Review - Year Of The Dragon In Red, Fine Nib

[WDanderson]

 

I got interested in fountain pens only about 2 years ago. My very first pen was a Lamy Safari, and shortly afterwards I made an investment in a Blue Sauvage. For almost a year I have had my eye on a Red Dragon but was put off by the $400 price tag. One day Bert here in DC decided to put one on clearance for 50% off...I couldn't drive to the store fast enough. I have several Cross pens; a couple Aventuras and a couple ball points along with the Sauvage. I really like the small nibs on the Sauvage series, they flex just right and the pen feels good in my hand without being too small.

 

This is my first attempt at a review here, so bear with me.

 

First what was shocking to me when I got to the store is, this pen is RED. I mean it's a firey catch and hold your attention kind of red. Pictures do no justice. When Bert opened the box I gasped. I took a picture of it next to a Ruby Lamy, which if any of you are familiar with that color pen, it is quite red too. You will notice that the Dragon far outshines the Ruby Lamy.

 

 

The pen feels nicely weighted and exactly like the Sauvage. And really, it is a Sauvage with a fancy paint job. Deep in the paint is a scaly pattern that glints in the light similarly to the way some of the resin Montverdes do. Different from the typical Sauvage is the pen's texture. The Dragon pattern is etched pretty thick, I can't imagine it would wear off anytime soon or even in my lifetime. It is much thicker than your typical monogram lettering and sits out on the pen-not etched in.

 

 

The pen writes as smooth as any of my Lamys or my Parker Premium GT. It starts immediately, but even with a fine point it writes wet. I can't use it in my planner because drying time is well over several minutes. In fact I don't think it ever dries on the typical Franklin Covey paper, but it will dry in under 30 seconds using Diamine Dragon Red ink, on normal Cambridge limited business notebooks.

 

It uses a screw in style amber colored cartridge converter, same as the Sauvage. This pen is a real looker in the pocket, and gets many comments-even from fountain pen users. I have been using it for a little over a month now, and it has been as reliable and comfortable as my other Sauvage and my Parker GT. If I could lodge a complaint, it would be only one: to tone down the wet line a little bit. I don't have smudge problems with my Parker, even in my planner, but both this pen and my Sauvage do smudge. I have tried 3 different kinds of inks and get the same results. I suppose that is the price for having the nib instant-start? My Parker sometimes takes a quarter of a stroke before the ink flows.

 

If you are a fan of the Sauvage, or if you like the way the Aventura writes but don't like the "cheapness" of that pen, you will love this pen.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bhavna]

Thank you for that lovely review. That pen is absolutely beautiful and the red is enchanting. How is it for weight? As for the flow, I am sure you can tweak the nib? There is a thread on the forum (I can't find it!) that talks you through adjusting a nib's flow. Congratulations, it really is a stunner.

[WDanderson]

The weight in my hand is good, but a bit heavy in the pocket. It is a solid and slick all metal pen. It has a very snug clip which helps though. One thing I forgot to include in the review is you can't "throw these pens around." The nib is very sensitive and I have found that even having it tightly tucked in a planner that I jostle a little bit will leave ink inside the pen cap once I toss the planner onto the passenger seat of my truck. To me this seems sensitive compared to all my other pens. I can literally shake a Lamy like a thermometer and it won't leak out (at first.) I think my Parker is probably the same. I dropped the Parker while it was capped, it landed nib first, only had a little bit of black leak out. If I dropped the Sauvage like that while capped I can guarantee half the converter would squirt out of the nib.

 

With both the Sauvage and the Dragon, I have found that if I quickly drag the cap away once I unscrew it (and knocking against the barrel and base of nib assembly in the process)-I will often get a little dot of ink on the paper. This pen must be handled carefully.

Edited May 6, 2012 by WDanderson

[sriramoman]

The pen is fantastic, and since I own a Cross Medalist myself, medium, I agree that its quite a wet writer. Chelpark (in India) gives it an optimum performance. It continues to be smooth, yet dries soon. Sheaffer is also a not-so-wet writer, but I found that it skips quite too often; probably Skrip is a well-thought name

Edited May 6, 2012 by sriramoman

[professionaldilettante]

Interesting, but the dragon is weird. It doesn't look Chinese... Looks like a foreigner designed it.

[akrishna59]

nice pen at a nice price point. it is a looker no doubt, dont you think it has feminine contours? i have always found cross to be really good pens and the only reason i love sheaffer over cross is because of the inlaid nib, otherwise cross is a winner. enjoy your pen. best.

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

[Chi Town]

Nice Review...... This is a nice pen and one that I would want cept that price tag! You got a real bargain for that pen @ 200.00. I could see spending that on this pen. We have a shop in town that has this pen in it and each time I stop by, I always look at this pen, that red is so captivating. The website that was referred to earlier about adjusting your nib for flow can be found on the TWSBI site by speedy.

[candyjanney]

I love this pen! It's my first Fountain pen and I have the black one arriving today as well! It writes sooo smmoooooth and it's so pretty. I think it definitely has a feminine look to it. I loves the curves.

[mel o]

That pen is amazing! Does the nib have a pattern?

[WDanderson]

That pen is amazing! Does the nib have a pattern?

 

Yes the nib does have a pattern.

[Florida Blue]

I have the same Suavage as in your avatar in the blue crocodile lacquer. The nibs on the Suavage (which would include the Year of the Dragon) are very soft and I concur about the flex in them and that they are very wet writers.

 

I love the lacquer on the blue crocodile and the Year of Dragon, which I saw at Paradise Pen. The lacquer seems very high quality compared to other pens and it has held up well against scratches. The translucent, jewel-like quality of the lacquer is really mesmerizing when you write with it.

 

Enjoy your new Cross pen!

Edited May 20, 2012 by Florida Blue

[troy59]

I have finally managed to acquire this pen. It really is quite beautiful and very well balanced.

 

It is one of the few pens that manages to keep up with me when I write.

 

Thanks for the review and pictures although, as you say, the red and gold has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

[georges zaslavsky]

lovely pen enjoy yours and happy writing

Edited July 21, 2013 by georges zaslavsky

[sail0rm00n]

Recently got back into fountain pens and ran across this review. I love the look! Too bad it seems I got back into the game too late. Searched everywhere on the web for this red one, but no one seems to carry it anymore. =(

[Braxfield]

Used Sauvages are hard to find. It seems to be a pen that people hang on to. I would interested to hear updates on the pens. How are they doing after five or six years? Have they held on the their master's affection, or been displaced by recent rivals?