"Book Worm" shrimp

[Robert Hughes]

Normally I prefer to collect vintage pens, old Watermans and such. But the other day, this little bauble caught me eye, and I couldn't turn away...

http://goldquills.com/prodimages/PicGQSite/Shrimp2.jpg

Normally, people assign number rankings, but that may be excessive for a pen of this rank - the pen cost $1, and the shipping was another $2.99. Suffice it to say, this is a cheap pen. So I'll give pass/fail ratings:

 

First Impressions (Pass) - It came all the way from Hong Kong, or Northeast Minneapolis, or some dang place. I thought goldquills.com was an international vendor, but it turns out they have a facility in my own town. Go figure. I ordered the pen (off eBay) on 12/26 and got it today, 12/30, so they didn't slack off in their shipping department schedule. The padded envelope and paper/plastic wrap was sufficient for a local delivery, and I wasn't counting on a presentation box, so I'm satisfied.

 

Appearance & Design (Pass!) - R U Kidding? That's why I bought it! Look at that section - what a hoot! It is a shrimp head, with the nib sticking out where the crustacean's proboscis would normally be. And the jewelled eyeballs are not only charmingly ridiculous, they also help the user align its hooded nib to the writing surface.

 

Nib & Performance (Pass) - I've taken a recent interest in non-P51 hooded nibs. When you start with the best design around, it's hard to be impressed by anything. But this nib is perfectly functional, putting down a consistent, wet, fine line as well as you could ask. The body is part plastic, part brass; the cap is brass and is too heavy, so I don't post this while writing. The section is very thin, less than 3/8" probably, so small-fisted schoolchildren will have more fun with this pen than the big, burly lumberjacks would.

 

Filling System (Pass) - It's a C/C filler, and since the body has brass parts I'm not going to try to run it as an ED. It works; just make sure the converter is seated, or it'll blorp on you, duh...

 

Cost & Value (Pass!) - What can I say? It's a dollar pen - shipping costs were 3x that much!

 

Conclusion (Pass) - It's a winner. It writes great, it's a fun show-and-tell piece, and it might even get my daughter interested in FP's. What more could a proud father ask?

Edited December 31, 2008 by Robert Hughes

[LauretteBradley]

Neat review! And it DOES look like a shrimp....

[MYU]

Yum! Get out the barbie Q sauce!

 

Btw, what's the brand and model? I took a look around Goldquills.com and couldn't find it. They must have changed the website as shipping is now included... can't find any pen less than $5. So, I don't know where to stick this thing in the review index.

Edited December 31, 2008 by MYU

[troglokev]

Yum! Get out the barbie Q sauce!

 

Btw, what's the brand and model? I took a look around Goldquills.com and couldn't find it. They must have changed the website as shipping is now included... can't find any pen less than $5. So, I don't know where to stick this thing in the review index.

The Goldquills link is here. It appears that the brand name is "Book Worm", and the model is "Shrimp".

The site is advertising "Free shipping, No handling": in other words, shipping is, as you say, included in the price.

[QM2]

It is magnificent! I especially like the facial expression.

Thank you for the review.

[Silvermink]

Hm. That looks enough like a Jinhao that I have that I wonder if it's the same section/nib with different jewels (mine has red ones). The pen body is black with gold-colored accents.

 

Mine writes quite nicely, as well. Maybe I'll post a pic of it for comparison.

Edited December 31, 2008 by Silvermink

[RLTodd]

Didn't the 'Crocodile' brand also put two little rhinestones on the section down near the nib? I seem to have a indistinct memory of the brand and the sparklers..........

[Robert Hughes]

Update - it's passed the Daughter test! This is the daughter that hates FP's. She came over last night, I showed her the shrimp pen with its glassy eyeballs and wagging tongue nib, and she scribbled with it - and scribbled some more. "Hey, this has a nice sharp line, not like that clunky Lamy you tried to foist off on me." And she started drawing pictures of cathedrals and impossible creatures until I announced it was bedtime.

 

She likes it! The pen that cost a dollar...

[Sallent]

Nice shrimp!

[eauxconcrete]

I just received one of these pens, only decked out in black and a whole lot more gold. The cap has a little crocodile on top in the same fashion that Montblanc shows its star. As an added bonus mine doesn't post correctly, and the cap with jeweled clip flew across the desk.

The seller also swears that it is a "Cayman" brand pen.

Writes pretty good, too.

Edited January 7, 2009 by andrewp182

[Silvermink]

I just received one of these pens, only decked out in black and a whole lot more gold. The cap has a little crocodile on top in the same fashion that Montblanc shows its star. As an added bonus mine doesn't post correctly, and the cap with jeweled clip flew across the desk.

The seller also swears that it is a "Cayman" brand pen.

 

Mine was listed as a "Jinhao Black Bursar Cayman Mouth".

[dcwaites]

There are a number of Chinese brands selling pens with that section and nib. It is usually called a Cayman model. eBay vendor gotoschool888 has them with the brands Noblest, Jinhao, Crododile and Leonardo.

 

Given the several brands selling it, it must be quite popular in China.

 

 

 

[Robert Hughes]

OK, I've got it's match now - a Jinhao "Cayman" pen. Same fun section, different body, red jeweled eyes! And it came in a box, so it can be a present. Now my daughter can keep one and give the other away to her best friend. Two FP converts!

Edited January 9, 2009 by Robert Hughes

[shadowsforbars]

I know the purists say they only buy a pen for the way it writes, but I confess to having one these Jinhao cayman mouth pens. It works perfectly and it amuses me; I am never going to take to a business meeting, but then I have other pens for that.

[eauxconcrete]

Has anyone here bought the "Noblest" Black and Silver cayman from gotoschool?

I'm not sure if I feel like spending $21.24 on it when there are so many others for under ten.

Edited January 10, 2009 by andrewp182

[oneill]

Has anyone here bought the "Noblest" Black and Silver cayman from gotoschool?

I'm not sure if I feel like spending $21.24 on it when there are so many others for under ten.

Hi Andrew as a regular buyer from gotoschool I can tell you that most of the time they are very affordable the secret is to watch their prices as they do fluctuate from time to time, however their cost of shipping is very good,I know of another seller of these pens isellpens.com who charges about $20.00US or more just for postage of one pen. Watch the school pensite and you will find that lots of their pens come with Free postage so they have to make a buck somewhere. Heres hoping you get lucky next time. I have now bought 37 Jinhaos from gotoschool888 and have always been satisfied with my purchases. Bryan