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Hello all. Having recently fell for hooded pens, I decided to make a few purchases, including the Hero 616. However, I was very reluctant in buying anything as I was very cautious of the possibility of inconsistent manufacturing and the element of luck involved in these purchases. While I was searching, I found this Jinhao 911 on Aliexpress on sale. The seller had no feedback or orders placed on this particular listing, but they otherwise had good feedback in general. For £1.40, I thought I'd take the chance. The main reason I chose this over the very similar yet cheaper Hero 338 is because it comes as a C/C fill rather than the aerometric Hero pen. It also claimed to come with a converter, so if the listing was true, I was in for a treat. Another thought was that Jinhao, being well-known for producing some pens that are often praised, in comparison to Hero (granted, a much older company) which, in some lines (ahem, Hero 616, ahem) was infamous for inconsistent manufacturing and very low quality control. I took the chance and placed an order for one pen and hoped I wouldn't be ripped off my penny change. A short while later, when the "sale" was over, the whole listing was removed. Aliexpress saves a snapshot of the listing when you place the order so I may still have some protection. To my surprise, a while later, the pen did actually arrive, and if I am impressed at one thing at all, it is that I was not ripped off. The pen came in a Chinese envelop that actually stated "pen" on it instead of just "gift" or "usb lead", which helped me recognise it and hide it from my wife for a while, until she eventually noticed an unfamiliar item on my table later on. The envelop had bubble wrap around the pen, which itself came in a suede pouch that it fits in. A nice first impression. Out of the pouch, you will be surprised how nicely finished it is. The brushed metal finish from top to bottom is very nicely done, including the clip and the two conical ends: the jewel and the butt. In online images, the clip finish seemed better than that of the Hero, and reality did not disappoint. On the cap, "Jinhao" is engraved in rectangular fonts, which is also very nice. The engraving is subtle, but there. It does not scream at you. On the topic of finish, I thought the engraving could be done slightly a tad better: the J had depth-jitters which, to my perfectionist eye, were noticeable, but perhaps only if I intend to look at the engraving. On the other side of the cap, engraved is the number 911 in a different font. In my opinion, it would have been better sticking to the same rectangular aesthetic for the numbers as well You want another pleasing surprise for this price point? The clip is spring-loaded. And it has good tension: it is strong, but not impossible to clip into your shirt, and if you do, it will hold there real tight. The cap is friction fit so it just pulls out with no clicks, and without it, the pen has a uniform surface with no bumps, so you can hold it near the nib or as far away from it as you like. Distentions of the pen are as follows: length capped 141mm length uncapped 125mm length posted 156mm wide at the widest point where the section meets the barrel 10.3mm medial width near where I hold it 9mm approximate weight with cap (inc.converter) 20g approximate weight without cap (inc.converter) 12g One of two things about the finish that did not strike me very positively was the threads of the barrel. They felt a bit... I don't know. Unfinished. I thought I wanted to grab a metal brush and rub them a little bit, but of course I did not do that. Mind you, this might only be a matter of "feel" not a matter of "fact". On the barrel end, the threads are in fact made of plastic. This is done by using a kind of "insert" which is glued to the barrel. The insert only makes up the threads and does not extend all the way through the barrel, so forget eye-dropper-ing. The insides are metal. Other than that, the exterior of the barrel is really nice and the jewel is well machined. On the cap-end, the same can be said about the exterior. The clip is, as we said, nice looking, springy and secure. The jewel is well-machined and perfectly centered. Pleasure to the eye. Inside of the cap is what needs some highlights. The cap is friction fit. It does not "click" or thread. Just push in, push out, on both sides of the pen. Inside of the cap there are four metal flaps that cause this friction to happen. Mind you, it is rather secure, this is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the possiblity of scratching your pen if you rotate it with the cap on. I am not sure whether the friction flaps have edges that will not scratch either the plastic section (oops, I said plastic), or the very nice brushed metal of the barrel when posted. This is something that we well have to leave for time to tell. Deeper inside the cap, there is the inner white sealing cap which defintely touches the nib when the pen is capped. How do I know it touches? My pen was inked and I can see a dot of ink inside. The question remains: is it plastic or silicone? Does the pen merely touch, or pierce through, that thing? I do not know. The second point I do not like about the finish of the pen is that inside the cap, behind the flaps, the cap was rather dirty/rusty. This can be easily seen if you are trying to see it but will not be seen to anyone watching you use the pen at all. And now only the main part: the section. I said this before. This is plastic. The disappointing type. But is it really disappointing? Look at your price point again. It is nicely shiny, but feels like the type that is prone to cracking or scratching easily, so might just need some care. I noticed some micro scratchings on mine already out of the box, nothing that you will probably notice in everyday use, but I will have to keep an eye on it. There is however a very tiny small little ding near the front. In the following photo, I shined a flash at it, so it looks a bit blue, but it is black. Some of the "scratches" have been made visible by the flash, and some of them are in fact just reflection from the table texture, so do not be very alarmed by this photo. The pen came with an international converter. What more do you want? I put some Parker Quink in it. I was expecting, and hoping for, a really fine line, so which of my inks did I want to see that fine? I had the black Quink or the Diamine Turquoise, but I already have the latter in one of my "modded" Hero 616's, which is also black, hooded and fine. I need variation in my life. Which leads us the very last and most important point of a fountain pen, and the question that probably everybody needs answering about any pen they could be buying any time in their life. What about the nib? At the time of this review, I only had the Hero 616 to compare it with, which came in a variety of unfinished nibs, mostly scratchy, splayed, or extra-touching. Almost all of them needed adjustment and smoothing, so what do I expect of the Jinhao? Visually, the nib seemed rather shiny, which is a very good sign. I tried it on paper without any ink, and I could see it was almost digging a trench in the paper almost with no pressure from my hand, but surprisingly, there was no scratch at all. This was also another very good sign. I know when you ink a nib it acts much smoother than when dry, so I inked the pen, and lo! Straight out of the box and with no adjustment done to it at all, the nib is indeed very fine, and is also considerably smooth for its fineness. Way to go Jinhao, I commend this! It is also sufficiently wet. I like to write with no pressure at all, barely just touching the paper, and this nib/feed catch up really well to this. One last question I like to investigate when I try a new pen is flow control. Sometimes, a pen acts a bit dryer or wetter than other times. I am still keeping an eye on this, but overall, at least with Parker Quink, I suggest this pen is considerably good and hard to believe that I was able to get it for £1.40 inc. postage. It is about double this price normally, so at about £2.80-£3.00 pounds, you will want to know you got a good bang for the buck. This is the same money you'd spend on a Jinhao fat pen (X750, X450 or 159, for example).I still think it is worth it for fine-nib and hooded nib lovers, especially if you like the flighter aesthetic, and the steel/black contrast. Personally? I never felt I like the black/steel aesthetic, and if this was't so cheap I may not have got it but that was simply due to taste. Functionally, it is a good pen, so the rest is up to you to decide.

