Duke Fountain Pens

[Pichak]

I have 2 Duke FPs are 209 and 962 both are nice pens. For me its build quality and design are much better than most of Chinese FP.

[lovemy51]

i own several Dukes and i think they are better made chinese pens. my fav is the Spider -seen in the pic here. funky looking, a bit top heavy if the cap is posted, but interesting looking (not to call it pretty) and a great M nib!

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/P1010252_zpssr1bcv53.jpg

[tdzieman]

I have found Duke to be my favorite Chinese pens

[ParkerDuofold]

IT LOOKS LIKE DUKE's ARE MADE BY JINHAO...

 

Check out this e-bay ad for a Duke and tell me it isn't a Jinhao X-750 in drag:

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Lanxivi-Duke-Green-Fountain-Pen-Interchangeable-Calligraphy-Bent-Nib-Pen-Coffee/112211943945?_trksid=p2053742.c100463.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150527183144%26meid%3D60ea7f1218024effa07e8c8125c3d3c9%26pid%3D100463%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

 

- Anthony

[Bluey]

IT LOOKS LIKE DUKE's ARE MADE BY JINHAO...

 

Check out this e-bay ad for a Duke and tell me it isn't a Jinhao X-750 in drag:

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Lanxivi-Duke-Green-Fountain-Pen-Interchangeable-Calligraphy-Bent-Nib-Pen-Coffee/112211943945?_trksid=p2053742.c100463.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150527183144%26meid%3D60ea7f1218024effa07e8c8125c3d3c9%26pid%3D100463%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

 

- Anthony

I don't think they are the same company

[ParkerDuofold]

I don't think they are the same company

Hello Bluey,

 

I don't think they're the same company either.

 

But what I do think is that Jinhao makes Duke's pens, (or at least some of them), the same way Whirlpool used to make Kenmore appliances back in the '80s.

 

- Anthony

Edited February 5, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[Bluey]

Hello Bluey,

 

I don't think they're the same company either.

 

But what I do think is that Jinhao makes Duke's pens, (or at least some of them), the same way Whirlpool used to make Kenmore appliances back in the '80s.

 

- Anthony

It's possible I guess, but aren't most pens in drag? I understand totally where you're coming from about Kenmore and Whirlpool as I know this is common.

I've not heard any whispers of them Jinhao making for Duke before, but that doesn't mean that it's not true.

I've gathered that there are only a small handful of separate Chinese companies, with many from the same company merely operating under different brand names. Jinhao and Baoer are from the same company, for instance.

 

But from what I've gathered so far, Hero, Jinhao, and Duke have their own factories.

[lovemy51]

IT LOOKS LIKE DUKE's ARE MADE BY JINHAO...

 

Check out this e-bay ad for a Duke and tell me it isn't a Jinhao X-750 in drag:

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/Lanxivi-Duke-Green-Fountain-Pen-Interchangeable-Calligraphy-Bent-Nib-Pen-Coffee/112211943945?_trksid=p2053742.c100463.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150527183144%26meid%3D60ea7f1218024effa07e8c8125c3d3c9%26pid%3D100463%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

 

- Anthony

looks like it might be on a diet as well, cus it's thinner.

anyways, i think duke was the first to come out with that "crest" ornament thing on their clips, then i started seeing Jinhao with it .

[basterma]

So I have this theory that the multitude of Chinese brands might not be separate brands, but names for batches of pens. So a line of pens with what we see as a brand name, may just refer to a production run. Or production runs made to a certain level of quality or target market. A bit like how some East German cameras had different branding for different markets, but were all made by the same set of factories.

[Mech-for-i]

Likely some level of truth with brands like Jinhao and Baoer but definitely not the case with big names like Hero ( for their own range ) nor some of the local market only brand like M&G. Batch production is also not a rare thing in fountain pen nor even pen manufacturing. Its a proven way to economize on scale of production and also rationalizing the process. One thing though there is something called OEM and the like of Hero do a lot of these and when you see similar models with different name they are more likely to be OEM manufactured by source other than thr name itself. Say many Picasso are made by Hero and consequently there are Hero models that are pretty much almost the same.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Mech-for-i

[Rhytre]

The Duke D2 (the one pictured) is significantly different from the 750--primarily in having an old-fashioned "bell" grip rather than the 750's three-point grip, I keep a D2 in my rotation because I love the grip, but I'm not a fan of Duke generally. I have a pair of 209s that are nearly impossible to tune, but my Chaplin is delightful. I also like some of the Uranus models as writers, even if the designs are pedestrian. A word on nibs--Duke's come from Bavaria, but when you see the "iridium Genius Germany" nibs be warned that the only way to be sure it's a German nib is if it says "made in Germany." One can label a nib South Flanders or Neverland--without the "made in"-- without upsetting the various trade conventions.

[Bluey]

A word on nibs--Duke's come from Bavaria, but when you see the "iridium Genius Germany" nibs be warned that the only way to be sure it's a German nib is if it says "made in Germany." One can label a nib South Flanders or Neverland--without the "made in"-- without upsetting the various trade conventions.

That still doesn't always mean something is made in the place that it states.

[pensuplier]

Each pen was assembled with many accesseries ，nib ,black section , ring , cap ,barrel and so on . But jinhao and duke do not produce these accesseries . There are many factories in China made these accesseries . Many montblanc pens were also made in China .The quality of the accesseries depends on the price . The whole accesseries for a single pen may come from more than 7 factories . When all the accesseries are ready , jinhao and duke assemble it . As i know ,the duke and picasso are better than jinhao ,but jinhao is more popular due to its pirce .

[KellyMcJ]

The packaging that my Duke Sapphire came in says "Shanghai G-Crown Fountain Pen Co., LTD."

 

The cartridges that came with it are Jinhao, and list www.jinhaopen.com

 

The pamphlet that came with it lists www.dukepen.com

 

I'm not sure if that clears things up or makes it more confusing.

I'm really impressed with this pen, and as mine is the snap cap version I hope it doesn't wear out quickly as others have stated (this is 2017 and that post was a few years old, maybe they have fixed that issue by now.)

[Bluey]

The packaging that my Duke Sapphire came in says "Shanghai G-Crown Fountain Pen Co., LTD."

 

Interesting. I looked them up and on the website it says this for their company profile:

 

 

 

Shanghai G. Crown Fountain Pen Co., Ltd.

• Total Employees: 101 - 200 People
• Annual Revenue: US$1 Million - US$2.5 Million
• Main Markets: North America, South America, Eastern Europe

Edited December 25, 2017 by Bluey