Hongdian N7s, 2 Fountain Pens Reviewed, I like them
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Hongdians 2nd piston filler. They made lots of improvements, great design, and good writers. They look fabulous. Were you born in the year of the rabbit? Here's a pen for you.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Terrific Chris! I'm doing my review of this wonderful pen this Saturday (I got the Peacock version). I agree 100% Hongdian have knocked this one out of the park!
No point in waiting on your review Doug. Guess I'll go ahead and pull the trigger.
Motivated by custom ink samples I got from Dean. Will take a lot of experimenting to figure out how to make a color. Ink dyes are very strong, a little goes a long way. Something new to do.
@@chrisrap52 It's so much fun!!
@@chrisrap52what kind of paper were you using in the video. I’m considering the peacock extra fine nib with the black hondian 60mL black ink non carbon. Would my choice be good for regular notbook paper, will it bleed through?
@@JoeMama-sx4qz Many notebooks, different papers, black inks vary a lot, so no one notebook will work with all pens. The EF nib with the Hongdian ink should work OK with standard paper. Might get some show through.
First of all i would like to thank you for including the grey Rabbit pen because every shop on Aliexpress shows it in black & white photos which doesn't really show it off.Having had a in-depth review on both i would go for the Rabbit.The only other fly in the ointment is cleaning it out if the feed or section doesn't remove.All that aside thanks for a informative review.
There is something very appealing about the Diamine presidential blue. Such a solid, nice blue! Also a thanks for the extensive writing samples, really gave a good idea of how the nibs function :)
Glad you like them! Will include more writing.
The tool you need to remove the piston assembly is called a spanner wrench, a common type of wrench used for removing feeds or other parts from some fountain pens.
That is correct. Need a special one that will fit in a small opening.
Having just gotten a very expensive (for my budget) pen, I have no business watching this superb review, Chris. Thanks for the demonstration of the colors, the works, the construction, the writing. What will save me from rushing out to get one is that I hope, strenuously, that Hongdian after a while will put these pens out with the same amazing 14K nib they put on their 885 Mt. Qomolangma. My restraint would crumble in an instant!
Glad to help! Self constraint is overrated.
Ooh! 14k nib?! That would definitely be a difficult purchase to resist!
Another couple gorgeous pens to go on my ebay watchlist! Thanks so much for talking about these gems. The look of that black nib especially scratches a certain itch in the back of my brain... Little bit of a shame that the piston doesn't travel more, as you mention, but if it's good enough for you, I'm sure it'll be good enough for me! Haha.
No pen is perfect. Accepting their quirks & enjoying what they are is the goal. Amazing pens.
Another reviewer did say there was a tool available through an Etsy store that would fit the pump removal, but they also indicated they had twisted the nib unit out of the pen, and it could be cleaned that way. I am even more reluctant to remove a nib if there is any resistance. Again, you review was one that really wood have informed my decision if I had seen it first. I will think about it more next month, but I am not inclined to buy both. KW (9.8 is great!)
I really wish these could hold more ink. Love the Rabbit one.
Niiice! I love that gray one. Wow!! Great review, Chris. Those nibs look interesting.
I really like Hongdian fountain pens.
And my first attempt at mixing inks. All your fault.
@@chrisrap52 woohoo!😁🥳🔥
So Gorgeous. I need these in my life.
yay I like how you started putting a writing sample at the beginning of the video.
I just saw your video, and I am not sure why it was at the very bottom of my Home page feed. I was impressed by the other review too, but your display of teh “grey” version was so much better. I probably will not order it, because I have already ordered the “blue peacock.” It is not that I do not like it, but your lighting really revealed a much better acrylic for the grey than I could see on the other review. I messed up, because I often check for other reviews before ordering a pen. Thanks for the very detailed review of the cap and the acrylics! Plus, your background in manufacturing gave us a good reason to trust that the metal cap was painted very well.
Thanks. I try to show everything as well as I can. Lots of lumens used.
I am very happy to see this review. I purchased both of these pens but they haven't arrived yet. I saw that Doug will be reviewing the Peacock on Saturday and I've been on pins and needles! Great review Chris 👍
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
So the reason for the rabbit with the celestial motifs probably has nothing to do with the Chinese zodiac. It more likely is relating to the mid-autumn festival, which is a harvest celebration in China and other sino-inluenced east asian cultures. The idea is that you can see the rabbit pounding rice in the full moon. You'll see that motif popping up in a lot of places beginning in early August. I love rabbits and moon gazing hares as a motif, and that is when I start looking for the stuff Starbucks is releasing in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, because I'll usually find some cute moon/rabbit stuff.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I completely agree with the above comment. I too own the Moon Rabbit version of the N7, I also love Moon gazing hare motifs.
Thanks for reviewing the two pens side by side. I bought my Grey Rabbit N7 from Amazon & it came with a steel Hongdian tool to use to remove the piston. I have mine inked with Diamine Eau de Nil & it writes like a dream.
Beautiful pens, I love your grey ink mix, I will mix some too! Awesome review. I hope your week is a blessed one.
