Moonman M800 Showdown Bock nib vs Moonman nib

[@getmartincarter]

I’m the owner of an Amber M800 with the Boch nib and am impressed. The M800 pen is a near copy of a Leonardo at 10 % of the price . I believe your writing wetness test would have been much more useful had you filled both pens with the same ink. Different inks vary both with viscosity and surface tension so using different inks doesn’t help with the comparison as it may well be the ink that caused the difference in the drying rate but not necessarily . Who could know after your test ? As the case of both pens is made by an acrylic pouring process during which the case and cap are poured separately it’s inevitable that the caps won’t line up . The advertisement for these pens on eBay says as much . Thank you and I enjoyed your review although your didn’t say which nib gave the most feed back disregarding the sound.

[@GarryEves]

Thanks. I am currently changing the way I do these to try and use the same ink in both pens. I do prefer the bock nib. I have swapped out the Moonman nib for a Broad Jowo and really love that.

[@yuklimka7251]

After reading comments about the Bock nib not being worth the extra money, I bought the M800 in blue with the Moonman nib. Just inked it up for the first time with PenBBS Santorini ink. It writes like a dream right out of the box. Very pleased.

[@GarryEves]

Awesome. I've had to smooth the Moonman nib a little bit, but it is a nice nib to write with.

[@yuklimka7251]

@@GarryEves For people who don't have a huge fountain pen budget or don't see the point of spending a sizeable chunk of money on an Italian pen, the Moonman with the Bock nib should come pretty close. If it turns out they dislike the writing experience at least it didn't break the bank. If it's a pleasant experience, on the other hand, they may decide to save up for a Leonardo.

[@GarryEves]

@@yuklimka7251 Yeah, that's exactly what I did. That's one of the benefits of being able to buy the cheaper pens, especially those inspired by other manufacturers. I was able to use the pen to make sure that I liked the feel in the hand and the general looks of the pen before investing the large amount of money in an original.

[@JoelTurrell]

I stumbled upon your shootout today, after I had made a switch on my own M800. I had bought my pen with the Moonman nib, and then swapped in a Bock #250 unit I had earlier obtained from a UK retailer. I concluded that the Bock was a better nib, but not enough to justify the extra cost. I was preparing the pen for sale this week because I had not used it for so long, when I discovered a Bexley nib unit in my nib box. I substituted it, and now I won't sell the M800; it's in my rotation.

[@GarryEves]

This is one of the things I like about pens that use "standard" parts. It's so easy to customise them so you can get the pen that works how you want.

[@merlinuwe1]

Perfect comparison. It seems that not only we have the same fountain pens but also we judge them in the same way. Really astonishing.

[@josephaziz785]

Good reviewer. Fair and impartial.

[@GarryEves]

Thank you

[@luisguillermoperezmejia7907]

Muy buena revisión. Yo compré la primera M800 ayer, en color azul, que es mi preferido, aunque estuve tentado a comprar la ámbar. La pedí con el plumón de Moonman porque hay varias revisiones y todas coinciden con el hecho de que no vale la pena sumar el precio que cobran por la punta de BOCK. Cordial saludo desde Medellín, Colombia. PD me suscribo a su canal.

[@GarryEves]

I hope you enjoy it.

[@luisguillermoperezmejia7907]

@@GarryEves thanks

[@P90Camper]

Thanks Gary! You saved me again $30 for something else. I am late to the party, and I am going to order one!

[@davidmathews2124]

Seems like your ink drying “test” is more a function of how fast the different inks flow & dry rather than anything pertaining to the nibs, except for how wet they write. That, plus the Moonman nib looks like a medium while the Bock looks like a true fine. Ordered the Amber M800 recently. It’s a unique design in several ways…roller clip…Bock nib. Love Amber. Love dependable German nibs. Love your doing this. Several important questions answered. Will look for the Green. Love Green too. If the boys down at M800 Central were picking colors that little ol’ me wants…they did a perfect job. So tired of Blue.

[@GarryEves]

Thanks. With the ink drying - I agree it's not really a very scientific test. I have considered using the same ink for all initial reviews and tests but one of the things I like is to try out different inks as well. I do see a big difference between the nibs - but I have also spend a bit of time working on the nibs so they are not 100% how they come from the factory. The M800s are one of my favourite pens. If Moonman were to release other colours, they would be immediate buys for me.

