Excellent! I think the 920 is a nicer build and even though I don't have one of the "Forest" series of Hong Dian, I expect they are better than the 520 as well. The nib is cool.
@@InkquiringMinds I have a Hongdian Birch Forest series pen Doug and found the clip so stiff as to be virtually unusable? I put this pen in a heavy tweed jacket a couple of times. The second time I found that the clip had become loose, with no way to tighten it, so now I rarely use it as it is in essence a vexatiob to me
As my taste has evolved in fountain pens I also get your point about skinny metal pens. I bought a few of them early on and now I wonder why... Parker Jotter is another one that writes well but kind a too small for my liking. All Hongdian I have write quite well but are hardly in use.
You're a glutton for punishment with these metal pens and I appreciate it 😁 Seems like a good bag pen if you like super skinny writers. I've been tempted by Hongdian a couple of times but haven't given in yet. Don't know if my next pen will be an oldie but goodie or something newer.
You know, you keep SHOVING that cap on the back end of that 525 like that, and it will start to no longer "click" into place on the front, and eventually won't stay on the front end of the pen. I don't have a 525 to do it to, but that's been my experience with some OTHER pens.
I have several Studios with stub nibs but Lamy doesn’t have a fude nib. I do have some fude nibbled Hong Dians and Picassos. I’ll have to drag them out and do a comparison but the Chinese pens are very good quality.
No, I wouldn't. I don't believe there is a huge difference between many gold nibs and steel anyway. My Opus 88 Bela's steel nib is softer and springier than my 18K gold Platinum President. My guess is that the 14k gold (are they 14k?) nib on a HongDian won't be noticeably different than a steel nib - especially in a small size like #5.
Thank you, you are always very generous with your time answering the comments. By the way, this is the pen I'm speaking about : es.aliexpress.com/item/1005001943157460.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.49c62e0eBAqzqc not bad looking.
Thanks for reviewing this pen, Doug. It is a bit thin for my taste. I decided to get the Black Forest Max instead. I am guessing it will accept Parker cartridges?
I'm a huge Lamy fanboy and I have a couple of Studios. I love everything about them except that slick and slippery section. It's interesting to hear your Hong Dian doesn't have that problem. I love how the Studio posts with that satisfying click. I am always wary of pushing stubborn caps too firmly onto a barrel to make them post (I almost always post my pens). I'm concerned that doing so would cause wear or even break the cap's ability to hold snugly onto the section & keep the nib dry, if I have been a clumsy gorilla beforehand.
Hello! That is one beautiful color for a pen. I love that midnight blue. Like you, I really enjoy writing with PenBBS upturned mini-fude nibs...like a lot. The lines they give are incredible. It's really cool that the HongDian had that choice available. Very pretty pen at a price that's hard to beat! Thank you for the comparison as well. Your videos are always fun and educational. Stay well and safe, Doug! Thank you so much.
Great review as always ! Sorry - That 920 looks ultra gorgeous ( even in black ) compared to 525 ! Could you do a video on “How do I select a pen for review ?” ( No prize for guessing why I’m requesting this 😉)
I don't understand the cult of the large nib. Is it just that a small nib looks out of scale on a large pen? [not a problem for this slender pen lover] I find it easier to see what I'm doing with a smaller nib. The win in that category goes to the Point Slim Liner Meister (jetpens), which has a tiny nib that reminds me of a Vanishing Point nib or a crow quill. And wet as hell, I love it. Too bad the barrel coating is slick as a greased eel.
it is frequently said in reviews "the pen posts deeply and securely" without mentioning if the pen steals your attention while you do "the posting". ideally any pen should be able to be posted absentmindedly and this one is not, I have one, I know. If we were qualifying pens like olympic gymnasts, starting with a ten and taking away points for defects., this posting issue would be a good half point down.
Even though I don't mind writing with a pen that doesn't post, I think it is a plus when it does and a double plus if it does very well. It is a convenience thing. My Penbbs 323s are not designed to post and are desk pens. I don't expect to carry them about. However, my Wing Sung 601 Flighter is an EDC and the fact that it posts deeply and is well balance when it is posted makes it a perfect EDC pen and so gets bonus points.