Thanks so much! May you have joyous days.
Hongdian offers medium nib N7 as well now...have ordered one
I have a few Hongdian medium No. 6 nibs. I like them. Great flow, very smooth, consistent writers.
New to the hobby. Im born on the year of the rabbit and i think this is my next purchase.
The rabbit on the moon! Nice
And no spacesuit....
Waiting for my blue peacock (F nib) to arrive in the post. Looking forward to it even more after this review.
Enjoy. Great pen. Thanks for watching.
Great review. I logged on to Ali to order one a couple weeks ago, but came away with 2 more Kaigelus, a metal Hongdian, and a Jinhao I hadn't seen before. But I do like these, and one will likely make the next order. 👍🏻
AliExpress can be a dangerous place to visit. Wallet will be lighter.
@@chrisrap52 Truth!
Beautiful pens, Chris. Thanks!
Glad you like them! Was a fun review for me.
Great review. Certainly this one worthy of consideration. The peacock pen is more blatant in its appearance, as is the bird. The grey is fascinating with all the symbols on the cap. And a more perhaps subtle resin.
Does the N1S have greater ink capacity? The EF nib on the N1S appears to be finer in line width.
Same ink capacity for all. N1S EF appears finer. Maybe the ink or just the range of EF nibs..
Thank you for making these comparative videos! They are very useful in reminding me of what I appreciate in a writing instrument, and what my aestethic preferences are. I wonder how these mixed material pens would withstand prolonged handling, and use. Will the nice coating of the cap chip away, and the cap dent, and the ectrolyte guilding fade away in flecks? Maybe that’ll be it’s evolution, and just adding character to it? It’s obvious to me why pens made to be practical, have very clean designs of their metal caps, e.g. the parker 51. Nevertheless there are legions of dented 51 caps out there, gravely influencing the eastethics beyond ”patina” in my opinion.
But this aspect may not be an issue if you own very many pens, and each pen doesn’t sustain more than a relative proportion of wear?
Thanks again!
which do you think looks better in person the peacock to the rabbit?
The Peacock looks best. Love the colors & design.
Greetings from Australia.
What is your favourite of the two pens.
I have most of the N series with either blade or Long Knife nibs, and I'm not sure about which N7.
The grey pen may have the edge on the peacock??
Or I may buy the two. 😊
Good question. I like the blue peacock look more than the grey rabbit. My blue N7 still inked up in daily use, grey one in storage.
I think Hongdian has mistranslated the moon rabbit with a translation application. This rabbit has another name which is the Jade rabbit, there are many immortal rabbits in the moon Palace and their responsibility is mainly grind herbs in moon Palace.
Wonder why Hongdian did not present the Rabbit correctly.. I am the last one to decide that.
How do you clean the N7 barrel and piston if you can’t pull it apart?
The same way you would clean out a Pelikan or Montblanc. Use the piston to draw up water.
I've been eyeing this pen for a while now thanks to your review and now that it arrived at a local store finally, I might pull the trigger soon. I do have one question though, is the piston have a locking mechanism? If not, is it secure enough that I won't accidentally push the ink out? Thank you if you see this, love your vids from the philippines.
No locking mechanism. Should be safe. Posts on barrel not knob. At a store, I'm jealous.
That’s very odd about the nib being fixed fast - mine is the grey rabbit version where the nib unit unscrewed quite easily, no force required. Also I have much more piston travel - about 25mm. I measured the ink capacity (by weight, using water) and it was about 1.5ml. The nib unit has a small (~5mm) O-ring which seals against the narrow opening (visible through the ink window if your nib is stuck fast) where the section joins the barrel, so a piece of twisted up paper towel is just about possible to feed through to mop up any residual ink/water.
Glad to hear. I soaked mine & still couldn't unscrew the nib. Next time I clean out, I'll try again.
@@chrisrap52 The nib unit is also identical (by eye) to the N1S btw. I didn’t try, as one of the pens is inked, but I think they will be interchangeable.
Thanks. I expect Doug was able to remove his nib.
Two gorgeous pens.. If I have to pick only one of these, I’ll pick ‘Peacock’ !
Either pick will be rewarding. Enjoy.
Not sure if its me, but I didn't like the blue forest hong dian fountain pen. Mainly for the weird texture on its body and the fact that it costs me around 4 jinhao X 450 but writes lackluster than the jinhaos. Still kind of salty about it (i have the stub, 0.7 and 0.5 nib for it)
Moonman/Majohn however, had won me over with their A1 clipless. It writes awesome and I love the smooth coating on its body. Now I'm waiting on for more moonman and delike (delike seems to be a sub brand under moonman)
Still, an interesting review nonetheless
Interesting is one aspect I try for. Thanks for watching. Glad you find some pens you enjoy.
Beautiful pens!
They are! Thanks for enjoying the view.
p.s. I love that you are mixing inks more often!! Isnt it fun???
Totally! Challenging too.
