Moonman M2 Successor Coming Soon?

[penzel_washinkton]

I have a feeling they would fit really well but we'll see. I also have one on the way

[sdbruder]

Just ordered one from Bobby, now starts the wait game.

[JonSzanto]

Who is "Bobby"?

[drathbun]

  On 5/25/2019 at 6:21 AM, JonSzanto said:

Who is "Bobby"?

 

"Bobby" is a Chinese seller of pens on both Etsy and eBay. On Etsy, his store is "ChinesePen" and on eBay it is "office_supplies_pen".

[stephenchin]

  On 5/23/2019 at 10:51 AM, Mech-for-i said:

 

What I mean is the straight cylinder , that's the way I see it as the style part, the cut flat surface part is the specific design and I do not disagree with your assertion .. might be its my profession but my definition on style and design might be a bit more leaned towards generalized loose form as style and specific cue and features ( like profile and size ) being a design .. take many a custom made fountain pen had the same ( general ) straight cylinder ( no step down when capped ) design but they might differ a lot in size, profile ( say length to girth ratio, finale, material choice ) .. and that's why I say I consider such style generic ...

 

I did say I do think they copy the design, it is a copycat no doubt about it ; which is what you've mentioned, the very specific parts which is tailored specific to the Shinobi, the use of said material in such sizing and form and giving it the specific flat surface, specific type of filling etc ..

 

If we go back to the old days like say 1910's we can see this style of straight cylinder design is pretty common and even a single ( or a couple ) of flat surface to made the pen not roll on desk is also already there , in fact it was there even before that existing on dip pens then so again that's a style, but its not the particular or a design , its just like a fastback coupe is a common style used on automobiles , but that does not mean each and every fastback coupe had the same design

 

Please post some photos of classic age, 1910's cylindrical fountain pens with single flat facets to keep them from rolling.

 

I am not familiar with any.

 

Octagonal or multi-faceted pens, like the Eversharp Doric, Conklin Nozac, Parker Parkette, Goldfink, Montblanc, and certain continental overlay Watermans--certainly. Even the rare triangular Triad pen. But a cylinder with one flat facet? Like the Shinobi? I would be very interesting to see the vintage predecessor for that.

[JonSzanto]

  On 5/25/2019 at 6:32 AM, drathbun said:

"Bobby" is a Chinese seller of pens on both Etsy and eBay. On Etsy, his store is "ChinesePen" and on eBay it is "office_supplies_pen".

 

Thank you. There must be a zillion "Bobby"s in the world, so I figure Google would be useless. I assume he/she is a good source for cheap Chinese pens.

[drathbun]

  On 5/25/2019 at 6:45 AM, JonSzanto said:

 

Thank you. There must be a zillion "Bobby"s in the world, so I figure Google would be useless. I assume he/she is a good source for cheap Chinese pens.

 

He is awesome. He calls himself Bobby but I suspect that is a pseudonym adopted for western audiences. I think his real name is 寿月 卫 (Shouyue Wei) as that is what is on my PayPal invoice. He is a hands-on re-seller on eBay and Etsy. If you ask a question, he answers it the same day which is remarkable given the amount of traffic he must navigate. When I was trying to locate this mysterious Crocodile 377 fountain pen, Helen asked him directly to find one and he had them within a week. He is now selling them on Etsy.

 

Just a couple of days ago I received my Moonman M600 from Bobby on Etsy. He added an extra medium nib and a very nice felt pen sleeve with a snap closure unsolicited and without extra charge. I sent him a note thanking him and within an hour I received a very nice personal note from him. This is excellent customer service! I will now defer to buying from Bobby over other sellers even when his price is a dollar or more above another seller (which isn't often). I would rather pay a few dollars more for excellent service and fast free shipping than pay the rock bottom dollar and wait a month or more or not have the item show up at all, which has happened a few times.

 

I ordered a Moonman M6 from Bobby's Etsy store just now.

 

[taike]

I've been enjoying this pen for a week or so and here's my take. It is a larger successor to the M2 but is also alot like a PenBBS 471. The fit and finish on the thing is really first rate.

 

The #6 nib is as good in this pen as it is in the wood M6. I see that suiyipens (the contract manufacturer) do claim that they make the nib.

 

Not being familiar with the Shinobi, this thread is a bit of an eye opener. In any case, I really do like the flat on the side of the pen.

[drathbun]

  On 5/27/2019 at 12:17 AM, EDC said:

I've been enjoying this pen for a week or so and here's my take. It is a larger successor to the M2 but is also alot like a PenBBS 471. The fit and finish on the thing is really first rate.

 

The #6 nib is as good in this pen as it is in the wood M6. I see that suiyipens (the contract manufacturer) do claim that they make the nib.

 

Not being familiar with the Shinobi, this thread is a bit of an eye opener. In any case, I really do like the flat on the side of the pen.

 

Well that was just an excellent review of the C1 EDC! Thank you! I'm now more excited than ever! I'm hoping I can live with the Fine nib, but prepared to swap in a #6 medium of some variety.

[penzel_washinkton]

  On 5/27/2019 at 12:17 AM, EDC said:

I've been enjoying this pen for a week or so and here's my take. It is a larger successor to the M2 but is also alot like a PenBBS 471. The fit and finish on the thing is really first rate.

 

The #6 nib is as good in this pen as it is in the wood M6. I see that suiyipens (the contract manufacturer) do claim that they make the nib.

 

Not being familiar with the Shinobi, this thread is a bit of an eye opener. In any case, I really do like the flat on the side of the pen.

