I Need 29 Cheap Fountain Pens To Give Away!

[bemon]

Oops! Jumped the gun and didn't realize you already sorted your self out. Good stuff!

[Cassotto]

kl005 and bemon,

 

Yes, I've already bought the pens, so I needn't think more about that. Whether I've picked a good option or not, we'll see. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

 

 

I think the 991 is a good choice. My one concern would be that you only got 29;-) In my experience, Jinhao ships too many pens that either won't write when new, or soon break. It might be good to have some spares.

 

 

You're right about the spares. Before giving the students the cartridges, I'll make it clear that the pens are inexpensive and that they may not work well from the beginning, so they won't be too disappointed if that happens, and once I know how many more I must buy, I suppose I'll find more where these came from. I'll try to buy a few more this week, though.

 

I was thinking that perhaps this might be a good opportunity for me to have a go at fixing pens without running the risk of spoiling a good one. If I manage to salvage some of the faulty 991s, perfect; if not, at least I will have practised. I've been having a look at the video suggested by mc986, and it looks like something that can be done even by someone like clumsy me (once I find out where to find those brass sheets). Do you know whether I can also disassemble the nib and feeder of the 991 by just pulling?

[bob_hayden]

To be honest, around here, Jinhaos that don't write or break are salvaged for parts. I did once swap in a M nib on a 991. The nib came out very easily but left the feed behind. I had no need to remove the feed anyway so I did not pursue that. Others may be able to more fully answer your question. BTW, the nib I put in cost 17 cents US. It needed alignment and a little smoothing but now it writes great.

 

I always carry a pen with red ink and one with black ink, and I like XF nibs for those. As a result I got in the habit of ordering XF nibs, but in fact other colors show up better and shade more in wider nibs, so I am putting same into some of my other XF pens.

 

I find my thumbnail is more sensitive to misalignment than my eyes. I drag the nail across the slit in the nib and I can feel it if one tine is higher than the other. I gently push one up or down until they match. If the slit is too narrow, I just bear down a bit in writing position, gradually increasing pressure until I get it where I want it. It is MUCH harder to get the tines back together if you overdo it so go carefully! MicroMesh is nice for smoothing but I used to use crocus cloth and one sheet will last me many years so that is the cheap option. I don't think I've ever done surgery on a feed.

 

I hope you can find a few spares as the kids whose pens do not work will be really disappointed and not want anything but instant gratification;-)

[Cassotto]

I've already gone and bought five extra pens (the shop is far from home, and it's not easy for me to find the time to go there). I do hope to be able to adjust some of those which don't write at all. But, since you're right about instant gratification, I think I'll also take something else with me so I can give that to those students who are forced to leave their pens with me for a few days while I try to make them work. I don't know what. It's a pity spinners aren't trendy anymore. Those aren't usually faulty, and I've got several I don't use.

 

I'll try what is shown in the video above. I do hope to be able to find the equivalent to the metal sheets and MicroMesh or crocus cloth over here. I haven't found a reasonable translation on the web, but I hope they will be able to figure out what I'm looking for in the shop. By the way, in which sort of shop should I look for those things? A hardware store? A handicrafts shop?

 

Is there any way that I can try the pens without inking them? I'd like to try them before giving them to the students, but I'm not sure I'd be able to clean them and make them look like new if I use ink. What do you think?

[bob_hayden]

The metal sheets might be shim stock or you could use a feeler gage. Here are some specs on MicroMesh given in two different untis.

 

 

Micro-Mesh Regular (silicon carbide grit with standard backing) - The standard grade of Micro-Mesh used for the majority of operations on plastics, paints, wood and most metals and polymers. It is used to produce a uniformly smooth surface and bring the surface to a high gloss finish. Available in grades 1500 to 12000 (30 to 2 microns), and in pad sizes of 2" x 2" and 3" x 4".

 

Here is a link for crocus cloth (which sounds like a very English-language name).

