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  1. PEN REVIEW - JINHAO 156 This review is probably late for a a pen which i procured 3 months back. I bought this pen the moment i took a look at it. It looks fabulous as you can see from the image below. Its a beautiful looking shiny silver chrome plated metal pen with a slim and slender profile. Design : The pen is quite sleek which is rounded at the bottom and the cap is fitted with metal clip which is finished in the matte silver finish. The pen comes in two finished stainless steel finish and black shiny finish. The grip section is finished in the matte sliver finish with the rings engraved. The pen operates via a converter filling mechanism which is sub standard in quality. The center-band (bottom of the cap) is finished in matte silver finish which displays the name of the brand and pen. The cap comes with the good spring clip and inner cap lining which is made out of cheep plastic and came out once or twice which then i had to glue to the cap. The silver stainless steel finish is easily prone to smudges but still looks amazing. The balance of pen is not that well when we post the cap, however it feels very amazing when writing without the cap. Fits my small hands perfectly. It will be good for people with small hands and actually lot of ladies will like the pen for size and looks. JInhao 156 – Broken DownNib: The nib is steel M, marked 18 KGP comes with beautiful carving. Its monotone silver finish. The nib however is a disappointment when it comes to writing. It did not glide through like my other Jinhao pens, rather i had to apply some pressure to write. Even after some fine tuning i was not happy with the performance of a nib. Feed is made of the plastic. Pros: Great Stainless Steel Finish Sleek and Slender Low CostCons: Poor inner lining plastic cap Bad Nib Cheap quality converterBelow is my hand written review in detail for further reference. Bottom line: I will not recommend buying it.
  2. Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN. They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. Within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao. This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ eleventh series. It is named after the Greek island of Santorini. In 2015, this island was named one of the world’s most beautiful islands. The color of this ink is undoubtedly meant to portray the beautiful blue waters of the Aegean Sea which surround the island. I’ve never been there, so I’d love to get an opinion from anyone who has, but I think the color is spot on. This ink is the first I’ve reviewed from Penbbs so far that made me say, “Wow!” after first seeing it on the paper. It’s vibrant, cheery, and should be ranked up there with the best of the bright beachy blues. The closest color I found to it is Montblanc for BMW, but Santorini shades, sheens (!), and has just a tad more “pop” than that much more expensive counterpart. No. 128 has some great writing properties. There is a little feathering and bleed through on copy paper and Moleskine, but it isn’t intolerable. This ink also dries quickly and flows freely. The only thing that keeps me from buying a bottle immediately is that the ink has absolutely ZERO water resistance. As you can see from the soak test below, it completely vanishes into the ether when exposed to more than a few drops of water. Other than that one disappointment (which may be a non-issue for others), this is a great ink with amazing color. It behaves well, looks fabulous, and is a joy to write with. Pens used (in order): 1. Pilot 78G Fine 2. Lamy Safari Broad 3. Pilot Plumix Italic 4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex 5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub Swab Paper Towel Drop 80gsm Rhodia 73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown) 70gms Deli Copy Paper Moleskine Water Resistance Comparison* *Special thanks to FPN member lapis for the samples of Montblanc for BMW and Sailor Yama-dori used in this comparison. Check out this sheen! Here is Penbbs’ image of the bottle and label for reference: SDG
  3. Penbbs No.152 Mix Set Violet Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN. They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. Within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao. This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ twelfth series. It is one of seven “Mix Set” inks in this series that are designed to “mix to create miracle.” The color is true to its name, giving a nice deep violet. This ink is rich and deeply saturated with virtually no shading. It’s a beautiful vibrant hue that I enjoy seeing on the page. Judging purely from scans in other reviews, I have a feeling that Penbbs No. 152 may be a good contender for a Lamy Dark Lilac substitute. [bTW, If anyone is interested in selling me their bottle of that precious elixir please let me know!! :puddle: ] It also seems to be darker and more saturated than Pelikan 4001 Violet, but I don’t have any on hand to compare. No. 152 also has some great writing properties. There is a little feathering and bleed through on copy paper and Moleskine, but it isn’t significant. This ink also dries quickly and has good water resistance. When exposed to water the red component will lift, but the remaining dark purple line is still very legible. This is the first of the Penbbs inks I’ve reviewed so far that has actually impressed me. It’s a nice color that behaves well and is a joy to write with. If you like purples/violets and are able to get a bottle of this, you won’t be disappointed! Pens used (in order): 1. Pilot 78G Fine 2. Lamy Safari Broad 3. Pilot Plumix Italic 4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex 5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub Swab Paper Towel Drop 80gsm Rhodia 73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown) 70gms Deli Copy Paper Moleskine Water Resistance Comparison Here is Penbbs’ image of the bottle and label for reference: SDG
  4. Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN. They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. Within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao. This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ eighth series. It is named after Chinese architect Lin Huiyin (known as Phyllis Lin in the West). She is famous in China for being the first female architect in modern China and for her involvement in designing the flag and national emblem of the People’s Republic of China. You can read more about her here. I love my purples, and this one doesn’t disappoint. No. 95 is a deep purple very similar in color to Noodler’s La Reine Mauve but much better behaved. To my eye it looks like a pure purple, leaning neither red nor blue. It is quite saturated but does shade a tad with wet nibs on non-absorbent paper. This ink dries quickly, but also displays some feathering and bleed through. However, it doesn’t feather or bleed nearly as much as the other two Penbbs inks I’ve reviewed (Nos. 132 and 157). Also unlike those inks it has passable water resistance. Penbbs No. 95 could be someone’s perfect dark purple for daily use with a fine nib on regular paper. My conclusion is that this is a decent ink I can live without and we could all use a little more Waterman Tender Purple in our lives. Pens used (in order): 1. Pilot 78G Fine 2. Lamy Safari Broad 3. Pilot Plumix Italic 4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex 5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub Swab Paper Towel Drop 80gsm Rhodia 73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown) 70gms Deli Copy Paper Moleskine Water Resistance Comparison Because I ordered so many samples, the Taobao seller kindly gave me a free empty ink bottle that just happened to be for this ink. Chinese inks bottles are usually quite ugly and impractical, but this one is neither. The octagonal shape and decent-sized opening allow for you to trap the last drop of ink in a corner to suck up with a pipette. The full color label is also a nice change from the typical boring design. You can tell these inks were made by and for fountain pen enthusiasts.
  5. adventuresinscript

