What Chinese Pens Are You Using Today?

[Linsolv]

Oh, I meant to mention in my earlier post, somewhat in response to seffrican's post. About posting. This thought is getting a little weird at this point. Anyways, I find that it's hard to post the 159 because the cap falls off about half the time. If I can get it pressed on and write a few sentences, by that point it will usually have demonstrated itself to stay on, and it won't fall off until I re-cap the pen (and then re-post it later, obviously).

 

I guess this is something to do with the variability in these pens. Mine posts quite firmly and stays in place well for long writing sessions.

 

I also thought of changing the nib, but the broad-ish medium seems to suit the character of the pen, and I have loads of other pens with fine nibs or stubs. And given the weight of the thing, I'm not carrying it around with me, so it stays on my desk, within easy reach of the ink bottle for when emergency refills are needed. (And that said, it gives me about half a dozen pages of closely written A4 out of a full tank.)

 

I've been carrying it for nearly a week now; I don't use it as my primary pen (IMO, the reason I don't like the broader nib is that my writing gets muddled and a lot of letters just look like a puddle of ink) but it gets a fair amount of service, and I still have plenty of ink in the converter. It's not the efficiency I mislike about it, since it's not terribly inefficient. Just the clarity. That said, if I'm the least bit careful about my writing that's something that can essentially be worked around.

 

Also, as I've been using it more the cap falls off less frequently. In part, I think this is that I hadn't used a pen quite so cigar-shaped before, and was more used to Bic-style posting, which both my Noodlers, my Wing Sungs, and my Hero all do. With my 159, from feeling the cap touch the barrel to being as firmly posted as I can possibly make it is maybe a span of 1mm; until I got more used to it, I would guess, I was nervous about using that distance to firm up the cap to the bottom of the pen. Again, it's been almost a week now and I've used it a fair bit and gotten much more comfortable with it. Still not mad about the nib, though.

[lovemy51]

Sorry if this is a minor thread derail--what are the actual differences between the Jinhao '51-styled pens?

 

There's the 329, 330, 336, 616...

 

[EDIT: And I almost forgot the pricier models, the 110, and the 1000. The 1000, at least, is supposed to have a gold nib so there's that.]

 

Is it all just a matter of cap materials and clip shapes, or what?

hi.

 

first, i think you meant Hero and not Jinhao.

 

they are diff in sizes as well as body parts design. the 329 comes with an arrow on the section, much like the P61. it also comes with a rounded top cap, while the 110 comes with a cap similar to the P45... etc -of course, the nibs are all hooded. i don't have a H1000

 

another huge difference in the second bunch you listed is the fact that those come with real gold nibs. don't forget the 100, also 14k nib. the 110 has a 10k nib -and writes dreamy!!

 

i'll post some pictures.

 

from left to right:

329 burgundy with gold cap

329 green, steel cap

616 black jumbo

100 burgundy, 14k nib

110 much darker burgundy, stainless steel cap with gold clip and tassel

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/PC150067_zps94c80658.jpg

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/PC150068_zps88060296.jpg

[Linsolv]

Sorry if this is a minor thread derail--what are the actual differences between the Jinhao '51-styled pens?

 

There's the 329, 330, 336, 616...

 

[EDIT: And I almost forgot the pricier models, the 110, and the 1000. The 1000, at least, is supposed to have a gold nib so there's that.]

 

Is it all just a matter of cap materials and clip shapes, or what?

hi.

 

first, i think you meant Hero and not Jinhao.

 

they are diff in sizes as well as body parts design. the 329 comes with an arrow on the section, much like the P61. it also comes with a rounded top cap, while the 110 comes with a cap similar to the P45... etc -of course, the nibs are all hooded. i don't have a H1000

 

another huge difference in the second bunch you listed is the fact that those come with real gold nibs. don't forget the 100, also 14k nib. the 110 has a 10k nib -and writes dreamy!!

 

[snip]

 

Thanks. Yeah, I meant Hero. I've been talking about my Jinhao and my Hero at the same time so much lately that I got confused about which was which! Thanks for the tip!

[suexilin]

After a visit to the old pen seller's shop here in Beijing, I find myself with two new pens that I am using today.

 

The first new pen is another Duke from the Uranus line. I fell in love with it because of its colour, and because it was so slim.

