[Music] Hey, welcome back to JG3 Reviews, where I like to explore the world of fountain pens, paper, and ink, and share with you what I find and my impressions of all of those things. So today, it is going to be a pen day, but all of these pens are yet to be reviewed. So which pen is it going to be today? An early little poll here in the video: which of these pens would you be most interested in seeing me review? We have an Esterbrook SJ, a vintage pen, the Lamy 2000, a Leonardo Momento Zero that I've had for quite a while, a Pilot Custom 92, there is the Hongan N1, and the Hong Dian N9, and then let's not forget that bonus that sits over there to the side, which I also have not yet given you a review of. So which of those would you like to see sooner rather than later? And today's pen is going to be this N11 in that really nice blue or teal finish and the diamond.

facets. Now, you can get this in a few different colors and a few different machinings of the metal, but this ticked the boxes for me. This is the one that caught my eye, and looking around, I think it caught a lot of people's eye. I think this is going to be quite a popular pen in color and machining. So, let's get started first with the design of the pen. You have, of course, those Diamond facets, the rhombus, and you have that black chrome, which looks great. And again, this one with its teal finish, I just think this is a great-looking pen all around. Now, it starts up here at just a nice black chrome finish steel final. You can see there how nice and sharp the machining is. Very simple, looks good. The clip comes down into this little teardrop and has a nice spring to it. And then we come to that trim ring, which you can see is knurled still with that black chrome, and it says LT Hongdan. And then we come back around, and it has the model

number, and I do appreciate them putting that model number on the back. Thank you for that. Uh, that's always an improvement, I think, when pen companies do that. Then we come down the barrel as it tapers increasingly so in that last about 3/4 of an inch. And again, we have that polished black chrome at the end of the barrel. The pen has a nice balance to it. It is not overly heavy, even though it is an all-metal pen. That's just another example of how Hongdian is really making strides in their quality control and manufacturing and, uh, continually impressing us with these new releases. Now, this is a screw-on cap, and it takes just, look at that, not even 3/4 of a turn. So, it is a very quick-release cap. You can post it. It does post securely. I kind of find that I prefer to write with it unposted. Now, before we move on from that cap, you can see those are plastic threads that go along with the plastic insert. Dry out has not been an issue at

all for this pen, but that is plastic threads on metal threads, and the threads are flattered to reduce the wear on that plastic insert. And with the reduced number of turns, that should hold up pretty well, I would think. Now, that grip does have a couple of grooves in it, I'm sure just to keep it from being too slippery. I have not noticed this pin being slippery; it is comfortable to use. The thickness is pretty good. I'll put the specifications up here in just a second, but I find it's a very comfortable grip design, and the ergonomics of the pin, at least for my taste, quite good. Now, that brings us to the nib, and this is a familiar Hong Dean nib. It's a number six with that Chinese knot decoration. It is blackened, so it doesn't match exactly that black chrome. I think it looks fine. I think it would have been real cool if they could have matched the finish of the nib to the rest of the metal trim on the pin, but that's not the case, and that does bring

an advantage because this is a nib and nib unit that is common in several of their pens. And so, if, for example, I decided I didn't like this extra fine, I could swap it for a fine, for a medium, for a Long Blade, just by simply unscrewing this nib unit and swapping it out. And for a lot of you, that's a feature that you like in a fountain pen. But I'm very happy with this extra fine. It has served me well so far. It does have their newer number six feed. The plastic feed seems to function quite well. And then, when we open up the pen, and here we find the Hong Dian converter, which I find they function well. They do have the little plastic BB inside, and so some of you will want to remove that, which you can do. Otherwise, you can leave it, and it will serve at least somewhat as an agitator for the ink. It's just there to break the surface tension of the ink. And there is, of course, an O-ring. So overall, I really like the design and the feel.

of this pin. That matte finish feels good in the hand. It should be pretty durable, and I think that chrome trim suits it quite well. And in this size comparison, of course, we have the n11, and then the Lami Allstar in that petrol blue, the twis 580 ALR in Prussian Blue, and the teal gravitas entry. So, size is a pretty common size, a little bit longer but about the same diameter as a Lami Safari or Allstar. That kind of gives you a really good reference, very similar in size. And of course, you know, competition in the facets, we have to give the nod to most facets to that hongan, but the faceted 580, very similar size, of course, very different in weight. And of course, it's a piston pin, and the entry being kind of the narrower of the two, and surprisingly, it's actually the shortest of these pins in its uncapped and unposted length. And in the posted length, the most direct comparison I think would be to that Lami Allstar. They are very

