Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Moonman 600s

  1. #1
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,352
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Moonman 600s

    I have a big box of vintage pens that are not part of my sales stock. They are the ones that I regard as mine. As well as that I have a few modern pens. They are just workhorses and I don't think about them very much unless something goes wrong – which, admittedly, is rare. Last summer, there was much discussion on the boards about the Moonman 600S. Some of the acrylic colours and patterns were outstanding. I was rather taken with its appearance and there were reviews by sensible people that praised its performance. I bought one for the ridiculous price of £5.79 in August last year. It is offered in eBay today at £21.99.



    The pen lived up to its reputation. I didn't flush it or do anything else. I just filled the converter with ink and began writing. It has written flawlessly ever since. It is a light pen, which I approve of. I'm not one of those who equate quality with weight – a ridiculous notion when applied to fountain pens. It would be too clumsy and back heavy to post but is just fine unposted. The application of ink to paper is perfect, no skipping, hard-starting or flooding. If I were to be extremely picky, I would say that I wish it had been an Oriental rather than a Western fine but that's really a ridiculous criticism of a great pen. One man's garish is another man's beautiful. For me, this pen is beautiful. It has iridescent colours and it has depth of colour. It has smoke and sparkle. I love it. One real criticism is that it takes 3 1/2 turns to close the pen which means it's not a good note-taker but on the other hand it doesn't dry out even after a couple of weeks.



    Let's get to the elephant in the room! This pen is an utterly shameless copy of the Duofold Centennial. It's not the only one – there is a Kaigelu that is even more Centennial-like, I believe. The Moonman is very, very close. The parts are not interchangeable though I believe some people have been fitting vintage Duofold nibs to this pen, not something I would do because the nib it comes with - Moonman's own production – is very good and anyway I would never treat a vintage nib in that way. Though I can't say that I am disturbed by it I recognise that a pen that is as close a copy as this bears an ethical issue. At some level, even I will admit to a tickle of disturbance at such blatant theft of a design.

    On the other hand – and there's always another hand – a Duofold Centennial costs £369 in Amazon today. I would never spend that much money on a pen. Your mileage may vary, but much as I am obsessed with fountain pens, I would have many more important things to do with £369. I didn't buy this pen because it looked like a Centennial. I'm not in the position where I pretend to myself that I have a Centennial because I have a Chinese pen that looks like one. I don't particularly want a Centennial. I'm more a Swan and Onoto woman. I do like the earlier Duofolds, both US and British and I have examples of both. I can't see where the value of £369 lies in the Centennial. I'm sure it's an adequate pen but I imagine that at least 75% of that price is profit. So this, then, is a Centennial for people who can't afford a Centennial or it's just a very good cheap pen.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  2. The Following 10 Users Say Thank You to Deb For This Useful Post:

    carlos.q (April 5th, 2020), catbert (April 5th, 2020), Chrissy (April 5th, 2020), countrydirt (April 5th, 2020), fountainpagan (April 6th, 2020), jodylud (April 6th, 2020), oldstoat (June 29th, 2020), sgphoto (April 5th, 2020), TSherbs (April 5th, 2020), Yazeh (December 29th, 2020)

  3. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    290
    Thanks
    469
    Thanked 311 Times in 147 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Moonman 600s

    Good review and honest assessment.

    The issue of knockoffs is touchy on both sides. I understand those who say it's a total ripoff. I also understand the economics of those who want a pen but without the extremely high price with little or no increase in intrinsic value.

    I have three pens that are knockoffs of Kaweco brass pens. They write out-of-the-box as well as any pen I own. It's never been necessary to adjust the nibs. All three were purchased on Amazon for under $60.00, less than the price of any new Kaweco. I've never had the least bit of guilt.

    Everyone chooses how and why to spend their money.

    I believe you purchased a good pen at a fair price and have lots of money left over compared to a Duofold. If you're happy that's what counts here.

    Cheers,
    Sg

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to sgphoto For This Useful Post:

    Deb (April 5th, 2020)

  5. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    6,658
    Thanks
    2,027
    Thanked 2,189 Times in 1,419 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Moonman 600s

    I have the same color of the 600s, and I think that it is beautiful, too. It's big and light, both selling points for me. I actually have a Goulet nib in it right now, but the Moonman nib functioned well, too. I don't even know the pen that it is a knockoff of, nor do I care. My yellow hexagonal pencil isn't the first of those, either.

    The pen has a slight weird smell, though. Fortunately, I kinda like that.

    Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to TSherbs For This Useful Post:

    Deb (April 5th, 2020)

  7. #4
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,352
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Moonman 600s

    I've seen the smell mentioned but mine doesn't seem to smell. Or maybe I don't have much sense of small, as well as being hard of hearing and ever more short sighted.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  8. #5
    Senior Member Jaguarish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    133
    Thanks
    33
    Thanked 132 Times in 60 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: Moonman 600s

    I didn't even know it was a knock off when I bought it! I picked it for its good looks and the option of a fude nib, my favorite for drawing. I've gifted it to an artist friend but thinking about buying another for myself. The only quandary is which color scheme to choose!

  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Jaguarish For This Useful Post:

    Deb (April 6th, 2020), sgphoto (April 6th, 2020)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •