‘Hongdian’ D6 with steel nib

[Dan Carmell]

Some were disappointed last fall when Hongdian’s long awaited (and several times delayed) Han Dynasty pen, the D6, was only sold in a limited number with a gold nib. The original plan was for a steel nib version to follow, but that did not happen. 
 

Today I found that the D6 is now available with a steel nib, with several changes beyond the steel gold-plated nib. First, and mostly importantly, I’m told it’s only being sold in China and that numbers are limited and the pen will not made in the future. It is available on Taobao and AliExpress but in limited numbers. 
 

Apparently, or so I am told, Hongdian was not satisfied with the quality of the pen, but they sold the pen body and nibs to a distributor—not Sally of Etsy’s Esybuy or the Amazon Asvine Store, but LT Xi Yun (Wax Seal in translation?). The “LT” in the name suggests the distributor is connected to LT Hongdian, perhaps. 
 

Significant changes have been made to the pen: the elaborate head-piece on the cap has been reduced in size and simplified, the gold and black longitudinal dividers on the cap reduced and simplified, the cap band redesigned entirely, the ink window simplified to oval windows, and the barrel, although preserving the general design and coloring, has also been redesigned considerably. 
 

To my eye, the redesigned pen is as good or better looking than the original D5, although without that massive head piece on the cap end, it’s less unique or a bit more conventional. This D6 is still a piston filler, with a stated capacity of 1.8ml. 
 

Unlike the original D6 which had no formal advertising on AliExpress, this version has an extensive photo spread with text. I translated the bulk of the advertising text, but it tended toward poetic praise for the Han Dynasty, so not very useful except the screenshot below with dimensions. 
 

The post on Reddit says they are available on Taobao for $50-60. The only vendor selling it on AliExpress is Lusfer Store, a mirror site to 365Days, for $111. They have under 20 pens. I bought one immediately out of FOMO, I confess. 

[Ambien]

Well, it's certainly a unique looking pen, if not somewhat heavy for me for writing notes. Also, I wonder if there's a big audience for gold nibs from the Chinese big brands too? I've come to accept that I'll never have a modern gold nib since costs have exploded alot in the hobby since a few years ago too. 

[Dan Carmell]

25 minutes ago, Ambien said:

Well, it's certainly a unique looking pen, if not somewhat heavy for me for writing notes. Also, I wonder if there's a big audience for gold nibs from the Chinese big brands too? I've come to accept that I'll never have a modern gold nib since costs have exploded alot in the hobby since a few years ago too. 

My impression is that there is a healthy demand inside China for gold nibbed pens made in China. Not as strong as Mont Blanc, which probably does tremendous sales there, but sufficient that small runs of gold nibbed pens sell out fairly quickly. The D6 sold out online in seconds, Chinese sales only, but it seems large numbers of the pens have popped up on the secondary market. 
 

It’s a slighter smaller pen than the D5 but several grams heavier, interestingly. The caps of both are 20 gms. The D5 posts (looks like a baton, though); the D6 does not post. 

[Ambien]

13 minutes ago, Dan Carmell said:

My impression is that there is a healthy demand inside China for gold nibbed pens made in China. Not as strong as Mont Blanc, which probably does tremendous sales there, but sufficient that small runs of gold nibbed pens sell out fairly quickly. The D6 sold out online in seconds, Chinese sales only, but it seems large numbers of the pens have popped up on the secondary market. 
 

It’s a slighter smaller pen than the D5 but several grams heavier, interestingly. The caps of both are 20 gms. The D5 posts (looks like a baton, though); the D6 does not post. 

 

Is it odd that I've always thought that many ppl bought MB because of its iconic branding over, like, other luxury FPs like Pelikan, Sailors LE colorways, Platinum LE sets, and even GvFC exists somewhere out there for sale in China probably too.