logo.gif (8541 bytes)Earl                                

topgraf.gif (4089 bytes)
Home
Up
Bamboo
Beijing Opera
Black Scallop
Blue Spyder
Carbon Fibre
Century Pioneer
Chieftain
Dream World
DUKE 2009
DUKE 960
Duke 962
Gold Medal
Golden Rings
Greek Key
Khaki Squares
Magnate
Mako
Mini Torpedo
Platinum Tower
Ruby
Sapphire
Viceroy
botgraf.gif (5232 bytes)

 

 

DUKE Earl

Need bottled ink or refills?


 

DUKE Earl FP    $95.00   Sold out  

Ok, let's see how many of you over the age of 50 can get through this page without hearing the song "Duke of Earl" play in your head! (if you're younger, click here). A full-sized pen -- measuring 5-1/2" capped and 5-7/8" posted -- the use of iridescent resin is a bit of a departure for a DUKE model. In this case it's of a rich, deep-sea green, seemingly embedded in a velvet black background. 
                Click on photos to enlarge

 

If that were the only material used, the pen might be too dark for some. However, a very lovely matte chromed finish is used for the cap top, cap band and barrel cap, which produces a very nice visual balance to the overall design of the pen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cap band is further enhanced with a very ornate 'coat-of-arms' on the side below the clip. This is done in a highly polished, raised chrome, and features the DUKE 'crown' logo in the center. This is flanked by stylized characters on either side (you'll have to decide what they are -- one looks like a British Bobby to me, while the other reminds me of a medieval queen....neither of which I image was intended by the designer!).

The other side of the band, also finished in raised chrome, is the name 'DUKE', rendered in a flowing Copperplate-style hand. I should mention that in all of the pens I've so far handled, the slip-on cap snaps securely on the barrel, but then rotates freely. Some users may find this disconcerting at first.

The clip is etched with 'DUKE 2000', which I believe to be the year of initial release in China.

Removing the cap, one is first struck by the fact that the pen possesses what some collectors have termed a self-same section, meaning that rather than installing a more 'generic' -- and less expensive to produce -- black section (which might fit a number of models),  the designers have chosen to produce the section out of the same iridescent green and black resin. Many find this attention to detail to be a real plus visually.

 

 

 

The nib is platinum-plated, 14K gold, producing a line between a western fine and medium, or what I term a light-medium. This is the nib design found on many of the gold Duke nibs, consisting of a  concentric half-oval design engraved alongside 'Duke', '14K' and '580' (which should read '585' for 14K gold!). It's still a bit of a rarity to find a 14K gold nib on a pen priced at under $100.00.

Unscrewing the all-metal fittings between the section and body reveals the large-capacity piston converter for bottled ink (the pen will also take International-style cartridges), and a rubber gasket for a tight seal.

The pen is shipped in a black pebble pen box inside of a larger outer black pebbled box with hidden magnetic closure, with warranty papers. Shipping weight of 2-1/2 lbs.

 

 

 

 

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 5th, 2009

Copyright © 1999-2009 (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.

 

frontpag.gif (9866 bytes)