Hongdian N7 Peacock and Rabbit

[A Smug Dill]

5 hours ago, garyc said:

So that may be another of the QC variations.

 

I had three N1-S pens (and still have two), and the nib units all unscrewed readily, with nary a hint of glue, silicone paste, or what-not on the threads.

 

I have three N6 and two N7 pens, and the nib units do not unscrew on any of them, even after a long bath in 50°C water and a couple of ultrasonic cleaning cycles, even though the same treatment is usually sufficient for preparing a Sailor gripping section for disassembly.

[Dan Carmell]

I received the Month Rabbit today and was so pleased with the quality. The engravings on the cap are both well done and very cute/clever. The Rabbit/Moon art under the transparent cap finial is much nicer even than the photos. It’s not the type of detail I am usually drawn to, but it’s so neatly and imaginatively rendered it’s quite compelling. The pen is solid, filled nicely, and writes a smooth clean line. At twice the price, it would be a bargain. 

[mke]

On 5/1/2022 at 11:52 AM, Dan Carmell said:

Month Rabbit

 

 

"The Jade Rabbit, also called the Moon Rabbit, is a rabbit that lives on the moon. In Chinese folklore, it is often portrayed as a companion of the moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her."

from Wikipedia

 

While I read that the origin of the month rabbit dates back to the appearance of the pen on Hongdian's taobao store, they certainly meant to call it a moon rabbit.

 

Both names together: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004024

[A Smug Dill]

18 minutes ago, mke said:

they certainly meant to call it a moon rabbit.

 

I know, but “it is what it is” going by what is physically marked on the pen, and not the overlaid text on the marketing images that HongDian's marketing team has the opportunity to correct (or get right in the first place). If HongDian's product management team's English is so poor, but also don't know (or deign) to consult with its own marketing team or even just someone with better command of both English and Chinese, then it deserves all the ridicule it gets from making itself the butt of jokes, and we as purchasers deserve to have the products as-is since we're ordering them eyes wide open (and part of the reason for my emphasis of Month Rabbit in my posts is to ensure prospective buyers be fully aware of what they'd be getting), not something that wouldn't raise eyebrows when used in the company of fellow English speakers.

 

What I don't “wish for” is for the pens available in the market to be less ridiculous because we want to have something better and what's there is “so close yet so far” from being aesthetically pleasing without drawbacks, especially at HongDian's asking prices for sufficiently competent piston-filler writing instruments. If the stupid translation of the Chinese name of the model is the only thing truly substandard thing about the pen, then all is good.

[Dan Carmell]

I purposely used the term ‘Month Rabbit’ after reading the excellent explanation of the myth here and Smug Dill’s carefully labeled photos of the cap. I use the term affectionately because it is a very nice pen, the designer(s) should be very pleased with their effort. 
 

Someday, the relatively small numbers of this model could make it a famous and sought-after vintage pen, which will be universally known as the Month Rabbit! 😂 

[christionk]

it would be interesting if they made many more variations of the N7, like maybe all 12 chinese zodiacs ? would be interesting to own a dragon, tiger, horse, snake, rabbit, and rooster.
but this N7 is really good, i cant even understand how they made the nib this good..even smoother than some renowned japanese/ german brand lol

 

[A Smug Dill]

Squabbles about the quality of the nib grind aside, I'd prefer HongDian to offer the N1-S in all the colours that the N1 c/c-filler is offer, instead of more colourways or designs for the N7 which I find to be less enjoyable to use.

[mizgeorge]

51 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Squabbles about the quality of the nib grind aside, I'd prefer HongDian to offer the N1-S in all the colours that the N1 c/c-filler is offer, instead of more colourways or designs for the N7 which I find to be less enjoyable to use.

Agree wholeheartedly with this!

[txoko]

Dear Amazon sends out email adverts all the time suggesting things I might like.  Usually stuff I have already purchased so normally redundant and irrelevant.  So yesterday it suggested the Hong Dian N-7.  So I looked.  So I impulsively bought both the peacock and the grey in EF nib.  Then I thought I should look at this thread again since it had been a good while........... The pens are quite nice and the photos posted show them very nicely.  They each came with the tool.  The seller has these in stock as they arove in one day; most unusual, two is usually the best I can expect and Chinese pens are generally a month or more these days.  Pens and inks are pretty much even these days so the peacock will get yu-jaku (Peacock) and the Hong Dian N1 (!) where it currently resides will have to await the next influx.  The grey N-7 will get Mouse Grey (my daughter likes mice and heard me mention it once when i was looking at inks) from, I think, De Atramentis, when it arrives.  The designs and finials or end pieces or whatever they are called are most attractive and nicely done.  Ebonite feeds.  I suppose the proof will be in the pudding, but we are off to a flying start.  As usual, I plunged first then read the "directions"................ looks like it worked for a change.  Now if the beautiful finish rubs off or turns green next week..................

[A Smug Dill]

44 minutes ago, txoko said:

Ebonite feeds.

 

The feeds on the HongDian N7 are plastic. The feeds on the HongDian N6 are ebonite, and not exactly the same shape (or texture, of course) as the plastic feeds.

[txoko]

Wow!  Just looked again.  The feed on the peacock N7 definitely looks like plastic.  The feed on the grey resin one looks for all the world to me like ebonite.  Maybe it's unshiny plastic but the two don't look the same at all.

[txoko]

And now today my De Atramentis Mouse Grey ink arove and was placed into the waiting grey N7.  After writing a bit to see what the ink looked like (like its name it looks mouse grey!), I looked again at the feed.  And lo, this time it looked like it is supposed to:  plastice.  Why the change in presentation?  No idea, but at least all is right in this microcosm of the world where the N7 feeds are supposed to be plastic---and not some mishmash of this 'n that.  Now they are plastic.  Tho I have never seen a feed change its stripes like that before.  That aside, these seem like mighty fine pens for 30 bucks.

[MidSouthern-Dad]

Curiosity got the better of me, and I ordered a Peacock N7 from Amazon, with the "long knife" nib.  After I got it, I checked the piston position with Smug Dill's photograph (earlier in this set of posts), and confirmed that my piston does travel all the way up.  The piston knob is virtually frictionless!  I make sure that it is tightened securely, so that it won't turn accidentally in use.  The nib is smooth.  I find that with reverse writing, the nib is very dry and narrow, like an EEF.  At 0 degrees (vertical on the page), the nib is like a Western EF.  Then, the nib gets wider from 10 degrees off vertical, to about 45 degrees.  Beyond that, there isn't such a marked difference.  I stopped when the feed and section are about to hit the page, at about 60 degrees off vertical.  At a typical 30 to 45 degree hold, I would say it writes about a Western MF, and has an Architect grind characteristic.  That is, the vertical lines are narrow, and the horizontal lines are wider.

 

All in all, a very good purchase for $35.  And, the wrench was included in the case.

 

At least if I shell out big money in the future for a Sailor Naginata togi nib, I'll have some idea of what to expect.

[JesterKwP]

I have the "Month Rabbit" version of this pen and I absolutely adore it! I have a question for those of you that also have the pen. Mine is smooth. ULTRA smooth! It may well be the smoothest nib I own. Is this the case with all Hongdian nibs? (This is my first Hongdian pen so I have nothing to compare it to.) Is this the case with this model in particular? Or did I just luck out with my particular nib? ...I'm asking because it *shocks* me how nice, wet and smooth my nib is in this pen. I'm using Private Reserve Blue Suede in it if that makes any/much difference. It's even more smooth than the gold nib on my Lamy Studio Palladium!