    Manchu Handwriting

    Hello! I'm a newbie on the forum and am hoping to find others interested in non-Roman calligraphy here. I have recently begun learning Manchu at my university, and have been trying my hand at Manchu calligraphy with various different media - especially markers and sometimes acrylic ink and brush. Does anyone have any experience with calligraphy in Manchu? I'm having quite a bit of trouble trying to make my r's smooth, but they seem to be the trickiest. Any tips? Thanks, Michael www.adventuresinscript.com
  6. In the beginning of my fountain pen adventure I was obsessed with chinese pens. They were dirt cheap and easily available. There was a moment when, imperceptibly, probably due to cross-breeding, there was almost one hundred of them in my drawer. This obsession as well as 95 % of chinese pens are gone. I kept few chinese pens to play with riskier inks and that's it. One of polish collectioners VodnikVolsovecek loaned me a significant part of his fountain pens collection so that I can try them and review them. I was surpsrised to discover Duke fountain pen among high-end miracles like Omases or Dunhills. I've been using this pen for around a month now (not every day, but I've managed to finish two full converter fills). I would like to describe it. In few words this pen is heavy and well made. What makes it stand out and shine (literally) is abalone shell embedded in black lacquer over brass. Overall design doesn't appeal to me but the shell parts look stunning in sunlight.The barrel and section are a little chunky, but easy to grip and write with it. The barrel is made from a brass and coated in lacquer with embedded shells. It's widest in the middle (about an inch from its mouth), tapering down toward both ends, and is rounded off at the ends. The cap snaps surely on the section with no wobble. The shape is rather classic but, sadly, distorted by huge and ugly center band. Seriously, I would like to hear an explanation about the ways in which this metal ring enhances design? To my eyes it looks really, REALLY bad. The shells though are cool. The way they shine in the sunlight is amazing. The finials are rounded pieces of metal. Section is made of plastic. It tapers significantly toward the bib. If you're low gripper like me you may find it to thin. For me the section diameter is ok. The overall build quality of the this pen is very good. It’s nicely assembled. Nothing in the pen rattles or shakes, and I have no fear of any pieces loosening up in foreseeable future. I would be surprised if something suddenly fell off or cracked. It's well made pen. Nib Uncharacteristically to most chinese fountain pens, this one has 14 ct nib. It looks exactly as most Duke's steel nib but it writes significantly better. It's springy and pretty wet. Not the best nib ever created for sure but I enjoy the way it performs. It does allow to produce some line variation but I wouldn't recommend forcing it. It's not flex or semi-flex nib there's just some pleasant and forgiving (to those who have heavy-hand) springiness to it. Filling system The pen comes with a Duke converter installed. It can be removed to accept cartridges. Dimensions The pen measures 140 mm capped and 121 mm uncapped. Weighs - 62 grams. Summary I'm not sure if this fountain pen is still produced but even if it was discontinued finding one on Bay of Evil won't be a problem. They usualluy cost between 120-260 $. Personally I wouldn't pay that much for it. If I could find one for 50 $ I would get it and I would keep it. When we enter 100-200 $ price range though there's just too much to choose from and the contenders are strong. Lamy 2000, Pilot CH 92, Pilot M400 are just few examples of pens in this price range. Heck, with a bit of luck you'll even get Pilot Namiki 823 for 200 $. It's really decent pen and the nib is great but price / what you get ratio isn't sky high. As always the choice is yours to make though. If you enjoy the finish and like springy nibs, this one won't disappoint you.
  7. Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN. They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. Within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao. This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ tenth series. It is named after the cornflower (centaurea cyanus) which can be various shades of blue or lavender. Personally, I think this ink is too dark and too purple to match the flower, but it’s a nice purple nonetheless. No. 116 is noticeably bluer than No. 95. It is very saturated (more so in person than in the photos) and has virtually no shading. This ink dries quickly and only shows a little feathering and bleed through with wet nibs. There is slight water resistance as well; the blue and purple components separate and leave a feint line. This is the best performing ink of the four Penbbs inks I’ve reviewed and is the only one I’d be comfortable using regularly on average paper. Penbbs No. 116 is a nice, vibrant blue-leaning purple that behaves itself, but doesn’t stand out as particularly interesting or exciting to me. Pens used (in order): 1. Pilot 78G Fine 2. Lamy Safari Broad 3. Pilot Plumix Italic 4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex 5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub Swab Paper Towel Drop 80gsm Rhodia 73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown) 70gms Deli Copy Paper Moleskine Water Resistance Comparison Note: The comparison shows the ink's color more accurately than the other photos. It really is this dark. Here is Penbbs’ image of the bottle and label for reference: SDG
  8. truthpil

