Fountain Pen: Hongdian M2
- whimsicaleccentric
- Jan 14
- 2 min read
VISUAL
The Hongdian M2 is such a cute and interesting pocket pen. It is a moderately lightweight metal pen with a matte navy blue coating. The clip band is actually embedded into the cap. The clip is hinged and opens fairly easily but has enough tension that it still functions well. It also functions great as a roll stop, since this particular pocket pen has a round cap and barrel.
My favorite feature of this pen is that it has a finial featuring a yin-yang design of a silver and black cat. I'm not sure why this pen is cat-themed, but I never say no to a cat-themed pen! The finial is shallowly domed with the inset cat design.
TACTILE
The satin-matte coating on this pen makes it fairly slippery but still nice to touch. The smooth clip has a slight upturn that I sometimes slightly stub my finger against, and the edges of the clip hinge are a bit sharp.
The section is flared and moderately thin. The cap threads are moderately sharp, but with the slippery coated section I find myself clinging to the threads like a lifeline to keep a good grip. Fortunately, it's fairly lightweight for a metal pen, so it's not impossible to hold it.
PRACTICAL
I ordered this pen with a blade-ground nib. It's a really fun nib when it's feeling cooperative, but I did have some issues writing at my normal writing angle. The blade grind has a slight curve to it, allowing for slight differences in line width of the horizontal and vertical strokes, as well as the option to thicken or narrow the lines based on how steep the nib angle is to the paper. Occasionally I would have issues with a stroke or two missing after a longer writing session, so it's hard to narrow down if that is a feed issue or a nib issue.
With sharp grinds like this, it's also possible to get an incredibly tiny line width at high pen angles. It's a bit sharp and catches on the paper at that level, but I'm impressed at how tiny and thin the line becomes.
The cap posts deeply and securely. Size-wise, it's very comparable to a Kaweco Sport.
STATISTICAL
Pen Measurements:
Weight: 24.6g
Weight of Cap: 11.7g
Length Capped: 105mm
Length Uncapped: 101mm
Length Posted: 137mm
Nib: 5mm 'Blade' Steel
Body Style: Umbrella
Fill Method: Converter
Fill Volume: 0.8ml
Comparison Pens: Pilot Metropolitan, LAMY Safari
OVERALL
Pros:
Cute cat finial gives this pen all the extra bonus points
Decently interesting nib grind
Cons:
Slippery thin section makes gripping a bit of a challenge
Some intermittent nib or flow issues
Even with its issues, I really enjoy writing with this pen. It has a smooth nib with a fun grind, which just makes me play with line width all the time rather than doing anything productive.
DISCLAIMER: Pens and inks purchased by myself. Photos and opinions are my own.
Comments