Beijing Jinxing 28

[camcar28]

The same pen that is branded by Hero model 856: always a chinese producer may be the bigger fountain pen producer in China. I confirm all the good quality of this pen. I've bought several chinese fp but this is the best, from my point of view is better than famous Hero 100 or 1000. The nib is smooth and deserve a very good feeling.

[zdeveric]

I found a not-for-sale example of a celluloid Golden Star. Link. Is this what you are talking about?

 

 

There is one on Taobao right now for about $58 excluding shipping. At that price you can buy a user grade Parker 51 (or many other vintage 12k pens) if you are patient.

Do you have a link? Taobao is in Chinese; that is barrier for me.

[Seele]

The iconic Type 28 earlier button fillers were, I think, in black ebonite and celluloid but cannot be certain, I have not had the opportunity to examine one yet. But the modern ones, which are sac fillers in black injection moulded thermoplastics with gold nibs are mainly available at Taobao, there are a couple of renown vendors:

 

18K nib Limited Edition

 

12K nib with 1950s/1960s-built nib

 

Steel nibs with choice of finishes

 

There are numerous Taobao purchasing agents who buy and ship for international clients, it is worth checking them out.

 

With the final closure of Golden Star, Hero seems to have inherited their tooling for at least some of their products, the 28 has been revived - with the use of a clear collar - as the 856 as noted by camcar28, but the 565 has also been revived as a Hero model. Worth noting is that Hero revised the 28 even further with a new section as the 856A which seems interesting too.

 

What is worth noting is that the model number during the old days referred to the pen's specifications, hence Model 28 was made by a variety of manufacturers with their own variations, rather than an appellation exclusive to Golden Star.

Edited July 2, 2014 by Seele

[disillusion]

Do you have a link? Taobao is in Chinese; that is barrier for me.

Here. 355 Chinese yuan, a trusted seller on the Chinese pen forum Penbbs.com, and good service too (if you speak Chinese that is). You can try Taobao buying agents like MisterTao, but I personally don't have any experience using them.

[zdeveric]

Hello Seele,

 

The pen is here. Do I need to wash nib and the feed?

How to take these out? I am afraid to break something.

 

BTW the pen is excellent, my new EDC. But something about this groove, I have to use to it...

 

Best regards

Zoran

Edited July 20, 2014 by zdeveric

[camcar28]

Many chinese fountain pen seller are selling on eBay and someone on aliexpress the word to search is Hero and you can find many serious chinese seller take out from replica seller they are selling fake that are mainly Montblanc.

[zdeveric]

Hi cancar28,

 

What are you talking about?

[camcar28]

I was talking about chinese pen and how to find them on net.

[Seele]

Hello Seele,

 

The pen is here. Do I need to wash nib and the feed?

How to take these out? I am afraid to break something.

 

BTW the pen is excellent, my new EDC. But something about this groove, I have to use to it...

 

Best regards

Zoran

 

Hi Zoran,

 

Good thing you like the pen in the flesh (or should that be plastic and metal?).

 

I do not think it is necessary to take the nib and feed out to do the first flush. Just fill a shot glass with some luke warm water, and add a tiny drop of washing up liquid (aka dish soap), stir to mix, and then keep filling and dumping the pen. After a while, repeat with just water, shake dry, and then let dry completely. Then it is ready to be filled for real.

 

That said, it is still a good idea to look carefully into the breather hole on the nib: you should see the ink supply channel on the feed lining up with it. Consider taking the nib and feed out if it is not aligned properly, and then reassemble.

 

The tool I use for removing and fitting the nib/feed is actually what they use in most, of not all pen factories: a small sheet of rubber. The one I use is a totally dead bicycle inner tube (where it broke right at the valve, thus not repairable). I cut small pieces off it, clean thoroughly, and that offers enough grip for the purpose.

 

By the way, do note that the feed has a breather tube, unlike most other pens of this type.

[zdeveric]

Hi Seele,

 

Thank you, thank you.

 

This is the smothest nib I ever had. No feedback at all.

 

Groove is a little bit strange.

 

Regards

Zoran

[Dickkooty2]

This is just an observation as I, too, enjoy my light-weight, well-designed and executed 28:

 

In many reviews, the weight of the pen seems to be used as an indicator of quality. I find this particularly noticeable in descriptions of the presence or absence of "heavy" in Chinese pens.

 

As a fancier of the beautiful design and performance of German-made FPs in the 50s-60s from MB, Pelikan and its family of IBIS, Reform and Geha, and Senator, Goldfink, and ERO, I don't understand the 'quality = heavy' point of view when applied to heavy=weight clunkers.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Dickkooty2

[huan9497]

The iconic Type 28 earlier button fillers were, I think, in black ebonite and celluloid but cannot be certain, I have not had the opportunity to examine one yet. But the modern ones, which are sac fillers in black injection moulded thermoplastics with gold nibs are mainly available at Taobao, there are a couple of renown vendors:

 

18K nib Limited Edition

 

12K nib with 1950s/1960s-built nib

 

Steel nibs with choice of finishes

 

There are numerous Taobao purchasing agents who buy and ship for international clients, it is worth checking them out.

 

With the final closure of Golden Star, Hero seems to have inherited their tooling for at least some of their products, the 28 has been revived - with the use of a clear collar - as the 856 as noted by camcar28, but the 565 has also been revived as a Hero model. Worth noting is that Hero revised the 28 even further with a new section as the 856A which seems interesting too.

 

What is worth noting is that the model number during the old days referred to the pen's specifications, hence Model 28 was made by a variety of manufacturers with their own variations, rather than an appellation exclusive to Golden Star.

 

I have a 50's model with the button filler and 12K nib, but the barrel is engraved "新民" (Xinmin, a city) in a circle on the left, and then to the right of it "503" in the top row and underneath "英雄厂制” (Hero manufacture).

 

(Sorry no pics of the label; it's too faint to capture with my camera).

 

Anybody know what's going on? Did Hero make the barrels for these pens?

 

 

[TimTheZaj]

Do the nova on these pens have any flex?

I will probably be buying one of the 12 k ones.

[TimTheZaj]

Do the nibs on these pens have any flex?

I will probably be buying one of the 12 k ones.

[Haqqax]

I have 3 of them. My first impression was not that good (they felt flimsy) but now I really like them and considered buying more...

 

One is a bit drier that others, not sure whether this is because of ink or just the nib being drier. I was not able to remove the nib and feed. The other two write ideally. Start immediately (even if not used for longer), wet, no skips whatsoever.

 

The section is a bit short - I do not find it particularly comfortable. Rings on the cap and the plastic feel cheap... as I said, my first impression was disappointment.

 

But they write so well that all this simply does not matter, I like these pens a lot.

 

My nibs do not have any flex. Just regular steel nibs.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Haqqax

[ammarmali]

Awesome review! Thanks!