    Kaco Sepia Informal Ink Review

    Here's a brief review of an ink from another Chinese manufacturer. Their inks are some of the most expensive Chinese-made inks in China, but this one is too dry for most of my pens. Please pardon any grammar mistakes or nonsensical remarks. I wrote this all at once without stopping to think. SDG
  9. truthpil

    Penbbs No. 132 Avg Ink Review

    Penbbs is a Chinese online fountain pen community similar to FPN. They not only talk about inks but also produce their own inks every year. Each series consists of ten to fifteen inks and 2017 marks the release of Penbbs’ fifteenth ink series. Due to Chinese postal restrictions, these inks are virtually impossible to obtain outside of China. However, within China they are extremely affordable (21 RMB or about US$3 per 60ml bottle) and can easily be purchased through the Chinese online shopping giant Taobao. This ink up for review is from Penbbs’ eleventh series. It is named after the group of American pilots who volunteered to help the Chinese Air Force fight the Japanese before the US officially entered World War II. The First AVG is popularly known as the "Flying Tigers” and Nathan Tardif pays homage to them in the artwork on the Noodler’s Ink Air Corps Blue Black bottles. You can read more about this group here. I’m a big fan of warm, brown-leaning sepias and all kinds of greens, but I never thought a color like this would catch my eye. Judging by the military-themed name, my guess is that the ink is supposed to be a military “olive drab” color. However, it’s quite light to my eyes so I like to think of it as “greepia”. This ink gives some shading on all papers with any nib. I really like the look and the quick drying time, but there are some problems with the ink’s behavior that keep me from buying a bottle. It bleeds through and feathers on anything other than expensive paper, severely limiting its use. It also has no water resistance whatsoever. All in all, I like this color and its nice shading, but its poor performance on regular paper makes it a no go for me. Pens used (in order): 1. Pilot 78G Fine 2. Lamy Safari Broad 3. Pilot Plumix Italic 4. Noodler’s Nib Creaper Flex 5. Hero 5028 1.9mm Stub Swab Paper Towel Drop 80gsm Rhodia 73gsm Chinese Tomoe River Wannabe (brand unknown) 70gms Deli Copy Paper Moleskine Water Resistance (Water drops and finger smear 30 minutes after writing) Mini-comparison (My apologies that I don’t have any inks close to this color to do an adequate comparison. The colors in this photo also don’t seem to be looking right on my monitor.) SDG
  10. China Can't Make A Ballpoint Pen, And Why We Shouldn't Worry About TRIPS (Forbes, January 2016) A made-in-China triumph: China declares it can make ball pen head (South China Morning Post, January 2017)
  11. So, this is an interesting pen. I mean, for <$5 shipped (ebay), there is nothing to complain about at all. I had to seat the nib/feed a little tighter in the section, and other than that, it's surprisingly nice for the price (like everyone says about them)... But what in heaven's name am I going to do with this pen? haha Once I figure out a writing style that works consistently with it, I can see it being fantastic for greeting cards and envelopes and fancy things like that... but for the most part? I suspect I will end up putting a "plain" #6 nib on it, so it gets used more than twice a year. Anyone else using one of these fun things on a more frequent basis? I've seen that some folks use them for sketching, but I think that would drive me insane until I get a better handle on controlling the line width. Excuse the handwriting... it looks absolutely terrible when I try to use my normal writing style. The fact that I'm left-handed doesn't help, because the nice sharp 'swoosh' effect a fude achieves at the end of strokes in Chinese calligraphy is pretty much limited to right-handed use.
  12. Pen World magazine gave me kind permission to 'reprint' Barry Gabay's article on Chinese fountain pens. You can read it here. The pens pictured in the article are from my personal collection.
  13. chromantic

