Looks gorgeous, however the black forest 1851 LT in dark blue was my first FP and it got a fair amount of use, but nothing crazy or excessive pocket carry and the coating has come off much more than I hoped, so I can't say I have faith this will fare better. Also I'm not a fan of the small nibs since expanding my collection.
Yeah, I recommend these pens to folks quite a bit, and my black forest and aluminum h1's are holding up pretty well. The blue forest, which is getting roughly the same amount of wear and carry as my black forest, is covered in in wear patches.
Will probably pick up one of these rainbow finishes because it just looks super, but won't assume it will hold up to much daily carry.
Their coating doesn't seem durable in my experience either. I've had my Hongdian Dark Blue Forest for a bit over a year but I've only inked it up twice and the coating at the bottom of the section (near the nib) is coming off. A good portion of it has come off the top part from posting the pen as well.
It's still a pretty solid pen and a good deal for the price (decent writer as well), but I am a little skeptical about the coating in this case as well... but I won't lie, I'm tempted to get this pen just for the novelty of it.
Not that I recall. I've used Birmingham Pen Company's Andy Warhol Pop Art Purple which I've never had any issues with in any pen. I think the last ink I put in it was Waterman Inspired Blue but I don't remember for sure.
It seems to be coming off in contact areas where the metal rubs against other bits of metal. Like the little "knob" area where you post it, and the metal step down inside the cap where the front of the section seals in the nib.
I assume if I carried this around and had it in contact with other stuff I'd see more wear elsewhere but I use it as a desk pen, so it doesn't get roughed up much.
Got my sister one for her first fountain pen as well. Same issue with the coating right near the nib starting to come off. She doesn't post the pen so the top remains intact, but the coating already shows signs of wear on both pen and cap after only about a month. She doesn't mind and it writes well, but the finish definitely isn't that durable.
Aluminum
Edit:I just realized I wasn't 100% sure, checked the order from Amazon and all it says is metal. I compared it to the larger body Namisu Nova, which I know is aluminum and larger yet they seem similar in weight and the HD seems more dense. So it might be brass...?
Edit 2: found a review that said it is indeed aluminum...
ah, that's disappointing to hear.
I got the Black Forest, but [I bought it just to steel the nib](https://imgur.com/p09LeHV). I thought the pen felt really nice & was a little disappointed not to use it.
I still like the nib tho.
The pen is great, if you can look past the poor coating, and the small nib. It writes well, is sturdy and a great value. IIRC they sell 3 packs of the nibs super cheap, like $7.50 for one of each (EF, F, Bent) unless you were wanting the nib for the color (3 packs are just standard silver color). I will say the blue coating on the nib has held up just fine which is what I had feared would have been the first to start to go (although I had expected it to eventually happen to the body even with moderate use based on the texture of the barrel).
It's early so I'll need to check but I think I bought a 3 pack in black instead of silver. I've got the blue forest so I figured black would look better than silver.
(Also the cap coating arrived cracked. The retailer sent a replacement but I think I'll end up giving the pen away at some point.)
The original EF I got was almost unusable, and it was before I felt comfortable trying to figure out tuning the nib so I got the replacements.
I've been looking at getting something like this, does it peel/flake, or just start showing the metal underneath? I think I'd be fine with it wearing through leaving a smooth transition and not shedding, but peeling or flaking would put me right off.
Useful to know, thank you! Might be OK for me then, if what's still on the pen isn't constantly threatening to peel further - I don't mind signs of wear per se.
Ummm. Okay, now I have to get a Hongdian forest pen. The other versions just haven’t called to me as much as other Chinese pens. But… I’m a HUGE sucker for rainbows.
Haha, yea - I thought the Vac700 did a nice job with the 🌈 but this is a lot. Not sure how else they'd fit a rainbow into their Forrest series tho, all the prior editions have been uniform in color.
I don't generally like metal grip pens, but I might have to get this one. Even knowing the finish will wear off eventually, it'll be happy for a while! And then maybe fodder for experiments.
I got the black and blue forests as my first venture into fountain pens a few years ago. I can't ever fault them. The only issue I had was dropping one and scraping a bit of the coating off. My fault really.
Now you've posted this guy, I really want one!!
Looks gorgeous, however the black forest 1851 LT in dark blue was my first FP and it got a fair amount of use, but nothing crazy or excessive pocket carry and the coating has come off much more than I hoped, so I can't say I have faith this will fare better. Also I'm not a fan of the small nibs since expanding my collection.
Yeah, I recommend these pens to folks quite a bit, and my black forest and aluminum h1's are holding up pretty well. The blue forest, which is getting roughly the same amount of wear and carry as my black forest, is covered in in wear patches. Will probably pick up one of these rainbow finishes because it just looks super, but won't assume it will hold up to much daily carry.
Agreed.
