Black Forest Series Fountain Pen

This Pen is Beautiful! It feels cool, comfortable and well balanced in the hand. Whether writing with high pressure or low, writing fast or slow, the ink flows evenly and so smooth is the feel while writing, even on common notebook paper. Although this pen isn't heavy, it has a bit of weight that shows it's of very good quality. The color is vibrant and even, the look is elegant, to write with, it is truly fun. The slender body of this pen makes it easy to hold and puts minimal stress on my hand, even after writing for over 2 hours. When the cap comes off after writing, it makes a fun popping sound and each time the cap is replaced after writing, it has a snappy click every time. The bottled ink and cartridges which are purchased separately were very inexpensive. This pen has given back the joy of writing to me! It feels like the quality meant for a King with the price that's affordable for a Pauper!

I have used fountain pens for about 45 years and have been very happy with my Black Forest pens. I have two that I carry with me and one that stays at my writing desk. I have had fountain pens made by Pilot, Parker, Scheaffer, and several other brands over the years and honestly can't remember any I like as well as this pen even though many were significantly more expensive and supposedly high quality. The Black forest pen has a comfortable weight and is made of a durable metal that is textured and does not feel slick. The nib produces a crisp, clean line with a steady ink flow. I have used Hong Dian ink in cartridges and the included converter and find it to be a quality ink. I use my pens daily and have never had a nib wear out from use but, as with any pen, they can get damaged if dropped. That brings me to my only gripe. which is not with the pen itself but with the availability of replacement nibs, which adds an unnecessary expense. The nibs are only sold in packs that have a combination of sizes and types. You cannot simply buy the one nib you need or even a pack with multiples of the same nib. I prefer the extra fine nib and have had to order replacements twice because I dropped a pen and damaged the nib. Because of the way they are sold I had to spend extra money for nibs that sit in my desk drawer and am not likely to ever use.

Excellent value. The pen shipped quickly and was well packaged. The metal is well-formed, with no sharp edges or sloppy engraving. I picked Extra Fine because this is to be an EDC/Work pen, and I will be using cheap paper. I have it filled with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts, and it writes wonderfully. I got the classic black for a sleek, professional look. There are a lot of other colors available, and I plan on picking up a few of the other colorways. It has a good size, long enough to use unposted even in my larger hands, but is made to be posted and writes like a dream when posted. The converter is fine. Good quality, but not the nicest nor the best converter I have handled. Just a note, this takes the 3.4mm size cartridges; most cartridges and converters that are listed as international will be either 2.4 or 2.6mm. Make sure you get the correct size, should you look for replacements. It doesn't ship with any cartridges, which is a bummer, but does include a converter.

This pen looks great. It really does. I absolutely love how it looks and how it feels in my hand. It’s not too big around, the grip isn’t weirdly-shaped, and the weight is perfect with or without the cap posted. For a pen at this price point, around $15, you would be hard pressed to find a better pen. Nothing about it looks cheap, and not does it feel cheap. It’s as solid as they come, and writes so, so smoothly that I genuinely can’t think of any pen I have enjoyed writing with more. This pen is probably the smoothest of any I have used and I have experienced no scratching whatsoever, which was a most welcome surprise. Having never heard of Hong Dian before, I assumed it was your average, run of the mill generic Chinese manufacturer. There are plenty of those on Amazon these days, but after a bit of reading I realized this wasn’t the case here. I am particular about writing utensils, but I was not disappointed with this pen. I am, however, a bit disappointed that it isn’t a Japanese-style extra fine nib. That is the only thing keeping it from being a five-star product, in my opinion, but that isn’t a “defect,” it’s just a different style. It writes closer to a typical fine nib than a true, Japanese-style extra-fine, but maybe most people in the western world don’t have the preference for super fine lines like I do. For a comparison picture, I used the closest pen I have to matching it – a Pilot Metropolitan with a medium nib, although I have very slightly modified it – and also a Platinum Preppy in an extra fine (02) nib so you can see the difference in this EF and the Japanese-style EF. For ink I am using Pelikan Brilliant Black in both the Pilot and the pen I am reviewing (Hong Dian Forest Series, stainless model) and Platinum blue-black cartridges in the Preppy. I had just cleaned the Preppy and it still had a dab of water trapped inside, so the ink looks a bit lighter than usual. Anyway, I definitely recommend this pen. It really absolutely perfect, I just wish the nib was closer to a Japanese extra fine.