    Deli S668Ef Budget Fp

    I came across these Deli fountain pens on eBay when they popped up while I was doing a search for 'dark red metallic fountain pens' (hoping to snag another Jinhao 611 in that color). Anyway, this red Deli caught my eye; it's not a really, really dark red like the Jinhao (which is the color of Levenger Claret) but a slightly deeper red than a metallic red Platinum Plaisir. The Deli also comes in shiny black, which I also bought (two other colors are returned in searching, neither appeals to me). The other thing that caught my eye was the minimalist shape, plain cylinder with a very slight taper on the barrel and the cap is slightly wider than the barrel. The clip on both red and black is metal sandwiched between two flat plastic pieces matching the pen color with an open slot on the upper half. Size-wise, we talking roughly comparable to a Plaisir or a Waterman JIF, just a smidge over 5 1/2". One thing that surprised me, as it wasn't really obvious in the eBay pics, is that both the barrel and the section taper from round to triangular; the angles are very rounded, however, and I don't find it at all uncomfortable, like I do the Safari. The flattened sides on the barrel do help a little in keeping it from rolling around too much on a flat surface if you lay it down unposted. Posting is quite solid, with only gentle pressure needed. These pens are plastic, btw, cap, barrel and section (the shiny black section is common to all four colors of the pen). The black pen is shiny and smooth, the red has a metallic look and a little more tactile feel to it - it's smooth but not slick, like the black. The black is quite attractive in a quiet, unassuming, understated way. The red, though, is absolutely stunning. Whereas light reflected off the black is bright, sharp and hard-edged, light reflecting off the red is soft and diffuse, as if the pen is glowing. You can see it in the photo, especially on the cap. So, how do they write? Well enough, in my opinion. While you won't mistake them for a Parker or a Pelikan, they're pretty smooth on the BnR spiral paper, with some toothiness on cheaper paper but certainly not what I'd call scratchy, by a long shot. The nibs are marked EF but I would hesitate to describe them thus; not as fine as my Plaisir fine, thicker than a Baoer 388 fine but thinner than an 801 fine, slightly thicker than Vector fine, thinner than some of my P45 Ms but thinner than others, and way thicker than my Sailor Clear Candy MF (the finest writer I have - it's like spider silk). The feed seems good. I loaded the red with Oku-yama and it's wet enough to allow some sheen on the BnR, not nearly the excessive coating the Baoer 801 I also have loaded with it provides but some, enough to be noticeable. The pen comes in a nice plastic box, solid white base and clear upper cover, similar to a Plaisir box without the hinge. Two short international cartridges and a converter are included. The converter has a metal collar around the opening so it flush with the sides of the ink chamber but I just double checked and a standard int'l. converter did fit. This converter is one of those that the rear metal collar around the twist knob unscrews from the chamber to enable more thorough cleaning. The black and red Delis cost $11.33 with $1.99 shipping (from Hong Kong); they arrived in just under 2 weeks. I'm quite pleased with these pens and may order a couple more of the red ones. edit: changed topic heading, pen is S668EF, not 688, my bad
  14. HisNibs.com update -- New Jinhao Dreadnaught & Duke Harlequin colors Greetings all, http://www.hisnibs.com/HisNibsOlympicInspired_small.jpg Watching the Olympics has inspired me to work out again! Click the link below if you'd like to see my latest Facebook Live video -- mistakes and all. Dreadnaught & Pen World video The next batch of pens from China -- and a few domestic ones as well -- have been restocked. As in the past, there are too many models coming in to point them out individually, so again I'm linking them on the homepage http://www.hisnibs.com/ near the top, with a 'back in stock! ' label. There are still more coming, which will be mentioned in the next newsletter. I'll list a few of the many models that have returned, in this newsletter, but again -- just going to the homepage http://www.hisnibs.com/ is the easiest way to see what's available -- and I'll be updating you with more in short order. As this newsletter goes out to a mailing list of thousands of customers, please understand if there's a delay in answering your email queries or orders after one of these is sent. We will respond in order received and as soon as possible! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~in this issue * Jinhao Dreadnaught new colors * New Duke Harlequin Colors * New Python pen cases * Jinhao Wooden Chariot restocked * Duke Ruby * Baoer Over-the-Top2 * Bookworm Yellow Filigree (western or Chinese nib) * Jinhao Pagoda * 'His Nibs' page on Facebook ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jinhao Dreadnaught new colors http://www.hisnibs.com/JinhaoDreadnaught7GroupCapped2_small.jpg "The pen arrived yesterday. It looks great, a bit heavy though. And it writes magnificent, the point really slides over the paper. I also have the original mb149 meisterstück, but i would not know which one of them writes the better. Thanks for the very correct handling and shipping. Kind regards," J. V., Belgium "The Dreadnaught FP arrived today . . . it's perfect! The wide girth, nice center of gravity (even when posted), and smooth-writing medium-to-broad (always my preference!) nib makes it my favorite writing instrument. It's every bit as good-if not even better-as you-know-who. . . I might have to purchase another color to have two in my collection. Definitely a superior pen!" C. H., Twinsburg, OH "Hi Norman, I received my Jinhao Dreadnaught and Silver Chain Dragon fountain pens. I prepped them and inked them up with Diamine Oxblood ink. Wow! What a wonderfully smooth writing experience with each of them! I write with the pen unposted. Along with the smooth writing, I truly enjoy the weight and balance of each pen in my writing hand, but especially that of the Dreadnaught. Thank you for not only providing such a pleasant writing experience, but also for the care that you give to each and every nib, and the special personal touch that you added to my order. This was my first purchase from you, and am looking forward to my next one." T. L., Jamaica, NY More photos here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/dreadnaught.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Duke Harlequin Colors http://www.hisnibs.com/DukeHarlequinGroupRandom_small.jpg See more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/duke_116.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Python pen cases http://www.hisnibs.com/PythonGrayPenCaseClosed_small.jpghttp://www.hisnibs.com/PythonBrownPenCaseClosed_small.jpg Read more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/pen_storage.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jinhao Wooden Chariot restocked http://www.hisnibs.com/JinhaoWoodenChariotCapPen2_small1.jpg See more photos here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/wooden_chariot.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duke Ruby http://www.hisnibs.com/DukeRubyCapNib_small1.jpg More here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/ruby.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Baoer Over-the-Top2 http://www.hisnibs.com/BaoerOverTheTopPairCapPen_small.jpg See more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/over-the-top2.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bookworm Yellow Filigree (western or Chinese nib) http://www.hisnibs.com/BookWormYellowFilligreePenCap_small.jpg See more here... - http://www.hisnibs.com/yellow_filigree.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jinhao Pagoda http://www.hisnibs.com/JinhaoPagodaPairRandom3_small.jpg See more... - http://www.hisnibs.com/pagoda.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'His Nibs' page on Facebook Join us for daily news updates from around the world about fountain pens, ink, handwriting and more! Click here to visit our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/HisNibs1/ -- Regards, Norman Haase www.hisnibs.com www.facebook.com/hisnibs1
  15. Davjohn

