Must Buy Chinese Fountain Pen: Highly Reliable Chinese Fountain Pens In China

[Jimmy James]

Hero 616

Jinhao X750

Hero 266

Bookworm 995

 

Those are the only four I could recommend as being perfect for me so far.

[Blot]

I tried a couple of Jinhaos and they were smooth but they were wet mediums.

 

The one Jinhao I had with a Fine point was really bad.

 

If any of these pens comes with a smooth fine nib, that would be nice, but it seems most on ebay are medium.

So if you are looking for a nib that lays down a Fine line, you may have trouble finding one.

 

But like I said, my experience is limited here.

 

I have several Heros and Wing Sungs with smooth fine and extra fine nibs. In my experience Wing Sungs and Heros are unbeatable starters. Most of my Jinhaos will dry up if sitting about. The Hero 007 is a surprisingly good beater for the low price, and good extra fines I have are the Wing Sung 612 and Wing Sung 803. For these EF Chinese nibs I can recommend Richard Guo as a seller. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

My link

He has good English and can advise you by email. For instructions on international ordering click Guide at top centre of the webpage.

Another Chinese supplier I have dealt with is this eBay seller

My link Again no affiliation, just a satisfied customer. This seller has practically no English and communicates using a web translator but has a good business attitude. He offers sampler collections of these Wing Sungs which are ideal for anyone wanting to try them out.

[GeneralSynopsis]

I'd be very interested to hear from British collectors on their experiences of buying cheap(ish) Chinese pens on ebay, particularly as regards customs and delivery - has it been a pain free experience?

 

Thinking of getting a Kaigelu 316, which looks very much my kind of pen. (So far, my 'collection' over the years includes a number of Waterman and Cross pens and one solitary Sheaffer which I don't much like, plus a couple of dip pens for calligraphy.)

 

I'm in the UK and have bought a number of pens from China (10 pack of Hero 616's, Pirre Paul 827, Baoer 388, Baoer 301, Pilot 78g, ...). I have never been charged duty, the only down side has been the long delivery times from some suppliers (or rather that some achieve much shorter delivery times it spoils you for the others).

 

You will have nothing to pay on goods worth less than £15, and over that up to £135 only VAT (except for alcohol, tabacco and perfumes), see HM Revenue and Customs site for details.

[Mike 59]

Hi, Also in the UK here. I bought an 'Own brand' fountain pen from W.H Smith, then posted a picture on this site, and the replies were that it was a Hero nib, if not the whole pen. The nib is not flexible at all, writes medium/broad but very smooth.

Barrel and cap seem to be brass, with superb black lacquer finish. The only poor part is the thread on the 'section'-to-barrel a sloppy fit. I could imagine a younger user cross threading it first go. The cap posts tightly, and clicks back on rather than threading. It's available in black, silver and gold finishes, and at £8, I would call that a bargain. See photo.

[amk]

Thanks GeneralSynopsis, you've given me the confidence to go ahead and make a few bids with sellers that I've seen mentioned on FPN.

 

This really is a great resource! Definitely NSFW though, albeit not in the normal sense of the phrase - I am supposed to be meeting a deadline, instead of which I'm looking at fountain pen pictures!

[filedog]

I have a Picasso 908 in orange lacquer, and it's a gorgeous pen and a smooth writer, but the cap weighs about 3 times what the pen itself does. It's too short for me to write comfortably with it unposted, but it's rather unwieldy when posted. Other than that, it's a great pen.

I have one of those too. Definitely not good posted, as you say. The thing I can't get over is,

the threads above the section - the cap clicks on!

[filedog]

The Kaigelu 316 is quite a nice pen. Beautiful to look at - mine has a med.-broad stroke, wet too.

It's a heavy pen, but worse the balance is wrong. It's too back-heavy, shame.

I got a couple of Jinhao x750s, the one direct form a China seller has a roughly cut feed,

seems to dry up after a while as others have mentioned. I got another from xfountainpen

that has a nicer converter and a Knox nib. That one is very smooth, and doesn't seem

to dry out. Bit higher cost, but for $20, you get a nice serviceable pen. That one stays

inked : )

Edited February 18, 2012 by filedog

[John Cullen]

filedog---what size nib did you get on the xfountainpen? I am wondering about the Fine Knox nib vs the Medium Knox? any thoughts?

[subbucal]

Jinhao X450 and Baoer Sonnet....

 

Here is a link to my china made pens collection..

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/104895050881274130670/CHPens?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGmnZeQ4ZP3-QE#

[richardandtracy]

Referring to the Kaigelu 316. I have two and will probably get the third colour in time. Lovely pens. They are not brilliantly balanced, and not suitable for posting, but otherwise I really like them.

 

Don't ignore the Jinhao Century pens, they are good pens that are suitable for a lot of use.

