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What Chinese Pen Would You Buy


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I have not and will not buy or own a chinese pen or product as far as I can help it. I am pro Taiwan. Free Tibet.

What about Taiwanese pens? There are some really good makes from Taiwan.

 

As I said, I am Pro-Taiwan and own 2 Twsbi pens, the 540 and the 540 ROC. I love that Taiwanese Sun cap. Sorry if I didnt make that clear, should have hyphenated in the first place.

Edited by RudyR

What Would The Flying Spaghetti Monster Do?

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Any tips on which of these types of pens have flex nibs aside from the Hero 189 (which I can't seem to find). I would like to try a cheap flex nib and see how it is. Currently I favor the italic nibs on my Lamys and have replaced my F and M nibs with italics, I really love the line variation but you gotta hold the pen right.

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  • 2 weeks later...
1308321167[/url]' post='2013341']

Bought a pack of 10 Hero 329s and they are virtually rubbish - in only 1 out of the ten would the filler actually draw up more than a tiny amount of the ink though the nibs seem fine to write with.

 

Have spent some time now using these pens. They are much better than I thought initially - have good flow, start first time, are nice and well balanced in use and have a smooth writing line - in fact I use them most days. As for filling. None of them work with the press-bar filler- the easiest way is to slide this off and then use two hands to "massage" the sac when it gives up and generally fills. £1 for ten now seems good value!

John

Favourite pens in my collection (in alpha order): Caran d'Ache Ecridor Chevron F and Leman Black/Silver F; Parker 51 Aerometric M and F; Parker 61 Insignia M, Parker Duofold Senior F; Platinum #3776 Century M; Sailor 1911 Black/Gold 21 Kt M; Sheaffer Crest Palladium M/F; Sheaffer Prelude Silver/Palladium Snakeskin Pattern F; Waterman Carene Deluxe Silver F

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Have spent some time now using these pens. They are much better than I thought initially - have good flow, start first time, are nice and well balanced in use and have a smooth writing line - in fact I use them most days. As for filling. None of them work with the press-bar filler- the easiest way is to slide this off and then use two hands to "massage" the sac when it gives up and generally fills. £1 for ten now seems good value!

John

 

I have to second this. They may look like "51" aerometric fillers, but very rarely do they work like them. It's easier to squeeze the sac by hand. Some will work with the filler bar after the first filling, but it's a hit or miss thing.

 

Michael

Foo! So many pens and inks, so little money....

 

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5642/postcardde9.png fpn_1323303417__postcrossing_button.gif

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Any tips on which of these types of pens have flex nibs aside from the Hero 189 (which I can't seem to find). I would like to try a cheap flex nib and see how it is. Currently I favor the italic nibs on my Lamys and have replaced my F and M nibs with italics, I really love the line variation but you gotta hold the pen right.

 

You'll have to hold the pen right for flex pens as well. A cheap flex is the Noodler's flex. Some were recently on pre-order at isellpens. (No affiliation) If you can find it, the Hero 442 has a semi-flexible nib.

Regards,

Issy

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With no disrespect to the PRC or Chinese people, I'd get none.

 

There are enough pens of quality, manufactured in Europe, USA & Japan, to keep me interested.

Well made, affordable offerings are also available from some of these regions (ie. Lamy).

The vintage pen market can be another option.

 

Just my $0.02 CAD.

 

tinta

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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Any tips on which of these types of pens have flex nibs aside from the Hero 189 (which I can't seem to find). I would like to try a cheap flex nib and see how it is. Currently I favor the italic nibs on my Lamys and have replaced my F and M nibs with italics, I really love the line variation but you gotta hold the pen right.

 

Monday at noon a new batch of Noodler's Flex Pens will be for sale at Goulet Pens, these are only $14 and very competent flex pens. But as Nathan Tardif described them, they are more of a "Maniflex" than "Wet Noodle" type of flex, meaning you will need to use a good bit of pressure to flex them, but they are capable of amazing line variation. All in all, they are a good way to "dip" into flex pens!

 

As far as Chinese made flex pens... uh, I've never heard of any, and I wouldn't think they would make any considering it can even be hard to find any nib that isn't fine or extra fine from China. Much less a specialty like flexibility, but then again I wouldn't know for sure.

Edited by Gobblecup

Gobblecup ~

 

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i do get a lot more line variation from my hero 189 (shown here previously) than i do with my noodler's, in fact my noodlers nib was soooooooo bad, that i replaced it with an old chinese nib i had laying around... now, tho' not flex at all, performs way better.

 

Winchester, why don't you drop Todd at isellpens an email and ask him if he can still get the 189? or maybe he can tell you if he has something else like it. keep in mind the Hero 189 might not be consider a semi-flex by many... i just say that it flexes more than the noodler's flex... and if one can call that a flex?... well then...!!

 

this is the only thing i've found on the Hero 189:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/270948365/189_gold_pen_14K_.html

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With no disrespect to the PRC or Chinese people, I'd get none.

 

There are enough pens of quality, manufactured in Europe, USA & Japan, to keep me interested.

Well made, affordable offerings are also available from some of these regions (ie. Lamy).

The vintage pen market can be another option.

 

Just my $0.02 CAD.

 

tinta

HAH. No offence, but why do people assume that Chinese people (technically I'm Chinese...born and raised in Australia, though) would be offended?

 

As far as I know, anyone who has enough money in China, steers clear of Chinese-made products. Why? We know just how bad the quality of many products are. :ltcapd: It's improving, though, and quite rapidly. Heck, I bought Chinese pens expecting them NOT to work. Pleasant surprise when they did!