    The Simple Jinhao 611

    The Jinhao 611 is one of the several pens that I bought from ebay. They came to me shipped in a padded brown envelope rather than "coffins" or boxes. If I remember correctly, I paid no more than $7 for each pen + shipping. I purchased 3 of them because I was attracted to the simple streamline shape. I wanted a pen that would be very comfortable for someone who uses mechanical pencils because they are so straight and plain. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1447577001__jinhao_611.jpg I liked the barrel colors that were shown in the picture of the ebay auction. One is a solid color in the red, rosy, cyan range, the others are a russet and a blue that appear to be acrylic with the depth of color that sometimes goes with that sort of plastic. All three are straight, uncharacterized barrels. They are .65oz/18.42g; 5 1/8 inches / 156.2 centimeters in length capped; 6 1/4 inches / 190.5 centimetrs posted; and .39 inches / 10 mm in diameter. The nib appears to be stainless steel. The ones that I have are fine nibs. They come with standard Jinhao converters. I had hoped that they would take international cartridges because I do not use fillers or bottled ink. I removed the plunger filler and inserted an international cartridge. It took a lot of fussing about with it to get anything to flow. The first thing I noticed was the tines of the nib were tight together. I had to use a syringe to pump water through it. It really didn't take any pressure to get the water to flow through it, just a quantity enough to fill the grip and the nib. When I finally did get the water to flow through it, the pen leaked from every possible joint. The grip is in 2 pieces and it leaked through where they are pressed together. After I got the ink flowing through it, I began to have hopes that it would work better, which it did for a short time. By the time I finished writing one full page, the pen was leaking from where the barrel threads on to the grip as well as from where the grip is pressed together. All together, I'd give the pen a 2. Perhaps it's a chance I took in buying these pens. It's possible that some are better perfomers than others. They are nice in appearance, and seemed at first impression to be of at least fair quality, but when put to the test they did not rise to the occasion. It is possible that using the filler is the answer. That remains to be seen.
  16. RULES: Shipping to CON USA Paypal $6.75 Ends Sunday 8th for Studentsnewbiesseniorsexperimenterscreativesanything in betweenif you... are new to fountain penshave been in the forum for more that 3 monthshave more than 10 poststhis will be one of your first 5 pensYou.. have a better possibility of having this PIF sent to youwill be happy to use it if you winIf this is a first pen attempt, I would love to send both pens to the same person... http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i82/anangeli/JINHAO__%20450_zpstcjlkfh4.jpg
  17. Tailbiter