Thanks, Doug! I have a couple Hongdian pens, blue in Forest series and 6013S (S, may mean screw cap as their is a snap cap version), and they're nice. The standard fine nibs on them are really hard, nails, not scratchy though. So, I noted the nice performance of the bent nib, still stiff but with some character. Cheers!
I like the idea of getting some character from a nib without applying pressure to get it. The normal fude nibs are way too much like paint brushes, but these smaller fude nibs are wonderful.
![Method Writing: The First Four Concepts - Jack Grapes [FULL INTERVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ba9jAVzADY0/mqdefault.jpg)
I have a HongDian 5170 that also looks similar, perhaps a little shorter, also with a powder coated barrel. It’s a nice little pen. Good little video.
Thank you, Oscar!
I own two of these a Red/Purple and a Green. Both write great. Looks like a Blue is in my future!
Cool! Nice inexpensive pen.
I bought the 525 last year in magenta Doug. It is my only mini fude nib and is probably my favourite pen of my whole collection
Excellent! I think the 920 is a nicer build and even though I don't have one of the "Forest" series of Hong Dian, I expect they are better than the 520 as well. The nib is cool.
@@InkquiringMinds I have a Hongdian Birch Forest series pen Doug and found the clip so stiff as to be virtually unusable? I put this pen in a heavy tweed jacket a couple of times. The second time I found that the clip had become loose, with no way to tighten it, so now I rarely use it as it is in essence a vexatiob to me
She makes you omelettes for breakfast?? Normally I would say marry that girl right away but since you already have I advise you do it again! 😉
I've already married her three times; once at our wedding, once on our 10th and once on our 20th! And yes, I get omelets!
I have just one Hong Dian and I'm very impressed with it although it sports an EF nib. This 525 has been on my radar. Thanks for the review!
Great to hear!
As my taste has evolved in fountain pens I also get your point about skinny metal pens. I bought a few of them early on and now I wonder why... Parker Jotter is another one that writes well but kind a too small for my liking. All Hongdian I have write quite well but are hardly in use.
One of the worst fountain pens I've ever owned was a Cross Aventura with a skinny metal section and a tiny scratch nib. Horrible pen.
And now, I’m ordering one. 🙂
Cool!
You're a glutton for punishment with these metal pens and I appreciate it 😁 Seems like a good bag pen if you like super skinny writers.
I've been tempted by Hongdian a couple of times but haven't given in yet. Don't know if my next pen will be an oldie but goodie or something newer.
I take one for the team because there is no "I" in Justice League!
@@InkquiringMinds Uhh...hold up 😆
Stuart Little....Be still my heart 🖋💜🐁
LOL!
Nice video and I ordered a few of the items from your son’s store.
Oh you're the one! Did you order both glass and plastic ink sample vial Ink Buddies?
I ordered one of each!
How often do you reply to comments, Doug?
I can honestly say that I’ve responded to ever single comment made on a video since I started doing pen reviews.
You know, you keep SHOVING that cap on the back end of that 525 like that, and it will start to no longer "click" into place on the front, and eventually won't stay on the front end of the pen.
I don't have a 525 to do it to, but that's been my experience with some OTHER pens.
Since the pen is now uninked and capped and will remain that way, I doubt it will be a problem. :)
So, what did your wife think of the blue one? Did she also prefer the white one? Trying to decide on which slim pen to get. Thanks!
She love the white one but at the moment she is obsessed with her new Pilot Decimo I just bought her.
Which HONGDIAN do you prefer. The 'Black Forest' or the '525' ?
I don't own a Black Forest. But I have a black HongDian 6013 with a fude nib on the way.
I have several Studios with stub nibs but Lamy doesn’t have a fude nib. I do have some fude nibbled Hong Dians and Picassos. I’ll have to drag them out and do a comparison but the Chinese pens are very good quality.
I think the 920 is better than the 525 in build quality and yet they are the same price. Go figure.
@@InkquiringMinds I’ll check out which HDs I have and get back to you. How was your omelette?
@@MrAndrew1953 Yummie!
@@MrAndrew1953 Excellent as usual!
I'm wondering... Would you pay fifty dollars for a gold nibbed Hondian? You could say they are trying to get onto the new
Parker 51 wagon.
