Cheap Hooded Nib Pen That Takes International Long Cartridges?

[DerangedGoose]

I have pretty much given up on all Jinhao pens. I realize some people have gotten winners, but the reality is that their QC is so shoddy, and feed mechanism so poorly designed, that its a total crapshoot. I have bought and returned a 250, 450, and 750. I returned a V1 599, and am now going through an 8 pack of V2 599 I bought on amazon prime, methodically checking each one for usability. My criteria is pretty simple:

 

1) It needs to start immediately

 

2) It needs to be able to sit uncapped for half an hour (preferably an hour)

 

I sit in a lot of long meetings where I need to write something down sporadically but immediately. I cant be kickstarting and scribbling to get ink out. My Pilot Metropolitan and Pilot Plumix both can sit uncapped for about an hour just fine. The problem is that I need 4-5 such pens for my office, briefcase, car, planner, and such. I work in a place where pens are borrowed and move around; I do not want to spend $40+ on a fleet of Metros, and the Plumix is unsuitable because it has no clip and the cap is screw on.

 

I do, however, have two cheap chinese pens that satisfy this criteria very well: a HERO 007 and a HERO 9296. The hooded nib design seems to be the key in these cheap pens. The problem with the 007 is that it is bladder fill only, and the 9296 does not fit long international cartridges (I assume it fits short ones, but I dont have any on hand). I dont want to use a converter/bladder fill because of the number of pens and mobile nature of my work. Therefore, my main question is this:

 

-What is a cheap ($5 and under) hooded pen I can purchase that will accept long international cartridges?

 

That being said, I realize that both my Pilot pens are open nibs and dont dry out nearly as quickly; so I concede that ink must be a factor as well. If someone can recommend a good, economical, wet ink that comes in long international cartridges (I could probably settle for short ones), I would take a look at that too. Thank you for your input!

Edited February 2, 2016 by DerangedGoose

[sirgilbert357]

I'm blown away that you've been able to find even a single pen that can sit uncapped for an hour without drying out. I guess I took the lazy route with my Pilot Decimo, LOL. That's what I use for note taking in situations where I might not write for several minutes at a time. But it stays with me and no one is allowed to borrow it.

 

You can't just keep the one Metropolitan you have on your person at all times? Maybe in your shirt pocket?

 

If not, all I can say is mechanical pencils are often overlooked as a solution, LOL. They are ready instantly, don't leak, aren't affected by freezing cold or scorching heat, walk off way less often than "borrowed" pens, and even rather good ones are quite cheap.

 

Either that, or skip the frustrating search and just stick with what you know: get more Metropolitans. Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but that's all I've got. Maybe someone else will offer a better solution...

Edited February 2, 2016 by sirgilbert357

[mike.jane]

I also thought of a mechanical pencil right away. In fact it reminded me of one of the mid-range, metal bodied, yet still light Rotrings with a broader lead that I tried in a shop once. Very nice writing experience, totally surprised me as one often associates a pencil with boring and/or scratchy.

[MobyDick]

This link might help. Not international cartridges but cheap and hooded. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/270352-review-hooded-nib-fountain-pens-in-india/

Lamy 2000 - Not cheap but hooded. Would likely start up immediately just as you want it to.

E95S - So... Not cheap, not hooded, but inlaid. You seem to be attached to the pilot brand seeing as how you own a plumix and a metropolitan. It's a pocket pen. Great for the sporadic note taking in a meeting.

[ancalagon]

Letting it sit uncapped is the problem. Hooded nibs resist drying out longer, but even they will dry out eventually.

 

If it's been a couple of minutes since you've written something down, you can put the cap back on partway and it will keep it from drying out almost as well as clicking or screwing the cap all the way down.

[Perdendosi]

I have a JinHao 301. It's teeny tiny in diameter, and the bling on the cap is extraordinarily ugly, but it's $5. And it's one of the smoothest writing pens I own (of the 5 I own, all affordable). It's never had a hard start or a skip for me, but I've never left it uncapped for more than a couple of minutes

 

I'll leave it out for a few minutes and see what happens.

 

EDIT:

After 10 minutes, the pen wouldn't write. It took four words to get the ink (diamine royal blue) to get flowing.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Perdendosi

[DerangedGoose]

I'm blown away that you've been able to find even a single pen that can sit uncapped for an hour without drying out. I guess I took the lazy route with my Pilot Decimo, LOL. That's what I use for note taking in situations where I might not write for several minutes at a time. But it stays with me and no one is allowed to borrow it.

 

You can't just keep the one Metropolitan you have on your person at all times? Maybe in your shirt pocket?