    Kaigelu 382 M

    Ah, time for yet another cheap pen review! This time it's one of my favourite Asian fountain pens ever - the Kaigelu 382 (intl. c/c) (Manufacturer's website entry http://www.kaigelu.net/Z.asp?ID=16&SID=170&ZID=62 in Chinese). I had previously bought this model quite some time ago and thought of writing a review but long-story short: party, pen got given away. However, today, I received my second order from eBay! Wohoo. Today, I will be reviewing the blue model. The pen also comes in a red and a black finish (all with gold trim) and I purchased it off the seller jewelrymathematics on eBay (no affil.) for $8 with free intl. shipping. My parcel arrived very well-wrapped (ridiculous amounts of bubble wrap) and within two weeks. Looks The finish is glossy with the golden trim shiny. It's not a flashy pen but it's not a dull pen either. I find it to be a simple and elegant design with no overdone bands or gaudy, large and misplaced logotypes. The cap has a golden band with two black lines framing the word KAIGELU on one side and the model number 382 on the opposite side. http://i.imgur.com/yFsI0Aw.jpg The overall look is very stylish and the tolerances on my pen are excellent, better than pens many times more expensive, such as say, my Conklin Duragraph. http://i.imgur.com/g8BM2HK.jpg Construction The pen is solidly built out of some metal (brass?), like most other Kaigelu pens. The section is black plastic and provides a nice grip, although it may look a bit slippery, I've not had this issue at all. It's a very decently weighed pen - not heavy enough to feel clumsy but not light enough to feel flimsy. Clumsily enough, I have already dropped this pen from a height of ~ 1 metre onto a hard rubber floor. It hit itself on a few things after it hit the ground but it remained whole, capped and without any damage. The cap is made out of the same material and lacquer as the rest of the pen and is quite heavy. It also comes with an insert of sorts inside made out of what looks like plastic. It does snap on pretty securely however. If anything, it is a bit too secure for my own taste. The clip is extremely stiff out of the box but I know from experience it gets slightly better with time and use. It comes with the standard Kaigelu twist converter which to me feels much less flimsy than any Jinhao converter I've ever received. It works pretty good and sucks up the ink easily. To access it, just unscrew the body while holding the section, which takes 3-4 turns. Dimensions Fully capped, the pen measures 137 mm (~ 5.4 in) of which the cap is 57 mm (~2.2 in) and the body with nib 122 mm. The nib looks to be a 5 mm nib (measured at base). http://i.imgur.com/dKvCxVD.jpg The pen weighs 30 g ( ~1 oz) capped and inked; 19 g without the cap and inked. Like many other chinese fountain pens, the cap is a bit heavy in proportion to the rest of the pen. Does it post? Yes, the pen posts very securely.The good old thermometer shake does nothing to it. The pen does however end up being around 160 mm long and just a sliiiight amount of top-heavy which kind of kills it for me personally. It's not directly uncomfortable but I get the quick impression I'd rather not write with it posted for an extended period of time. http://i.imgur.com/yWWN5iO.jpg?1 Nib Unfortunately, like very often with these Chinese fountain pens, only one nib option is offered. In this case, a medium nib. I suspect it's a #5 nib as stated above. It is a two-tone gold(?)-plated steel nib with the adorable Kaigelu kangaroo logo stamped. There is a very decent amount of tipping material. Overall, the nib looks pretty decent. There is no flex on this nib. You can force it a tad and get a B, but this feels cruel and you can tell the nib isn't very happy. As for disassembly - I've had no luck. If it's a friction fit, it will take a much stronger person than I to pull it apart. If it's not, (oh god I'd feel terrible), I can't seem to unscrew it in any direction. http://i.imgur.com/YwWFH7S.jpg It is a lovely nib. It writes extremely smooth with little feedback at all and the feed has no issues keeping up with even really fast writing. Caveat: I have only tried it with Montblanc Königsblau and Waterman Serenity Blue. It has worked super well with both. Here is my little corner paper where I tried out some of my pens for comparison. As you can see, the Kaigelu M is quite comparable to the modern Waterman M. http://i.imgur.com/paEXIb2.jpg Filling / Maintenance Filling is easy with the included converter and the pen takes standard international short and long cartridges. The converter is not threaded, holds a not huge amount of ink (~0.6 ml ± 0.1ml) but it works pretty well. I am a tad concerned about possible nib and feed maintenance since I have so far been unable to disassemble those. If anyone's had any success, I will gladly take any tips or suggestions. It's possible I just got a dud that's very, very stuck. Anyway, for $8 and a so-far very nice experience, I'm not willing to risk damage-from-curiosity to it just yet. Cost The pen cost me $8 with free shipping on eBay from the seller jewelrymathematics, who also sells many other Kaigelu models. The MSRP on Kaigelu.net is 79 RMB which for 2016-03-30 equals 12.22 USD or 10.79 EUR per Google's currency converter. I have not found it being sold for cheaper on eBay. I own a few other Kaigelus and this is basically my favourite. This was a new pen and I have to say, it's one of the best value-price pens I've gotten. It's really just pleasant to use. Final remarks I love this pen. It has superseded my expectations and I would totally buy it as a gift for someone. I was carrying the previous pen of the same model I had as a daily carry, and I will continue carrying this new one as well. The only major issue I find is that the nib doesn't seem to disassemble too easily, beyond that, I'm a fan. If Kaigelu makes the cap less heavy and solves the nib disassembly bother, this would be an excellent, excellent pen both for its price and its quality. It punches way above $8. Final score? 