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DUKE Century Pioneer


click on photos to enlarge

Need bottled ink or refills?

 

 

Century Pioneer    $95.00   

This is a pen that always attracts a lot of attention at pen shows, often reminding people of a Waterman Edson Boucheron due to its design (not its size!). A slim, mid-sized pen (measuring 5-1/4" capped and 5-1/2" posted), the lacquer-over-brass construction provides a comfortable heft, without being heavy.

This is one of the DUKE models originally designed to commemorate the millennium in 2000, and attests to that fact with 'Duke2000' on both the cap and clip. The cap band is imprinted with 'Duke' (with the DUKE 'crown' logo right about), and on the reverse side the number '208' (which doesn't make a lot of sense, as the pen's model number is '205' ). The pen has gold-plated or brass 'jewels' on both ends, and overall is a real 'looker'.

Removing the slip cap displays the lovely, two-toned 14K gold nib, which lays down a light-medium line. This is *not* the nib style displayed in the topmost picture, but rather the newer concentric half-oval design engraved alongside 'Duke', '14K' and '580' (which should read '585' for 14K gold!), as displayed in the other photos.

Unscrewing the all-metal fittings of the section and barrel of the fountain pen displays a full-sized pump-style converter in attractive gold, for bottled ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pen rests inside an attractive golden pen box, which itself lies inside a larger gift box. The gift box displays a metal plaque, the uncorrected English of which says:

"This DUKE 14K Gold Pen is a commemorative gold pen that strides over the alternation of centuries. It is made of 14K gold and platinum and comes out through strict tests to meet the international standards. From the reaching-peak design to meticulous craftsmanship, it is creditably looked as curiosa. DUKE 14K Pen is guaranteed in all countries. (With the exception of man-made damage)"

The Chinese characters say pretty much the same thing .

 

 

 

IMPORTANT SERVICE NOTE: Every nib that ships from His Nibs is closely examined under high magnification and tuned or adjusted if needed. About 85% of modern nibs need some adjustment out-of-the-box from the manufacturer for an optimal writing experience. Most commonly, the tines of the nib are misaligned -- which would cause scratchiness at the minimum; the slit between the tines is partially or fully closed -- which would starve the nib of ink and at best cause skipping; or the slit between the tines is too wide -- which will either again cause skipping, or conversely, flooding. There are other factors  -- such as separation of the nib from the feed -- that are inspected and repaired before any pen leaves the Palace.

The only 100% guarantee of course comes when the pen is actually filled with ink and written with for the first time, but our pre-shipping inspections and tunings have eliminated 99.99999 (my finger is getting tired) of the frustrations that a customer experiences when first using a new fountain pen. Although this can be time-consuming on occasion, it affords our customers a much more pleasant experience when receiving a fountain pen from His Nibs -- and saves us the frustration of dealing with returns!

 

Ordering Procedures & Returns

International customers, please note, we will not falsify shipping documents

Credit cards, for the quickest fulfillment of your order, are accepted through PayPal, a secure site allowing you to use your credit card without us even seeing the information. If you'd like to make use of this credit card service, please let us know when you email your order and address, and we'll email you the appropriate Request for Payment, and instructions for the simple payment procedure (you don't need to join PayPal to use it).

                                                                                               

If you would like us process your credit card directly instead, then please email us:

1. Card # (dividing this number in two, between two emails, will ensure security)
2. Expiration date
3. Name on card
4. Address for billing statement
5. Card verification # (3-digit number printed on the back of your card. It appears after and to the right of your card number, or 4-digit number on the front of your AMEX card).
 

If you'd rather pay by money order or check, kindly make payable to:

His Nibs.com
  2540 W. Union Street
  Allentown, PA 18104

We ship via insured Priority Mail
(email for cost)

 

 

Please send your order and shipping address (along with any questions) to:

orders@hisnibs.com
(on PayPal transactions, the email address may also display as stonebri@sprynet.com -- both are valid)

We will email you back with your order total (PA residents please add 6% sales tax)

 

Warranties and returns

If an item proves to be defective, in most cases the manufacturer's warranty will apply. However, please email us first so that we can determine the easiest way to resolve the problem to your satisfaction. In the case of fountain pens -- which are a bit more individualistic than other writing instruments -- what may at first appear to be a defect (hard starting or poor flow for example), can in almost all cases be resolved with a few simple 'tweaks' to the nib, which we'll be happy to guide you through or perhaps suggest returning to us for adjustment.

Should you wish to return a non-defective item within 3 days of receipt because it doesn't suit you for some reason, again please email us and we'll arrange an exchange, credit or refund (minus any shipping/insurance charges), if the item is returned in an 'as new' condition. If you've dipped a fountain pen to try its writing characteristics, kindly clean off any ink residue prior to shipping -- to save us both a nasty surprise .

We want you to be happy with your purchase from His Nibs.com and hope to have you join the ranks of our many long-term, repeat customers!

 

Revised: July 21st, 2008

Copyright © 1999-2008 (His Nibs.com, LLC). All rights reserved.
All images and products on this site are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright of their respective
company and used with permission. Unauthorized reproduction of any image or product is strictly prohibited.

 

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