6 months of use. Endcap broke off so I taped the hole and stuffed a little paper to slow the nib drying out. I usually clip it in my shirt pocket. The peeling started around the 5 month mark. I ended up scraping the cap clean. Now the bodies turn to peel at 6 months 😭 I don't throw around my pen nor do I pocket it with keys. I want to chalk it up to a dud and want to order another but........ Anyone else have this issue

Background: I travel a lot, and write professionally. (When the local stationery store sees me walk in, they start stacking bottles of ink on the counter.) My go-to instrument has therefore been the Pilot V-Pen, a brilliantly smooth-writing disposable fountain pen that holds enough ink to last even me for a while. However, it has one flaw: refilling it is a pain in the derriere. You need two syringes, which always makes me feel like the pen addiction has crossed some kind of line. (When a girl sees empty syringes on your nightstand, pen refilling isn't what comes to mind.) Therefore, my quest for a replacement. What I'm looking for: A pen that's... Cheap, so I can buy a couple and knock 'em around.Widely available, or at least can be easily mail-ordered in Asia.Writes astonishingly smoothly. Trust me, when you're putting industrial quantities of ink to paper, you want it to be easy.Has an ink capacity measured in liters, or at least feels that way. This almost certainly means no converters... since they take up space that could be used for holding ink!

Hello pen experts. I have this fountain pen that I need your expert knowledge to help me identify with the year, model and if possible, the value. The pen's body has the engraving, "Caran D'Ache Gold Plated G" - Not sure what G means. The nib says 18C - 750 B - Not sure what 750 or B mean. The nib also has a number engraved inside above the screw 255816 - Not sure what this number is. http://i.imgur.com/ekXU4R8.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WExpnxE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/6Z3BYhX.jpg http://i.imgur.com/UwvMaJm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cRvR3l9.jpg http://i.imgur.com/idw0v6u.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7gHoGPS.jpg Thanks Hossam

Hello, I'm new to this forum. As a small introduction, I become a pen enthusiast around Jun 2017. I started with the Pelikan 100N. I have a total of 10 different pens.Yesterday I bought a very interesting pen with a 14ct nib in the original box.This is the least fountain pen I had in my hands....9,3 cm.I was surprised by the way the ink is filled.In my opinion, only pipette can be filled ... so I tried it.Can someone tell me about this penThanks in advance

