that I was approached by a Duke representative and offered this pen for free in exchange for a review elsewhere. Since this pen was already one that had been on my eBay watch list for some time, I jumped at the chance. Because the pen was given to me for review I feel like I must find *something* wrong with it, but in all honesty, I cannot. There isn't anything negative to say about this pen (my example, at least. It's my only Duke pen so I don't know how their quality control runs) that wouldn't boil down to personal preference.

 

The appearance reminds me of one of the overlaid pens that were popular in the 1900s-1920s - I've long wanted one of those, but most of them (or modern counterparts) are out of my usual budget so this is the closest I'm likely to get for a while. This is definitely a pen you can't remain indifferent to- it's either stunningly beautiful, or the ugliest thing you've ever seen. I'm solidly in the "stunningly beautiful" camp. I do wish the clip were more streamlined, but it doesn't bother me too much.

 

It appears to be made from lacquered brass. It's HEAVY, and a bit on the thin side. (Almost too thin to be comfortable for me, I prefer a thicker pen.) It's very long and somewhat back heavy when posted, but writes just as well unposted. When posting, the cap snaps onto a ridge on the back end- you have to apply some force to post it. It's not a friction fit like most pens. The cap snaps on so securely it cannot be turned without unscrewing the section (some force is needed to do this, you won't accidentally unscrew the section...after the first time!)

 

A converter is included, and appears to be of as good quality as any of the other well regarded brands (Schmidt, Sailor, Faber Castell etc.) Also included is a small box of ink cartridges, which I didn't bother to try because I'm not a fan of cartridges.

 

The nib wrote beautifully out of the box. It's one of those "butter smooth" nibs that I happen to love, but others don't, so if that's not your thing, take a pass on this one.

 

The packaging is well above and beyond what I expect at this price point (the pen goes for $30 on Amazon). It came in a beautifully decorated cardboard box, inside which is a clamshell case lined in green velvet, where the pen was resting in a cellophane sleeve originally. Inside is a pamphlet telling about the company and instructions on how to use the pen (which I didn't bother to photograph in its entirety) and a pack of Jinhao cartridges.

 

Performance wise, the pen is above what I expect at this price point as well. (My only question is the longevity of that snap cap- but then I never quite trust snap caps to last, despite having never worn one out.) One thing that I noted is that the cap-off time is surprisingly long compared to other pens that I own and use (although I didn't time it). It did give me a hard start after it had set for a couple days when it was new, but that issue seems to have resolved itself with time as it hasn't happened since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by KellyMcJ

[Tweel]

This is definitely a pen you can't remain indifferent to- it's either stunningly beautiful, or the ugliest thing you've ever seen.

 

As is often true of myself in these cases, I don't fall into either camp. It's apparently well-made going by your description, but aesthetically it reminds me of the cheap but pleasant "Art Noveau" decorator items they used to sell in the 70s and 80s -- thin stamped steel, black paint, brass plating and clear spray lacquer. So, it doesn't especially appeal to me, but I don't think it's awful either.

 

It appears to be made from lacquered brass. It's HEAVY, and a bit on the thin side.

 

What does the barrel construction look like inside? I know Hero, at least, makes some pens out of paper-thin metal, loaded with a steel coil spring for sheer weight.

[KellyMcJ]

 

As is often true of myself in these cases, I don't fall into either camp. It's apparently well-made going by your description, but aesthetically it reminds me of the cheap but pleasant "Art Noveau" decorator items they used to sell in the 70s and 80s -- thin stamped steel, black paint, brass plating and clear spray lacquer. So, it doesn't especially appeal to me, but I don't think it's awful either.

 

 

What does the barrel construction look like inside? I know Hero, at least, makes some pens out of paper-thin metal, loaded with a steel coil spring for sheer weight.

 

It's brass inside, although most of the weight comes from the section end and the barrel itself is rather light. It's not paper thin but it's not particularly heavy either.

 

I actually have never seen those 70s and 80s "art Nouveau" things...probably being born in '88 they were before my time.

[Tweel]

 

It's brass inside, although most of the weight comes from the section end and the barrel itself is rather light. It's not paper thin but it's not particularly heavy either.

 

That's good, that they didn't take the "weighted" approach. The pen can probably better withstand an accidental slip-and-fall.

 

I actually have never seen those 70s and 80s "art Nouveau" things...probably being born in '88 they were before my time.

 

Well, perspectives like mine are what happen when they let 57 year old geezers onto the board. Thank you for the review.

[KellyMcJ]

 

That's good, that they didn't take the "weighted" approach. The pen can probably better withstand an accidental slip-and-fall.

 

I don't plan to test this intentionally, but I'm betting that it could withstand being hurled against a wall (with a few minor dings).

[richardandtracy]

Thanks for this review. Like you, I've had my eye on one for a good while. But I have always held off due to the relatively high cost of the pen compared to others, and a nagging doubt from the photos I had seen over the cap construction. I was always concerned that the pattern was created by masking paint, and leaving lots of paint edges to peel and chip off. Your photo shows that the gold coloured metal is a thin overlay - exactly as I had hoped.

 

Looks like this review is going to cost me... Thanks.

 

Regards

 

Richard.