Chinese Pens: Which To Avoid And Which To Try?

[Sasha Royale]

I have had good experience with HERO models 616 and 266, and Jinhao models 159, x250, 500, 599 . Find them on Ebay with free shipping. Your risk will be < $6 each. The negatives are manufacturing residue in the mechanism (A soapy flush is suggested.), and a higher rate of quality control failure. (Quality control costs money.) All-in-all, very good value.

 

I don't like the Jinhao x750 .

 

I would avoid paying extra for "BLING".

[Ian the Jock]

Ian:

Sixty-eight Chinese pens in two years? That certainly gives you the right (maybe obligation is a better word) to share your data. That's an outstanding collection.

Do you find that you have any lasting favorites from that horde? Or are they all pretty much equally enjoyable, each on its own terms?

My hat is off ...

ron

 

They are all pretty much loved for their individual merits Ron, although there are a few real stand-outs, and not just in the company of Chinese pens either.

The Jinhao 217 has been my favourite since the minute it landed, and remains so...it's a fantastic pen. The appearance might not be up everyones' street, but it certainly floats my boat.

There a few really top Heros as well, the 7022, the 572, and the 1026 are all real quality pens which write beautifully and are worth the wee bit extra, although, I have a few other heros which are excellent also.

Some of the Huahongs are sensational (and on this 1 occasion I will say "for the money" as none of them cost me more than $2) with the "Belters" as they came to be known, being in my opinion outstanding pens.

Then there is of course "The Mighty Roo", The Kaigelu 316, which stands toe, to toe, with pens many, many times more costly.

I have 2 Picassos, The Swedish Flower king, which is gorgeous in the firework blue that I have, and my most recent 915 Ruby, which Is an absolute stunner and a beautiful pen to hold and write with.

The Jinhao 500s are another that I really like. They are beautifully balanced, and I have a blue one with a home ground f/m italic nib as my dedicated Baystate Blue pen and I use it every day without fail.

I also love the styling of the Baoer 3035 and 051, both excellent pens.

Oh!, and my Jinhao 1200 silver dragon, and the Kaigelu 368, and the Yiren 868 and the.............ok, ok, I'm sure you get the picture.

 

I don't have the tried and trusted Jinhao 159, as the big cigar shape type thing doesn't really butter my parsnips, and there are no Hero 616s either, as I'm not a fan of hooded nibs, or the styling, so no Parker 51s either.

 

I suppose I had better mention the 1 Chinese pen that I do not like (apart from the boxue mentioned above)....and I really, really don't like it. The Jinhao 599.

It's just a piece of cheap looking plastic, with boxy styling and an overall cheapness about it.

It looks just exactly what it is....a cheap Chinese plastic pen, and there are far better pens for the money, and yes, I think the Lamy Safari just looks like a cheap plastic pen too, so no Lamy Safari's here either.

 

Sorry Ron .......once I got started..

 

 

And Mrs the Jock thinks you've got a dozen or so? I guess she doesn't frequent this site.

 

Unfortunately Frank, the cat was let out of the bag last year, when The lovely Laura decided to buy me a fountain pen as a surprise gift, and she thought it best to check all of my pens to make sure I didn't already have it. Oh dear!

Oddly enough, since then she has embraced my "thing for pens" and even goes around charity shops with me "hunting", so all's well that ends well..

 

Ian

[rwilsonedn]

That's quite a tour through the category. Thanks!

ron

[eliweisz]

Kaigelu 316 aka "The Mighty Roo" is much recommended:

[J_MM]

The Hero 85 is a larger pen with good weight and balance. A nice wet medium nib.

[richardandtracy]

We've all been forgetting the Kaigelu 356, the Parker Sonnet equivalent. Great little pen, and as good as the basic Sonnet at 1/10th the price.

 

Dreadful pens: Any Huashilai except the 3000. I have not seen many Huashilai's up for sale recently, so they may have been absorbed by another manufacturer or gone bust.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Helen350]

Ri

 

We've all been forgetting the Kaigelu 356, the Parker Sonnet equivalent. Great little pen, and as good as the basic Sonnet at 1/10th the price.

 

Dreadful pens: Any Huashilai except the 3000. I have not seen many Huashilai's up for sale recently, so they may have been absorbed by another manufacturer or gone bust.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

Another nice Kaigelu is the 368. We do not often see this one, but it is a great little pen as well.

[ParkerDuofold]

...Knox #5 Fine nib from XFountain Pen...

Just to let everyone know, XFountain Pen Co. IS NOW: Birmingham Pen Co.

 

Same people and outfit, they just changed their name.

[Seele]

One brand to avoid is "Yongsheng". When Hero closed down and mothballed the Wing Sung brand, some dodgy individuals started making new pens of very poor quality using the same Chinese name and logo as the old Wing Sung, but instead of using the the latin "Wing Sung" they used the pinyin "Yongsheng" instead. For Chinese customers, they would merely ignore it and thought they're real Wing Sungs and got taken in, some mail order vendors also call them Wing Sungs, but check the photographs very carefully.

[Aquaria]

I have...let's see--2 Jinhao 599s. One was a gimme thrown in with an order.

 

A Jinhao metal barrel 599.

 

A Jinhao 159.

 

A Jinhao x450

 

Two Jinhao X750s in Shimmering Sands. One was a gimme from iPenBox right after I ordered the original.

 

A Baoer 68

 

A Baoer "Eight Horses" Antique pen.

 

10 Hero 616 pens.

 

The only one that hasn't worked right was the Jinhao metal barrel. It leaks like crazy, even with Pelikan ink in it, and I noticed that the feed is unlike any other out there, so I suspect a bad feed system. When I have the time/energy, I'll see about switching in a more standard feed. I like the feel of the barrel, so I'd hate to get rid of it over a lousy feed system.

