Matte Black Forest Fountain Pen Extra Fine Nib Classic Design with Converter and Metal Box Set by Hongdian

Feels good, heavy & solidly made. Writes beautifully, very smooth (I purchased the fine nib version). It's a real nostalgia trip for me, takes me back to my school days, but without the pain of flooding & blotting paper. A quality thing.

I used to boast how little my fountain pens cost me. Some had decent nibs and were not bad writers, but I learned that there were other considerations. Cheap pens use cheap plastic which, sooner or later, will crack and split. The cap cracks and the pen is no longer portable plus the nib will dry in a short time. Then the body cracks and the pen has died. This Hongdian pen is miles away from those pens. It's made entirely of metal. Don't listen to anyone who says there is a rubberised grip. It may seem that way but it's simply clever engineering. Rubberised grips perish, so don't expect to see that on pens built to last. The pen is not heavy, though obviously heavier than a cheap plastic pen. The cap and body will not crack. The cap fits securely yet is not difficult to remove. The cartridge end of the nib section has a positive airtight feel when inserting cartridges, reducing the chance of evaporation. The upmarket converter supplied also fits well. This pen will outlast all the bargains, and it writes superbly. The nib is marked EF yet the line it produces is almost an F. I don't believe in spending a lot of money on a pen, but this pen is very good value at this price considering this quality of design and manufacture. It's also beautiful in a classical way. The whole pen is dark blue - body, cap and nib. I'm really happy with this pen and happy to recommend it.

I know close to nothing about fountain pens, but I decided to get this for note writing and exams at Uni. The idea of buying bottles of ink and refilling appealed over the plastic throwaway gel pens I had been buying (which were fantastic in every other respect). One warning - it's a gateway drug. You may find yourself watching fountain pen reviews on YT and wondering about investing in a gold nibbed Montblanc when you graduate - something that would never have crossed your mind a month ago. You might start actually thinking about penmanship, instead of just being satisfied with barely legible chicken-scratch handwriting. It's a slippery slope, kids. Like, who knew that handmade blown glass dipping pens were a thing. I didn't need to know that, but I blame this pen for the fact that I now do. As for the pen, when the ink cartridge has ink in it, it writes smoothly and the ink flows well. I bought the Waterman ink, which seems decent. It's solid without being too heavy. There isn't much flex in the nib, but it's smooth and writes well - no blotches or smears to speak of. I expect the paper and ink has something to do with that as much as the pen. If you leave it uncapped for a few minutes without writing, the ink can take a little persuasion to start again - something which isn't a thing with disposable gel pens, but I fairly quickly got into the habbit of capping it when I wasn't writing, which is not a bad thing since I have a lot of gel pens without their caps since I forget to replace them after use and they part company. See - this pen will make you a responsible adult. As far as criticisms, the edge where the lid and body join is a little bit of a sharp edge and can get slightly uncomfortable after a long period of writing. 2 hours in exam conditions is fine. Much longer and it gets a bit sore where that part rubs against your finger.

Beautiful pen with a lovely weight to it and quite a slender hold so very comfortable to use! The only issue I have is when you put the pen away, ink tends to pool and dry up in the nip making it not work initially each time we take it out to use it. It’s simple to declog, just take something very fine like a sheet of metal and slip it in between the nib to remove dried ink. For the price it’s a good pen however the longevity isn’t there.

A beautiful pen, has a nice weight to it, my first fountain pen, really easy to put the cartridge in, I bought the pack of 30 from the same user, really comfortable to hold and smooth to write. I bought the extra fine nib, I find it's the perfect size for me

HongDian produce some high quality, excellent value fountain pens. They're ergonomic, well balanced, they post well & have very decent nibs. Even their EF nibs usually run smoothly in my experience, producing neat EF lines which are at least equal to most Western brands. This certainly applies to the excellent Carbon Fiber Black Forest 1861 fountain pen. It's a genuine pleasure to use even over longer writing sessions. I was so impressed with it that I also bought the Silver Stainless Steel & Raw Brass 1861 editions. All three came with smooth, consistent EF nibs. The Carbon Fiber version is lighter than the Steel & Brass editions. An added plus for me is that the step above the grip section on these "1861" models is less pronounced than on the regular "Forest" pens in the same series. Also, the grip section on the 1861 editions has a 2mm-to-3mm larger circumference, allowing me a more comfortable grip. See photo showing three Black Forest "1861" fountain pens as stated above compared to a standard "Forest" pen on the right. - All three "1861" editions in this series come highly recommended!

I am fairly new to fountain pens, and being left-handed, was hesitant. I've tried some before, and the result was a sloppy mess. I love writing with this pen, once I learned to adapt my writing style (which involves rotating the paper 45 degrees). People invariably comment on the bright blue colour of the pen, and the attractive diamond pattern texture. I also use blue ink which makes my writing jump off the page. The weight is just right, the grip is lovely, and the fine nib suits my form. I have friends who spend hundreds of £s on fountain pens, but this is a great writing instrument for a fraction of the price. My writing has always been very sloppy, and the slower writing that a fountain pen requires (I guess until I get more practice) has dramatically improved the legibility of my handwriting. If you've ever thought of trying a fountain pen, start with this one!

Great writer, smooth, great pen por the price

Un beau stylo plume pour reprendre l'écriture manuscrite, corps en métal qui me rappelle mes anciens Rotring. Pas essayé le système de pompe, par contre les cartouches nécessitent d'être bien et fermement enfoncées, sous peine de très mauvaises surprises ... Plume très agréable à mon goût (Extra Fine Design Classique), belle glisse, et pourtant je tiens très mal mon stylo et j'écris de façon très ...bûcheronne.. Beau produit particulièrement accessible et plus qualitatif que d'autres marques (plus) connues. Mérite d'être acheté, je recommande.

I had no issues with it so far. Good quality and writes smoothly even on average quality paper. I have been using only this pen since I bought it.

Pióro z bardzo cienką stalówką, dobrze wyważone.

Pioro 10/10 jest dobrze zapakowane i zaopatrzone. Pisze gładko i bezproblemowo. Polecam.

The good thing about this fountain pen is that i can draw in reverse nib without it being scratchy. The pen also feels comfortable in my hand. It’s my favorite for sketching!