Review: Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
The Duke 209 is an extremely affordable fountain pen that comes with a fude nib.

Most sellers on eBay (from China) are selling this pen around US $10 with shipping included. That is a very good deal. The pens are more expensive on Amazon.

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
The fude nib is basically a nib bent near the tip. It's a specialty nib designed for Asian calligraphy, and is capable of thick and thin strokes depending on how you hold the pen instead of relying on pressure.

Previous pens that were reviewed on the blog that have the fude nib are the Duke Confucius Compound Art Fountain Pen, Hero 501-1 fountain pen, Sailor Special Script Calligraphy Pen, other Hero and Sailor pens.

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
The fountain pen is made of stainless steel with a nicely polished smooth surface. There's actually a black version body also. The metal grain texture goes around the barrel and cap. The spring-loaded clip is chrome finished.

The main downside with this pen is that the smooth barrel is a bit slippery to grip. This is one of the most slippery pens I've used.

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
At the tail end of the cap, the words 'Duke' and '209' are stamped onto the chrome finished band that goes around.

It's quite a lightweight for a metal pen. It feels well balanced on its own and when posted. Construction quality is decent enough.

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
Cap is the click-on type. When uncapped, it reveals the chrome finished grip. Notice the fingerprint on the chrome surface or the reflection of me taking the photo?

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
Design of the nib is nothing too striking. There's just the logo which looks like a crown, beneath it writes DUKE 22KGP, which I think it means 22K Gold Plated. It doesn't look gold plated to me though with the silver colour.

The fude nib of the 209 has a smooth bent curvature. The nib glides smoothly on the paper. Ink flow seems good enough to keep up with the bold ink strokes that it delivers. One thing about cheap pens is you don't really know when the feed is going to fail you. But for around US $10, it's a good risk to take.

Duke 209 Calligraphy Fountain Pen with Fude Nib
The pen comes with a converter and two disposable ink cartridges in a simple paper box. I've read reviews commenting that the converter can be loose but not so for my case.


Here are the different type of strokes that the nib is able to produce.

In the top left box, note the thick and thin strokes from my quick sketching. In the bottom right box, the tapered ends are created with short strokes as I lift the nib from the paper. The nib can be quite broad at certain sections of the bent so it's also great for extra thick strokes, or for blocking in small areas with black.

The quality of the lines aren't too different from Hero pens with fude nibs.

Drawn with Hero 207 fountain pen

Drawn with Hero 207 fountain pen

Drawn with Hero 207 fountain pen

Drawn with Hero 207 fountain pen


On Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper


On Strathmore 300 Series Watercolour Paper


On Strathmore 300 Series Watercolour Paper


The fude nib writes like a medium or broad nib. To get the thinnest stroke, you have to write with the pen vertical so that the smallest portion of the nib touches the paper. It's not among my favourite pens for writing but it is for sketching.

Conclusion

The Duke 209 fountain pen should appeal more to artists than writers. Although if you're adventurous enough, you can buy one to try for fun since it's so affordable. Downside is it is a slippery pen to grip.

It's a rather value for money pen. I just hope that it's durable.

Availability

I recommend getting from eBay where it is cheaper. You can also find it on Amazon.com.

There's also a double nib version on Amazon at www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5I12GY

Check out other fountain pen reviews at https://www.parkablogs.com/tags/fountain-pen-reviews

Comments

Hi Teo, what in do you use in the Duke 209 Fude pen? I see you have painted over with watercolors, do you use Platinum Carbon Ink? Thanks, Nora

Hi Teo!
I've recently fallen down the rabbit hole of wonders of fountain pen sketching. I'm glad Nora asked about your sketch ink because I was wondering too. I have heard Noodler's Bulletproof Black can take a while to dry, could you tell us how long you generally have to wait before using light watercolour washes over top? I have also heard if too much Noodler's Bulletproof is applied, the top layer may never truly dry. I've read nano carbon pigment inks such as Platinum Carbon Black and the more affordable Rohrer and Klingner's sketchINK Lotte are decent options for waterproofness but I hear they require more pen maintenance, and could clog. Noodler's Bulletproof sounds ideal tho so long as it doesn't dry too slowly.
Many thanks for all your reviews and amazing artworks! You've helped me decide on a Kuretake 13 with Platinum converter and a Duke 209. I'm looking forward to trying them when they arrive, but now I need to choose an ink!

Thanks for your time!
Tom

Hi Teoh....I purchased this Duke 209 pen at Amazon.ca from a company called Zyohot (Zoohot) $23.75 Cdn. It looks a bit different than your photos. The nib is very different. The clip does not have the duke logo. after first use I was unable to unscrew the barrel despite several attempts and methods. I hope I haven't purchased an inferior knock off. got any feedback for me? or suggestions to loosen the barrel threads? thanks.

In reply to by Roberta Hutchison (not verified)

@Roberta Hutchison
The Duke 209 may come with the typical fountain pen nib too. To unscrew the barrel, one trick is to use rubber band to go over the barrel, then use a piece of cloth to twist the barrel.

Hello Teoh,
I've enjoyed your reviews and bought myself the 209. It's a great pen, draws very expressively but the darn thing leaks! Out on a sketchcrawl and I had ink everywhere. I've washed it out, refilled it, tried again, but still it goes everywhere. I leave it at home now as I can't trust it out in the field. Could it be the converter? Are there different converters I could try? Looking at your converter, mine is different. I'm wondering if I have the wrong one in there.
Ta very much
Aizlynn

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