this post was submitted on 10 May 2026
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In the Lord of the Rings fandom there's a persistent debate whether balrogs, or Durin's Bane specifically, have wings. The text in Fellowship is ambiguous whether what it is describing are literal wings or something else wing-like.

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[โ€“] JayGray91@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The other big one is Chinese fountain pens that clearly mimic more well known brands.

Patent on the Pilot Vanishing Point as far as I can tell has expired and that Majohn (Moonman) and Jinhao have made cheaper versions.

VPs are still bloody expensive for me and I don't want to gamble and see if I like it for that much money (and try to sell i t off if I don't like it).

Turns out I like retractable fountain pens but the jinhaos and majohn one I suppose isn't as well made and dry out quickly. From a bunch of reviews I've consumed they could be as good at not drying out but for the cheap price it's a QC issue.

So now what? Throw away perfectly fine cheap pens just to get the real one?

But on the flip side, I have tried a Lamy 2000 and I love it and I know there are blatant copies and homages from the Chinese brands and I won't get them.

Hobbies are just weird.

But at the end of the day, I think the cheap brands should he celebrated even copies because it's a good entryway to the hobby. If a pen hasn't been produced for decades, then someone else made new copies or homages, then I don't blame anyone wanting those instead of having to hunt for vintage pens and hoping to restore it (by themselves or sending it to someone).

[โ€“] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago

I think I mostly agree with you. If I ever see a Pilot myu clone I'm snagging it. Og or clone. They're so rare that an original will never be in my budget. A clone would just let more people enjoy the pen.

Not that I expect it to be cloned pretty much ever.