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By Bill Riepl It's always nice to find a great affordable pen. Even better when said pen not only looks great, but actually writes nicely as well. I've been impressed in the past with such finds as the Waterman Phileas (and it's even more affordable, and sometimes better looking cousin, the Kulture) the Sheaffer Javelin, the Pelikan M75 GO, and the Parker Frontier. When it comes to a great pen at a low price, it's usually been a rewarding hunt. With the subjects of this article, it proved to be doubly rewarding. And if only I had been a bit faster on my feet, it might have been triply rewarding! Keven Chen of Internet Pens listed a few Danitrio pens for sale, and I was intrigued by not only the description, which sounded great enough, but by the price. Under $30 each. He had three colors of these aluminum pens, but by the time my email reached him, he was down to only two colors in stock. As they were close-out items, two colors had to suffice. When the pens arrived, they proved to be even more than I had expected. To be exact, they were larger, looked better, and best of all, were two slightly differing designs!
Tough enough in looks, but how about in terms of performance? I'm happy to say that this pen delivers there as well. The nib used on both pens is the same, a simple generic steel nib, marked Iridium Point Germany. It's paired up with an injection molded plastic feed, friction fitted into a plastic collar in the section. In the case of this pen, the nib proved to be a very smooth medium with a generous flow. Writing proved to be a pleasure, and I haven't come across any problems with the nib itself to date.
One other trouble with the gripping section is that if you hold the pen higher up, the thread portion might interfere with your fingers. It's highly individual, and depends upon exactly where your fingers fall when you grip the pen. I had some trouble at first, but actually ended up feeling pretty comfortable with the pen.
At 5 1/8 inches long closed, and 6 1/2 inches long posted, it's a full sized pen. The section, as I mentioned, is much smaller, tapering from 7/16 of an inch down to 6/16 of an inch at the narrowest point. At 1 3/4 ounces, it's not exactly a lightweight pen, but with most of that weight located forward towards the section, it balances easily enough in the hand. You may wish to forgo posting the cap if you find the weight troublesome, the barrel is long enough to get away with this easily enough. If you do choose to post the cap, it fits very snugly onto the tapered section at the end of the barrel. This one was my favorite of the pair. It wasn't any one aspect that tipped the scales in it's favor, but as with so may things, the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The rugged looks, great performance, and neat shape all added up to a pen that I have trouble keeping out of my pocket. It may not be the perfect choice for an evening in fancy dress, but if you want a pen that doesn't just look tough, but manages to deliver tough... This one wins!
To begin with the best parts of this pen: The looks of the cap and barrel, and the feel of the section. This pen is a much more streamlined design overall than the previous one. The barrel doesn't have the same radical taper at the lower end. The overall look is much more integrated, it's not quite the traditional torpedo shape, but close.
The clean lines of the cap and barrel are maintained when you remove the cap. There is a small step down from the threads to the section, but not as abrupt as that on the first pen. The section is also a more streamlined shape, tapering only slightly towards the nib.
Overall measurements for this pen proved to be only slightly different form the first of the pair. At 5 1/2 inches long closed, and 6 1/8 inches long posted, it's basically the same size. The section has the same taper from back to front, down from 7/8 of an inch to 6/8 of an inch, but without the abrupt step in the center of the section. A subtle change, but telling when you hold the pen in your hand! This version proved to be much more approachable, and just felt a bit more comfortable in my hand thanks to that section shape. The nib, while not quite as butter-smooth as that of the first pen, was still very good, and puts down a nice, slightly finer medium line. Either one of these pens would be considered a great pen by anyone's standards when it comes down to writing quality. I've been using them off and on for a couple of weeks, and they have proven to be very reliable. Both have passed the test of sitting on the desk unused for a few days... Starting right up when uncapped and put to paper. As a note, I gave both pens a good flushing with a very mild soap solution before filling them with ink, to ensure that the converters and feed channels were clean. This is worth doing on any converter cartridge filling pen. A little extra effort up front can save headaches when you fill it up for the first time. Both of these pens have made a hit with me. One for it's sheer rugged, tough "get the job done" looks, one for it's clean modern design, and both for being among the absolute best "value for money" pens I've seen in a while. From the solid feel of the cap and barrel, the precise threads, and the great spring loaded pocket clips, down to the looks, these pens are really something! copyright 2005 William Riepl Images copyright 2005 William Riepl |
We'll
begin with what I call the "tactical pen". The darker of the
two pens has a great lightly textured finish, and a slightly rounded
shape that tapers at the barrel end. The clip is a very secure spring
loaded design. The entire package is one seriously tough looking pen!
The
section, on the other hand takes some getting used to. It's got a sharp
taper in the center. If your fingers prefer a slimmer gripping point,
you should be happy with this design. If not.... Well, you might need
some "adjusting time" with this one! 
The
section is finished in bright chrome, setting off the darker color of
the cap and barrel. The section matches the clip, the only other piece
of trim on this pen, it comes sans cap band or rings.
Not
that the other pen from the pair was any poor shakes in itself! The
second of the two proved to be a more sleek design than the first, and
to match up with this more streamlined shape, the finish was a smoother
lustrous texture. This tied in with the lighter shade of metal used
for the cap and barrel, the result is a very sleek, modern looking pen.
The
overall look is a very clean, elegant one. This is still a "workday"
pen, but one that would not look out of place in a suit pocket; not
just at home in a fatigue jacket pocket.