 

I have quite a few. My favourites would be: Hero 329, Hero 616, Wing Sung 612, Wing Sung 236, Hero 331. All NOS. The newer Hero pens just aren't up to standard when I compare them side-by-side.

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I have several NOS Hero pens, and more than one of each: 221, 442, 329, 332. They all worked the moment I inked them. They were a bit scratchy which made them perfect for practicing nib smoothing.

Regards,

Issy

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i got these this week. both beautiful and perform great!

 

hero 389

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/hero389.jpg

 

jinhao Century M nib

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/461497480_o.jpg

 

the quality of these is quite good. specially the Hero 389. beautiful finish.

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i got these this week. both beautiful and perform great!...

 

jinhao Century M nib

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/461497480_o.jpg

 

I just got this one as well. The nib is really quite broad on mine; very smooth, butrather too big for my small handwriting. :/ Any suggestions on what to do about it? I don't really don't want to sink a ton of money into this one...

[color="#483D8B"][i][font="Book Antiqua"]Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda. [/color][/font][/I]

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i do get a lot more line variation from my hero 189 (shown here previously) than i do with my noodler's, in fact my noodlers nib was soooooooo bad, that i replaced it with an old chinese nib i had laying around... now, tho' not flex at all, performs way better.

 

Winchester, why don't you drop Todd at isellpens an email and ask him if he can still get the 189? or maybe he can tell you if he has something else like it. keep in mind the Hero 189 might not be consider a semi-flex by many... i just say that it flexes more than the noodler's flex... and if one can call that a flex?... well then...!!

 

this is the only thing i've found on the Hero 189:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/270948365/189_gold_pen_14K_.html

 

I'm waiting to see how the new Noodler's flex works out, it should be here any day now. Then it's off to try the Ahab. I also got a 14k Wahl nib I got from ebay that was said to be a flex that I plan to put in another old noodler's pen. I also got a first gen Noodler's flex eyedropper (Lotsa noodlers...) and it's not really what I would call flexible. But I have no experience with flex nibs. Certainly the amount of pressure I have to use means I can't write and produce line variation with it.

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i do get a lot more line variation from my hero 189 (shown here previously) than i do with my noodler's, in fact my noodlers nib was soooooooo bad, that i replaced it with an old chinese nib i had laying around... now, tho' not flex at all, performs way better.

 

Winchester, why don't you drop Todd at isellpens an email and ask him if he can still get the 189? or maybe he can tell you if he has something else like it. keep in mind the Hero 189 might not be consider a semi-flex by many... i just say that it flexes more than the noodler's flex... and if one can call that a flex?... well then...!!

 

this is the only thing i've found on the Hero 189:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/270948365/189_gold_pen_14K_.html

 

I'm waiting to see how the new Noodler's flex works out, it should be here any day now. Then it's off to try the Ahab. I also got a 14k Wahl nib I got from ebay that was said to be a flex that I plan to put in another old noodler's pen. I also got a first gen Noodler's flex eyedropper (Lotsa noodlers...) and it's not really what I would call flexible. But I have no experience with flex nibs. Certainly the amount of pressure I have to use means I can't write and produce line variation with it.

congrats, those Wahl nibs are sweeeeeet! Noodler's nibs don't impress me, but i think i would try the Ahab -only cos' the filling system looks seems interesting. i'm also hoping is a bit bigger (length and girth) than the others.

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Today, I went to a cheap market to buy more Heros, and they didnt look like my heros at home, the cap was golden and made of plastic(?) and the nib was not not centered! This must be the fake heros, they cost only 1.20 singapore dollar, about 1 us.

 

 

This sounds like the Hero 336 pens that I have.

 

The nib can be easily centered. If it is not too bad, just push the nib sideways on the opposite side against a wad of paper. If it is very bad, look for the post Hero 336 disassembly.

 

The caps may need some wax sealing in it if u don't write everyday with it.

 

If ink flow is too little, widen the tines a little with the method described in other posts.

 

Mine writes smoothly after a little work on my part. It lives up to its name as it is the first pen I'll use unknown inks in it. If something goes terribly wrong, it can be easily stripped apart for cleaning. .... Heroes always go first ...

 

One of them had donated its sac to an old Sheaffer pen and itself was resurrected with a used cartridge from a Pilot vanishing point.

 

Rgds

Weemeng

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i got these this week. both beautiful and perform great!

 

hero 389

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/hero389.jpg

 

 

the quality of these is quite good. specially the Hero 389. beautiful finish.

 

Second this. I have two of them. I sent for the second because it said it was a Medium nib but it turned out to be a Fine like the other. Certainly looks much better than the £10 price tag and performs very well!

 

John

Favourite pens in my collection (in alpha order): Caran d'Ache Ecridor Chevron F and Leman Black/Silver F; Parker 51 Aerometric M and F; Parker 61 Insignia M, Parker Duofold Senior F; Platinum #3776 Century M; Sailor 1911 Black/Gold 21 Kt M; Sheaffer Crest Palladium M/F; Sheaffer Prelude Silver/Palladium Snakeskin Pattern F; Waterman Carene Deluxe Silver F

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is it I, or are the chinese pen companies making more M and B nibs? just purchased a Huashilai yesterday and it said it came with a B nib.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140624101670&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:US:1123

Yes I do believe they are. At one time they were all fine. A couple years ago I started to look for medium and broad Chinese nibs and they were difficult to find. Since that time I have noticed more and more are selling broader nibs. Both Regal and Kai Ge Lu offer broad nibs now.

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