Hello everybody, Michael Dromgoole here again to talk about an event we have upcoming this weekend. On Saturday February 24th, we will be having a special pen event with two very special guests. The first guest we are extremely excited about is Dante Del Vecchio, founder of Visconti and also current designer of Pineider pens, he will be down here showing off some of his newest pens including our very own exclusive, and some new nibs Pineider is coming out with(VERY EXCITING). We also are welcoming Ken Jones, Vice President of Sales at Yafa (distributor of Conklin, Monteverde, Stipula, Pineider, etc.), and he will be here helping out with the event and showing off pens from all of their brands. This will be a bit different of an event than we have always had in the past, we will have some tables for gathering with snacks and good chatter. We hope anyone that can make it shows up and enjoys themselves. Both guests are great to talk to and have a lot of experience in the industry. I will also be doing an interview with Dante and hope to get a video up early next week. If anyone has any questions they would like me to ask, please shoot them my way! Its our first big event of 2018, and it will run from 10AM-4PM. We hope to see everybody here! Here is a link with a flyer about the event and a picture of our first Pineider Exclusive, what I like to call the "Midnight Shadows". It is limited to 37 pieces! https://instagram.com/p/BfYx5_MhEhV/

Dear members, I have inherited some fountain pens from my aunt who inherited them from husband around 1985. They have been kept in very good conditions, some in original packing I believe. I tried to do some research myself but as I am not expert I would like you to help me identify if they have any value. I managed to identify Geha 722 (as it has original packing and is very nice, I like it myself to be honest) but I have some Pelikan, centropen, I think a Russian one and some others I am not so sure about. I know there is Waterman but I dont know what type it is. I am posting pictures and would appreciate a lot if you could help me. Thank you in advance for this help. BTW, uncle was in professional army at high position and traveled around the world a lot, maybe some of pens he received as gift I assume. The first picture is mixture (on the left starting with a pencil suisse made, then pen I dont know, has Benzinol written on the handle (I guess used as branded gift), then the green one is the Russian one, then Waterman but I dont know type, then Pelilkan, again I dont know type and then Geha 722.) The second is capturing the sets I have, I believe the pen on the right is MontBlanc as the roller pen has it written on it but the fountain pen has only a mark M in some kind of circle or square or what it is, then the middle one is Centropen (but dont know what type) and the one on the left I dont know, there is only some mark which reminds me of Euro but it is probably supossed to mean the nib of the fountain pen but I have no idea what brand that is.

Hi All - I work for a large Catholic order in Wisconsin. Recently one of the sisters here learned of my fountain pen obsession and asked me if I would be willing to help them sell a bunch of fountain pens and mechanical pencils that they have accumulated over the years. They're really interested in selling the whole collection and not selling it piecemeal. It's a motley assortment of Sheaffers, Parkers, with the odd Chilton and Eversharp thrown in. There's also an unused Montblanc 149 with the original W Germany sticker. Any suggestions on where to go to solicit bids for the collection would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Sincerely, Yumbo

Hi everyone, I know there was a Waterman factory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the early 20th century but I was never able to find the date of when it closed (the year). I was only able to find out when it started operating and what happened to the building afterwards through Google searches. I think knowing when it closed to be able to guess what models it last produced would be interesting. Thank you all very much in advance!

Here is a Jr. Statesman Fountain Pen. It is made with Brecciated Quartz. That just means that at some point it was crushed up and then re-fused back together. The fit isn't as good as I would like, but I'm getting better. Comments and criticisms are welcome.

After much tortured deliberation and countless hours obsessing over different websites, and seeing as how I cant afford nor find an available LB5, Ive decided the closest Im ever going to get is a Sailor King of Pen. My question is, which one??? Are they all pretty much the same interior guts?

My understanding is that this is German, and so I'm posting this here: One of my favourite pens now even though quite a few things about it were things I wouldn't have chosen for myself. I am a complete sucker for something off-stream or weird or strange or one-off or just simply uncommon. The very REASON why I bought this pen was that it has a cork piston. I was like.. "Oh.. cork! Isn't that an old technology that is supposed to rot after some use? I'll have this." The cork and ink window were clean as new. I have since inked it up with black Parker Quink. The aesthetics of the pen make me fall in love with it rather quickly. Black, the pattern, the gold, the pattern, the blind cap, the clip, the pattern... not a big fan of having the name of the pen engraved on the cap but you get used to it. At least it's not the name of an association. The section is engraved EF and 3, which is likely the size of the nib. The nib has very noticeable flex despite still being a sturdy hardish nib. The feed is beautiful too. Everything about this pen works well together. Writing experience: scratchy as hell but that is due to slight misalignment. I may just have fixed this, though. If flexed, it is harder to control the EF lines. Ink flow is HUGE, and the nib and feed are always SOAKED! When I write with this pen, I feel like I'm writing with a soaked dip nib, and I love that. The section, length and girth are made as if they had my hand to design a pen for. I couldn't have made one like this for myself myself. Amicus Gold, 14kt no.3 EF. I've now run out of the first fill of ink. Ran out rather quickly as this is, as I said, an extremely wet pen. Do I change the ink, or stick to only one single ink for this pen? I'm thinking about the cork and any required maintenance. I hope you like it.

