The Hong Dian N12...

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IMO this Hong Dian N12 punches way above it's $27 price tag!
First off, it's slightly chunky shape and brownish-red swirl coloring I find very appealing; -it looks far more like an expensive Italian pen than it has any right to! I have a bunch of modern, mostly inexpensive fountain pens (maybe 30?) and this N12 is one of the more attractive pens of the lot!
The N12's piston system fills the pen neatly and cleanly w/o any problems, and it writes very well with it's lines dry almost immediately out of the nib, but it's not scratchy at all. This one's F lines are a bit thicker than most F's, so it's probably more of an FM nib...

However it's also not a very sturdy pen IMO. It's made of rather lightweight plastic (acrylic resin) and I wouldn't trust it's fragile pocket clip to keep it safely pocketed. ~So it might not be a very good traveler... Also without an ink window in it's non-transparent barrel there's no visual way to tell how much ink remains inside it.. ~Nevertheless I still like this Hong Dian N12 very much, and it even comes in many other attractive colors in case I might want to get another one... ~"'

Here's some photos, but I don't think they do the attractive appearance of this pen justice. It's sold as 'wine red' -however to my eyes it's also got a bit of chocolate in with it's light and dark maroon swirls... N12-a.jpgHong Dian N12.jpg

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This is an attractive pen. I have many Asian pens. I just received a HONG DIAN BLACK FOREST 1861 M nib. It's a good-looking pen. Won't send px, but I'm sure you've seen it. I'm new to fpgeeks, will learn how to post px in near future. Thanks for posting. Love the swirls!

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This is an attractive pen. I have many Asian pens. I just received a HONG DIAN BLACK FOREST 1861 M nib. It's a good-looking pen. Won't send px, but I'm sure you've seen it. I'm new to fpgeeks, will learn how to post px in near future. Thanks for posting. Love the swirls!

Welcome! ~But be careful; -nowadays suddenly there are so many good inexpensive Chinese pens (Jinhao, Hong Dian, Asvine, etc..) they can sneakily {and quite rapidly} take over your desk (or house or apartment?). ~Glad you like the N12; I myself like it as much or better than some of my more expensive pens! Did you get the 1861 in Black Carbon? -That's a damn attractive pen IMO.. Post some pics when you get the hang of it, okay? ~Everyone here likes pics...