What Are Some Original Design Chinese Pens That You'd Recommend?

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

 

So most Chinese pens I've come across are "heavily inspired" by certain European or Japanese models.

I'm curious if there are any original designs that have come out of China, that you'd recommend.

 

Thanks.

[Mech-for-i]

well, fountain pens had been around for a long long long time and pen even longer , so really even those Japanese and European models are really taking design from ages ago , and there really is little for real original design bar those really gaudy over decorated ones .. Let say a fountain pen with an open nib ; the barrel can be tapered, straight, thin or fat, the end can be flat or rounded or tapered , and this practically cover almost 90%+ of all fountain pens and these style are all there even before fountain pen exist ...

 

as far as basic styling goes, I really do not think there is much of say originality from any fountain pen Mfr , be it Chinese, Japanese, or European / US these days , they are all just cloning , copying, and re doing old old styles over and over again with different trim, fancy clips, etc etc ....

 

But of course let's go a little bit more lenient ; and yes there are some originality in fountain pen styling / design that can be seen today ( and yesterdays ) from China , say the Pimio ( aka Picasso ) PS-977 , a classic thin rod design as far as the over all styling goes ; but the way the section and the hooded nib / hood implementation is pretty unique though not exactly new, its actually pioneered way back by KLM in late 80's / early 90's in their 200/210 series

 

 

many of todays student / starter grade fountain pen from China utilize the Lamy style nib, though a lot of them are , shall I say , plain clone / knock off of sorts, there are those that are styled unique and their own even if taking the inner mechanism feed / nib & C/C , say Winning 607 which is a heavy duty mid range model with all triangular profile , as well as the M&G AFPM-1202 ( square profiled )

 

Winning 607, on Flickr

 

M&G AFPM-1202 & AFPM5606, on Flickr

 

Wing Sung 765 , on Flickr ~ the vintage Wing Sung 765 , with a nib developed from 50's Pilot Super 300 ( but actually differ a lot ) and a unique profile and s well its sibling the Hero 121/124/240

 

Likewise there were and there are a wide variety of models and design , it depend on how you count as original , the LIY Mini IMHO is original enough by combining the de facto long section short mini barrel Vest Pocket pen with a modern integral feed hooded nib in an all metal construction and so is the Hero 9630

 

里莜-莜米-Mini in pink , on Flickr

 

Hero 9630 Gun Chrome , on Flickr

Edited August 19, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[YonathanZ]

Well I certainly see originality in Faber Castell and Graf von Faber Castell designs.

[sciumbasci]

many of todays student / starter grade fountain pen from China utilize the Lamy style nib, though a lot of them are , shall I say , plain clone / knock off of sorts, there are those that are styled unique and their own even if taking the inner mechanism feed / nib & C/C , say Winning 607 which is a heavy duty mid range model with all triangular profile , as well as the M&G AFPM-1202 ( square profiled )

 

Winning 607, on Flickr

 

M&G AFPM-1202 & AFPM5606, on Flickr

 

Wing Sung 765 , on Flickr ~ the vintage Wing Sung 765 , with a nib developed from 50's Pilot Super 300 ( but actually differ a lot ) and a unique profile and s well its sibling the Hero 121/124/240

Interesting insights, thanks!

Are the hooded nibs a la Parker 51 - like the Hero 616, which I thought it was the students' pen - falling out of favour?

[Mech-for-i]

Interesting insights, thanks!

Are the hooded nibs a la Parker 51 - like the Hero 616, which I thought it was the students' pen - falling out of favour?

 

Not really, hooded nib was always here and is still always here ; take note like the relatively new Hero 616 Plus, the Kaco Edge, Wing Sung 601, and now Natami 初见系列 ; of there are plenty ... its still there with main stay school and student pens

[Honeybadgers]

PenBBS and moonman would be my two

 

The C1 is unique and gorgeous and well made and well designed and comfortable and writes a treat and resists drying out (the threads are coarse but the machining is TIGHT)

 

Penbbs pens are clean and simple and well made, with the sole exception of the 309's piston mechanism being too prone to getting stuck in the pen (all the other self fillers are great)

 

The wing sung 698 isn't a clone of anything. I mean, it's SORT of TWSBI-esque, but really isn't at all.

[garyc]

Agree with Honeybadgers on PenBBS and Moonman. Plus I couldn't believe how good the 698 was when I got it (well, them, I have several...).

