[this was posted as reddit review]
The pen costs about 20€ at Amazon. It is available in a number of colors and I opted for the black version. There is also a white, an orange, a green, a purple and maybe other variants. The black and white versions have the section coated like the barrel and the cap, while the other versions have a brushed steel section.
The pen is a full metal (brass) construction, including the threads on section and barrel. It comes with a small pen sleeve (no box at all) and a piston converter that offers about the capacity of a small cartridge (think small Pelikan approximately). There are no cartridges included, so beginners should make sure to order some ink. HongDian apparently uses proprietary cartridges which are cheap, but I have no idea how their ink is. An included converter is a definite plus, it looks solid and operates smoothly. Additional converters can be purchased for 15€ for a set of 5, which is a fair price.
Workmanship on this pen looks good, the cap closes with a satisfying click and nothing wobbles or looks otherwise inaccurate. The cap posts nicely and the pen is well balanced. It is, however, on the slimmer side with the section in size and diameter comparable to a Pilot MR. Overall, the pen is about the same size as the MR, but slimmer. It’s not exactly heavy, but feels solid like a full metal pen should. The clip, which is quite stiff, the fennials on the cap and on the barrel’s end and the nib are all rose gold colored. While this looks nice, I have no idea how long it will last.
The coating of the black and white feels like shiny lacquer (it’s probably PVD coating), but section, barrel and cap are definitely made from brass as this is visible on the inner side which is not fully coated. The surface is very smooth and some might find it too slippery, but that’s personal opinion and I do not take issues with it. The other color variants have a brushed metal section that should offer a better grip and their color coating looks less shiny and more brushed. A close inspection with a magnifying glass revealed no defects (scratches, dents etc.) on the surface. So this looks like a quality product.
The Nib is available in two sizes. F and EF of which I chose the F. It’s more an European F, comparable to a Parker F or a Pilot M. It’s a smooth, rather stiff and pleasant steel nib that writes well. Not the wettest nib, but no complaints from my side. No hard starts, no skipping, ink flow is good even after writing for a while. The cap seems to close tight, there are no drying issues after a day of not using it.
Overall, this looks like another recommendable China-made pen. If you can tolerate slim and not very heavy pens, then this is an interesting choice and for about the price of a Pilot MR, you get a bit more (full metal construction and a converter). If you take issues with a shiny and maybe slippery surface finish on the section, the black and white versions of this pen may not be for you.
HongDian also offers replacement nibs. For 15€ they sell a set of 3 in EF, F and a 1mm stub nib. They are easily interchangeable with most HongDian pens, because the nibs contain the feed and are screwed into the section, so changing nibs is very easy and requires no special procedures or tools. Just unscrew the nib with its feed and screw in the replacement. Pretty cool system.