Moonman T1 Aluminum Piston Filler

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Mostly pens
2.14K   3   1  
·
2019/12/27
·
3 mins read


Moonman is branching out. The T1 represents a couple of interesting firsts for the brand.

  • Moonman's first aluminum pen
  • Moonman's first piston filling pen

The pen feels like a cross between a TSWBI and a PenBBS, with a little Fine Writing International thrown in, i.e., it's in good company.

In the hand, the Moonman T1 is solid and impressively well made.

Pros
  • Nib - Moonman's #6 nib is excellent and the example that came with this pen is no exception. It writes a wet line somewhere between an F and a M. The T1 comes with the silver, single-tone version of the nib.
  • Size and Weight - At 16.4g uncapped (inked) and 126.5mm long (uncapped) it's a good sized pen. Uncapped, the T1 is about the same length as a PenBBS 480, but feels bigger in the hand because of the larger diameter.
  • Filling Mechanism - The piston system is straight-forward. Twisting the end cap moves the piston in the barrel. The relatively large diameter of the pen body means that the pen holds quite a bit of ink.
  • Design - This may be the pen's strongest feature. The design is fresh and contemporary. The facets on the cap keep the pen from rolling about on flat surfaces.
  • Fit and Finish - Everything is first rate with good attention to detail.
Cons
  • Disassembly
    • Removing the piston requires a tool and there's none in the box. I haven't investigated if a TWSBI tool will do the job. I suspect it might.
    • The section appears to be fixed to the barrel. There are no obvious threads. I was reluctant to use too much force and break the pen. Not being able to remove the section would make the pen somewhat harder to clean.
  • Posting - The pen is big enough that I don't want to post it. The cap does post firmly, but twisting the cap when posted can run the piston if the end cap isn't fully tighten down. At nearly 28g posted, it's also pretty heavy. 
  • No clip - People who want to carry this in a shirt pocket don't have a clip.
Overall impressions

I wasn't too sure what to think of the Moonman T1 when it was first released. There are only 4 color options (teal, green, red and gray), none of which were very exciting. I liked the idea of a piston filler as well as the clear barrel like the FWI Golden Armour. I'm also a fan of facets so the cap looked interesting.

Image: Taobao

In hand, the pen has been better than I expected. The size, weight and balance are good. The section is comfortable. The piston system works perfectly and it holds a lot of ink. 

The combination of aluminum and acrylic go together well. While the finish on the aluminum is like the PenBBS 350 and the metal PenBBS 323, since the barrel is resin (and the pen is lighter) it doesn't have the slipperiness I dislike about the 323.

The cap takes about 2½ turns - more than I'd like - but it does have a plastic thread insert so capping the pen is smooth. Time will tell if the pen tends to dry out.

The style of the pen has already grown on me. It's balanced and well done. I like matching color of the section and the piston mechanism at either end of the pen. The stainless insert at the top of the cap is a nice touch. The faceted cap is a winner for me.

As far as I can tell, this is Moonman's own design.

The nib wrote perfectly out of the box. I have the pen full of Robert Oster Taiwan Blue which matches the pen very well. The pen fits right in with others I have inked up at the moment.

With the 12-12 discounts, the pen was just under US$17 plus shipping on taobao. It's gone up to a standard price of just under US$22 now.

For what you get, it's a bargain.

 


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Published: 2019/12/27 - Updated: 2020/01/23
Total: 669 words


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Comments
cr
1
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Long time fountain pen user, sci-fi reader & tennis player
2019/12/27
1  

My T1 is still in transit.  Glad to hear it has the #6 Moonman nib, which I love.  Will the draw & Vac fillers around, piston fillers seem quaint.  

kcwookie
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2019/12/27

If I have to have a special tool to fully clean a pen...I don't need that pen. I enjoy my Paili 013 Vac Filler. The pen writes very smooth and it holds a ton of ink. It's cheaper than Moonmen and TWSBI

EDC
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Mostly pens
2019/12/27
cr, on 2019/12/27, said:
My T1 is still in transit.  Glad to hear it has the #6 Moonman nib, which I love.  Will the draw & Vac fillers around, piston fillers seem quaint.  

I hear you about piston fillers. Interestingly, I'm coming around to prefer them. For example, of the Wing Sung 699s I have, I like the piston filler the best. With that pen I don't need to think about fiddling around to get ink into the feed as I find myself doing with vac fillers.

Hope your T1 arrives soon. Mine was longer in transit as well. 

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