 

In terms of pure design, I like the PenBBS 323 too, it comes in acrylic and metal versions too, with many colour variations (which is a nice relief from the multitude of demonstrators).

[Honeybadgers]

I also think the 323 is an underrated design. The shape is odd, it doesn't post, doesn't have a clip or roll stop, but it fits the hand really, really nicely.

[Mech-for-i]

I like my Moonman M5, certainly an original design , sadly Moonman made a batch and never look back , though you can still get the OEM version ( forget the brand , but its there ), Fuliwan 016 is another capless model that I enjoy , not quite so ergonomically profiled as the PenBBS 323 but none the less very well behaving in the hands

 

Fuliwan 016 Sceptre in 海棠, on Flickr

Edited August 23, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[YonathanZ]

PenBBS and moonman would be my two

 

The C1 is unique and gorgeous and well made and well designed and comfortable and writes a treat and resists drying out (the threads are coarse but the machining is TIGHT)

 

Penbbs pens are clean and simple and well made, with the sole exception of the 309's piston mechanism being too prone to getting stuck in the pen (all the other self fillers are great)

 

The wing sung 698 isn't a clone of anything. I mean, it's SORT of TWSBI-esque, but really isn't at all.

 

The C1 is a knock-off, I don't recall the original pen but it's out of production IIRC.

[MuddyWaters]

The penbbs 323 is a very good design.

 

I think the wing sung 698 is a twsbi design, hard to argue against this.

[rochester21]

Hi,

 

So most Chinese pens I've come across are "heavily inspired" by certain European or Japanese models.

 

Thanks.

And the correct answer is: ALL chinese fountain pens copy western designs. Why? Because they invented them. It's like asking for an original german paper making recipe or a french compass. Ever heard of original italian firecrackers? Of course not.

 

Once someone invents something, you cannot reinvent it. Best you can do is hope the invention gets lost so others can rediscover it and claim credit or use the western approach, which was to simply steal the invention and rewrite the narrative aka classic historiography.

 

And since we're on the topic concerning original fountain pen designs, can anyone name any german original design, (especially considering how much german pen companies are asking for their products)?

Edited September 24, 2019 by rochester21

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

The penbbs 323 is a very good design.

 

I think the wing sung 698 is a twsbi design, hard to argue against this.

And the TWSBI demonstrators ( 580 , mini , eco ) kind of looks like the demonstrator versions of Pelikan souveran line and TWSBI precision looks like the Caran D'ache 849 !

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

PenBBS and moonman would be my two

 

The C1 is unique and gorgeous and well made and well designed and comfortable and writes a treat and resists drying out (the threads are coarse but the machining is TIGHT)

 

Penbbs pens are clean and simple and well made, with the sole exception of the 309's piston mechanism being too prone to getting stuck in the pen (all the other self fillers are great)

 

The wing sung 698 isn't a clone of anything. I mean, it's SORT of TWSBI-esque, but really isn't at all.

I have the same problem with PenBBS 309 and with PenBBS 456 !

[txomsy]

And since we're on the topic concerning original fountain pen designs, can anyone name any german original design, (especially considering how much german pen companies are asking for their products)?

Er... the Kaweco sport or liliput, for instance?

 

There are many interesting designs... the Aurora Hastil, made it to the MoMA but that is an Italian design. And I think you can find many more if you search. The point is, besides a basic shape, there has been lots of clearly differentiable designs. Numerous Lamy, Pelikan, etc designs are clearly recognisable and innovative.

 

Same can be said of US or British pens, and I'd bet of most large and starting pen manufacturers who want to differentiate. Of course, everybody makes "dull" pens reusing successful designs (that is the reason they are successful), but there are also many aggressive innovations.

 

I must admit that, oddly, despite the larger number of pens made in China, I see less innovations there. I guess that most Chinese makers are in a stage where they just want to sell safely, mostly favouring tested designs, to minimize risk, whereas Occidental makers have been competing for more time in a tighter market and have more need to come up with value-added designs.

[lovemy51]

And the correct answer is: ALL chinese fountain pens copy western designs.

 

the OP also mentions Japanese...

 

I do believe the Chinese have their own style and motif.

e.g. https://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_215974_1.jpg

Edited October 14, 2019 by lovemy51

[txomsy]

I concur. There are many designs that talk heavily of Asian design. Not only Chinese. Too bad that. personally, I do not feel as thrilled by most of them as to recommend them. But credit where credit is due...