Mass Review Of Chinese Pens

[MuddyWaters]

Excuse the poor resolution. I fit them all in a spreadsheet but could not copy paste as text into here, so I uploaded as screenshots.

Edited November 4, 2018 by MuddyWaters

[dsolmei]

Very informative. Wonder what marks a penbbs, lorelei, or caliarts pen would get?

[senzen]

Very interesting; for me the grading system more than the actual pens, not meant as a criticism of them.

[MuddyWaters]

Very informative. Wonder what marks a penbbs, lorelei, or caliarts pen would get?

 

Thanks for the reminder, I actually have a PenBBS. I will add it to the original post.

 

Please note that I have the 267 desk pen. I didn't very much like the shape which is why I only gave it a 2. I haven't tried the 308 but because I am not that keen on the feedback quality of their nibs, I probably won't get one for now.

 

Since I've been into parker 51 copies recently, I ordered a Wing Sung 601 pump filler. I really hope that the nib has more character than the 698. If it doesn't, I don't think I'll end up using it much. We'll see.

 

For me, to use a pen, the priorities are feel in the hand and pleasantness of nib including some decent feedback that doesn't scratch or limit writing speed. Added bonus is good clip if it's a work pen, and how nice it looks.

Edited November 4, 2018 by MuddyWaters

[Honeybadgers]

A bad nib on a moonman m2 is a rare thing. That pen usually has superb quality control.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[MuddyWaters]

A bad nib on a moonman m2 is a rare thing. That pen usually has superb quality control.

 

The nib wasn't badly made and I've heard others complain of the same thing. Imo it is probably an overrated pen in terms of writing quality.

[Honeybadgers]

 

The nib wasn't badly made and I've heard others complain of the same thing. Imo it is probably an overrated pen in terms of writing quality.

 

If it was scratchy, you got a dud. My extra fines have all been incredibly smooth with moderate flexibility, able to do actual modest shading in spencerian writing.

 

Definitely not an overrated pen, even if it doesn't fit your writing preferences.

Edited November 4, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[penzel_washinkton]

Thanks for the comparison but I have to agree with Honeybadgers on the M2.

The scratchy nibs is a previous issue where there are some that were shipped without tipping I believe.

 

It does not appear to be an issue for mine though.

[MuddyWaters]

Thanks for the comparison but I have to agree with Honeybadgers on the M2.

The scratchy nibs is a previous issue where there are some that were shipped without tipping I believe.

 

It does not appear to be an issue for mine though.

 

It might have been that! it does feel like it has no tipping. the rest of my points hold though about the body

[Honeybadgers]

also keep in mind the wing sung 698 nibs are 100% interchangable with pilot steel nibs. i.e. a plumix stub fits. As does a kakuno EF or metropolitan F or M.

 

I have one with a stub nib and one with an EF right now that's been inked since the start of the semester. I don't find it slippery at all and I am super sensitive to slippery sections. My sole complaint about the 698 is that they just need to make it post. If it posted, it'd be the perfect beginner pen.

[penzel_washinkton]

As for slippery and those kinds of factors, it is too subjective of a matter to compare between one user and the other.

Nice to get perspectives from various sources

Edited November 5, 2018 by penzel_washinkton

[Honeybadgers]

well I'm on the fairly extreme hand of oily fingers, so if it won't slip in my hand, it's a good bet that it's not a very slippery little guy. I'm the type of person who won't even buy a pen with a polished metal section anymore. ever.

[penzel_washinkton]

As much as I respect your experience and opinion, TS surely has his own experience with it and both of them are subjective.

Saying that, I find the mass review to be very subjective (like lacks class to be a desk pen or nib lacks character) but I find it entertaining.

 

Not much reviewer are brave enough to give a rating "garbage" , but then again, this is the TS's subjective opinion.

[MuddyWaters]

Yes there is subjectivity for sure. I cannot deny that. If I could elaborate: some nibs to me are boring, if they are too round or have no feedback. I don't like to use Jovo nibs for that reason, because they don't offer feedback and are too round. I found the 698 nib to be too round without feedback, but it's definitely a quality nib: it writes extremely well on any paper and is precise, flow is clean.

 

As for the body of the 698, what I wrote was a little misleading in that it might have sounded like the 698's body was bad compared to all pens, but no, I only meant vs the 3008, and liking the polygonal shape of the 3008 and the 3008 plastic being less smooth, which I find make the 3008 more pleasant to hold. But again, also, 698 compared to other pens has a very functional body. I just found that it also lacked character compared to the 3008 body.

 

And I also could say that I have found reviews on youtube to be extremely misleading. Some reviewers don't comment about the things that really matter, like feedback, starting on different papers, how the pen fits in the hand, price and so on. They mostly give very generic information and interpretations for the masses. It is better imo to get honest and comprehensive feedback from a reviewer and then see if your subjective tastes align with those of the reviewer. Then, if your tastes align, purchases and further research can go in line with that reviewer. Much better than following some generic stuff that doesn't give you too many clues on how you will actually like the pen. Also, pen reviews need to be a lot more comparative. Reviewing a pen on its own does not provide the viewer with much basis to interpret the judgment with.

Edited November 7, 2018 by MuddyWaters

[Honeybadgers]

Sorry if I was implying that your opinion was somehow invalid, I totally didn't mean that. I was just sharing my experiences, since I've had the pens that I'm commenting on for over a year.

 

Most of the less expensive chinese pens, giving reports on nib quality is kind of pointless since the cheaper stuff tends to have very hit and miss due to quality control. The exceptions being moonman, penBBS and wing sung.

[MuddyWaters]

Sorry if I was implying that your opinion was somehow invalid, I totally didn't mean that. I was just sharing my experiences, since I've had the pens that I'm commenting on for over a year.

 

Most of the less expensive chinese pens, giving reports on nib quality is kind of pointless since the cheaper stuff tends to have very hit and miss due to quality control. The exceptions being moonman, penBBS and wing sung.

Could be, though I found consistency between my baoer 388 and 3035, but then the 051 was a non-starter which was annoying. It doesn't matter much anyway because though the 051 looks really cool, it is a bit awkward in the hand for my tastes. The 388 is actually a really solid pen, wrote well, light metal, easier to hold, nib is a nice medium with some feedback.

 

And no worries about your comments. I appreciate the feedback. I hope my chart can help guide people a little bit, if only to develop a sense of what are some things that matter in a pen.

Edited November 7, 2018 by MuddyWaters

[AlohaLani787]

That's a great chart!

 

One pleasant surprise I discovered with my Jinhao 992 pens is that a Montblanc ink cartridge is a perfect fit.

[Honeybadgers]

the 992 makes me so sad. If jinhao would just fix the quality of the plastic and touch nothing else, even if they DOUBLED the price, it'd be the best beginner fountain pen on earth.

[MuddyWaters]

It's quite amazing indeed how many good starter pens can be had on ebay. I would suggest many of the pens on the list above: the Jinhao 992 and 159, the Wing Sung 3008 and 6539, and Baoer 388. I mean for pens under 5 bucks.

 

If we could add mainstream pens, the pilot metro is a good starter as well.

 

Some "starter" pens aren't worth the money though, given the above choices, like the Safari (because of cost mainly) and Kaweco Sport (cost and baby's bottom nibs).

[Honeybadgers]

I wish pilot still sold the penmanship. THAT was the best beginner pen for the money. it's goofy, yes, but it writes like mad with their EF nib being perfect for western paper, and cost under $5 a couple years ago. I'm glad I got 3.

 

I didn't realize the kakuno could accept the CON-70, either. THAT is a cool pen.

Edited November 11, 2018 by Honeybadgers