 

https://www.ehow.com/facts_5559160_crocus-cloth.html

 

If you can translate the description into the local language they may be able to figure out what you want. Hardware or crafts stores are possibilities. Crocus cloth is used in auto body shops.

 

I don't think you can try them without inking them. You can feel for proper alignment and see if you can see a bit of light between the times. You should also flush them all out with warm soapy water before giving them away. There may be oils left from manufacturing that will interfere with ink flow.

[mhguda]

I've already gone and bought five extra pens (the shop is far from home, and it's not easy for me to find the time to go there). I do hope to be able to adjust some of those which don't write at all. But, since you're right about instant gratification, I think I'll also take something else with me so I can give that to those students who are forced to leave their pens with me for a few days while I try to make them work. I don't know what. It's a pity spinners aren't trendy anymore. Those aren't usually faulty, and I've got several I don't use.

 

I'll try what is shown in the video above. I do hope to be able to find the equivalent to the metal sheets and MicroMesh or crocus cloth over here. I haven't found a reasonable translation on the web, but I hope they will be able to figure out what I'm looking for in the shop. By the way, in which sort of shop should I look for those things? A hardware store? A handicrafts shop?

 

Is there any way that I can try the pens without inking them? I'd like to try them before giving them to the students, but I'm not sure I'd be able to clean them and make them look like new if I use ink. What do you think?

Does it matter so much that the pen should be - or seem - uninked? If you explain you needed to test them in order to make sure they get a writing pen, that does not make the pen "used"... One way to test them without getting ink everywhere inside the system is to dip them in ink, long enough that capillary action sucks some ink into the feed... but then you still have no guarantee that it will flow from the converter or cartridge.

[Cassotto]

I've already ordered a .002 brass sheet and a sheet of Mircro-Mesh 12000. Meanwhile, I'll have a look at the nibs to see whether I can spot some misalignment or lack of space between the tines. If I find those, is it safe to start working on them without inking the pens? Or should I ink them anyway, just in case they work all right in spite of that? Of course, there may be more problems apart from the nibs, like the feed or the like, but perhaps I can start trying to fix the nibs alone if I see some which are likely to be faulty.

[bob_hayden]

I would only mess with ones that are obviously defective. For example, I remember a pen I received that had the slit in the nib cut way off center so that it would not deliver ink anywhere near the tip. No point giving that to a kid.

 

It has dawned on me that you will be using cartridges, and I find great variability in the time it takes for a pen to write after you put in a new cartridge. This could lead to anxiety and frustration among your students, so I wonder if it might be better to deliver the pens with cartridges inserted and ready to write. This would have the added benefit that you could more thoroughly test the pens in advance.

[mhguda]

I would only mess with ones that are obviously defective. For example, I remember a pen I received that had the slit in the nib cut way off center so that it would not deliver ink anywhere near the tip. No point giving that to a kid.

 

It has dawned on me that you will be using cartridges, and I find great variability in the time it takes for a pen to write after you put in a new cartridge. This could lead to anxiety and frustration among your students, so I wonder if it might be better to deliver the pens with cartridges inserted and ready to write. This would have the added benefit that you could more thoroughly test the pens in advance.

Very good point. And so, another reason to just ink the pens and see if they write, before giving them to your students.

Although, here's an anecdote, albeit about a student of around 15, 16, so older than yours? I had given her class piston filler pens as part of a physics assignment, and she told me - after she fixed the problem herself! - that her pen would not write when she filled it... she kept trying to get it to work, and I think she went online and found some help (not here!) and solved her problem. IIRC the nib was misaligned over the feed, and the slit was too narrow. She told me fixing the problem without my help was her best experience with the experiment... as well I can imagine... even though she never mentioned it in the report, but only told me later...

[Cassotto]

Oh, that's a great idea! I'll give the students the pen after I've put in the cartridges, and in that way I'll be able to see whether the pens work, and they'll be able to start writing from the very beginning. Great point!

 

But before, I'll wait until the micromesh and brass sheet arrive, so I can start trying to fix the defective pens right away.

