Brass Fountain Pen

Edited December 2025: After two months, the clip broke off... This was my EDC pen, but I need the clip in order to carry it! ———— Original review in October 2025: The nib writes pretty smoothly, but this EF nib writes almost as large as Lamy Safari F nib. I did have a hard time getting the ink to flow for the first time, but after that I’ve had no issues. The case material feels smooth and premium, but it did come with a small scratch. Fine for me since I’ll be daily carrying this, but might be a turn off to some. The weight and balance is fine unposted, if a bit light, but writing feels extra nice with the cap posted. Overall, extremely good value, especially considering the built in converter. I’ll probably get a second one in another color to try out some of my other inks.

I was looking for a fountain pen to keep in my art/travel bag, and this HongDian pen turned out to be exactly what I needed. It’s not too big or too small, not too heavy or too light—just the perfect balance in both size and weight. The metal body gives it a sturdy, high-quality feel and the overall design is clean and aesthetically pleasing. One of the biggest perks is that it comes with its own converter, allowing you to use any ink you like. I’ve noticed that many fountain pens require you to buy a converter separately, so having it included is a great bonus. I also appreciated the wide variety of colors and nib options to choose from: everything from extra fine to broad, plus the fude nib. I went with the matte black design and the fude nib, which has a bent tip that makes it easy to achieve expressive line variation from thin to thick. It’s a fantastic option for sketching, calligraphy or general writing. If you’re looking for a well-constructed, stylish fountain pen that won’t break the bank, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

FYI, this is my first ever fountain pen, so I have zero experience with fountain pens. But I have always been a pen enthusiast and have tried many different kinds. I like to save money on nice pens, and this seems like the perfect way. Personally, on this one I love the metal feel, weight (it’s heavier in my hand than most pens), and the matte finish (I chose the matte black pen with the finest tip). It’s perfectly well constructed for my tastes (I don’t notice any issues whatsoever), seems sturdy, and it’s fairly intuitive when you take it apart. Still, having instructions is helpful. It’s possible I missed it, but there were no instructions enclosed, so I had to go back to the Amazon page for a bit of help putting the first cartridge in. But it was very easy, and now I won’t have any trouble going forward. After inserting the first ink cartridge (bought separately from the same brand), I swung the pen around a bit to see if any ink would fly out, and none did. I use everything pretty gently, so maybe some users would have to be careful; I’m not sure. The ink flow is smooth and gorgeous. It doesn’t bleed even on cheap paper yet it flows perfectly. I’m a big fan and will probably use this pen all the time. The ink refills are even super affordable. I can’t wait! I’m considering if I’ll like to buy a few more of these pens plus ink in different colors for variety. I wouldn’t have to deal with my disposable pens anymore. It always bothers me to collect so many plastic throwaways, but I love pens, both for art and for writing. These are also much more convenient than my dip pens.

This pen is overall nice quality for price. ASSEMBLY & WRITING Easy to use and assemble. Seeing some other reviews, I rinsed the nib first before using. Easy to clean. Let it dry for about 2 days (pen is refillable, comes with a refillable converter). Then tried it out. As soon as I started writing it worked nicely! Write speed is efficient. I’m left handed and this pen works well for me. COMPARISON Comparing this pen to my platinum preppy, It’s feels heavier. The Platinum, it’s light as a feather. But the Asvine, you know you’re handling it. Also, I got the “fine” nib but writing looks more “medium” to me. My Preppy fin nib produces smaller writing. I will say that this Asvine pen seems to write better from the start. My Preppy pens are touch and go even with cleaning. And can be a little finicky. STORAGE & FUNCTION The Asvine pen also comes with a nice ten box for storage if you’re not using it often. However, if you plan on everyday use, be aware this may not be the most comfortable pen. I’m still testing it out. It feels fine but I personally like a thicker round grip like the Preppy pen. Also the Asvine clip is a bit stiff and mostly is for aesthetics not really functional. But the pen does glide well in most my folio & notebook pen loops.

