Hongdian M2 Black Forest Mini Fountain Pen, Medium Soft Nib & Sleek Shape Aluminium Short Pocket Travel Pen (Midnight Blue)

This is really a 4.5 or even 4.75 star review, so I figured it deserves the rounding up. That said, 5-stars is a perfect product to me, and this pen isn't perfect. Not too far off, though!The build quality is impressive overall and the nibs are unbelievably smooth. There's a bit of a tradeoff in that the EF is not especially fine, and in my experience, there's not a huge variance between EF, F, and Ms, but they're great nibs nonetheless. Mine have all worked very well out of the box with no additional tuning required. That alone is impressive, and they really write like a dream. I have yet to have a bad one, knock on wood. The converter capacity is reasonable for a pen of this size, although the fude (bent) nib is ink hungry. The other styles aren't especially so. With the cap posted, the pen is a comfortable size. It has a satisfying, spring-loaded clip.I have a few complaints, but they are minor and can all be fixed by the user, which is why the pen still gets high marks. First, it's very easy for the body to unscrew while unscrewing the cap. This quickly becomes frustrating. The o-ring is not quite thick enough, so replace it with one that is 8x5x1.5mm. Problem solved--I have not had a single accidental unscrewing since making the switch. Also, I personally find that when posting the cap, it's easy for the clip to dig into the side of my hand unless I align the clip with the nib. Then there's no digging. This is the smallest of annoyances, and frankly aligning the clip and nib looks sharp, anyway. Those are about the only less-than-stellar things I have to say about this small and mighty pen.Some neutral observations: the section is the same anodized aluminum as the rest of the pen. Some people may not love this material for a grip. It does not bother me, although I also do not tend to use this pen for very long writing sessions. Because it's aluminum, it can be scratched, but to me this is just kind of par for the course for the material. A lot of people will find the pen too small to use for anything but the briefest of notes without posting the cap, but many pocket pens are designed to be posted.It is a bonus (for multiple reasons) that the same nibs fit the Forest Series, M2s, and possibly some other Hong Dian pens.Given what is going on in the world, I don't know how much longer this pen will be $20, but that's what it costs as I write this, and it is EASILY worth that price.

I really like this pen - the color, the weight, the feel. But I did have to replace the nib with a Picasso Medium nib I had in my stash because the OEM nib *squeaked* really bad! I tried tuning it a bit with some micro-mesh and Mylar paper, but it still squeaked, so I just switched it out. Now it writes very well, though I may at some point replace the nib with a Bock or JoWo.If you want a less expensive alternative to one of the small Kaweco fountain pens, this is a good option. The pen seems well-made, solid, and is a really good size -- somewhat better than the Kaweco Liliput, since this one is slightly longer when posted; about the same size as the Kaweco Sport, as can be seen in the photo.Photo reference --Top: Kaweco Ice Sport - PinkMiddle: Hogdian M2 Black Forest Mini - Army GreenBottom: Kaweco Liliput Fireblue.UPDATE: I bought the Midnight Blue version of this pen and it wrote BEAUTIFULLY right out of the box! No skipping, no scratchiness, no squeakiness, just smooth writing that's better than some of my $100+ pens. Really really nice pen!

So this is a surprisingly nice pen at the price point.It is incredibly well machined and anodized aluminum! I have worked with extremely specific metal tolerances before and I know this is good machining, likely automated.I typically buy American made tools, raised by those that believe in American machining. I was taught that there are good and bad products that come from the USA, and China. Depending on the material, quality and price, I have bought some well made Chinese tools and items. This pen being one of them.I read some reviews where people swore Hongdian was as good as couple hundred dollar pens… decided to try it out.What’s important is this is an original designed Chinese item, not a knock off. I really knew it was quality when I opened it up, the converter is sturdy and also uses what I assume is aluminum. Absolutely no burs in the threading, threading is smooth with a well place o-ring.I was looking for something quite specific,portable, threaded, fountain, metal, fits in my journals pen loop. I did not really see any American or non Asian equivalents for this, I saw one and it was questionable and cost quite a bit more.I had been searching for a fountain pen that fit the pen holder in my Journal. Previously using a fisher bullet (terrible pen). This pen is a great compact size and it did fit with some slight stretching of the leather, nothing crazy.The threading of the cap and the clip were big deals for me. The threads are great security for escaping a mess! It’s also nice I can keep the pen holstered and unscrew it if I want to use it non posted, This pen can used BOTH ways!The clip is also metal, hopefully aluminum like the rest of it, but it’s spring loaded and you can’t see the spring! I can foresee possible paint chipping on the clip, but it’s seems pretty quality made.The EF nib is pretty smooth on mine, if you get one you don’t like I’m guessing the nib is where the quality issue would come from.Mine writes nicely wet with good flow, I can get a thinner line or feedback if I want. I like the versatility.I do like feedback to a point. It did feel slightly scratchy at first, but I believe the ink wasn’t flowing well due to me filling the converter. After filling from the nib it’s been perfect.Last but not least, I was not sure about the finial… seeing pictures I wasn’t a fanBUTIt’s 2 cats as a yin-yang. It actually looks good and gives the pen character, it doesn’t look cheap and is a nice touch. It grew on me for sure.For 20$ I don’t see how you can go wrong with this pen at all.As prior service military I take care of my things and buy quality/heavy duty made things. I expect this pen could last for life if not lost!!!Also I wanted the black, it took a lot longer, funny how things work, I went for my Army green, it’s actually a beautifully anodized color, pictures don’t do it justice.Just buy the pen!!!