Edited December 2025: After two months, the clip broke off... This was my EDC pen, but I need the clip in order to carry it! ———— Original review in October 2025: The nib writes pretty smoothly, but this EF nib writes almost as large as Lamy Safari F nib. I did have a hard time getting the ink to flow for the first time, but after that I’ve had no issues. The case material feels smooth and premium, but it did come with a small scratch. Fine for me since I’ll be daily carrying this, but might be a turn off to some. The weight and balance is fine unposted, if a bit light, but writing feels extra nice with the cap posted. Overall, extremely good value, especially considering the built in converter. I’ll probably get a second one in another color to try out some of my other inks.

FYI, this is my first ever fountain pen, so I have zero experience with fountain pens. But I have always been a pen enthusiast and have tried many different kinds. I like to save money on nice pens, and this seems like the perfect way. Personally, on this one I love the metal feel, weight (it’s heavier in my hand than most pens), and the matte finish (I chose the matte black pen with the finest tip). It’s perfectly well constructed for my tastes (I don’t notice any issues whatsoever), seems sturdy, and it’s fairly intuitive when you take it apart. Still, having instructions is helpful. It’s possible I missed it, but there were no instructions enclosed, so I had to go back to the Amazon page for a bit of help putting the first cartridge in. But it was very easy, and now I won’t have any trouble going forward. After inserting the first ink cartridge (bought separately from the same brand), I swung the pen around a bit to see if any ink would fly out, and none did. I use everything pretty gently, so maybe some users would have to be careful; I’m not sure. The ink flow is smooth and gorgeous. It doesn’t bleed even on cheap paper yet it flows perfectly. I’m a big fan and will probably use this pen all the time. The ink refills are even super affordable. I can’t wait! I’m considering if I’ll like to buy a few more of these pens plus ink in different colors for variety. I wouldn’t have to deal with my disposable pens anymore. It always bothers me to collect so many plastic throwaways, but I love pens, both for art and for writing. These are also much more convenient than my dip pens.

I rarely do reviews, but I just purchased my 5th Hong Dian (that's how it's written on the cap) fountain pen. As much as I don't want everyone to clamber on board and drive up the price of these little beauties, I've gotta give this company some love for creating a really well-made fountain pen on the cheap. I've tried several other 'affordable' brands of fountain pens and have been, generally, not WOWed. I have three go-to brands in this category, of which Hong Dian is one. The colors in the 'Forest' are more muted in person than they appear online. The green is almost a drab olive. However, the image of Purple Forest (as well as the blue) is the closest to a true representation of the actual barrel color. I was originally a bit disappointed in the barrel colors, but I've quickly gotten past that. The pens are actually pretty dang good! I was skeptical about the quality but my first one was on deep discount. I've since purchased 4 more of these pens. They work beautifully out of the box with no fussing over the nib. The ink converters come with the pens, making this an insanely good value for the money. I have a thing for fine nibs and Hong Dian does not disappoint. The EF nibs are the thinnest I've encountered among any brand. The EF are advertised as .04mm (their Fine at .05mm) although they feel like .035mm. The ink flow is perfect, with no skips or bloops. Although, I admit that I occasionally get some minor skipping with the bent nib if that pen hasn't been used in a day or so. The bent nib requires constant use. (I hate to say this, but I prefer the Sailor Fude bent nib and the Pilot stub nib to the Hong Dian bent nib because of that skipping.) The EF nibs, though, write perfectly even if they haven't been used for a few days, like over a long weekend. While quality inks are preferred, the Forest line still writes like a dream when used with cheaper inks. They create thin lines that are as equally suited to ink sketching as they are to letter-writing. In a nutshell, I've got a small collection of fountain pens. The wallet can only stretch so far so I've enjoyed trying out some of the different affordable lines. I am a big fan of the Pilot Metro and Dryden Designs. Among my three favorite lines of Affordable Pens, Hong Dian vies for first place with Pilot Metro. Dryden Designs have rich, creamy colors and a sioothing weight behind them. Their Fine nibs feel a little thick for my taste, but there's definitely a place for them in daily life. Pilot Metro are a good value, come in a variety of fun colors, and write beautifully. Their Fine nibs are true and produce a thin line. The Pilot Metro are rather light, however, compared to Dryden and Hong Dian. The Hong Dian Forest pens weigh only slightly more than the Pilot Metros, but the weight of the cap on the end of the pens give the impression of them being far more heavy. This not a complaint, as they are well-balanced and the weight of the pen is welcome when writing fine, detailed lines. I have surprised myself because, over the course of the pandemic, Hong Dian's Forest line has become one of my favorite pens. After a year of using these pens, I'm even happier now with them than I was in the beginning. I use them daily and, although I'd hate to lose one, they are affordable enough to replace should a Terrible Thing happen to one. I've even branched out to try other Hong Dian fountain pen lines based on the success of the Forest line. I am super pleased with this pen and highly recommend it, particularly if you enjoy EF nibs.