[@davidmathews2124]

@@GarryEves Agreed. Well, just double your test. Compare ink #1 in both pens then ink #2 in both pens. I’d be interested to see if the feed was identical too. You never know.

[@PauloParreira]

Ebay is selling for 38$ with Bock mini.

[@wanderer6925]

To make a fair comparison, probably it would have been better to use the same ink on both pens.

[@GarryEves]

👍

[@hriveran]

I have the amber one with the Bock nib, it’s one of my favorite nibs. As I haven’t used the Moonman nib I can’t say if the extra money was well spent, but I’m really happy with my pen.

[@GarryEves]

That is a really nice pen. its one I keep inked up most of the time, and if it's near at hand will use rather than most of my other pens. The Moonman nibs are nice but to need to be fine-tuned a bit to get the best performance.

[@hriveran]

@@GarryEves I have ordered an m600s with a Moonman nib. I suppose it has the same nib as the m800. I’ll be able to compare.

[@GarryEves]

@@hriveran I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on them. I also have an M600 on order. I'm hoping to compare it to the Jinhao 100 Centennial, with them both being Duofold inspired pens

[@hriveran]

@@GarryEves I’ll let you know, Garry. I have a Jinhao Centennial and also like it very much. The nib is not a smooth as the Bock nib in the Mooman but is good. I like the entire pen.

[@keithwhitney7491]

I do like your reviews. I don’t find that any of the numerical reviews really work, except perhaps for the reviewer (to attempt to make one think with greater objectivity). In the end, the review itself is the critical issue, and your review would help me identify some issues I might want to consider. My experience with most pens that utilize a poured acrylic mass produced and cut is that the constant is lack of consistency, which, after all, is a positive and a negative. It is positive in the sense that your pen will not look exactly like someone else’s; it is a negative in that your particular pen got less of the layering effect or the beauty-side! If you like greater consistency, then you have to go with something like the Pelikan M800 Brown/Black, which is a beautiful pen for a lawyer, banker, or accountant, for example. I choose both! :)

[@GarryEves]

I mainly use the number as a guide for me to help to structure my thoughts when doing the reviews. I agree that quite often the numbers are very subjective and will differ between different people. I am currently saving to buy a Leonardo Momento Zero, which will allow me to compare the pens with that.

[@ccruz247]

Just wanted to see a flex sample

[@Jifflan]

Which pens would you give 10/10 overall?

[@GarryEves]

From these, my preference is for the one with the bock nib. I have swapped out the Moonman nib for a Jowo broad and love the way it writes.

[@Jifflan]

@@GarryEves Oh is the bock the same as Jowo nib?

[@Jifflan]

@@GarryEves If you would say 10/10 of all of the pens that are below 100$? Which one would you go for?

[@GarryEves]

@@Jifflan Yea and no. They are different manufacturers and sometimes need slightly different housings. I'm not sure if either of them are universal fittings though.

[@GarryEves]

@@Jifflan The video that will come out on Tuesday next week (22 Feb) may answer that.

[@rainbull1]

Have you tried swapping a different #6 nib in and see if it makes a difference, e.g. a Goulet nib?

[@GarryEves]

I haven't yet as I wanted to do the review with the pens are they arrive. I'm planning on doing some tweaking to the nib first to see if I can improve the flow. If that doesn't work I have a penBBS nib standing by to try in it.

[@mikeoxlong189]

Number 6 would not work as I have tried this before and it was a tragedy

[@GarryEves]

I've being playing around with this for the past couple of weeks. What I have found is when I keep the pen in a cup with the nib up then the pen won't write. When I leave it horizontal on a pen stand then so far I have had no issues and the pen writes straight away, even after been lift for 36 hours. I'm still experimenting but it looks like it could be an issue with the pen being stood with the nib up. My experiments are continuing.

[@tomshult3044]

@@mikeoxlong189 I put a Goulet #6 in mine and it writes great. Pretty wet EF nib

[@OgdenGaboon]

You do realise that the laminar chatoyancy means that you must have different reflective characteristics every 90 degrees?

[@GarryEves]

Thanks. I'm still disappointed by the lack of consistency in the colouring of the pen. Chrisraps response did explain it and I've done more research into this. It still doesn't stop me from being disappointed.

[@akeadisorn1]

Good review, i like it.From Thailand😉😉😉

[@GarryEves]

Glad you enjoyed it!