I was surfing around, looking for a nice Parker fountain pen for a reasonable price (I really love Sonnets and Duofolds too, but they are too expensive for my budget unfortunately). I ended up finding I found two IM's which I really like and I'm debating a bit over whether choosing this one in case I got a new Parker fountain pen (I have 45 and Jotter pencils and Jotter pens so far). (Also looked at Vector and Premier, but I like IM the best so far.) I'm curious for your opinions about it, like how practical and comfortable it is, if it's good for longer writing and maybe some not-so-professional calligraphic writing (for example for Christmas greetings) and so on. I attach two pictures of the ones I like the most so far The blue one is a Parker IM metal fountain pen and the green one says Parker IM Premium Vacumatic Emerald Pearl CT.

I'm glad to announce to all fans of Art Brown that we have reopened a new location under new management at #20R, Jewelery Plaza, 20 W 47th St . New York, NY 10036. At Art Brown, we pride ourselves on offering an extensive inventory of the very finest pens and leather goods available. If for some reason there is an item that you are interested in and we do not have it at the present time we will make sure to put our best efforts forth to get it for you. We also provide repairs. At Art Brown we place the needs and satisfaction of our customers above everything else. Dont forget that the holidays are quickly approaching and why not get your loved one a gift here. Come check us out at your earliest convenience, we look forward to assisting you

Well, This isn't as nice as the work everyone else posts, but I am happy with it, as is the new owner! It is my third fountain pen using vintage cellulose acetate. The finials and section are made from solid aluminum, turned by me on the metal lathe and final shaping and polishing done on the wood lathe. The nib is a #5 bock and the clip was purchased. Sorry for the pic with the business card in it. I don't have a decent picture of the cap on without the card! Oh, and the fingerprints.... Lewis

I've been told this is the Mount Everest of fountain pen aficionados. From the posts/threads I've read thus far, I'd say that statement is true. My name is Matthew Brockbank (Brock for short). Besides being a lover of fountain pens, I have a dream of one day becoming a Nibmeister and opening up Brock's Pen Shoppe, here in upstate NY. When I was younger, I was always fascinated by penmanship, font, and calligraphy. When I recently decided to buy my first fountain pen, everything changed. Writing with a fountain pen for the first time is like eating fast-food steak and then one day eating steak in a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. It was heaven. So, ever since then it's been an obsession and love affair with fountain pens that has evolved into pens, paper, inks, and the art of writing, in general. I hope I can contribute my fair share to this community and give back as much as you all already have to me. Cheers, Brock

I finally got a few photos of my fountain pen from Belgium! This is going to be the longest week of waif ever!

Faber-Castell Ambition Review (Medium in Black Resin) I have owned this pen for a year now, and it has been used very heavily during that time. It was the first pen I bought and chose myself and it was a sort-of grail at the time. Th pen's design is very minimalistic. It's all straight and cylindrical. The cap is made of chrome with plastic internals, but it's very heavy. The barrel is made from brushed "precious" resin. After a year, the brushing has worn away, so it looks more polished. Still doesn't look smooth and glossy, though. The pen was breathtaking when it was new. The resin could be compared to the Lamy 2000's makrolon: Makrolon on top, resin below. Before buying the Ambition, my main concerns were the resin cracking and the comfort in the hand. There are no cracks in the pen to report, and the comfort isn't perfect, but it's fine. It's not for everyone, though. The step seen above is what concerns most. I hold the pen on the chrome section, but most hands would be too large to do so. I use the pen unposted, as posting throws the balance off a lot, due to the heavy cap. It does look very nice posted, though. The writing experience is far from perfect. The nib is very smooth, but it makes a lot of sound when writing, which makes you think it's scratchy. There is some feedback on left-to-right strokes, but it's only noticeable with pressure. Speaking of pressure, the nib is definitely a nail. Very hard with almost no line variation to be had. I would rate the flow 3/5 for wetness. The feed doesn't maintain the flow perfectly, but it's not horrible. Keep in mind the pen is only £40. Compared to other pens in this price, you get a great writer. The medium nib is quite fine, so it's suitable for everyday writing. All nib units within Faber-Castell's "Design" range are the same and compatible with other pens from the range. Overall, I enjoy the pen very much but it's not without its flaws. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a £40 pen that's both beautiful and a good writer. This was my first pen review. How did I do?

