What Chinese Pen Would You Buy

[da vinci]

I have a wing sung 233 - nice looking pen and quality seems ok, but it writes very fine (nib says medium) and dry.

[jjaberg]

I have a couple of Jin Hao X450's and one X750. All write smoothly, are very pretty (especially the nibs), and cost ~$15. The fit/finish of the X750's cap/barrel is superior and really very nice.

[KrazyIvan]

Twsbi Diamond 530

 

TWSBI is not Chinese. It is Tiawanese.

 

 

 

and a for my spelling of Taiwanese. So we are even. :ltcapd:

[Snarf]

I feel like I could be useful here and direct you to my recent review of a 3 fps I just got: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/198125-hero-103-hero-7006-and-jinhao-330/ basic and I hope it helps.

[79spitfire]

Look at Isellpens.com web pages and see what you want to spend. You could also look at Hisnibs.com in his "Chinese" section. Most Chinese pens are a bit hit and miss. I find myself buying them because I'm a sucker for bright colors!

 

I've had the best luck with older WingSungs and higher end Hero pens, although I have never had a bad 616 from Isellpens.

 

The Hero 100 and the WingSung 233 are my current "favorite" "cheap" fountain pens. The Hero 100 is a touch over your budget, but sports a 14k gold nib.

 

Good luck, but "Your mileage WILL vary" :ltcapd:

[LedZepGirl]

Personally I wouldn't buy any, I'd go out and find myself a nice Esterbrook J in need of some work. If vigilant, one can find them in the wild for as little as $7.00 (in the 'States that is).

[MidnightBlue]

Many people already have pens made in China like the Cross ATX. They work OK, but they are underwhelming. Thanks

[Kaweco Liliput]

I have quite a few Chinese pens but the best by far is a Doctor (made by Hero); writes perfectly, flawless finish and it fills well. Bought it on ebay from Speerbob (US based seller).

[brownargus]

Bought a Hero 616 but the filler didn't work properly and the pen virtually disassembled itself when I tried to fill it - the whole of innards poked out of the nib section and I had to push it back in! The Jinhoa 321 is quite a nice pen as is the Golden Dragon if you can stand the bling! Also, I got a Hero 704 but that is quite a nice pen, good finish and with a converter fill but the nib needed a little tweeking - it writes OK now! 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. Maybe they are counterfeit ones!

 

Rule of thumb - be very careful!

 

John

Just acquired a Hero 389 with a fine nib. It is an excellent pen looking much more expensive than the £7 it cost (incl. postage). Well balanced, good weight, good flow, nice writing line, starts every time. I like it so much I have sent for one with a medium nib.

 

John

[Opel]

I’ve recently bought a Chinese made Sheaffer Prelude at more than two thirds of retail price. A very good pen, excellently manufactured, but somehow sadly lacking.

 

I suppose for me, the magic has gone now that the “heritage” and history unique to this particular and longstanding company has been destroyed. Thus Sheaffer is now a mere brand and nothing else, similar in comparison to say perhaps a BMW Mini—just imitations with the sparkle missing, nevertheless I suppose, excellent products.

[padams2359]

Thanks for the info everybody. FYI, this prints out to 21 pages. I went through all of them, and identified the Goods and the Bads, and the results are pretty consistant. I was thinking about getting a FP for my son's 15 BD in August. This would be his first pen, and I want to make sure he can keep track of it before I purchase anything better for him. I will give him the list of the better reviewed pens and let him pick the one he wants. I know I would hate to get some expensive or inexpensive thing that I hate from someone, only to keep it in a desk drawer.

[AtomicLeo]

If you had to pick one (or a few) inexpensive Chinese pens to buy, what would you chose?

 

Let's assume you are buying them from ebay, and want something less than $25.

 

Also, besides the Hero 616 / Parker 51, are there any that closely resemble famous pens?

 

I own several Chinese pens that I bought off ebay.

 

Jinhao has some excellent pens for the money. The 321 is better than the Hero 100 IMO and the x450 is wet broad. Both are excellent writers!

 

Picasso pen are just stunning for the money. Great finishes and well built pens, but a bit on the dry/fine side. They have a few small pens that are under $25.