In Chinese culture, the rabbit is associated with the moon. This is the case for several asian cultures. The goddess who lives on the moon has a pet rabbit in Chinese mythology.
Thanks.
Do you have any of those hand lacquered pens that cost as much as a car? (Slight exaggeration).
And you think I would!!! Depends on the car.,
Hey Chris. I've been wanting these for the last few weeks and have a question. I just started in fountain pens this year and have hongdians but they are the cartridge/converter types. How easy is a piston to clean? Do they require any extra upkeep?
For the most part a piston is a big converter. Most of the other built in filler pens, have a section and/or nib that can be removed to allow quicker thorough cleaning. These pens will be more difficult to clean out as the piston must be used to flush the pen. For me, piston, Vac, draw fillers are pens I don't plan to change inks often. They usually hold more ink than a converter so less filling/cleaning.. Each pen has its own unique aspects, good or bad depending on how you want to use it.
@@chrisrap52 Cool thanks. I'm thinking I will get one to try. I like both designs so I'll flip a coin to decide which one to get.
Edit: the rabbit won.
You'll enjoy the rabbit.
As a rule, I like Hongdian pens quite a bit. I love the resin on the gray pen body, but I honestly do not care for the carved (?) characters on the cap. I dislike that aspect enough to wait for a pen that appeals to MY aesthetic tastes more before getting another Hongdian pen.
No love for Peacocks?
I really like Hongdian pens, but they need to start offering M and B nibs too.
Hopefully they hear our requests.
I like Hongdian more than most Chinese manufacturers because they have unique designs. I often feel conflicted getting pens from other Chinese makers because they shamelessly steal designs (Jinhao, Wing Sung, Lanbitou, Moonman, etc.). Hongdian and PenBBS seem like the only ones with enough integrity to buy guilt-free. Helps that they're often much better quality too.
Unique design is not typical from any pen maker. Only so much you can do with the design. Unique to you probably due to not knowing the earlier models. Over a century of design leaves little for the unique. And most pen customers prefer familiar over unique. Thanks for watching.
@@chrisrap52 I suppose I'm mostly just put off by the blatant copies of unique designs. Like I have no problems with the Kaigelu 316 because the Duofold style of pen is so popular and common. Plus, they've taken enough of their own liberties with the design where it doesn't feel like a knockoff.
What I have a problem with is pens like the Majohn A1, where they were so shameless with their copy of the VP that the parts are interchangeable.
It can be such a gray area. I don't have any issues with people getting pens like the A1 and enjoying them. I just choose not to buy them personally.
@@connorbnelson I have worked in high-end retail & where everyone copies everyone. Pens are properly branded. Imitation is a sincere form of flattery. I like a pen for what it is, not concerned about its heritage. That's me.
@@connorbnelson If Majong had just stopped with the basic design (WHICH is completely fair game because the patent expired.) I'd see your point, BUT...*cough* CLIPLESS *cough*.
That is taking a well loved design and making it better. That stupid clip on the original was something that I'd never buy. I know that clip would drive me nuts. As soon as I saw the A1 -clipless I handed Amazon a part of my wallet.
Hi Chris,
a little helpful hint for you about the HongDian N6, N7 & 100:
These fountain pens have an ink capacity of approx. 1ml ex works.
However, this can be significantly increased with a small harmless intervention.
I found a video that explains this.
The link attached here starts the video at the corresponding point at minute 8.30.
ua-cam.com/video/jaKSoxzlfT4/v-deo.html
I hope this helps you as well as it helped me.
Kind regards
Interesting video. I do not plan to take out pistons in my HD. Wouldn't say ink capacity is significantly increased, maybe add a few tenths. What I enjoy is how Eugen focuses on different aspects of the pen. Has me looking at my pens differently.
I had an empty rabbit pen & performed this fix & I agree, much more capacity. Will do a video on this fix & credit Eugen.
@@chrisrap52
It is an honor and a pleasure for me to have been helpful at the same time.
Friendly greetings
SteamDevil
HOW MUCH ??---HOW MUCH do they COST !!!!!??---why the coy pretense that price doesn't matter ???--
Your comment makes no sense. I show the listing with prices for this pen. You can easily find the price if you want.
Why does it always sound like you have a hard candy in your mouth while you go over the pen in detail? Do you?
no, just the way I sound.
@@chrisrap52 oh okay. I didn’t mean anything by it or to be insulting. I thought for sure you kept a mint or something in your mouth to keep it mouth from drying out. It’s not the first time I thought that and I was just curious. Keep up the great videos. I’m super excited for my N7 to get here tomorrow
NP. I have invested all I want in audio equipment. One might say it's as good as it gets. I could do speech training but then less time to do other things, like make videos.
@@chrisrap52 no need to change anything or do all that. I wasn’t complaining or anything I was just curious. Please don’t make less time for videos. Haha. I’ve been wanting to start my own channel forever but for whatever reason, despite having all the equipment, I just don’t, mostly out of fear I think.
I enjoy making videos. That is my reward. I've always enjoyed photography & video. Easy for me to make videos. When you're ready, it will happen.