 

If not, all I can say is mechanical pencils are often overlooked as a solution, LOL. They are ready instantly, don't leak, aren't affected by freezing cold or scorching heat, walk off way less often than "borrowed" pens, and even rather good ones are quite cheap.

 

Either that, or skip the frustrating search and just stick with what you know: get more Metropolitans. Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but that's all I've got. Maybe someone else will offer a better solution...

 

 

I realize I may be demanding too much of a fountain pen, but in all honesty I expect it to meet the performance of a rollerball / gel pen. I am a stickler about input latency in mobile phones; this would be the analog equivalent.

 

On the other hand, its obvious some pen designs manage to achieve this benchmark, so I think I may be on the right track. I would be happy to report back with my findings; I have incoming a V3 hooded nib Jinhao 599, as well as a Jinhao 126 and Baoer 801, all three of which are hooded nib designs. Perhaps I will bite the bullet and buy another Metro or two (especially if I can find a Euro version that takes international carts).

 

Also, I have a package of Waterman cartridges incoming, and will report back with more information; perhaps this will get my open-nib pens up to par

[ac12]

I thought I replied to this post.

You have cross-posted also in the Chinese pen section, and maybe other sections.

 

I do not expect ANY fountain pen to be immediately writable after being uncapped for 30-60 minutes.

 

I would soft cap the pen. This simply putting the cap on, without clicking it home or screwing the cap on. The cap is VERY QUICKLY removable from the pen, just lift the pen and the cap falls off. The soft capping significantly reduces the drying of the nib.

 

This is a combination of design and the individual pen. Two seemingly identical pens could behave differently. A wet pen will dry slower than a dry pen. But make the pen too wet and it becomes difficult to use.

 

The B-801 is not a hooded nib. It just has a small nib.

 

This may be a situation where you should just use a roller ball or gel pen.

A pen is simply a tool, you need to select the appropriate tool for the job.

Edited February 4, 2016 by ac12

[sirgilbert357]

 

 

I realize I may be demanding too much of a fountain pen, but in all honesty I expect it to meet the performance of a rollerball / gel pen. I am a stickler about input latency in mobile phones; this would be the analog equivalent.

 

On the other hand, its obvious some pen designs manage to achieve this benchmark, so I think I may be on the right track. I would be happy to report back with my findings; I have incoming a V3 hooded nib Jinhao 599, as well as a Jinhao 126 and Baoer 801, all three of which are hooded nib designs. Perhaps I will bite the bullet and buy another Metro or two (especially if I can find a Euro version that takes international carts).

 

Also, I have a package of Waterman cartridges incoming, and will report back with more information; perhaps this will get my open-nib pens up to par

 

You absolutely are demanding too much. If you want rollerball performance, you should just use a roller ball. Hooded nib or not, the tines and slit are exposed to air on a fountain pen and can still dry out. Any pen you have that's staying wet for an hour uncapped is the exception and you should treat that pen as a prized possession made from unobtanium. And clean it often...because it may be writing, but you can bet your next paycheck SOME of that ink is drying and it will eventually clog. You also want a handful of such pens to keep in various locations?? Its just going to be a lot of trial and error to find pens that meet your requirements; and that costs money and defeats the purpose of writing with a Metropolitan in the first place.

 

What's wrong with partially capping the pen if you aren't going to write for an hour or more? Further, the Metropolitan is a snap cap, so its quite fast to uncap and start writing -- I'd think any snap cap style pen should work. If that's still to slow for you, the only other option I can think of is the aforementioned Decimo or a Vanishing Point, etc...

Edited February 4, 2016 by sirgilbert357

[Thunderpants]

Are you sure you don't want a gold nib as well in your $5 miracle pen?

[aucheukyan]

I have pretty much given up on all Jinhao pens. I realize some people have gotten winners, but the reality is that their QC is so shoddy, and feed mechanism so poorly designed, that its a total crapshoot. I have bought and returned a 250, 450, and 750. I returned a V1 599, and am now going through an 8 pack of V2 599 I bought on amazon prime, methodically checking each one for usability. My criteria is pretty simple:

 

1) It needs to start immediately

 

2) It needs to be able to sit uncapped for half an hour (preferably an hour)

 

I sit in a lot of long meetings where I need to write something down sporadically but immediately. I cant be kickstarting and scribbling to get ink out. My Pilot Metropolitan and Pilot Plumix both can sit uncapped for about an hour just fine. The problem is that I need 4-5 such pens for my office, briefcase, car, planner, and such. I work in a place where pens are borrowed and move around; I do not want to spend $40+ on a fleet of Metros, and the Plumix is unsuitable because it has no clip and the cap is screw on.