9.5/10. Final photo: here it is with a few other beloved fountain pens. Bottom-to-top: Pelikan 400, Kaigelu 382, Montblanc Classic, Jinhao 500 http://i.imgur.com/E8cC4GM.jpg PS.I was unable to get the forum software tags to resize the pictures. If anyone can point me to the correct way of doing it in fpn-approved BBCode, I will adjust.
  18. This is the second part of a series of reviews I’m doing on Chinese Boss inks. So far I’ve found this brand to be the most prevalent in China, but unknown in the West. They are great cheap inks and scented as well. Boss Enterprise “Laoban” ink (not to be confused with the Boss line of inks made by Ostrich in Tianjin) is produced in Guiyang by Guizhou Boss Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. More information about the company can be found here and their descriptions of their inks here. The scan of my review doesn’t capture the color properly, so I’ve also included some photos taken in natural light. Close up of ink comparisons taken in natural light: A writing sample comparing Boss Red and Platinum Pigment Rose Red (I didn’t have the Platinum ink when I wrote the review): Close ups comparing Boss Red and Platinum Pigment Rose Red (Boss on top and Platinum on bottom): Boss Red has a pinkish hue similar to Hero 201, but is more saturated than the Hero ink and Platinum Pigment Rose Red. Like Hero 201, it flees at the sight of water. It is very easy on the eyes and some might consider it less “offensive” than a screaming bright red for grading. I like it for quick editing of documents that will soon be thrown away because it is not only cheap, but behaves well, dries quickly, and stands out on the page more than Hero ink. If you need a decent non-permanent soft red and can find this ink for sale, it’s worth your consideration. Boss inks are only 4 RMB (US$0.62) per 52ml bottle in China. Thanks for reading!
  19. I received my Kaigelu 316 from Hong Kong earlier this week (seller: hq.market, AKA You Gain More!) It's a reasonably faithful knock-off of the Duofold, visually at least. A handsome pen (mine is the white with black veining), it's improperly balanced toward the back end, but not a deal-breaker. I inked it up with Diamine Sapphire and it wrote beautifully. I decided to take my lovely new counterfeit to work with me, and on my way out the door, clipped it to my pock... UH-OH. With this gentle action, the clip, retainer ring and cap came off the pen. No biggie, I'll just screw the top back on, right? I've read here many times that Chinese pens have issues with quality control, so I just assumed someone didn't tighten it down properly. Nope. The threads refuse to catch, even when tested without the clip or retainer ring in place. It's defective. eBay has a process whereby you can resolve an issue like this one. Communicating with the seller (hq.market, AKA You Gain More!) that the pen is defective has resulted in the kind of runaround those who hide behind a language difference love to employ. "The pen is not smashed" they replied after receiving a photo of the loose clip assembly. (The only way I could think of to photograph threads that don't engage; see below) Of course, each message exchange with seller hq.market, AKA You Gain More must go through a 24 hour cycle, presumably because of the time difference. I've heard that other Chinese sellers are really good at reimbursing or replacing; that has not been my experience with seller hq.market, AKA You Gain More! (Maybe they're referring to my blood pressure reading?) Caveat emptor. James
  20. What are your favourite Chinese pens that have a larger section diameter? Most of the inexpensive pens I have tried have a small section that cramps my fingers together. My favorites that are comfortable are: Jinhao x450,x750, 599, Hero 100, 616 and Wing Sung 590. Any others worth trying?
  21. Hello there, It's been a long time since I've made a review, but yesterday I picked up a new pen. The packaging was inconspicuous, it was at the local supermarket, on the bottom most shelf. It looked like a cheap (well... it was cheap ) no-name, brown fountain pen in a little plastic bag. When I took a closer look at it, I saw four numbers printed on the side, and when I bought it and took it home, the converter that came with it (a piston, Parker like converter, but with a standard tip) had Hero embossed on the back. I washed it, inked it up with Parker Quink black, and tried it out. It's a joy to write with, although it was a tad scratchy on the up stroke and needed a little smoothing. It writes like an F, and ink flow is very good, not too wet so the F becomes more of an M but enough to make it glide. Sorry for not having any writing samples, my handwriting isn't a thing of beauty anyway. Pictures:
  22. butangmucat

