Duke Compound Art Fountain Pen

UPDATED: 8/3/14This pen is amazing overall. Its positives clearly outweigh any negatives and I'm very happy with it.Negatives:-The pen was supposed to come with its own ink and a few cartridges, but it didnt. This is not bad for me because I use these pens in order to use my ink of choice: pigmented ink by Platinum or Sailor.-The pen is really heavy and thick. The weight makes it feel fancy, but it is unnecessary in how heavy it is. They could have made it thinner and lighter.-The cap doesn't post well. It technically does post, but does a very bad job of it. You just force the cap on the back to post and it feels awful. I imagine that it will wear down part of the back of the pen over time. And if you don't push hard enough, the cap just falls off as you're using it. It also makes the pen feel really heavy. I just don't post it at all.-When I first got this pen, it would only work for a certain period of time before ink would stop flowing. If I used it heavily, with the broadest lines, it would stop working after 5 minutes. Nothing I did helped. I was on the verge of sending it back. The Pen store I bought from was great with customer service and offered to mail me a new one that they would test if I sent the pen back. They even let me send just the pen to save on weight (it would need to send back to China). But luckily, I ran one last test on the thing and it started working wonderfully. I could empty a whole converter full of ink with the broadest line and it wouldn't stop working. In other words, THERE'S A BREAK IN PERIOD. I can't say what made it start working because I tried a few different things, including diluting my ink with distilled water. EDIT: Someone commented that you might want to try using a flush w/ detergent to clean it as Chinese pens may have some sort of residue from manufacturing. I've heard this as well. I did use a mixture of water and ammonia to flush the pen with. I'm not sure what did the trick: constant usage, diluting ink, flushing pen with the cleaning mixture, or all three. Just keep in mind, if your pen doesn't work, please try some things to clean the inside of potential dust or oil. Both are very difficult to clean, so keep trying! If you can get this pen to work, it will be worth the effort, time, and price tag.- This is a weak negative, but still counts as one: the pen runs out of ink really fast. The converter should've been larger for such a fat and heavy pen. Not too big a deal since you can always refill it.-It's pretty expensive. It's not too bad in terms of fountain pens, but is expensive for an art pen.-It's not good for writing. The lines are a bit inconsistent so you'll look like you're drawing your words. It's bit like trying to write with a paint brush. Not the best experience.Positives:-The pen is like a paint brush. It does what few other pens can do. There are a couple other bent nib pens out there, but I'm sure this allows for the greatest line variation and it does so with ease.-It feels really expensive. Which it should, because it kind of is expensive.-It's one of a kind. I'll probably never see another person with this pen. There are other bent nib pens, but this one is the flashiest I've ever seen. It's a bit over the top, but some will love the design.-Artwork created with this pen will look pretty unique. It's not quite a paintbrush, but also not quite a pen. I love this effect. If you play with it, you'll learn techniques that can imitate a paint brush. Entire drawings with this pen can look like you used multiple tools. That is exactly the convenience that I was looking for in a pen and I finally found it.The negatives are nothing compared to the positives. I'm very happy I spent the money on this pen. I fill it with pigmented ink from Platinum and will probably try Sailor's pigmented ink as well.I have a few other fountain pens as well. I have a flexible nib pen from Platinum and another bent nib pen from Sailor. Neither can match up to what this mighty pen can do. I love this thing.

This pen is fake clearly because It doesn't have the obvious confucius or chinese characters on the cap. Do not buy.

Very well made of quality materials, big, heavy, beautiful. The long nib (about 3.5 mm) is at a 120 degree angle with a cover shield to aid in flow, and allows great width variation in Horizontal lines. Very wet, high flow, thick, dense lines possible. However, it's converter has the smallest tank capacity I've seen in a fountain pen, so it runs out of ink rapidly. You can't make it through one day of moderate use without running out of ink. I don't think cartridges are an option. It works well dipping if doing lots of heavy inking.

I wasn't to reluctant to buy a Chinese made fountain pen as my experience has been that they tend to be a great writing instrument with great craftsmanship. When I first got the shipment I knew it was going to be something special. It comes double boxed and the inner box acts as the storage box for desk top. The pen is hefty and every peice is tight fitting. The nib looks awkward but when you write with it you will be pleasantly surprised. My disappointment, If Duke would put just a little more umph! and use 14 kt. gold nibs and gold filling on the barrel instead of the nickle, it would compete hands down with any Monte Blanc I own.The Bamboo is beautiful and very fitting for a Chinese pen maker. It is much lighter in color than the picture represents. I'm ordering another while I can get it. You should too!

Only received the box, but no fountain pen. What a disappointing purchase.

The workmanship and packaging of this pen are first rate. It comes in a substantial black lacquered, hinged box (at least it looks like this), wrapped with a cleaning cloth and inside another cardboard box. The pen itself is superbly made. Fit and finish is excellent. This is not your everyday writing pen, however, as the line, depending on how you hold the pen, can be 1/8" wide. I will use it to sign my books at signing events and it will be perfect for this. Calligraphers might love this pen, too. Smooth, smooth, smooth.

This is a stunning pen. The silver etching on a black finish is magnificent. An impressive surprise was it came in a beautiful black box that is also etched with a beautiful design. The long-footed bent nib allows you to produce several line widths for expressive writing or creative sketching. This nib could replace 3 pens of various line widths. It is a large barreled, heavy pen that might fit a man's hand better than mine. It's a little too heavy for me when posted up, but the unposted pen feels nicely weighted to me.

Love this pen. Nice weight and great for sketching.