 

I do, however, have two cheap chinese pens that satisfy this criteria very well: a HERO 007 and a HERO 9296. The hooded nib design seems to be the key in these cheap pens. The problem with the 007 is that it is bladder fill only, and the 9296 does not fit long international cartridges (I assume it fits short ones, but I dont have any on hand). I dont want to use a converter/bladder fill because of the number of pens and mobile nature of my work. Therefore, my main question is this:

 

-What is a cheap ($5 and under) hooded pen I can purchase that will accept long international cartridges?

 

That being said, I realize that both my Pilot pens are open nibs and dont dry out nearly as quickly; so I concede that ink must be a factor as well. If someone can recommend a good, economical, wet ink that comes in long international cartridges (I could probably settle for short ones), I would take a look at that too. Thank you for your input!

Is there an issue with the Pilot ink cartridges? Pilot Ink, not the premium iroshizuku, which comes in carts are quite wet and should suit your purpose?

 

There are alot of Hero semi-hooded pens that comes with a cheap piston converter that you can stick international carts in.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

In meetings I use a fountain pen with a screw on cap. When not writing anything down I just put the cap on, whether I screw it on or just leave it on without screwing it on. Keeps the pen writing for hours that way.

 

OTOH, have you considered using a pencil?

[DerangedGoose]

I can now add my Safari to the list, which, after spreading the tines a bit, writes extremely wet and stays wet almost indefinitely, but the Lamy Fine is definitely too bold of a line. Will be trying an EF nib.

[Piper 987]

I have a couple of Jinhao 9009's. They are awesome pens and have a hooded, fine nib.

 

 

I use them with regular Jinhao converters so I'm sure they'll be fine with cartridges.

[PenH]

I have a Parker 45, it has a hooded nib, but doesn't take international cartridges though. Parker does make carriages though and a converter as well. It"s a great writing pen.

[sirgilbert357]

I have a Parker 45, it has a hooded nib, but doesn't take international cartridges though. Parker does make carriages though and a converter as well. It"s a great writing pen.

 

None of my three Parker 45's would stay wet for 15 mins uncapped, let alone 30 mins to an hour like what the OP is requesting...

[TLab3000]

I think the ink you use will be just as important as the pen. I just flipped through my ink book and looked for inks with an above average dry time. Maybe those are also better suited to your needs?

 

Above average:

Koh-i-Noor (all of them)

Montblanc Blue Hour (aka Twilight)

Diamine Majestic Blue, Meadow

Iroshizuku kon-peki

J. Herbin Rouge Hematite, Lierre Sauvage

 

Well above average:

Sailor Sky High

Iroshizuku ku-jaku

Montblanc Winter Glow

Diamine Wild Strawberry

J. Herbin Vert Réséda

Visconti Green (old bottle)

 

Ridiculous:

Jinhao black - 10+ minutes!

 

Where in the US do you live? I'm just testing some pens, but I'm in Germany, it's Winter and heater is off. If you are, for example, in New Mexico, my results might not be relevant for you.

Okay, the hour is over, let's test:

 

- Pilot Petit 1: Yup! No ILC but can be eye-dropper-ized, which is even better, right?

- Wing Sung 590: Yup! No ILC, but a really huge sack.

- Equinox: Fail! Damn, this one takes ILCs.

- Pilot vpen/varsity: Yup! No ILC but huge reservoir and can be refilled although it's a bit tricky.

- Kaigelu 316: Yup - with flying colours! Takes ILCs. Unfortunately costs a bit more than USD 5.

- Hero WP: Nope!

- Airmail... something: Name doesn't matter, didn't work anyway.

 

Gotto go pick up the wife.

 

Cheers

 

Timo

[PenH]

 

None of my three Parker 45's would stay wet for 15 mins uncapped, let alone 30 mins to an hour like what the OP is requesting...

 

 

Yeah, I have never tested that with mine. I don't think there are any pens that fill that criteria.

[Algester]

the modern P51 with all of it's cracked barrel and section issues? but... that takes parker converters... :<

[DerangedGoose]

Happy to report that I am not crazy, and (in the absence of a competently designed and matched feeb/nib), a hooded nib makes a big difference.

 

I just received a Baoer 801 and the newest Jinhao 599 with the hooded nib (I believe it is V3 or V4) and BOTH of them easily surpass half an hour uncapped, even with a ceiling fan turned on. Both pens were roughly $3 shipped via ebay. They both take long international cartridges (I used a long waterman in one pen and a long jinhao cart in another, both worked perfectly).

 

An added bonus is the fine to extra fine point that you get. So you dont have to put up with a thick line after tuning nibs/tines to get wetter flow (as you would get on other Jinhaos and such).

 

I highly recommend both of these pens.

Edited February 23, 2016 by DerangedGoose