[Cassotto]

Update-cum-questions:

 

I've started preparing the pens for the students. I've put cartridges in 29 pens (not in the few spare pens I've got, which I want to keep apart until it's strictly necessary to use them). Of them, 27 have needed more or less time to start writing, and though some are wetter than others and some write more smoothly than others, none is too dry, and only four are scratchy enough to require some work with the MicroMesh (which I hope to do as soon as I find out what to do with the two pens not included here). Besides, all 27 wrote from the very beginning after twenty-four hours (which is more than I can say of some of my own -more expensive- fountain pens).

 

I've got one question about the pens which have needed more time to start writing after inserting the cartridge. I don't have much experience with cartridges, but the three pens I've ever used with them started writing right away (in a few seconds). Will the pens which required more time perform worse as far as ink flow is concerned? Perhaps there won't be any problem once the ink "knows the way". Will they also need more time every time the cartridge is changed? If so, is there any way to correct this problem?

 

I'm also concerned with the remaining two pens. The cartridge has been in them for a couple of days now, I've kept them in vertical position with the nib pointing downwards, and not a single ink drop has come out of the cartridges. Is the post too thick, so that there is absolutely no gap between it and the walls of the cartridge mouth? What should I do to fix this problem? (It's not critical, as I've got the spare pens, and I'm sure at least two of them will work).

 

Weird and irrelevant statistics (as they won't probably apply for other batches): all the Jinhao 991 pens are demonstratos in different colours. All the scratchy ones are red, and the two useless ones are blue.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Cassotto

[mhguda]

Maybe now is the time to get out the earbulb thingy and flush the recalcitrant ones with water, maybe with a little dish detergent added. Or have you already done that? Then also, maybe cheat a little. Once the cartridge is in, pinch it a little and see if ink will flow. Sometimes a dip in (inky) water may also help.

As regards the other ones, I guess if they run into this problem, give them the trick. Pinching the cartridge, and/or dipping the nib. If long unused and therefore balky, flush through with water. Also, soaking the section in water with a little dishwashing liquid, and then flushing, does wonders for dried up ink in the inkpath.

Good luck!

[suharsh]

I also keep giving away lot of Jinhao and Hero pens as gifts. However last time I had a few complaints ... of ink leaks ... so I had gifted standard international cartridges for some Jinhao and Hero (Lamy versions) .. i guess I will try out but wanted to ask if all Jinhao accept international cartridge size? There is a few Hero pens (Lamy version) that I have that has a specific cartridge.

 

I stopped giving these away .. and most people shy away if I give them with converters as they don't want to get into filling inks.

 

I want to give as many kids these pens as I can afford to.

 

ofcourse to be on safe side I can buy Jinhao cartridges from eBay .. but have one too many of the international size.

 

i will try a few of them and post back what I find. But meanwhile looking to hear know if some of you already have tried.

[bob_hayden]

I do not have much to add to what mhguda said. In general Chinese pens seem to me to be slow starters when new. And only a few pens from anywhere have started writing immediately for me. I have not noticed that a slow initial start is correlated with any later issues, but then I have not been keeping records of that;-) I have had VERY few balky writers. Most of my complaints have been about pens that dry out too quickly, though those are generally fine if used every day.

 

As to Jinhao cartridges, I can't think of a Jinhao that does not take standard international cartridges, and that is what I use nearly always -- and with no leaks. Jinhao makes cartridges that look like standard (short) international but also an in-between size that fits the same pens but is longer with a large plug in the closed end. Those are very stiff and hard to squeeze to get ink flowing, though they are VERY cheap in quantity (on eBay in the US of A).

 

Most recent Hero pens and many from Wing Sung and other makers now use the Hero 359 cartridges which seem to be the most common type in China but not so common in the US. These have the same shape/size as the longer Jinhao cartridges.

[Bibliophage]

I've had Jinhao pens break the standard international cartridges.

 

There seem to be three diameters of cartridges now, ignoring things like Parker/Lamy and Sheaffer.

