Dryden Designs "Modern Classic" Fountain Pen

February 26, 2021

There is another review in the Far East/Asia forum, and I am shamelessly cribbing his photos.

This link will show a grey lacquered version, but it is actually a brushed stainless steel flighter.

The Modern Classic is another nail-nibbed brass bodied cartridge converter pen, much like many others. I've heard people say this is a badge engineered Baoer 388. If so, you are far better off buying the Baoer.

Once tuned, the German two-toned nib (marked "GENIUS IRIDIUM") is a well-behaved writer with slight feedback and good flow. I do not remember it ever being as horribly dry as my first Baoer 388 was, back in 2014 or so. With Thronton Luxury Goods Oxblood ink, it lays down a western Fine line. It does not post securely, and I think posting makes the pen unbalanced and tail-heavy. I did not take note of how quickly or slowly it dried out, but daily use ought to keep it from having hard starts.

In spite of the ~~threads~~ grooves on the section, the cap snaps on. Dryden says the pen has a 0.4" diameter (~10mm), but that does not include the section, which is noticeably more slim than my Pelikan M2xx. It is slightly longer than my FPR Himalaya V2. There is a gold-plated trim ring on the nib end of the section, which I fear could deplate or corrode with sufficient exposure to ink.

The finials are mismatched. The cap has a flat-top black plastic finial, held on with a small gold-plated pin. The barrel has another GP trim ring, held in place with a plastic peg or rivet. The clip looks fairly cool, but it works poorly in my opinion. The end is not folded or bent; instead, a tiny brass ball, perhaps 1-1.5mm diameter, is welded to the underside of it. It does not slide well as a result.

Most of the images on its Amazon page look like they're made with either CAD or 3-D modeling software, not a camera of any sort. But they do reflect the actual design and appearance of the pen. I think the image with the seven pens and four boxes of cartridges is actual photography. You can see the little ball welded to the inside of the clips of these pens in that image.

The short and sweet of it: A little too slim, a little too long, difficult to clip to or unclip from a pocket.