[dcwaites]

Of all the inexpensive Chinese pens I have bought, only three now sit on my desk in regular use --

 

Kaigelu 316

Jinhao Century (Mk II)

Crocodile 806.

 

I have replaced the Kaigelu nib with a hand-ground stub made from a Jinhao #6 nib and the Jinhao's #5 nib with a hand-ground Long Fine. Not because the nibs were faulty, but because I wanted different shaped nibs. I can always put the Kaigelu's nib back in if I wanted to pass it on.

The Crocodile nib I had to adjust, it was so tight that ink just wouldn't flow through, but after that, it has been delightful. You will need a new converter though, the one that comes with it doesn't hold water, or ink...

 

I prefer these pens because they are all a medium weight and size. I generally find that Chinese pens are either too light (Hero 616 series) or too heavy (Jinhao commemoratives).

[sciumbasci]

One brand to avoid is "Yongsheng". When Hero closed down and mothballed the Wing Sung brand, some dodgy individuals started making new pens of very poor quality using the same Chinese name and logo as the old Wing Sung, but instead of using the the latin "Wing Sung" they used the pinyin "Yongsheng" instead. For Chinese customers, they would merely ignore it and thought they're real Wing Sungs and got taken in, some mail order vendors also call them Wing Sungs, but check the photographs very carefully.

Isn't Hero alive and well?

Hero website is up and running, and they recently held some sort of writing festival.

[Pichak]

My Jinhao 886 and Jinhao 911 are hard start.

[Frank Savage]

I want to ask-are all Kaigelu nibs as thick and stiff as Kaigelu 368, with no spring (not talking about flex, that has been talked about many times regarding chinese pens)? This nib is so massive and nail-ish, I can lend it with no hessitation or use it to write on carbonless copy forms...

[pyotrkot]

Kaigelu 316 aka "The Mighty Roo" is much recommended:

Beautiful pen. May I ask what brown ink you were writing with here?

Regards,

[eliweisz]

Beautiful pen. May I ask what brown ink you were writing with here?

Regards,

 

Thank you. It's J. Herbin Lie de The.

[oneill]

My Jinhao 886 and Jinhao 911 are hard start.

Then take this advice and use it. Flush out the Convertor or cartridge thoroughly with a very small amount od Amonia and dishwashing liquid because Jinhao does not do that so the more flushing to get rid of the machining liquid will only improve it or not,if not I cant help you , trust me oneill.

[WJM]

Past few months I ordered quite a few chinese fountain pens, I'm still waiting for some and for the most part I'm very satisfied. Jinhaos I have are almost all very good - X450, X750, 159, 500. Recently I got 250 which also seems to be quite nice, I'm not a big fan of how it looks,. but writes like a charm.

 

The one I'm not so fond of is 599, which is a Lamy Safari/Al Star/Vista look-alike. The nib is a little scratchy, then again I guess some tweaking would probably help. Also, one of mine 159 came with a slightly chipped laquer on the barrel and severely missalingned nib. The nib was easy to fix and seems to sit tight enough in the section.

 

Hero 616 is an absolute classic. Regular is a little to small for my taste, I very recently got "Jumbo" which is the same size as Parker 51. I also have a fake one which is not a bad writer but is horribly leaky and doesn't fill properly.

 

I'll also add to the praise Kaigelu 316 receives - it really looks and feels like a luxorious item. It's a bit more expensive than other pens I mentioned (prices on ebay are in $20-40 range, not $2-6 like most Jinhaos) but it's well worth the price.

[Kenlowe]

Past few months I ordered quite a few chinese fountain pens, I'm still waiting for some and for the most part I'm very satisfied. Jinhaos I have are almost all very good - X450, X750, 159, 500. Recently I got 250 which also seems to be quite nice, I'm not a big fan of how it looks,. but writes like a charm.

 

The one I'm not so fond of is 599, which is a Lamy Safari/Al Star/Vista look-alike. The nib is a little scratchy, then again I guess some tweaking would probably help. Also, one of mine 159 came with a slightly chipped laquer on the barrel and severely missalingned nib. The nib was easy to fix and seems to sit tight enough in the section.

 

Hero 616 is an absolute classic. Regular is a little to small for my taste, I very recently got "Jumbo" which is the same size as Parker 51. I also have a fake one which is not a bad writer but is horribly leaky and doesn't fill properly.

 

I'll also add to the praise Kaigelu 316 receives - it really looks and feels like a luxorious item. It's a bit more expensive than other pens I mentioned (prices on ebay are in $20-40 range, not $2-6 like most Jinhaos) but it's well worth the price.

 

 

 

I have had the opposite experience. I have had a few Hero 616s and all have had a propesity to blob when least expecting it.

 

My Jinhao 599s are very easy to use and have smooth nibs and my 159s have a build quality that would justify 10x the price tag, even my oldish black 159 which is a daily writer and now looks a little worn seems to improve with age.

 

Also have a 250 Jinha, which writes well and personally I really like its looks, mine is a sort of electric deep blue.

 

I may have just been lucky, I dont know.

[WJM]

Well, with looks it's all personal taste. Mine 250 is yellow-something with a dark pattern. There are other colors which I've seen just on photos - I admit they do look better (frankly I bought this one because it was cheap - got it for $1 free shipping). Still I don't care much for the golden finials on both barrel and the cap and too wide ring of the cap. Too gold and too shiny. There's also the threaded, metalic section which for me is neither good looking nor comfortable (despite the threads it's still weirdly slippery). The black ring under the gold one on the cap is kinda out of place.

 

It's still not a bad pen, as I said, writes beautifully, but as far as the design goes, I prefer other Jinhaos - X450, X750, 159, 500.