 

Hmm, it writes a 0.6 mm and they claim it as a Fine? Now I am really hoping there are aftermarket inexpensive Chinese finer nibs for this pen.

 

Also agreed with the strange / funny tag line "Feel the temperature of writing" stuff. I mean it's not like I'm writing with a boiling ink

[mke]

> But a cylinder with one flat facet?

Is that innovative?

 

The only innovative step is from going from round to faceted - after that, the number is just a simple variation, nothing special.

 

Is that design protected? If not, everyone is allowed to use it.

[stephenchin]

Shawn has stated that he believes that this will not put him out of business. He has ruefully accepted that an overseas factory can crank out thousands of knockoffs of his product at a ridiculously cheap price (the delivery of which is subsidized by our loss-running post office). But how many people are going to pay $275 for the hand-machined and hand-polished original when the unlicensed rip-off is selling for $25?

Is it legal? Maybe. Is it how global capitalism works? Sure.

But in this case, it's a bit less abstract. The person being hurt is actually one of us.

 

Shawn is a member of this forum, who has always made pens for charity and for students. He's a good guy and a great pen-maker. His full-time livelihood is making these pens. And people here are actually making excuses for his work being ripped off.

 

I guess we all love a bargain.

Edited May 29, 2019 by stephenchin

[richardandtracy]

I have a feeling Shawn will not lose a single sale as a result of this. The type of person who is on the look out for a custom made pen is not someone who will be put off by the presence of a cheap knock off. Someone who is a cheapskate and will buy a knock-off is not one who'd be buying a custom made pen anyway. Then there'll be a limited number of people who'll buy both, just to see. And they'll continue to buy custom pens regardless of the presence of the knock-off.

 

There is a possibility it could turn into a business opportunity for Shawn. Buy a few at as low a price as he can find & sell at a mark-up saying that the design was so popular he got them made for him in China to disseminate to a wider audience than a custom maker could cope with. Basically reverse the IP theft & take advantage mercilessly.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[mke]

> Someone who is a cheapskate and will buy a knock-off

 

Nice name for people in this forum/thread who said they ordered one.

[penzel_washinkton]

With all due respect to Newton Pens, prior to this discussion on the C1 I have never heard or seen a Shinobi pen.

Guess I'm a cheapskate now huh

Edited May 30, 2019 by penzel_washinkton

[IndigoBOB]

I wonder if this pen could actually be useful advertising for Newton Pens.

 

I didn't even know about Newton Pens before this... no offense Newton.

 

But I do love ebonite and now your store is a consideration for the future.

 

But honestly, after looking at the Newton Store, I think if someone's going to buy a Newton pen they are going to buy a Newton pen.

Edited May 30, 2019 by IndigoBOB

[richardandtracy]

  On 5/30/2019 at 7:42 AM, mke said:

> Someone who is a cheapskate and will buy a knock-off

 

Nice name for people in this forum/thread who said they ordered one.

I am happy to admit I'm a cheapskate. I have 6 or 7 cheapskate P51 vacs (the WS601), almost as many as I have P51's.

What is a K316 other than a cheapskate Duofold Centennial? Have a number of those. And only one real Duofold Centennial.

I will not be buying an M2, because so far they seem to be well above my cheapskate threshold price for buying that type of pen at the moment.

I may be buying one of the cheapskate Duofold International knock-offs (aka latest shape M600, probably in Teal). But not yet.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Newton Pens]

I'm loving this.

 

And I appreciate the attention it's brought to me as well.

[stephenchin]

  On 5/30/2019 at 6:54 AM, richardandtracy said:

I have a feeling Shawn will not lose a single sale as a result of this. The type of person who is on the look out for a custom made pen is not someone who will be put off by the presence of a cheap knock off. Someone who is a cheapskate and will buy a knock-off is not one who'd be buying a custom made pen anyway. Then there'll be a limited number of people who'll buy both, just to see. And they'll continue to buy custom pens regardless of the presence of the knock-off.

 

There is a possibility it could turn into a business opportunity for Shawn. Buy a few at as low a price as he can find & sell at a mark-up saying that the design was so popular he got them made for him in China to disseminate to a wider audience than a custom maker could cope with. Basically reverse the IP theft & take advantage mercilessly.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

I'm glad Shawn's taking this all in stride with characteric grace and generosity.

 

Maybe if he's lucky Moonman will rip off his entire product line. And he can mercilessly take advantage by becoming a Moonman dealer.

 

Too bad Wing Sung wasn't around to rip off the Parker vac 51 with their 601 back in the day. Otherwise--following the same business advice--Parker could have shut down their US factory and just become a dealer for cheap Chinese knock-offs.

 

Oh wait--American companies did do that. They moved their production overseas and produced cheap versions of their once high-quality designs. They mercilessly took advantage of cheap labor and overseas production. And that worked out great for American industry, American workers--and for all of us consumers.

 

So enjoy your vintage 51's. Because Parker doesn't make (or develop) new pens like that any more. And enjoy your cheap Shinobi knock-offs, knowing that not one penny of your money is going to the guy who actually developed it--who sweated out hours and hours in his garage and on his kitchen table, getting all the proportions and specs just right. Just so someone could knock it off cheaply in China.

 

And just in case you wanted to put a face to the actual guy who did that work, here's a link to a youtube video of Shawn making a Shinobi in his workshop in 2015 (created by Leigh Reyes):

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by stephenchin

[drathbun]