    Three Nos Chinese Pens

    I am back to China for my summer holiday And I had a chance to get some NOS Chinese pens which costs less than a dollar. All these brands have disappeared except Wang Sung, and NOS pens are probably the best Chinese pens you can get now days. http://img.vim-cn.com/75/971c0428b51f2216db2b68c2bfd7425cbb053b.jpg Three NOS pens: - Wang Sung (Lit. Long Live) 500 - Zuanshi (Lit. Diamond) 861 - White Feather 700 The Wang Sung 500 was made in the 1980s and 1990s and it was for both domestic and export markets. It comes with an aerometric converter and can also take the cheaper all-plastic Parker converter (I do not have the more expensive or "luxury" version for a test) or Parker/Aurora cartridges. It is currently using a Quink Blue cartridge which comes as a gift when I bought the Parker converter when I visited the local office supply shop. http://img.vim-cn.com/8d/b65ab31c1a6a4815e4264397104c612ff770c1.jpg http://img.vim-cn.com/fe/dd18513adc2771b732938e71d053c4e4a9ae6d.jpg The Zuanshi 861 is not very good from my perspective. It is too dry and a bit scratchy. http://img.vim-cn.com/b4/41f1e720b0effe750c38cb9543bdcd0dee96e8.jpg http://static.inky.ws/image/5250/WP_20150523_011.jpg The White Feather 700 must have borrowed some ideas from Sheaffer. Nevertheless, it writes smoothly and seems to be durable. http://img.vim-cn.com/91/362b479507d6e870e229447638540bd0027f37.jpg http://static.inky.ws/image/5249/WP_20150523_003.jpg These pens do not have nib sizes labeled, but I believe they are (by western standards) either F or EF.
  23. So, after penvangelizing my mother, she quickly went and bought herself a Noodler's Ahab. The very first day she took it to work, she dropped it on the floor and bent the nib. Heartbreaking, I know. But the way she bent it reminded me of a Chinese calligraphy fountain pen nib. It got me thinking: Is it possible to successfully mod an Ahab to make it write like a Chinese nib? I know it wouldn't write exactly like it, but would it be able to approximate the line variation? I'm very curious to see if anyone has ever tried to mod an Ahab in this way. On a side note, how hard would it be to fix the nib? She's not nearly as curious about the potential as I am.
  24. So I've been using fountain pens for about six months. I started with a Sheaffer Viewpoint 1.1mm that I found at Staples. Since then, I've picked up a couple Metropolitans, a couple Ahabs, a Monteverde Invincia, and a Plumix (love that nib!). Recently, I went a little berzerk with eBay and picked up a (bleep)-load of Chinese pens. As they come rolling in, I'd like to share my thoughts with everyone on their performance. My first contribution in the Pen Reviews section is for the... CROCODILE NCR64 Green Marble Celluloid Fountain Pen Price: $18.50 Nib: Medium, Steel, 22KGP/two-tone Country of Origin: China Filling System: Piston / Cartridge (International Standard, I believe) http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_01.jpg Appearance: 10 / 10 Immediately upon seeing this pen on eBay, I fell in love with it's looks. The Green Marble looked beautiful, and although somewhat tacky, I thought the crocodile styling of the clip and finial looked cool. When the pen arrived, it didn't disappoint...at least not in that regard (more on that later). The green marble of the cap and barrel is, in my opinion, stunning. It has a shimmery/iridescent quality to it that glows and sparkles in the right light. The finial, section, and end cap all have a similar marble pattern, but they're all black. It's a subtle detail, but one I really appreciate. The crocodile clip is pretty tacky in person, too, but I love it, rhinestone eyes and all. There is also a gold crocodile emblem on the top of the finial. Not as tacky as the clip, but fits the motif of the pen to a tee. I absolutely love the way this pen looks. http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02b.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_02c.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_04.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_05.jpg Build Quality: 4 / 10 The NCR64 seems fairly weighty at first, but all the weight is in the cap, which must be made of some sort of metal. The rest of the pen is mostly plastic. The threads inside the cap are metal, but the coupler on the barrel is plastic, so it feels cheap to screw the cap on and off. When the pen arrived, there were some tiny black plastic pieces in the converter. I fished them out, but wasn't sure where they came from until I washed the pen. The little black pieces were from the post inside the section that the converter installs on. Only a small portion of the post remained, so the converter would attach to the section, but not tightly. I had to fill the converter with a syringe, insert it, and tape it to the section to keep it in place. It's a kludge, but it's working. After I got the converter in place, I did some writing, and when I went to screw the cap back on, it didn't stop turning. The threaded coupler came unglued from the barrel, so I had to glue it back in place and let it dry overnight. For a pen that cost $18.50, I find these defects absolutely unacceptable. http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_09.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_07.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_08.jpg Nib: 4 / 10 I wasn't sure what to expect from the medium nib. I know some Chinese companies fall in line with Japanese companies and their medium nibs are ground finer and compare to western fine nibs. I hoped that was the case with Crocodile. It's not. The nib is pretty fat, even for a medium. I have small handwriting, so I prefer a fine or extra fine nib. Writing with this pen is like writing with a crayon. If I force myself to write larger letters, it looks decent. There are random hard starts, but they're few and far between. The only other complaint I have is that the line is not consistent. The nib seems a little mooshy and will "mash" the line every once in a while. For example, in my writing sample below, look at the "o" in Algernon and the "ac" in Blackwood. I don't like that. I like a nice, consistent line. I will say, though, that the nib is super smooth. There is practically no feedback at all. The nib just glides along the paper. If it wasn't for the fat, inconsistent line it puts down, I'd love this nib. I always like to check out the imprints on these nibs. This one has another crocodile on it, but I'm not sure about the words engraved. Either I'm going blind, or they botched the letters. To me, it looks like it says this: 22K GP CR0Co ROMEDILE http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_03.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_03b.jpg http://www.gizmosauce.com/img/ncr64_10.jpg Comfort: 10 / 10 I've done quite a bit of writing with this pen, and it's very comfortable. My hand didn't cramp up once. The pen is easy to hold despite the smooth, plastic section. The pen posts securely, and it's comfortable to write with it both posted and unposted, although I have small hands, so I prefer to write with it unposted. Overall Score: 28 / 40 I think this is a really beautiful pen, but for $18.50, I expect better build quality. If I can ever find another one on eBay for cheap, I may buy it for parts (to replace my section). And once the current ink runs out, I may try to find an EF nib for it. I could probably turn this into a pretty nice writing instrument.
  25. At least, I classify these as beginner pens! From left to right: Leonardo 'Silver Check' fude-nibbed pen that takes standard international cartridges or a converter, light weight. If you were ever curious about writing with a fude, this is your chance to find out. Duke 2008. Ribbed silvertone barrel and red cap with cloud design. Dryish, medium-fine nib. C/c filler. Xfountainpens/Bulow/Jinhao 450 in soft brushed gold. Wet, wet, medium nib. Heavy. C/c filler, shaped section. Reply with a bit about yourself and pen likes and dislikes. Will ship to CONUS only, and announce winner at random. Thanks!





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