Hongdian D1 Piston Fountain Pen Fine Nib, Hollow Skeleton & Resin with Metal Case Set (Silver)

What a beautiful pen. It is far shinier than in photos and videos. This pen arrived in a non-descript gray box inside of which was a thin metal tin. Inside the tin, lined in foam was the pen, inside a plastic protective sleeve and a small baggie with a tool to disassemble the piston mechanism. Nice. As the pen was in transit a Hongdian customer service rep, emailed institutions on how to fill and clean then pen as well as a thank you note. I’ve spent lots of money with companies and onto received a receipt, never a personalized thank you. Terrific. I inked it up with Hongdian Peacock Blue ink. It writes smooth and on the wetter side. The breather hole on the nib has a bit of a tear drop shape, different than most nibs I have had experience with. I set out writing several things in 3 different notebooks. The pen is an absolute joy to look at and it is very nice to write with. A pen is an item we often throw in a drawer or a bag and think nothing else about. The finial has Hongdian Fortune Di Lan Tian stamped with the Hongdian logo stamped in the center. It’s an awesome pen I am happy to have in my collection. And, I didn’t have to sacrifice my 401k. Great price. Great looks. Great performance. Great company. 4 Greats.

Writes like a dream & the nib is even slightly flexible when writing. I got the one with blue showing all the way through. Nice to look at, too. No regrets.

I love the way the pen writes, the weight and the look. The issue is this pen has a screw on top. This makes the pen not very functional for stop and go writing.

I have a number of fountain pens ranging from expensive to $10 throwaway versions. This is quickly becoming a favorite even though I bought it just for the harder to clean inks (shimmer inks). It has a good balance, decent amount of weight in the hand, and a fantastic ink capacity. The nib is steel (f), with a smooth delivery. It sounds more on the paper than my 18-23K gold nibs, but it never catches or skips. In short, I like it better than some of my much more expensive pens (ie; Pineider $900 pen)! If you like a ~9.8-10mm grip (shaped) and 40g vs 24g mass for pen with and without cap respectively, I think you can’t go wrong with this inexpensive, yet beautiful option.

Great design and is to add ink.

I am quite ignorant about fountain pens, and had no idea what a piston pen was. Had I known, I would not have bought this, beautiful as it is. I thought I was buying a pen that takes pop-in cartridges. Now I know that piston pens are NOT that! They involve a vacuum pump system, kind of like loading a syringe. You fill it from an ink bottle -- which can be a very messy process. I just got the pen, intending it for a gift. The pen does NOT come with ink! (I really should've read all the info more carefully!) Nor were any instructions included. I had to figure out how it works from the very (VERY!) brief video included in the product info. I have no idea how long one "fill" will last before having to pump in more ink. I also am not sure I did it right, or what to do if the little pump stick breaks (it looks like plastic but I could be wrong). That said, it does write nicely and looks gorgeous. For some reason, however, after I unscrewed the top and fiddled with the pump stick, it won't screw back completely; it leaves a little gap. Also, since I filled the pen to test it, I had quite a time cleaning up all the ink mess around the nib. Every time I wiped the nib, more ink came out on the paper towel, so that I couldn't get it all clean to present as a gift. I really do object to there being absolutely ZERO instructions provided.

At first I had trouble filling it but after some quick check of the directions it helped and it’s so beautiful and holds a lot of ink i love how you can see how much ink you have.It is great for beginner fountain pen users.Although if you are a beginner like me they have some other great options for a little cheaper just to see if you like the feel of fountain pen I love this one but the first one I ever bought beats this one in my opinion and it was cheaper but I guess it just takes more practice and it is very high quality and a lot cheaper than some fountain pens out there.

Beautiful pen, i love the clear view into the cartridge, but the pump is completely unusable and while other reviews said theirs came with a wrench to pop the cap off to fix this mine did notThe outer case the pen came in was dented out from being shut with the pen clip pointing up and the lid’s hinges fell apart almost immediatelyVery upset, was looking forward to this beautiful pen, but now I'm just hoping i can get a refund