No, I wouldn't. I don't believe there is a huge difference between many gold nibs and steel anyway. My Opus 88 Bela's steel nib is softer and springier than my 18K gold Platinum President. My guess is that the 14k gold (are they 14k?) nib on a HongDian won't be noticeably different than a steel nib - especially in a small size like #5.
Thank you, you are always very generous with your time answering the comments. By the way, this is the pen I'm speaking about :
es.aliexpress.com/item/1005001943157460.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.49c62e0eBAqzqc
not bad looking.
This pen has released a new color--Lake colore
What is the best ink that you can recommend for the hongdian? It doesn't come with ink at amazon
For the blue HongDian 525? It is very much in the navy blue range, so a Diamine Oxford Blue or Iroshizuku Shin Kai come to mind.
Nice pen Sir👍
Thanks 👍
Thanks for reviewing this pen, Doug. It is a bit thin for my taste. I decided to get the Black Forest Max instead. I am guessing it will accept Parker cartridges?
Thanks, Paul!
I'm a huge Lamy fanboy and I have a couple of Studios. I love everything about them except that slick and slippery section. It's interesting to hear your Hong Dian doesn't have that problem. I love how the Studio posts with that satisfying click. I am always wary of pushing stubborn caps too firmly onto a barrel to make them post (I almost always post my pens). I'm concerned that doing so would cause wear or even break the cap's ability to hold snugly onto the section & keep the nib dry, if I have been a clumsy gorilla beforehand.
Thank you, Graham!
The only issue is that mine got grip section finish exfoliation after about a year of use
So yeah, that is not a brush aluminum at the grip that's a brass with coating
Hello! That is one beautiful color for a pen. I love that midnight blue. Like you, I really enjoy writing with PenBBS upturned mini-fude nibs...like a lot. The lines they give are incredible. It's really cool that the HongDian had that choice available. Very pretty pen at a price that's hard to beat! Thank you for the comparison as well. Your videos are always fun and educational. Stay well and safe, Doug! Thank you so much.
Thank you! You too!
Great review as always !
Sorry - That 920 looks ultra gorgeous ( even in black ) compared to 525 !
Could you do a video on “How do I select a pen for review ?” ( No prize for guessing why I’m requesting this 😉)
I tend to just browse Etsy, eBay, Appelboom and Goulet pens for what is new and interesting. :)
Ah you see i learned something today, i did not know that Hong Dian was actualy Hero. Good to know, Thanks for the review.👍👍
No problem! I didn't know either!
I don't understand the cult of the large nib. Is it just that a small nib looks out of scale on a large pen? [not a problem for this slender pen lover] I find it easier to see what I'm doing with a smaller nib. The win in that category goes to the Point Slim Liner Meister (jetpens), which has a tiny nib that reminds me of a Vanishing Point nib or a crow quill. And wet as hell, I love it. Too bad the barrel coating is slick as a greased eel.
I prefer a nib that is larger so the pen, and my fingers are further away from the paper. It is just my personal preference.
@@InkquiringMinds I choke way up the barrel, which I guess is another way to accomplish the same thing.
it is frequently said in reviews "the pen posts deeply and securely" without mentioning if the pen steals your attention while you do "the posting". ideally any pen should be able to be posted absentmindedly and this one is not, I have one, I know.
If we were qualifying pens like olympic gymnasts, starting with a ten and taking away points for defects., this posting issue would be a good half point down.
Even though I don't mind writing with a pen that doesn't post, I think it is a plus when it does and a double plus if it does very well. It is a convenience thing. My Penbbs 323s are not designed to post and are desk pens. I don't expect to carry them about. However, my Wing Sung 601 Flighter is an EDC and the fact that it posts deeply and is well balance when it is posted makes it a perfect EDC pen and so gets bonus points.
Thanks, Doug! I have a couple Hongdian pens, blue in Forest series and 6013S (S, may mean
screw cap as their is a snap cap version), and they're nice. The standard fine nibs on them are
really hard, nails, not scratchy though. So, I noted the nice performance of the bent nib, still stiff
but with some character. Cheers!
I like the idea of getting some character from a nib without applying pressure to get it. The normal fude nibs are way too much like paint brushes, but these smaller fude nibs are wonderful.
Ooh...that's a classy looking pen!
Thank you, Detman101!