Excellent pen. The fude nib is smaller/finer than the Sailor fude de mannen pen (which I love). This pen writes and draws beautifully- really impressed. I can easily get lines as fine as any of my “F” nib pens and just as easily I can get wide, broad lines that are like a fat sharpie marker. And it’s a “fast” pen too- no skipping or dryness. Update: been drawing with this pen for days now. It’s rly incredible. It’s the BEST drawing pen I’ve ever used. (And I own abt 8 now, most 2 or 3 times the price of this one!) This pen feels almost like drawing with a brush. Ink flow is fantastic. The fude nib requires almost zero pressure. It is effortless to lay down lines. I love it so much I bought another one.

I'm a lefty, new to fountain pens, and had no issue starting right up with this one! I bought the "fine" tipped nib, and 30 (minimum quantity available) of the dark green ink cartridges in one order (other reviewers didn't seem to read the description stating it does not come with ink) I absolutely didn't want to mess around with the included converter and a bottle of ink, just not my idea of a good time! There aren't really any instructions, but common sense and a simple diagram on the cartridge box really is all you need to figure out that the little hollow end of the cartridge, goes into the back of the pen nib assembly! I don't understand why other reviewers docked stars and complained about lack of clarity... Its a pen, there's only so many places the ink can go! Once that was all set, it was off to the races! I was worried that being a lefty, I'd smudge the ink, but their branded ink dries so fast I quickly found I didn't need to worry. The Dark Green is gorgeous, really impressive when you're looking at a full page of it scribbled down on paper. It doesn't seem to bleed, although I am super careful about never letting the nib sit in one spot too long. The pen nib itself is the perfect level of smooth, and scritchy in my opinion. When I write with a fountain pen , I wanted that little scratch to the experience and it provides a perfect balance. I'm not worried about tearing the paper or anything, it's smooth and consistent. The flow rate seems just right, I've not had it go dry or had it unable to keep up. When I first saw I had to buy a minimum of 30 cartridges, I thought, "is this really worth it... Am I ever going to use all this?!" But after writing pages and pages with the pen, and using it at work as well, yup, worth it. I've gone through just under half a cartridge in 5 days. Probably 10-15 pages worth, and a few dozen signatures and scrawled sticky-notes. So, 30 cartridges for around $11 bucks is well worth it! I adore the emerald green ink, but if you want variety you can but the variety pack. You'll need it if you're an avid writer. The pen construction is awesome. Heavy, solid, but not cumbersome. The nib feels great on paper, the cap clicks on both the back and over the tip securely. You can even buy replacement nibs! I didn't realize that until I looked at the sellers other shop items. I think that's super cool at this price point! Some reviewers complained that the "Black" pen isn't ALL black... The cap and the back end where the cap posts are a gorgeous dark brown, very nearly black metallic color. The pen is called the FOREST SERIES, so the color combo fits well! Its sophisticated and classy in my opinion. If they read the description, they'd have seen they need to buy the MATTE BLACK model for an all black color scheme. What a weird thing to dock stars for anyway! All in all, for the price, this one is worth it. Well constructed, easy use, quality finishes, great performance, all without tossing a ton of cash away. For beginners, this is a great entry point, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

