Hello everyone!

I decided to do a review on a much underrated pen: The Duke (Chinese made by the Shanghai G. Crown Co. Ltd, registered in Europe as German Duke)

In this case the Dream World FP

Appearance 5/5: The Dream World is a very beautiful pen with a red cloudy cap (too bad in my pictures you can't see the clouds), shiny black body and GP trim. The clip has the name Duke scrolled along with the year it was introduced: 2000. The band reads: Duke Germany GmbH. The construction of the pen is very solid. The cap is a snap cap that has a very nice "snap" but it is easy to take off.

Weight and measurements 3/5: This pen has some heft to it. It is built lacquer over brass cap and barrel. It measures 5 ½" capped and supposedly 6" posted, but this cap does not post at all. Who'd want to post this anyways when it weighs a ton!!! (well maybe a ¼ of a ton) Personally, I don't post my pens that much, unless it's a P"51", but it would be nice to be able to post it just for show, I mean, the cap is beautiful!! So I'll give it 3/5 for that. It does have good balance without the cap posted.

Filling system 3/5: Typical C/C, came with a piston ink converter. I don't expect this pen to have a super filling system but... boring!!

Nib 5/5: The Dream World sports a med GP firm nib that is ssssmooooooth!!! not too wet, it's just right! I could compare it to my P Frontier, which I think is a great writer. I wish I could give you a sample of the writing but my scanner is not working, so you'll have to take my word for it.
The nib is engraved with Duke crown and scroll works; Duke Germany and the year Duke started producing 1889????

Cost 5/5: At $25 USD (shipping included), I think it's darn good! Yes, I know it is made in China (some might have issues with that), but I do recommend this beauty to anyone who wants to have a good looking and fantastic writer for a very affordable price.

Final verdict: 4/5
I own a couple of Dukes. Among them I have the Blue Spider and the Black carbon fiber (?), but the Dream World is my favorite. A couple of years ago I saw it posted at isellpens.com and I don't remember if they had an option with a real gold nib, but that would be something!

Anyways, there it is. Hope you like it and I do apologize for the terrible pictures. If anyone wants to see good shots of the pen visit this site where I bought it (no affiliation): http://www.akideal.com/D5-DreamWorld.html

i figured i post some pic., since akideal (the seller) no longer has the store online.

he's now at Goldquills.com

i tried that site and nothing came on.

WOW, is this a real deal... ???
This Duke is beautiful.. ! And its celluloid? and it's only $21.99..... is this for real? Will this pen look as good in person?

-Gawain

hello gawain,
i own the one in your pic as well. it's pretty and a good writer... when it starts! i changed the point from a Duke pen I had laying around and wasn't gonna use anymore and now it writes great! but i wouldn't buy another of this model. it's call the Mako Shark.

check out this reviw thread about it: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=10164

Thanks Peter Paul.. I appreciate your comments....

-Gawain

I paid a bit more for mine... but I purchased it from a well-known pen person, and he checks and fixes the nibs, if necessary, before he sends the pens out. So, it was worth it to me to pay a bit of a premium. I have no doubt this will be a buttery smooth writer and a quick starter when I receive mine.

The problem with the two Duke pens I've had is the weight of the cap, which makes them very unbalanced when posted. Moreover, the bodies are too short for my hand when unposted. So I can't write with them comfortably. Otherwise, they're very nice pens.

Thanks for the review. I don't know, however, what ties this pen to Germany. I just assume that they are putting "Germany" on there in order to make it sound more sophisticated/European. If this is more than a marketing ploy, then I'd like to know. There is an abundance of "iridium Germany" nibs out there that are completely Chinese made and have nothing to do with Germany whatsoever.
If you got a good nib, then I am glad for you. It varies a lot with Chinese pens. Usually, though, real German nibs are better (Schmidt, Bock etc...) in my experience.

i don't know the ties to germany. as far as i'm concern it's chinese!!! they do say "duke germany" on them, but when i bought it, i tell you, in my mind i was getting a good chinese pen. my reference to germany was merely quoting the seller.

this nib is nice, chinese or german!! now... i noticed Hisnibs has this pen with a 14k nib... i don't know if i wanna spend $100 on that. for $25 USD, what i paid for mine, i'm happy!

... man, i don't think i own a real gold german nib!!!!

hi reginleif,
i think the problem with this nib (Mako) is that dryes cos' the air sips thru the clip!!!

Those gills in the cap are pretend, no air flow. Apologies if I'm being too literal . Sometimes the humor is so dry on this forum. Anyway, the cap on my Mako is so airtight that I often have trouble posting it. Darn thing pushes back. I have had the nib dry out but I found that I had not completely clicked the cap closed. I've recently added the drop of dishwashing detergent to the converter but haven't refilled to see whether that helps the drying. Could just be that the nib is so big and takes in so much air that it dries out quickly. When it does flow it's nice and smooth. And yes, I bought it from His Nibs so he took great care with the nib.

