More often that not, my desk is my pocket. But everyday desk items doesn't have the same ring.
I ordered a gold M8 on eBay. Seller said gold was unavailable due to manufacturing challenges, so I said send silver. I too like the M6 but did not make EDC due to nib drying out. I was not aware of the MOP version. Interesting layered design. Like pens made from rolled celluloid sheets.
Thanks for showing the potential defects. I couldn't get my hands on the m8 mop when it first came out, now I am glad that I didn’t. If I were to get a raden pen, I would probably go for something more expensive.
@cr i am experiencing the same issue with my sandalwood m6, but the ebony version doesn’t dry out. I think it has something to do with the wood species. ebony has natural resin that seals the cap, but sandalwood doesn’t. I think the inner cap just isn’t doing the job. I tried to seal the inside of the sandalwood cap with CA glue but it still dries out. Now I just try to use it more often.
The Moonman M8 is an update to the popular Moonman M6 released in the first half of 2019. The Moonman M6 was the first pen to feature Moonman's well-regarded #6 nib.
Where the M6 is a wooden pen, the M8 is made of resin. The resins Moonman have chosen for the pen are a good part of what make this pen unique: gold leaf, silver leaf and mother of pearl.
Image Taobao
This is the first time I've seen this type of material used in a Chinese pen.
Not being much of a goldbug, I opted for the mother of pearl version.
In this resin, purple, white and blue flakes float against a deep black background. The flakes shift in color nicely as they catch the light. The surface is polished to a high gloss. The effect is attractive.
The construction is layered, with only the outer layer containing the colorful bits. I can imagine that making this pen is tricky.
Tricky because if you don't get it exactly right, it shows. On my pen there's what looks like a bubble at the cut for the clip where things didn't go well. Fortunately the blemish is only cosmetic.
Also of note: the mother of pearl effect isn't uniform. One side of the cap is missing all the sparkles and is just black. I noted that the taobao site says the effect varies by pen so I wasn't all that surprised. The barrel of the pen has the effect all the way round.
By the Numbers
While the M8 looks like the M6, the two pens are not identical in dimensions. The M8 is a little bigger.
Both the cap and the barrel are taller on the M8, but just by a little. The clip on the M8 is also positioned higher. The pens are the same diameter and the share the same section. The converters are interchangeable, though the M6 converter appears to hold more ink. The M8 has an all gold nib where the M6 came with a dual-tone nib.
The parts of the two pens are interchangeable. You can put the M6 cap on the M8 body and vice versa. Oddly, the M8 cap comes off in just under 2 turns where the M6 takes less than 1 turn.
In the Hand
Given the similarity to the Moonman M6 - a pen I like quite a bit - I figured the M8 would be a great writer. It is. I like the size, the shape and the weight. The resin feels luxurious in the hand.
Loaded up with Iroshizuku Take-sumi, the #6 nib wrote perfectly out of the box. Kudos to Moonman for consistency in their nibs!
I always thought the M6 would be a great pen in black ebonite. The M8 is kinda like that. The sparkles are something different and not too obvious. I could take this pen anywhere.
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. Pricing is the same as the Moonman T1.
If the pen avoids the drying-out problem that seems common to the wooden M6, this pen could earn a long term spot in my rotation. It could be a great gift for a pen-loving friend.