 

International

intermediate (Chinese)

Big-bore (Chinese)

 

Chiren pens, for example, are 'big bore'. If I can get enough stuff off of my workbench in the next couple of weeks, I'll line up some various pens and take close up 'microscope' pictures of the pens and the cartridges.

 

I have successfully taken a Thornton's double ended cartridge (Parker/Lamy and international) and used the Parker/Lamy end in a Jinhao 599. Sealed wonderfully. The outside diameter of the cartridge end fit perfectly into the inside diameter of the socket in the section.

[suharsh]

Thanks to both. Just wanted to clarify when I meant Lamy versions .. I was referring to the ones that look like and feel like Lamy .. so Jinhao 599 and Hero 1515, 359.

 

Eventually I am thinking of reaching out to school where my child goes and ask if they would accept me donating these pens to kids through the school.

 

If out of 50 kids even 1 kid becomes a fountain pen person ... I would be happy. But the world is changing ... forget about fountain pens, kids hardly write anything nowadays!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks to both. Just wanted to clarify when I meant Lamy versions .. I was referring to the ones that look like and feel like Lamy .. so Jinhao 599 and Hero 1515, 359.

 

Eventually I am thinking of reaching out to school where my child goes and ask if they would accept me donating these pens to kids through the school.

 

If out of 50 kids even 1 kid becomes a fountain pen person ... I would be happy. But the world is changing ... forget about fountain pens, kids hardly write anything nowadays!

They may think it's cool because the pens come in bright colors.

[Bibliophage]

More people are picking up fountain pens, because of journaling, and being 'different'.

[suharsh]

@Bibliophage ... I hope you are right. From our side we can do whatever best we can do to promote it.

 

To the question I had posed earlier ... I experimented with 4 pens and different ink cartridges - two Hero 1515, one Jinhao 599 and one Jinhao 992.

 

Hero 1515 (blue color pen) - put in Schneider standard international cartridge. THe pen leaked heavily and ink was out and pen a mess.

 

Jinhao 992 - put a private reserve lake placed std cartridge. The pen wouldn't write! Even after leaving it nib down for hours. If it started to write, it would stop after few sentences!

 

Hero 1515 (cream color) - it already had a montverde magnum used cartridge that was empty. So took the cartridge from the above Jinhao 992 and put it in this Hero 1515 and it has been working great. No leaks! Go figure ... and it writes smooth and quick.

 

Jinhao 599 - put a Montverde magnum violet (one of favorite violet / purple inks) cartridge. The pen struggled to write but there were no leaks .. just it was not an enjoyable experience!

 

So as you can see, it is a mixed bag!

 

I am going to experiment with Thornton carts .. if they work with some consistency .. if not for gifting away I am thinking of just buying Jinhao carts in bulk OR just get the disposable Varsity or Thornton or Zebra fountain pens. Let's see.

[Cassotto]

Maybe now is the time to get out the earbulb thingy and flush the recalcitrant ones with water, maybe with a little dish detergent added. Or have you already done that? Then also, maybe cheat a little. Once the cartridge is in, pinch it a little and see if ink will flow. Sometimes a dip in (inky) water may also help.

As regards the other ones, I guess if they run into this problem, give them the trick. Pinching the cartridge, and/or dipping the nib. If long unused and therefore balky, flush through with water. Also, soaking the section in water with a little dishwashing liquid, and then flushing, does wonders for dried up ink in the inkpath.

Good luck!

 

 

I've been washing the two pens as thoroughly as possible. I've removed the nibs, though I haven't known how to remove the feeder from the section. Anyway, I've flushed the sections by placing them under the running tap, and I've also left everything soaking for a while in water with soap. And nothing has changed.

 

The cartridges are clearly punctured where they should be. I've squeezed them a bit so now there's a drop of ink at the top of the feeder, but it won't get any closer to the nib.

 

Is there anything else I can try?

 

Also, one of the other 27 pens has stopped writing after being unused for two and a half days. Is this something I'll be able to fix by separating the tines with the brass sheet, or something different?

 

Thanks!