I found this in a 7-storey bookstore on Fuzhou Road. On the third floor, I passed beneath an arch bedecked with flashing lights and neon Stabilo stickers to enter the pen section. The salesladies had no English and I had no Mandarin, so we invented sign language for “No, not the rollerball, the fountain pen!” on the spot.
![Confucius Confucius](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius1-480x360.jpg)
Chinese scrollwork decorates the cap. Chinese characters are engraved on one side, and an image of Confucius on the other.
![Confucius, clip Confucius, clip](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius2-480x360.jpg)
More scrollwork decorates the clip, which ends in a crown logo. (Do not think Krone thoughts at this point.) (King Crown makes Duke pens, I think.) The body looks like bamboo. I’m still trying to figure out how this was done. Bamboo laminate over brass?
![Confucius, cap and section Confucius, cap and section](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius3-480x360.jpg)
More scrollwork near the collar, and the ubiquitous threaded metal section. The nib is where the pen becomes more interesting.
![Confucius, nib with overfeed Confucius, Chinese calligraphy nib with overfeed (click to enlarge)](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius4-480x360.jpg)
The nib is bent upwards, as is typical with Chinese calligraphy pens. What struck me when I first held the pen was the length of the bent portion – it’s almost 4 mm. The next thing I noticed was the overfeed. The only other modern pen I know of with an overfeed would be Sailor’s Nagahara Emperor series. The overfeed collects more ink and drives it to the nib.
![Confucius, nib, side view Confucius, Chinese calligraphy nib, side view](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius5-480x360.jpg)
Does it work? Yes, it does.
![Confucius, writing sample Confucius, writing sample (click to enlarge)](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius7-480x360.jpg)
The bent nib also flexes (!).
![Confucius, writing sample Confucius, writing sample (click to enlarge)](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius8-480x640.jpg)
The nib writes a fine, consistent line when used upside down. Varying pressure within a stroke does produce a brush-like impression.
![Confucius, drawing sample Confucius, drawing sample (click to enlarge)](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dukeconfucius9-480x640.jpg)
I enjoy it for writing, but much more so for drawing. Duke Ink (24 RMB a bottle) produces both deep and light grays, and is a good match for the pen.