It was a decent pen, I got it and my father bought me the replacement nibs. Upon attempting to turn the nib counterclockwise to change it out, it was near impossible to do by hand. Upon finally getting the nib to turn and come out, instead of unscrewing, the feed and nib separated from the part you screw in, as if it just outright refuses to come out as suggested. (So, the replacement nibs will not fit because a piece of the first one was still lodged in the nib housing part) I was easily able to put them back in and get it working again, so no fuss no muss, but I really would have liked to be able to use those, that was my biggest gripe. This is easily the most popular pen of this brand and I would like if it said "NIB NOT REPLACEABLE" if that was the case. If it is supposed to be replaceable, I'm not happy about that. I'm also not a fan of the washing. If you do not flush this pen every other day, it WILL cease to work properly until you do, after a bit of time. It can be very prone to skipping after extended periods, which is fine for writing, but as an artist getting into fountain pens, it can be incredibly frustrating to stop drawing, get up, unclog the pen, sit down, and then have to do it again roughly an hour later. I also seem to have bad luck with not scraping up debris from the paper, although that is likely a result of the cotton-heavy paper I use and not the pen itself. The inks I use are speedball and rotring so I know that's not the issue. I love the easiness of the screw-style feed, I think that system should be standard across all fountain pens. you should have a little napkin ready but usually it shouldn't drip if clean. Never used cartridges, maybe it's better, IDK. The metal frame is durable and reliable, no need to worry about cracking or snapping this thing. If the cap is on, you could probably run it over with a car and still use it. Overall, I did have fun learning about how fountain pens work, and it gets the job done. (With some work.) If you want to try fountain pens to see if you like or dislike them and whether or not you can put up with maintaining them, I would recommend this pen for that purpose. If you want a workhorse pen or are an illustrator, I suggest investing a bit more for something hardier. It's a good enough working pen for a bargain price. Nothing more, nothing less.

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This pen is excellent. I got the Extra Fine Matte Black version, and ive only had it for a day or so.... So i dont know how itll hold up in a week, month, year etc, but it feels solid. I have it inked up with Diamine OxBlood and it writes very smooth. Ive seen others say that it can be scratchy, so i don't know if i got lucky or they got unlucky. But from my experience it is smooth. Smoother then some pens that cost many times more. The cap has a soft cushioned close followed by a nice sharp click. The cap also posts very nicely. It sits flush against the body at the top, though i don't like to use my pens posted. This pen is lovely either way. The only gripe i have with the pen is that the step between the grip and the body is a bit steep. I tend to hold my pens very low down so the small ridge that the cap clicks into it a bit noticeable but its nothing too bad. Like my Pilot Metropolitan has a larger step, but it also has a longer grip. But thats really not a deal breaker. In closing, this pen is lovely, i really recommend it. I would recommend it if it was double the price. I like this better then pens that are 4x the price. Its a nice pen.

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Brilliant for drawing and sketching.

I love it. It is my favourite medium for sketching. The weight, the grip and the quality of the tips are all good