Moonman 600s

[Deb]

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.