A giant, plastic, demonstrator from the land of race-to-the-bottom pricing and questionable quality. But at least it isn’t another Miesterstück knock-off. And the name is a fun play on words, even if the person who named it didn’t intend it. “Dadao“, the model designation, is a large sword, a type of broadsword or hand-and-a-half sword.
Wordplay One: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” -Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Wordplay Two: The Chinese word Dadao reminds me of “Daddy-O”, the fat daddy of pens.
The Mighty Pen Warrior’s Broadsword
But kidding aside, this pen is fun. The clear plastic is a window on the works, even the provided converter is clear with gold trim, matching the pen. The ink capacity is large, too, and it is also fun to see the ink sloshing around.
The rigid, stainless, medium nib is nothing special and often dry starts if you stop a moment to retrieve a word from a dusty shelf in your memory. Then it can get juicy in the sharp turns. But my chubby hands like the girth and I’ve always enjoyed tongue starting a medium nib.
I chose to pair this with Sepia ink, which is fulfilled by Private Reserve. I love the color once it is writing along, but it starts a dark brown after sitting a little while. I went for this color to match a journal I have. The journal’s light brown cover and parchment-colored pages seem to desire sepia ink, even though I’d never seen such a thing before. I liked it so well, I went with that theme for this website.
Even though the pen was cheap (<$15 on Amazon), it is fun and interesting to look at. Do you own any Jinhao brand fountain pens? What’s your experience with them? How about Private Reserve inks? They have a splendid range of colors, but I’ll have to try one or two more before I judge the brand. What’s your experience with them? Or what is your favorite brand?