I am currently hesitating between two pens: a Karas Kustoms Ink with a fine gold Buck nib, black anodised section and tumbled raw aluminium or polished aluminium barrel or Sheaffer Targa silver or black with a gold nib also. Both are metal c/c pens and both come in the same price range (unless you look at the really expensive Targas). One is more classic, the other is more modern. One is slimmer and lighter the other is chunky and heavy without being Jinhao 159-kind of heavy. What I am looking for is a pen that I will love to carry around without fear of dropping it and destroying the finish, that will be fun to write with for extended periods of time without getting cramps (I would say I have basketball-grabbing sized hands), that will be fun to look at, even in 5 years time, and that will, obviously be rugged. To give you an idea of the size of pens I like, I really enjoy writing with my MB 146. It feels just perfect in my hand in terms of weight and size, whereas my Sheaffer Balance (500), as much as I like it, sometimes feels a bit on the small side of things. Strangely enough, considering what I just said, my Estie J feels perfectly adequate in terms of size and weight. On the opposite hand of the spectrum, my Jinhao 159 is nice but just too heavy to be fun to use for any extended period of time. Given all of this, which pen would you guys choose? What is your take on this?

Gday everyone, Long time lurker first time poster I'd like to jump straight into it and go ahead and say that I've been having problems (or should i say A problem) with my Noodlers Bulletproof black. It's an absolutely wonderful ink in pretty much every way, except one. My 'Online German: Event' Pen doesn't seem to agree with the Noodlers ink. (I have a Noodlers Flex pen inked up in Noodlers black which works perfectly fine) I've inked it up through a converter and for about, I would say the first page and a half of writing, it writes fine. It flows well with no skipping etc. However once that 1-2 page thresh-hold has been passed the problems occur: The flow becomes weaker and the nib starts to dry outMinor skipping occurs (some shaking and tapping remedies this)Flow becomes near non-existent Every second stroke skips (No amount of shaking or tapping or wetting the nib remedies this)​I've went back and talked to the boutique owner and he says that he's not surprised that an American ink, especially the 'Bulletproof' line, works poorly with a European pen. At first I thought that maybe there was a problem with the nib/feed. However after purchasing some J-Herbin and Mont-Blanc inks I'm starting to think he may be right. MY PEN WRITES PERFECTLY!! It's a very wet writer and has never skipped or been prone to dry or anything of the sort. I decided to brave the Noodlers in my Online German again, but alas, the same exact problem. I've recently read a post somewhere that the Noodlers 'Bulletproof' line is not a very well lubricated ink and is prone to flowing problems. Anyway tell me what you guys think of my situation and if you've had any similar problems with any of the Noodlers inks. ​

Today I've found this on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007GU1VVE/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me= It's a Pilot Heritage 92 for... less than £10 !!! This isn't real, right? Has to be a scam... In any case I ordered 4 pens I always wanted since Amazon is great with refunds. Any thoughts? should I cancel straight away and not bother?

I got this pen as gift from my grandpa awhile ago when he was diagnosed with stage IV lunge cancer. He sadly passed away after a long and tough fight . I was hoping anyone here could possibly identify which Parker pen is this and how much it's worth . There are 2 pens one ballpoint and the other is a fountain pen. They are both made in France as written on them . One has the letters A I and the other has the letters A L. Apparently this means it was produced in 1982 . However I can't identify which model is it , whether it's a Parker 75 Perle or a Parker 180 Vendome perle . Any help would be appreciated! http://imgur.com/a/hbLJw

Hi! I'm starting to build my collection, but want to take multiple pens out with me, how ever, as I am a student, I don't want to be lugging around a large case to keep my pens safe. So what would you guys suggest, I'm after a small(ish) case, which can hold 3 pens which will protect them from becoming scratched or crushed within my bag. Hopefully something like this exists. If not, anything similar will help. And all answers appreciated. Many thanks Tom

Hello all! I don't really know which category this falls into, so i'll post it here. I'm looking for an ink that is dye based, relatively fade/water resistant, that does not corrode a pen if filled for an extended time (let's say 2-3 weeks) and is blue/blue-black/black (or any other color you would consider as work appropriate). Any recommendations?