Duke 600 Fountain Pen & Nib

[Tessy Moon]

I like the look of the Duke 600 Fountain Pen I found on ebay.

But I am not sure if the nib is good quality or not. I was thinking I could replace it with a Goulet nib if it will fit.

 

Does anyone have any idea if this pen will take a #6 nib?

 

I have contacted several different ebay sellers of this pen and they don't understand my question or they just don't answer.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you!

 

Here is a pic:

 

http://i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s630/HUANGCHAODUKE/1_zps808b2b69.jpg

 

Here is a link to the pen on ebay:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251448244284&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

 

 

Thank you again for any help!

 

[Tessy Moon]

Also, I forgot to mention if anyone has used this pen and could tell me of the quality of the nib that would be extremely helpful as well!

Thanks again!

[Moshe ben David]

stating the obvious: contact the Goulets! They're incredibly helpful people. http://www.gouletpens.com/

[terim]

I've yet to see a Duke pen that would accept a #6 nib ..... #5 at best.

[richardandtracy]

The nib does indeed look like the same nib as on the D209, which I believe can be swapped for a #5.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Tessy Moon]

Thank you all for the replies!

 

Does anyone know about the Duke nib? I know it's a cheap pen, so that makes me worry that the nib will be horrible. Does anyone have any experience with Duke pens/nibs or if I could replace the nib with a better one, where would I find it?

 

TYIA!

[WirsPlm]

I've had a few pens from Duke and have had mixed experiences, they're generally a fine brand but I think Jinhao or Hero nibs are more reliable (Hero pens tend to have QC issues not related to the nib, Jinhaos have been better overall for me but are too large and heavy). I have a version of this pen (going by the pictures) and would rate the nib as decent but not spectacular (I plan to take some mylar paper to it), I like the balance better than many Chinese FPs but it's not a $20 pen when there are many options from Pilot and Sheaffer for that price.

Edited March 3, 2014 by WirsPlm

[Tessy Moon]

I've had a few pens from Duke and have had mixed experiences, they're generally a fine brand but I think Jinhao or Hero nibs are more reliable (Hero pens tend to have QC issues not related to the nib, Jinhaos have been better overall for me but are too large and heavy). I have a version of this pen (going by the pictures) and would rate the nib as decent but not spectacular (I plan to take some mylar paper to it), I like the balance better than many Chinese FPs but it's not a $20 pen when there are many options from Pilot and Sheaffer for that price.

 

Oh thank you for this WirsPlm! It helps a great deal!

 

Can you tell me if I can remove and replace the nib or nib & feed? I am thinking I am not going to find any pen that I like the look of more for a good price and am willing to get a quality nib & feed to replace this one because I like the look of the pen so much.

 

I was hoping these #5 nibs might work. What do you think?

 

http://meisternibs.com/steel-nibs/

 

Also what is the difference between the ones that say "IPG" and the ones that don't? I am guessing that IPG stands for "Iridium Point German" or something like that? (Please correct me if I am wrong, it is a total guess and I really don't understand it anyway!)

 

Is there somewhere else I can look for other nib/nib & feed that would work well with this pen? I am really clueless as to where to buy nibs except for the Goulet ones, but they are too big for this pen (I asked them).

 

Thank you again for the help - I can't express how grateful I am!!!

[WirsPlm]

 

Oh thank you for this WirsPlm! It helps a great deal!

 

Can you tell me if I can remove and replace the nib or nib & feed? I am thinking I am not going to find any pen that I like the look of more for a good price and am willing to get a quality nib & feed to replace this one because I like the look of the pen so much.

 

I was hoping these #5 nibs might work. What do you think?

 

http://meisternibs.com/steel-nibs/

 

Also what is the difference between the ones that say "IPG" and the ones that don't? I am guessing that IPG stands for "Iridium Point German" or something like that? (Please correct me if I am wrong, it is a total guess and I really don't understand it anyway!)

 

Is there somewhere else I can look for other nib/nib & feed that would work well with this pen? I am really clueless as to where to buy nibs except for the Goulet ones, but they are too big for this pen (I asked them).

 

Thank you again for the help - I can't express how grateful I am!!!

Always happy to share what I've learned, I wouldn't be where I am without others sharing their expertise after all!

 

Turns out the nib and feed are just friction fit, I was able to grab the nib and feed easily (first finger on the nib, thumb on the bottom of the feed, grab and pull). If it's a #5 nib, I think xfountainpens.com sells several of those (I know they sell many replacement nibs for various Chinese pens), I think Fountain Pen Revolution also sells #5 nibs (they're in India, so the shipping may take a while).

 

IPG does stand for Iridium Point Germany, but that's a useless marketing phrase anyway, so it really doesn't matter to the nib quality.

Edited March 4, 2014 by WirsPlm

[Tessy Moon]

Always happy to share what I've learned, I wouldn't be where I am without others sharing their expertise after all!