It was a decent pen, I got it and my father bought me the replacement nibs. Upon attempting to turn the nib counterclockwise to change it out, it was near impossible to do by hand. Upon finally getting the nib to turn and come out, instead of unscrewing, the feed and nib separated from the part you screw in, as if it just outright refuses to come out as suggested. (So, the replacement nibs will not fit because a piece of the first one was still lodged in the nib housing part) I was easily able to put them back in and get it working again, so no fuss no muss, but I really would have liked to be able to use those, that was my biggest gripe. This is easily the most popular pen of this brand and I would like if it said "NIB NOT REPLACEABLE" if that was the case. If it is supposed to be replaceable, I'm not happy about that. I'm also not a fan of the washing. If you do not flush this pen every other day, it WILL cease to work properly until you do, after a bit of time. It can be very prone to skipping after extended periods, which is fine for writing, but as an artist getting into fountain pens, it can be incredibly frustrating to stop drawing, get up, unclog the pen, sit down, and then have to do it again roughly an hour later. I also seem to have bad luck with not scraping up debris from the paper, although that is likely a result of the cotton-heavy paper I use and not the pen itself. The inks I use are speedball and rotring so I know that's not the issue. I love the easiness of the screw-style feed, I think that system should be standard across all fountain pens. you should have a little napkin ready but usually it shouldn't drip if clean. Never used cartridges, maybe it's better, IDK. The metal frame is durable and reliable, no need to worry about cracking or snapping this thing. If the cap is on, you could probably run it over with a car and still use it. Overall, I did have fun learning about how fountain pens work, and it gets the job done. (With some work.) If you want to try fountain pens to see if you like or dislike them and whether or not you can put up with maintaining them, I would recommend this pen for that purpose. If you want a workhorse pen or are an illustrator, I suggest investing a bit more for something hardier. It's a good enough working pen for a bargain price. Nothing more, nothing less.

I rarely do reviews, but I just purchased my 5th Hong Dian (that's how it's written on the cap) fountain pen. As much as I don't want everyone to clamber on board and drive up the price of these little beauties, I've gotta give this company some love for creating a really well-made fountain pen on the cheap. I've tried several other 'affordable' brands of fountain pens and have been, generally, not WOWed. I have three go-to brands in this category, of which Hong Dian is one. The colors in the 'Forest' are more muted in person than they appear online. The green is almost a drab olive. However, the image of Purple Forest (as well as the blue) is the closest to a true representation of the actual barrel color. I was originally a bit disappointed in the barrel colors, but I've quickly gotten past that. The pens are actually pretty dang good! I was skeptical about the quality but my first one was on deep discount. I've since purchased 4 more of these pens. They work beautifully out of the box with no fussing over the nib. The ink converters come with the pens, making this an insanely good value for the money. I have a thing for fine nibs and Hong Dian does not disappoint. The EF nibs are the thinnest I've encountered among any brand. The EF are advertised as .04mm (their Fine at .05mm) although they feel like .035mm. The ink flow is perfect, with no skips or bloops. Although, I admit that I occasionally get some minor skipping with the bent nib if that pen hasn't been used in a day or so. The bent nib requires constant use. (I hate to say this, but I prefer the Sailor Fude bent nib and the Pilot stub nib to the Hong Dian bent nib because of that skipping.) The EF nibs, though, write perfectly even if they haven't been used for a few days, like over a long weekend. While quality inks are preferred, the Forest line still writes like a dream when used with cheaper inks. They create thin lines that are as equally suited to ink sketching as they are to letter-writing. In a nutshell, I've got a small collection of fountain pens. The wallet can only stretch so far so I've enjoyed trying out some of the different affordable lines. I am a big fan of the Pilot Metro and Dryden Designs. Among my three favorite lines of Affordable Pens, Hong Dian vies for first place with Pilot Metro. Dryden Designs have rich, creamy colors and a sioothing weight behind them. Their Fine nibs feel a little thick for my taste, but there's definitely a place for them in daily life. Pilot Metro are a good value, come in a variety of fun colors, and write beautifully. Their Fine nibs are true and produce a thin line. The Pilot Metro are rather light, however, compared to Dryden and Hong Dian. The Hong Dian Forest pens weigh only slightly more than the Pilot Metros, but the weight of the cap on the end of the pens give the impression of them being far more heavy. This not a complaint, as they are well-balanced and the weight of the pen is welcome when writing fine, detailed lines. I have surprised myself because, over the course of the pandemic, Hong Dian's Forest line has become one of my favorite pens. After a year of using these pens, I'm even happier now with them than I was in the beginning. I use them daily and, although I'd hate to lose one, they are affordable enough to replace should a Terrible Thing happen to one. I've even branched out to try other Hong Dian fountain pen lines based on the success of the Forest line. I am super pleased with this pen and highly recommend it, particularly if you enjoy EF nibs.