Moonman N1 Fine Nib

[nate127]

I haven't posted much on here but because of the lack of information about the N1 pen from Moonman, I've decided to drop some thoughts on here.

This pen was purchased on Aliexpress for $20 (free returns option) and comes with a converter as per the listing description.

 

The pen is all metal and while it's not heavy, it's got some heft for a small pen. It feels slightly lighter than my Faber Castel Loom. While capped, the pen is slightly back-weighted but it's minor and doesn't bother me at all (a friend of mine does not like this however). The pen is comfortable to hold in the hand and while it's possible to write without the cap, I'll be using it posted. At the end of the body is a clear rubber ring that keeps the cap secure when posted and it works very well. That said, there's a hairline wiggle pivoting from the rubber ring to the body. It's very small but is noticeable while writing.

 

Onto the nib. This pen is a very smooth writer out of the box and did not have any issues or in need of adjusting. It's a firm nib, very little flex but is the smoothest fine nib I've used to date (sample size is small, 3 pens). If I could compare it, it would be like taking my Lamy Aion medium nib and making it a fine nib.

 

This pen came with a converter. It's small and as you might see in the pictures, just barely fits into the barrel. I was pleasantly surprised that after inking up the pen through the converter (not the nib) it wrote after a few seconds, no priming was necessary. The ink used is Noodlers Kiowa Pecan which is slightly on the dry side (compared to my sample vial which seems wetter.....). I plan to use Sailor green ink next time which is wetter.

 

 

I'd give this pen 4/5 with the only flaws being the balance and (very) slight cap wiggle.

 

 

 

 

The pen capped compared to my hand:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Drawing61]

Thanks for the good info.

[Gloucesterman]

Interesting pen. Don't think it will reach a "BUY" button on my purchase list.

Thank you for the quick look.

[MuddyWaters]

Thanks Nate. I appreciate the review that is to the point while being descriptive.

[Idipbananasintocoffee]

I have the exact same pen but with an EF nib - and the listing on mine said there's no converter for it. I've been searching everywhere for one! Does it look like any other converter out there? Is it even possible to find a converter?

[nate127]

I have the exact same pen but with an EF nib - and the listing on mine said there's no converter for it. I've been searching everywhere for one! Does it look like any other converter out there? Is it even possible to find a converter?

Hard to say. I have a Parker 45 with a metal converter like the one in this picture here. The nipple(?) sizes are slightly different but I was able to push the parker converter into the N1 and it felt like a good fit and pretty snug. The N1 was able to write with the ink I put into the converter as well. However I must say, when I took the converter out, quite a bit of ink came out of the barrel of the N1. That might be because I was squeezing the converter a bit while messing around though. I think the harder part about finding a converter is finding the right length. Like in my pictures, the overall length is a fraction above 2 inches and that really is the limit.

 

Your other option would be getting cartridges for the pen and refilling those.

[Idipbananasintocoffee]

I got a Parker push converter and although it kinda fits over the nipple, it's slightly too long. I think I'll have to refill cartridges, which is a bummer as I really love converters... I even messaged several sellers hoping they'd sell just the converter to me, but so far they've all turned me down :/

[nate127]

I got a Parker push converter and although it kinda fits over the nipple, it's slightly too long. I think I'll have to refill cartridges, which is a bummer as I really love converters... I even messaged several sellers hoping they'd sell just the converter to me, but so far they've all turned me down :/

I've taken some more measurements. They're estimates since I don't own a more precise ruler than single mm. Total length is roughly 53.5mm long. Inside bore diameter of nipple is roughly 3.5mm and outside bore diameter of nipple is roughly 5.5mm.

Some of these realistically could be 3.4-3.6 for a range but I can't measure any more precise.

 

These are the most similar to the converter I'm using. The listed bore diameter sounds accurate but the length is 1.5mm longer. I've looked around on the internet and still can't find the exact same one as mine so it must be custom to the Moonman N1 and not sold separate yet. I think they recently started including the converter so perhaps waiting a little longer might result in the converter being sold separate soon.

Edited July 29, 2020 by nate127