 

I have bought direct from China and also the US for these, and in neither case have I been charged customs fees - mostly because I've never seen the customs declaration value as more than US$17.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

Edited February 20, 2012 by richardandtracy

[skyorchid]

if you have friend in Taiwan, i suggest Heart Sutra pen

 

http://www.finewriting.com.tw/tw/shop/index.php?cid=215&sid=213

 

its nib is enough smooth for me. Because i always write Chines and sometime a bit English

 

And I love its mark -- Heart Sutra. If many of Taiwan's Buddhist research Heat Sutra, even transcribe and recite every day.

 

Try it if you can buy by above website.

[amk]

Just got a Kaigelu 316 through the post from ebay seller pmstylus. It is a lovely pen - quite smooth writing, very good finish, nicely heavy in the hand, and really beautiful.

 

Wouldn't have got it without FPN! So thanks everyone for the advice.

[mik]

I've used a Hero 326 & a jinhao executive for many trouble free years.Ie you are ordering pens from outside of uk there is no duty to pay if the total of the goods & postage is under about £15.So you'll be fine if you just get a couple ie. the price you see is the price you pay.

However if you use an express international postage service & the total is over about£15 YOU WILL BE HAMMERED! First there is customs duty which was £12.46 on a £37 pen fair enough,Also VAT at 20 % Then there is parcelforce handling charge,standard non negotionable £22! What happens is, they send you a letter stating that they have paid the customs charge on your behalf & on reciept of your customs & handling charge they will deliver your express parcel.Holding it ransom for a couple of weeks & then returning to sender if your £22 is not paid!!!This is nothing to do with british customs,They will bill you for the duty oweing, had it not been paid.Parcelforce meanwhile get a £22 bonus on top of the postage money they have already had!!!

Now this by any measure is pure highway robbery & also of dubious legality on parcelforces' part.

I hope this saves somone a very nasty shock Equally I hope parcel force makes less money by people being aware of this rip off profiteering.All of the above just about doubled the cost of my pen .Not such a bargain eh ?

Edited March 12, 2012 by mik

[richardandtracy]

I have not yet had to pay customs, but it will probably come eventually. What's worse is that you pay it on the postage & packing too. That is a rip-off.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[asaha]

Currently I am only confident with Hero.

 

Wing Sung in the old days were really good. In the market, there are many so called NOS Wing Sung, but I highly doubt there are so many NOS.

[Susanna]

I recently bought some Duke pens, to test them before starting to sell, and I was amazed by their beauty.

 

For the luxurious cloisonnè work, with large use of gold and colored lacquer:

http://www.giardino.it/pens/duke/IMMAGINI/GuibaoAp.jpg

 

for the gently hand-painted ceramic ones:

http://www.giardino.it/pens/duke/IMMAGINI/PorcellAutunno.jpg

 

and for the breathtaking nib of the calligraphic pen:

http://www.giardino.it/pens/duke/IMMAGINI/ConfuciusAp.jpg

Yes, this nib is angled. It's specifically designed for Chinese ideograms, but I saw also examples of western writing, and drawings. Very strange nib, and very pleasant bamboo.

 

I described them in detail in my Blog.

[vimal1784]

Hello,

 

Where I can get a Hero 240 Fountain pen in India(Bangalore).

 

Vimal.

[richardandtracy]

There is one on E-Bay, here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hero-240-cartridge-filler-nib-size-M-/150615885175?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2311680577

 

Hope that helps.

 

I have now got a Jinhao Century Mk 2 pen, and think it's a nicer shape and construction than the earlier Mk 1, and would highly reccommend it.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[impossiblebird]

...If you are ordering pens from outside of uk there is no duty to pay if the total of the goods & postage is under about £15...

According to HMRC, though taxes are payable on goods value plus post & insurance, the threshold value for liability excludes postage and insurance, ie tax is owed only when the intrinsic value of the goods alone exceeds £15. From their FAQ page:

 

1.What does HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) mean when they refer to the import of low value goods?

 

Imports of low value goods are any consignments, made up of goods of a negligible value, that are dispatched direct from a third country (non-EU) country to a consignee in the EU which may be admitted free of customs import duty and/or import VAT.

 

Currently this means that:

■ consignments with an intrinsic value of £15 or less are free from both customs duty and import VAT

■ import VAT is payable when the intrinsic value of the goods is over £15

■ customs duty (and import VAT) is payable when the intrinsic value of the imported goods is over £135

 

2.What is the intrinsic value?

 

The intrinsic value is the price paid or payable for the goods excluding postage and packing and insurance costs.

 

Which is why I separate by a few days any multiple purchases from the same seller whose total value will exceed £15. Handling charges are indeed ridiculous.

 

Of course, there are some sellers who consistently declare low values on customs declarations, but I can never remember which ones, and I believe it's against the law to ask them to do so.

Edited May 1, 2012 by impossiblebird

[impossiblebird]

 

I have now got a Jinhao Century Mk 2 pen, and think it's a nicer shape and construction than the earlier Mk 1, and would highly reccommend it.

 

 

Is this the pen you're calling Mk 2, and this the Mk 1?

 

Or do I have that the wrong way round?

 

Edited to say: silly me, I just saw your review, which clarifies the issue! :embarrassed_smile:

Edited May 1, 2012 by impossiblebird