HONG DIAN N23 Black Rabbit Fountain Pen, Iridium Extra Fine Nib Gold Trim, New Year Lucky Rabbit Carving Design, Smooth Writing Pen with Converter and Metal Pen Box Set

Hong Dian has created another masterpiece in the N23 fountain pen. I love it. Here are some specific reasons why I admire this pen:Design and build quality: I own the Blue Rabbit with the silver trim long blade nib. The pen is extravagant but tasteful in design, finding the ideal mix between flashy and understated. It fits well in my hands, making it ideal for both lengthy and short writing sessions. This pen was solidly crafted and feels extremely durable in my hands.Writing Experience: The pen is smooth. The long knife nib glides across the paper like writing on ice, leaving an ample supply of ink on the page that does not appear too wet. I used Diamine Aqua Lagoon in my review. The N23 laid down a consistent and reliable line on several papers I used.This pen provides excellent value for money. It's a good pen at an affordable price.Overall Impressions: I commended the N23 as a pen that performs above its weight class. This pen is ideal if you want to branch out from basic fountain pens without making a large investment. The pen's quality, paired with its writing capability, makes it a remarkable option in its price category.In conclusion, the Hong Dian N23 fountain pen is worthwhile. Its elegance, comfort, and performance, combined with an affordable price range, make it a significant market challenger.

This pen is a great value. It takes international standard converter/cartridges and looks amazing. I had this pen in my case next to a Pilot823 and I got more questions/comments about this one than the Pilot at pen meet ups. It’s fairly light but very comfortable in the hand. The metal is cool to the touch, which was really nice in the summer. The standard #6 nib has a cute rabbit on it and it writes fairly smoothly. I will say that this pen is a bit on the dry side and will dry out if you don’t use it, but at this price point, you don’t have to save it for special occasions and it can be a workhorse pen. It’s not what I reach for first, but I never regret picking it up when I do.

The pens craftmanship is stunning and it has a good weight not heavy but not feather light. I love the design so much I bought one in blue as well!Now onto performance, I had some trouble with filling it with ink the first time. (I am not removing a star unless it’s a continuous issue) I watched the video followed it exactly and nothing came up I did it again much slower and got ink splatter and bubbles. I dipped the pen even deeper in the ink and got some more ink but again not a lot. I finally dipped the entire nib into the inkwell and twisted the plunger excruciatingly slowly and after about 45 seconds of very very carefully twisting I had a full pen! Hopefully that was a first fill hiccups and it will be easier in the future.Once I got it filled and put pen to paper I was in love! I got the extra fine nib and it’s perfect! It is very smooth not at all scratchy and ink flows very well and doesnt start or stop. All in all for the price an excellent pen!

I ordered the Medium nib version. It writes more like a Broad with thick lines.TL;DR: It's a nice pen for the price. Good build quality, has crayon-like feedback when writing, quirky line variations, good ink flow, writes wet, but doesn't really post well. Not really my style because it felt like a crayon while writing. Nib also had problems at first.To anyone getting it, know that the "Long Knife Style" isn't just marketing speak. It's styled like a chiseled or architect nib. Thick horizontal lines but thin vertical lines. The result is a semi-calligraphy styled pen that's also plenty useable for everday writing, from script, block and cursive writing. Certain lines and strokes won't look "perfect" due to the varying nature of the nib. It doesn't write like a Bic, or a Pilot Metropolitan. It's its own beast. Whether you're a new buyer of fountain pens or someone who's been collecting and want something different, know that it has its quirks and will act differently than many pens.Writing wise, it almost feels like a fine crayon while writing. There's a slight draggy or sticky feeling when moving it around the paper. Using fine paper like Rhodea, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River, etc. makes the experience smoother. Its nib has very little flex. The ink flow is amazing and its a wet writer. It's almost on par with Sailor's gold nibbed pens. It only struggles if I'm writing extremely quickly in very large cursive. The pen also needs to be written more deliberately. Tilting the nib too much will result in skipping and feathering, more than usual for a fountain pen so you really have to keep the nib centered on the paper. People writing with flourishes, curves and serifs might enjoy this pen. Its thick horizontal lines might also be useful for individuals who like to underline things. However, it will be awkward to draw geometrical shapes unless you draw your lines in the exact same way.Reverse writing is good. The writing experience feels "scratchy" but still useable. Perfect for writing small, like on a check or a sign-in sheet or time log. It's weakest when writing at a high angle; it skips often if you write too quickly.Ergonomics! It's a very girthy pen, about 10mm at the grip. I have medium-ish sized hands and I can write with this all day. I don't have to pinch the pen, just gently caress it and let my hand and shoulder do the work. It feels just right when unposted, but gets too backheavy when posted. Posting the pen is not very good and doesn't inspire confidence. A slight knock can tip it over, and it feels like metal scraping on metal when trying to push the cap down the barrel.The pen doesn't take much to uncap. It only takes 1 and a quarter turns to get it undone, and it's a solid enough experience. It doesn't feel like the threads will crack or shatter. However, it doesn't lock too securely. I haven't had it uncap in my pocket but give it just a tiny bit more of a twist just in case. The inside of the cap doesn't have a plastic seal so ink will dry quicker. I left the pen untouched but it still wrote immediately after 4 days. The pin is also very stiff at first. It almost felt like it was going to snap the first time using it and still hasn't loosened up much after a week of ownership.It came in a little metal tin with foam lining, the pen itself, and the cartridge inside. The cartridge is surprisingly good at this price point, it draws ink quickly and is larger than average (when compared to Sailor's dinky Carts and Pilot's CON-40 anyway!) There's a small plastic ball to helps stir and keep the ink still better. It's not noisy thankfully, it doesn't rattle inside the converter unless there's very little ink left.Build quality is also deceivingly good. It's metal but still light enough to not be burdening during a long writing session. It's a thin metal however so it feels "cheap", especially if you tap or the bump the pen into something. But its durability is sufficient. The lacquer is my favorite. It looks classy! The etching is thinly engraved into the pen and it's the perfect balance of charming and tacky. The grip is made of plastic and the body is metal. The plastic isn't prone to slipping even when I had sweaty or wet hands.I gave it 4 stars out of 5 because the cap doesn't post properly and the nib took a while to "break in". It skipped here and there even after cleaning and inspecting it beforehand, but it went away. In my opinion, EVERY pen- even a "cheap" one- needs to be writing fit at the start.Overall, I'm not a fan of the way it writes. My preference is consistency, with very little line variation and doesn't suit my needs. However, this is a great "For fun" pen! Go crazy with your writing! Write boldly! load it up with glittery shimmer inks, chromashading ink, or even saturated colorful inks It's a pen that's good on its own, and anyone wanting something a bit different with its line behavior and wet ink flow should check it out!Thank you for reading my dissertation of the Hongdian N23 Year of the Rabbit!