Baoer 517

[savingbirds]

I recently snagged a nice looking pen on eBay for $3.50 shipped. It was a Baoer 517 in blue with a 18K medium plated nib. Here are some first impressions:

 

Appearance & Design: 9/10

This pen looks very nice. The cap and barrel is blue with a marbled swirl of black. There are also accents of black and silver. The silver lining between the barrel and cap has Baoer etched by a laser and 517 on the back.

The thing that was interesting about this pen was that the clip is very springy and cap be pulled back quite a bit (leaving a 10mm gap). This was a cool addition if you have thick pockets or use your pens to clip stacks of paper.

 

Construction & Quality: 7/10

The pen was constructed very nicely. There are no manufacturing flaws aside from the obvious oils inside that have to be cleaned. I wish I could say the same about the converter though; it arrived with a small crack on the end. This was not a game changer as you could still use the converter without hindrance, but a quality or design flaw nonetheless.

 

Weight & Dimensions: 8/10

This pen is decently weighted. The balance is nice when unposted and very back-heavy if you write posted. The cap seems to weigh more than the rest of the pen!

The pen is 138mm long and approximately 31g w/o ink.

 

Nib & Performance: 8/10

The nib was bit of a let-down. It writes pretty smoothly with no flex (as expected) but some of the lettering was hidden into the grip and feed. I would not be surprised if Baoer just shoved a custom nib into some other manufacturer's pen.

The nib is fairly small compared to the rest of the pen, but seems to be well build and aligned. I ordered a medium nib and it arrived with a decent medium (unlike other Chinese pens, it was very similar to a "western medium"). The nib is two toned, and I highly doubt it is gold plated, but it was listed as 18K gold... Who cares? It writes well!

This pen writes a bit on the dry side, so I may consider removing the feed tube later on if this becomes an issue. I still don't understand how this will help though...

 

Cost & Value: 10/10

For a <$4 pen, I am pretty satisfied. This pen would have been a winner if not for its converter quality issue, but you can't expect more from a gold-nibbed FP at the price of a Pilot G2.

 

Overall: 8/10

 

I don't have pictures up yet, but if you need them now, check out Halden's review.

[savingbirds]

I found out quickly that this pen eats ink like a beast! Just today I've converted it into an ED and so far have not have any leaks (yet). If anything does happen, I do have a tub of silicon grease. JIC

[P.A.R.]

Good review!

 

I've been trying to choose a Baoer pen to try. Thus far it's between this one, the Y02, and the 388. I really like the sharp looks of the y02 though, and it comes in a medium nib.

Edited May 13, 2012 by P.A.R.

[savingbirds]

Good review!

 

I've been trying to choose a Baoer pen to try. Thus far it's between this one, the Y02, and the 388. I really like the sharp looks of the y02 though, and it comes in a medium nib.

 

This pen has amazing looks, but is a bit of a dry writer. The nib is stiff as a nail if that's what you were looking for. The reason I got this was because of the medium nib. It seems that not many Chinese pen companies bother with them anymore...

[goldiesdad]

Thanks for the intel ... always looking for the next best pen that's really affordable ...