Lanxivi Duke 551 Confucius Fude Nib Fountain Pen Bent Nib Natural Bamboo Medium to Broad Art Handwriting Drawing Calligraphy Pen

This pen is not for the feint hearted, it is a big and heavy pen. I have now had the pen for a couple of months, it's becoming more familiar with each use, and I'm still learning all its possibilities. I'm very impressed with the pen. I struggle to find any negatives. The 551 has been around for several years (earliest review 2012) and is available in a couple of variations so be careful where you buy it. This later version has resolved many of the earlier issues. My pen is perfect, so here are the things to look out for: screw on cap, extra detail on the sleeve of Confucius, and a large Duke converter. I was only interested in the Fude nib so didn't buy it with a box. If you can afford it, I recommend buying the box as well. I had seen many reviews before I bought the pen and almost all come with high commendation particularly from other artists. It's a personal choice if you prefer light or heavier pens for art, personally the heavier pens gives me a steadier line and also works well with calligraphy. The Fude nib was not designed for normal cursive writing but it still handles it well when writing at a higher angle. Writing with the nib upside down also produces a consistent smooth XF line. The Fude nib is meant to be used for Asian characters so it is capable of replicating brush strokes. It does this well and is great for art since it gives lots of line variation and expression when drawing . This nib has three tines (2 slits) to allow more ink flow and also has an overfeed which collects more ink and drives it to the nib. When used as a dip pen with pigment inks, the overfeed holds quite a lot of ink. The ink flow with this nib is capable of drawing fast. This is my first Fude nib and lucky for me it appears to be give the widest line of any Fude nib. I suspect I would be disappointed had I bought any other Fude nib. Duke has done a nice job on the finish of the pen, especially the bamboo. I like the finish on my Duke 552 and the finish on the 551 is just as impressive, it looks good and feels good. The cap posts securely but I find the balance of the pen is perfect without posting. I enjoy the pen when used for writing, but much more so for drawing and calligraphy.

Duke 551 Confucius Fude Nib Fountain Pen Bent Nib Nature Bamboo Medium to Broad Art Handwriting Drawing Calligraphy Pen This is a very fine pen. The construction is very solid. It is a large and very heavy pen. Posting the pen is quite easy, however I would never do that. The pen is already heavy and the weight and balance un-posted works well for me. I was able to balance the pen in my hand and it felt like an extension of my fingers (very nice feel). Once I posted the pen, the balance was off (back heavy) and I could not control the pen.Then pen has some beautiful markings on the cap and the body is designed nicely in bamboo. My en is a twist cap. The selling point of this pen is the nib. The "Fude" nib means that it's bent and this allows for a wide range of line variation. The pen has 2 slits and 3 tines and one tab that collect an enormous amount of ink and helps the ink flow in large quantities. This pen is a wet juicy writer. In fact you will have to wait a long time for the ink to dry, especially if you are using the pen for coloring or drawing. The pen can be used as a dip pen or you can use the included converter. Be aware, if you travel with this pen, bring plenty of extra ink. I use it primarily as a dip pen when I'm writing at my desk. If you use the converter, you will be filling it constantly. There is a steep learning curve for me using this pen as the line variation depends on how you hold it. I do not draw but I write with sharp curt lines. But I get tons of character in my writing. The pen is very expressive, very striking and quite unique for my fast writing style. I think the pen is a great value for it's price and it's function. The only thing to worry about is the ik taking so long to dry. If you are rushing, you will have a mess.

Very large and moderately heavy pen. Very good all round pen for writing, sketching and shading due to its extra large Fude nib. Fun pen to use.

This pen is pretty large, and the one I bought came with a fude nib. That means it's upturned at the tip, in a very pronounced way. It's good for certain times of calligraphy, sketching, or medium to large writing. The pen works very well, feels good in the hand. It's a fairly heavy pen, but it feels balanced in the hand. I particularly enjoy sketching with it. The nib isn't overly wet -- it's a little bit on the dry side, but that means you have a lot of control with your drawing. If you need a fast wet sketching experience, it responds very well to dipping. Please only use fountain pen ink in this pen. If you need it for art, there are fountain pen safe waterproof inks made by Noodlers (Noodlers Black), deAtramentis (Document Black), etc. But don't use 'calligraphy ink' or 'india ink' in a fountain pen or you will ruin it.

I bought this for an art class. I had never used a fountain pen prior. The instructor showed us how to fill the pen and how to work with it. Ytube also had good clips on these processes. At first, I had trouble using the pen and keeping a regular flow of ink, but in less than a week this is much better. I am told this is typical of a new pen. Now the lines are consistently thin or wide, based on how you hold the pen. You also have to get used to the weight if this pen. I really like the look of the ink in my drawings and will continue to use this regularly.

I want to like this pen so much, it is a giant Fude and can lay down really big lines. HOWEVER, I had to return the pen numerous times because apparently most of the ones that ship out do not actually work. It’s pretty ridiculous, but only one out of six 551’s I’ve tried from various outlets works as a fountain pen. The others would not feed from the converter, you had to literally force the ink out by twisting the converter over and over until it emptied, to the point I didn’t really even want to screw the barrel back on because I knew it would have to come off again right away. So that is apparently normal, according to my informal yet pretty extensive research. You have about a 16% chance of getting a pen that works. If that happens, good for you, enjoy it. That said, I have found reliable alternatives. I highly recommend the Pilot Parallel for calligraphy, it is incredible, available in six different sizes, and you can get 3 of them for the price of one of these. I guarantee the Pilot will work. It’s crazy that Duke is trying to compete in this space with such terrible QC.

Nib seems uneven, it skips a lot so no ink lays down in the paper

Very attractive pen. It's hefty in construction, but easy to hold and write with. I wasn't sure how to use the refill the ink reservoir as it didn't come with directions, but an internet search solved that problem. I also wish it came with an ink cartridge; but i gave it five stars as it's a very nice pen at a fair price.

It is a bit expensive but go for it! It writes smoothly and gives me the best line variation of all my pens! It doesn't railroad or catch on fibres. It is on the heavier side but I like the feeling to it as it is so thick. It has got a nice design! I use this pen for drawing and writing. I use this pen with the Noodler's Black Waterproof Fountain Pen Ink, the pen does a good job with ink flow so it doesn't bleed a lot on plain paper. Get this pen it is worth it!

Em um primeiro momento hesitei se deveria adquirir mais uma caneta tinteiro. No entanto, precisava de uma com a ponta especial para exercitar a caligrafia chinesa. Ao receber a caneta fiquei impressionado com a qualidade. Bem robusta, com detalhes delicados e tem ótima fluidez de tinta. Tanto para caligrafia quanto para desenhos, esta caneta é maravilhosa.

It is a heavy pen, but confortable even posted. It is a little finicky and it took a few yards of nib on paper to brake it in, to a good end. It discriminates between different inks, Pelikan brilliant Black not so good, Montblanc Blue very good. Worth the money and effort. Works well, better even as a dip pen. I use it for prospective drawings.

Able to draw thin to pretty thick lines. Only complain is the pen is so heavy to hold.

I love the marks I cab get with this pen and the Fudé nib. I had been wanting a Fudé nib pen for a long time and saw a few sketchers blog about this one and they were absolutely on track about it. It is not a pen for tentative sketchers as the marks are bold - but if you love experimenting and allowing yourself the freedom to go with flow (pun intended) then this is the pen for you. It is heavy, but gorgeous to look at as well. Fantastic price.