 

Turns out the nib and feed are just friction fit, I was able to grab the nib and feed easily (first finger on the nib, thumb on the bottom of the feed, grab and pull). If it's a #5 nib, I think xfountainpens.com sells several of those (I know they sell many replacement nibs for various Chinese pens), I think Fountain Pen Revolution also sells #5 nibs (they're in India, so the shipping may take a while).

 

IPG does stand for Iridium Point Germany, but that's a useless marketing phrase anyway, so it really doesn't matter to the nib quality.

 

 

Thank you!

It is good to know the nib can be replaced!!!

 

How does one measure if a nib is a #5 or a #6, etc.?

 

Also, how do you like the nib on your pen? Does it have any problems? Or does it write smoothly?

 

Thank you again so much! I really am grateful to be able to talk to someone who already owns the pen and can give me advice on it!!!

[WirsPlm]

 

 

Thank you!

It is good to know the nib can be replaced!!!

 

How does one measure if a nib is a #5 or a #6, etc.?

 

Also, how do you like the nib on your pen? Does it have any problems? Or does it write smoothly?

 

Thank you again so much! I really am grateful to be able to talk to someone who already owns the pen and can give me advice on it!!!

I don't know what the measurements are for size, I generally don't replace the nibs in my Chinese pens (just smooth them if there are problems), but I know I've seen that information around somewhere in this subforum, you can probably find it on search. The nib on this pen writes smoothly enough, but there's a kind of hesitancy or drag to it, it's not precisely scratchy but it doesn't feel great (ink selection will probably help a lot here, or opening the tines a bit), it doesn't look like a candidate for smoothing so the problem is probably that it's a dry pen.

Edited March 5, 2014 by WirsPlm

[Tessy Moon]

I don't know what the measurements are for size, I generally don't replace the nibs in my Chinese pens (just smooth them if there are problems), but I know I've seen that information around somewhere in this subforum, you can probably find it on search. The nib on this pen writes smoothly enough, but there's a kind of hesitancy or drag to it, it's not precisely scratchy but it doesn't feel great (ink selection will probably help a lot here, or opening the tines a bit), it doesn't look like a candidate for smoothing so the problem is probably that it's a dry pen.

 

 

Thank you so much Wirsplm!

 

How do you smooth a nib?

[WirsPlm]

 

 

Thank you so much Wirsplm!

 

How do you smooth a nib?

Short answer is that you use various grades of jewelers sandpaper (like Micromesh) and mylar paper to grind away bumps and ridges and shape the nib into a perfect shape, the long answer is pretty involved because there's all kinds of ways to do it and it's tricky to get right (can remove the tipping entirely pretty easily if you don't know what you're doing). There's many threads on nib smoothing in the general subforums that are a good place to look for info, it's something that can ruin the pen if you don't get it quite right so I suggest reading up thoroughly and getting a few very, very cheap ebay pens to practice with before trying it on a pen you care about. I'm partial to the Goulet's smoothing kit that has a loupe (jewelers magnifying glass to see the nib), micromesh for heavy duty grinding and mylar paper for smaller issues (I mostly use this, micromesh can mess up a nib in no time).

 

 

I think smoothing isn't the answer for my Duke because the pen doesn't feel like that's the problem when I write with it, the surface feels fine it's just that there's not enough glide. For this I'd open up the tines (using slight pressure to increase the space between them) or hack the feed channels deeper so that more ink gets down to the tip of the nib (or, I might just PIF my pen and let someone else deal with it, some people like dry writers).

[Tessy Moon]

Short answer is that you use various grades of jewelers sandpaper (like Micromesh) and mylar paper to grind away bumps and ridges and shape the nib into a perfect shape, the long answer is pretty involved because there's all kinds of ways to do it and it's tricky to get right (can remove the tipping entirely pretty easily if you don't know what you're doing). There's many threads on nib smoothing in the general subforums that are a good place to look for info, it's something that can ruin the pen if you don't get it quite right so I suggest reading up thoroughly and getting a few very, very cheap ebay pens to practice with before trying it on a pen you care about. I'm partial to the Goulet's smoothing kit that has a loupe (jewelers magnifying glass to see the nib), micromesh for heavy duty grinding and mylar paper for smaller issues (I mostly use this, micromesh can mess up a nib in no time).

 

 

I think smoothing isn't the answer for my Duke because the pen doesn't feel like that's the problem when I write with it, the surface feels fine it's just that there's not enough glide. For this I'd open up the tines (using slight pressure to increase the space between them) or hack the feed channels deeper so that more ink gets down to the tip of the nib (or, I might just PIF my pen and let someone else deal with it, some people like dry writers).

 

 

Thank you for this awesome reply!!! I am not sure if I am ready yet to try to smooth nibs, it sounds very challenging...I don't think I would do very good at it, but it is good to know it is an option. Maybe one day I'll give it a try.

 

I just want to thank you again for all your help and answering all my questions above & beyond! Thank you tons!!!