Cheers!

hi patfia,
i was almost positive the cap wasn't air tight. i blew air thru the mouth of the cap and i can feel air coming out the clip and viceversa. check out this thread, this is where i found out what the problem was: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=10164

after i sealed the clip it got better... not a 100% fixed

now, i agree that the nib is too big, hence the reason why i switched the nib (as i explained before) and now i have a smaller one that works better!!!... you could be right!!


PS. ha ha ha!!! about the gills thing!

In March 2008, I spent 2 weeks in Tianjin, China. Always on the look out for pens, I asked my host about fountain pens. He mentioned that the most well known pen brand in China was Hero pens. Out looking on my own and knowing very little Chinese I found a great pen shop.

I bought 2 Duke Germany pens. One was the Duke 116. It had a Black cap and a Red barrel with Carbon Fibre in the red barrel. The other was a Duke 992 in a Brown, tortoise look. They were both about $14 US apiece. Both are beautiful pens. They are a good size and write great. On one of the pens, it seemed like the cartridge converter was stuck, so i just left it in and used bottle ink.

I also bought a Hero 9101. It was Polished Steel with a carved/etched intricate design. Looks Silver. Very hefty and this was about $40 US.

Regrettably, my digital camera is in repair. If there is interest I will take a picture when I get my camera back.

I will be going back to China in October and will definitely visit the pen shop again.

I'll be in TianJin in November, so would you mind telling me the address of the pen shop you found?
Thanks!

Yes, I'd certainly like to see them, if it's not too much trouble?

Who would that be, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks,
Gawain

You betcha, Gawain. It's a steal. Postage & box cost $3.00, so you get this pen for $19 in actuality. My Greek Key metalwork looked perfect under 10x!! And--I have no connection with any seller or dealer.

I'm ordering this Green Shark next; it it's as good as the Greek Key--Duke has a lifetime customer and giver of "Duke gifts" at Xmas...Probably some Greedhead store chain will get hold of Duke, and start pumping the prices...

--Fatfinger

Gawain,
Hisnibs.com checks nibs before sending out. I received a very nice note with my Mako and Blue Spyder. There may be others as well.

The name of the shop was New China Shop. I will email my friend in Tianjin or try to find my receipt for the address.

In the interim, and just in case, I will provide some general directions.

Take the metro and get off at Ying Kau Dau. This is the exit for Ishetan department store and the Catholic Church. For the locals say you are going to the WalMalrt. Proceed down Bingiang Street, a shopping area and you will be walking away from the church. Go to the Gold Coin on the street, which is Heping Road also called Golden Street and proceed left on Heping Road and you will be going toward the wall mart. . Another landmark at the corner of Bingiang and Heping is an historic building called Quane Chang. After you have gone a little ways the New China store is on the left right next to a big Samsung store.

I will be in Tianjin in October and try to remember to get the address for sure. That will be before you trip.

Thanks!

Don

attached is the receipt for one of the pens I discussed buying at the New China shop in Tianjin. It is all in Chinese, however hopefully during your staty someone can translate.I

Good Luck.

My wife says that the address on the receipt reads “The Business Mansion (Building) of the New Chinese Culture”. Not exactly an address.

Thanks for the translation. That is the receipt I received with the pen purchase.

I am waiting to hear from my contact in Tianjin; to see if can get me an address. Will let you know.

I checked, akideal.com transferred to more professional look: goldquills.com, but it is out of stock. I got email from them, they will have it in stock in Sept.

if you get one you won't regret it!

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
I regret it took me so long to respond. My digital camera was beyond repair so I had to buy a new one.

As you can tell, I am not much of a digital photographer, plus this is the first time I uploaded images to this forum, so I hope I got it right.

In the image with the ruler for scale, from left to right, the Hero 9101 (about $39US), Duke Germany 116 ($15US), Duke Germany 992 ($14US), and 80-Shjin Huangpin ($6US). All were bought in a trip to Tianjin back in March. I also took a picture of the pens in the box the Hero pen came in.

My photography does not do them justice. The Hero pen is polished steel with a deep intricate design. The Red Black Duke has black carbon fiber running thru the red, which shows up vividly with the red. The other Duke pen is a brown tortoise shell like of which my picture does not do any justice. The remaining black pen I found in an area in Tianjin called Culture Street,

They all write great, I use Private Reserve ink in various colors.

I will be going back next month. Will definitely get more pens.

Thanks

beautiful!! i like the duke 992, i haven't seen that round' here

oops... just realized the 992 is the same as the D7!!!

I was looking for this pen in my local bookshop, too bad, they did not carry fountain pens. Only roller pens available.