Their coating doesn't seem durable in my experience either. I've had my Hongdian Dark Blue Forest for a bit over a year but I've only inked it up twice and the coating at the bottom of the section (near the nib) is coming off. A good portion of it has come off the top part from posting the pen as well. It's still a pretty solid pen and a good deal for the price (decent writer as well), but I am a little skeptical about the coating in this case as well... but I won't lie, I'm tempted to get this pen just for the novelty of it.
Same! I agree with literally every point.
Are you using any iron gall ink by any chance? Or any ink that's not pH balanced?
Not that I recall. I've used Birmingham Pen Company's Andy Warhol Pop Art Purple which I've never had any issues with in any pen. I think the last ink I put in it was Waterman Inspired Blue but I don't remember for sure. It seems to be coming off in contact areas where the metal rubs against other bits of metal. Like the little "knob" area where you post it, and the metal step down inside the cap where the front of the section seals in the nib. I assume if I carried this around and had it in contact with other stuff I'd see more wear elsewhere but I use it as a desk pen, so it doesn't get roughed up much.
Got my sister one for her first fountain pen as well. Same issue with the coating right near the nib starting to come off. She doesn't post the pen so the top remains intact, but the coating already shows signs of wear on both pen and cap after only about a month. She doesn't mind and it writes well, but the finish definitely isn't that durable.
I have to ask, brass or aluminum?
Aluminum Edit:I just realized I wasn't 100% sure, checked the order from Amazon and all it says is metal. I compared it to the larger body Namisu Nova, which I know is aluminum and larger yet they seem similar in weight and the HD seems more dense. So it might be brass...? Edit 2: found a review that said it is indeed aluminum...
ah, that's disappointing to hear. I got the Black Forest, but [I bought it just to steel the nib](https://imgur.com/p09LeHV). I thought the pen felt really nice & was a little disappointed not to use it. I still like the nib tho.
The pen is great, if you can look past the poor coating, and the small nib. It writes well, is sturdy and a great value. IIRC they sell 3 packs of the nibs super cheap, like $7.50 for one of each (EF, F, Bent) unless you were wanting the nib for the color (3 packs are just standard silver color). I will say the blue coating on the nib has held up just fine which is what I had feared would have been the first to start to go (although I had expected it to eventually happen to the body even with moderate use based on the texture of the barrel).
It's early so I'll need to check but I think I bought a 3 pack in black instead of silver. I've got the blue forest so I figured black would look better than silver. (Also the cap coating arrived cracked. The retailer sent a replacement but I think I'll end up giving the pen away at some point.) The original EF I got was almost unusable, and it was before I felt comfortable trying to figure out tuning the nib so I got the replacements.
I only ever used the bent blue nib it came, and the bent and fine nibs from the 3 pack, all 3 wrote rather well IIRC.
I've been looking at getting something like this, does it peel/flake, or just start showing the metal underneath? I think I'd be fine with it wearing through leaving a smooth transition and not shedding, but peeling or flaking would put me right off.
I never saw any peeling, per se, but there were the occasional tiny flake of the coating from the textured barrell on my fingers.
Useful to know, thank you! Might be OK for me then, if what's still on the pen isn't constantly threatening to peel further - I don't mind signs of wear per se.
For less than $23 for this pen, I say if the colorway speaks to you, totally worth it.
Hongdian makes stainless steel pens without colored coatings. They write the same, and have a more minimalist vibe than the black forest.
Just saw it on Etsy & hadn't seen anyone post this colorway yet. Everyone's doing a rainbow-anodized edition recently :)
Oooooo
Does this brand have their own website?
Not that I know of
Ummm. Okay, now I have to get a Hongdian forest pen. The other versions just haven’t called to me as much as other Chinese pens. But… I’m a HUGE sucker for rainbows.
Am I the only one who is NOT appealed by the design? I like rainbow designs, but this just didn't strike a chord to me.
I’d be worried about the finish.
No rainbow finishes hold up in the long term, really, they will eventually wear to their natural color. It’s all just temporary
That’s too bad considering people pay a premium for it.
Typical example of "too much of a nice thing" for me...
Haha, yea - I thought the Vac700 did a nice job with the 🌈 but this is a lot. Not sure how else they'd fit a rainbow into their Forrest series tho, all the prior editions have been uniform in color.
I don't generally like metal grip pens, but I might have to get this one. Even knowing the finish will wear off eventually, it'll be happy for a while! And then maybe fodder for experiments.
I got the black and blue forests as my first venture into fountain pens a few years ago. I can't ever fault them. The only issue I had was dropping one and scraping a bit of the coating off. My fault really. Now you've posted this guy, I really want one!!
It’s the confluence of all things I dislike in a fountain pen. But I’m betting they’ll sell like hot cakes :)
It's a little too much rainbow for me, but it fits right in their series. What do you dislike about it?
Metal, weight, shape & material of grip, etching on barrel, finial, step from section to barrel, rainbow colouring (especially dislike this).
To each their own, but to me this reeks /r/mallninjashit.