[richardandtracy]

I have the following good Chinese Pens:

Jinhao 1200 (Dragon Clip) It's heavy, but writes really nicely after tweaking.

Jinhao 321. This is my best hooded nib pen outside the Parker 51/61 range. It's better than any of the other Chinese hooded nib pens I have tried and also better than the P100, P17, P21 or P21S. I wish it came in a nib bigger than 'Fine'.

 

The following are less good, but acceptable:

Hero 5020 (Sonnet lookalike)

Hero 616, 329/330.

Leonardo: Blue Lacquer Finish chips off, but the pen writes OK.

 

The Wing Sung 812 leaked. I so wanted to like it as it is a scale copy of a P61 Insignia. However, I couldn't stop it leaking.

 

The final Chines pen I have is utter garbage:

Guang Ming 812. It looks like a blinged up Sheaffer with a Triumph nib. Don't touch with a barge pole.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

Edited June 28, 2011 by richardandtracy

[rwilsonedn]

I’ve recently bought a Chinese made Sheaffer Prelude at more than two thirds of retail price. A very good pen, excellently manufactured, but somehow sadly lacking.

 

I suppose for me, the magic has gone now that the “heritage” and history unique to this particular and longstanding company has been destroyed. Thus Sheaffer is now a mere brand and nothing else, similar in comparison to say perhaps a BMW Mini—just imitations with the sparkle missing, nevertheless I suppose, excellent products.

I think you make a very good point. Independent of how a pen looks, feels, and writes, much of its value is in what we believe about it. For instance, I just don't know how I would feel if a Chinese company made an exact replica of a Waterman 52 with a perfect wet-noodle nib for $10. Would I jump on it, or would it somehow fall short of the ideal? (oops, no pun intended)

ron

[jniforat]

Hero 6xx Jumbo or Hero 100 from Todd at Isellpens.com . No aff., but Todd makes sure these cheap pens work.

[philradjesh]

I'm interested in buying a chinese pen (Hero,Duke or Jinhao) fashion, for 150-200 dollars.

Which model could be suitable ? I want a very smooth an juicy pen.

 

I've seen at ebay the DUke :

Beijing Opera ,

king of crown,

P83 bright pearl in dark

 

http://stores.ebay.fr/Chinese-Pen-Supplier/DUKE-/_i.html?rt=nc&_fsub=13050681&_sid=572596352&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=3&_sc=1

 

Thanks,

philippe

Edited July 1, 2011 by philradjesh

[KrazyIvan]

I think any Chinese pen going for that much would be a bit overpriced. Just a bit.

[GeeBee]

I'm interested in buying a chinese pen (Hero,Duke or Jinhao) fashion, for 150-200 dollars.

Which model could be suitable ? I want a very smooth an juicy pen.

 

I've seen at ebay the DUke :

Beijing Opera ,

king of crown,

P83 bright pearl in dark

 

http://stores.ebay.fr/Chinese-Pen-Supplier/DUKE-/_i.html?rt=nc&_fsub=13050681&_sid=572596352&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=3&_sc=1

 

Thanks,

philippe

 

A Jinhao in 250, 450 or 750 will be a wet smooth writer and you shouldn't have to pay much more than $5 if you look around Ebay.

If you happen to be unlucky enough to get one that isn't nice and wet a razor blade run between the tines should remedy the issue, I personally love wet writing pens.

Some of the higher level Jinhao's look nice but I have no personal experience with those, I have quite a few of each of the the models mentioned and only one of them required the razor treatment.

Edited July 2, 2011 by GeeBee

[max dog]

I think it's great that some Chinese pens can offer great value (good performance at a low cost), but I personally could not find satisfaction in a cheap imitation of a Parker or Montblanc pen, no matter how inexpensive and how well it writes. If there is an inexpensive Chinese pen that writes great and is not a deliberate copy of a famous pen, then I would consider it for it's own merit.

Edited July 2, 2011 by max dog

[UltraMagnus]

cheap imitation of a Parker or Montblanc

I get the parker imitation with the 51, but I have not seen any imitation of montblanc in chinese pens, unless you consider any generic cigar to be so.