very very close to the same. The Lomi being slightly longer than the 580. I don't really post; I just did that here for size comparison sake. And then that entry is a really deep posting, so it's usually the shortest in any of these comparisons. I tell you what, it's hard to remember sometimes just which one this is. They have put out so many new pens, but this is the Hongan N11, an extra fine again. That is a number six steel nib and a swappable nib unit within their line of nibs. Ink today is a new one to me, and I'm really liking it. That is Diamine Havu Turquoise. Now, I think audibly, you can probably hear this extra fine. This is on Rod of paper. Sounds a bit like a pencil, and it is. It's like a good smooth pencil. I am actually a fan of pens that have that kind of feedback, and so that doesn't bother me a bit. It is not scratchy; it is not draggy. There's just a bit of audible feedback there, and

I kind of like that other pins that are like that would be, for example, my Platinum 3776 with the soft fine nib very much has that sort of a sound. This, by the way, was a lift on that D by me. I could feel my hand lift completely off the paper. I haven't had any issues, but hey, we'll do a speed test right quick, and uh, we'll see what happens on camera because if something's going to go wrong, this is probably where, which is fine. That's the way that's what reviews are for, right? All right, let's do this. Let's be in real time. All right, only things I saw, I kind of felt myself turn. There seems like there was something over in here, but I don't see it now. Overall, that just kept up really well, and I've not had any issues in writing with this pen. Very comfortable, I have to say. Again, that grip has a really nice shape to it. You'll notice that the step down is very minimal. Those threads are smooth and

then it just tapers down to that flare, and it's very comfortable. The finish is comfortable, and this is a pleasant pen to write with. You might be wondering if those facets are uncomfortable because they can rub against your hand. I haven't had an issue with that. That's going to vary some person to person. Some people are more sensitive to certain things than others, but I find the ergonomics, at least for me, to be quite good. All right, let's talk pros and cons. Well, con number one, you had to put up with a dad joke from James again, so there you go. Pros: that finish, the machining, and the finish, both things combined, I think make for a very attractive pen. Now, I think that's true across the different machinings and across the different colors, but of course, this is my favorite of them. I think that swirled machining also looks really quite good, and if I were going for a different color, I'd probably go

for that green, but I think they all look good in person. This one is really well done. I think the quality is quite good, especially for the price that you're getting, which is in the specifications, by the way. I think the chrome looks good. The nib, I really like their new extra fine. Several of us have noticed lately that their extra fine has a little bit more, just a slight bounce to it, and it's just a more pleasant nib to write with than in the past. And they're winning me over on the extra fine thing because it's really a nice nib to write with now. It is, of course, closer to a western extra fine than to say if you're used to Pilot extra fine. It's not that. It's definitely closer to a western. I think that's typical for Chinese nibs. At least that's been my experience. Cons, not too much. I will say, you know, I mentioned that it posts, but because of the plastic threads and because of this particular fitting, I'm kind of hesitant.

to post that, so it is possible. I'm probably not going to do that just because of the question there of durability with those plastic threads, and I understand why they might have chosen those. Of course, it's cheaper to use that liner and threads as one piece, so that may be at play. It also doesn't mar the finish of this as quickly as metal thread certainly would do. I don't know what their reasoning was, but I'm just going to consider it a non-posting pin for my own regular use, and I probably would recommend that for you. But in a pinch, you know, it does work. Pro is definitely that quick on-off cap, and again, sometimes people think that doesn't mean anything, but in day-to-day use, it does determine which pen I'm going to take in a day. If I'm going to have a meeting with a bunch of on-off the cap stuff or taking notes at a lecture or something like that, the quicker, the better. Sometimes the practical really does just win out. Other pros really like that grip. It is

of course, cartridge converter. So, you can either use 3.4 mm Chinese standard cartridges, which hung D in cells, or you can use bottled ink like the diamine havu I have today. I like that versatility of a cartridge converter pin, so it's a great value. No real big dings at all. I just think this is a really good pen for your money and a beautiful gift pin if you can snag one before the holidays are over, or if you've got somebody with an upcoming birthday. I mean, I think this makes a terrific impression if you're gifting someone a pen. Really great place for somebody to start with fountain pens. All right, that is my review of the hongdian n11. Definitely a pen that I would recommend you check out if this kind of a pen is your sort of thing. Really quite good. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe, and as always, go God bless you and have a great day.

Hongdian N11 • Running Laps Around The Competition?• Fountain Pen Review

Hongdian N11 • Running Laps Around The Competition?• Fountain Pen Review