 

It was hidden in a box under a box in the small display he had set up, and I made the seller displace at least 4 other boxes until he got to it. He seemed genuinely surprised at the pen's existence Fortunately for me, the pen wrote very smoothly and almost soundlessly as the other Duke Uranus I already have. I just HAD to buy it.

 

The nib is very interesting

 

It has the aerometric type of filling, I don't like it very much as I cannot see how much ink I have and it does not look easy to clean. Oh well.

 

 

Here is it compared with my first ever fp - the black uranus, (which I finally identified as a black Crown Prince model from the Uranus line - 天王星系列太子笔）and with my second pen from today a Jinhao x450.

I loved the grip of the Jinhao, as a newly attracted to fountain pens, I find that my fingers tend to slightly turn the pen when I write, which makes me lose the sweet spot.

With the Jinhao's grip this is next to impossible.

 

Here are their nibs next to each other, Duke Uranus Crown Prince, Duke Uranus Mysterious Blue, and Jinhao x450 black with red nuances.

 

 

And the details on their feeds, because I find them fascinatingly different.

 

I love the these two Uranus pens!

Is it normal for pens to write so silently? They just glide...

 

On the way back we stopped by a Lamy shop and I tried a Lamy Joy with a 1.5 nib. I can foresee one of my next purchases....

[Sailor Kenshin]

That blue Uranus? It has one innnnteresting nib shape. Kewl.

[richardandtracy]

I do like that Uranus. And yes, it is normal for fountain pens to write quietly if the nibs are smooth.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[richardandtracy]

Sorry if this is a minor thread derail--what are the actual differences between the Jinhao '51-styled pens?

 

There's the 329, 330, 336, 616...

 

[EDIT: And I almost forgot the pricier models, the 110, and the 1000. The 1000, at least, is supposed to have a gold nib so there's that.]

 

Is it all just a matter of cap materials and clip shapes, or what?

In many ways the differences are quite small between the models, but the details add up to quite a bit.

 

Let's start with the H616 Jumbo. It's a cheap copy of the Parker 51 Aero with a chrome plated brass cap. The H616 slim (ie not jumbo) is a slim version of the Jumbo and otherwise is a similar length pen. The H616 has a clear connector which is visible through the metal clutch rings. I liken the H616 Jumbo to the Parker 21 Super, and I think they are pretty equivalent pens. The nib is steel, and very fine.

 

Now, imagine a Star Trek flash on the hood of the slimline H616, and add an anodized aluminium cap. That's the H329. The new ones have no flash on the hood, so I'm told, but they continue to be available with a flash, so I suspect they are current production too. The variability of these is better than the H616, and they are faked less often ( I think..)

 

The H330 is a H329 with a Parker 17 shape end to the barrel, and usually has a gold anodized cap. like the H329, it has a steel nib. Quality is fair, similar to the H329.

 

The H100 has a fine gold nib, as do the H110 and H1000. They are supposed to be very high quality pens. They are all similar in diameter to the H329/330. The cap on these pens is brushed stanless steel, and the end of the barrel is either shaped like a P51 or P17 depending on the model.

 

I do not have any of the gold nibbed pens (being a bit skint) but I have done a review of the P21 vs the H616 ( http://www.fountainp...showtopic=63828 ) and also an early one of the H330 (which my daughter still uses http://www.fountainp...showtopic=40296 ).

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Richard

Edited December 17, 2012 by richardandtracy

[flugella]

Today's pen is a Hero 9012 which has a semi-hooded nib and writes a beautiful fine line. It's got JH Pouissere de Lune in it and its a lovely combo

[lovemy51]

hello, suexilin.

 

that's Uranus nib looks like a medieval axe -or some kind of weapon!! i like it!!

[JemC]

Seems like the shape of that Uranus nib almost might impart some level of flex

 

Still warming up to the day, but the blue Kaigelu 356 is in my near future.

[richardandtracy]

My lovely Kaigelu 316 Charcoal is sitting alongside the equally lovely Parker Duofold Centennial Pearl & Black.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[lovemy51]

today: guanleming jinrong.

[flugella]

Guanleming 2001 demonstrator for me today

[Santak]

Yiqun Pens Co. LTD.

[Whiteside]

I'm using a Kaigelu 316 (Charcoal) today. It arrived yesterday and I'm surprised at how sturdy and well made it feels. It certainly feels like a step up in quality from the J159 and K356.

[doggonecarl]

I flushed my new Wing Sung 233 and replaced it with my new Hero 616. The Wing Sung put down a pretty wet line that was smearing, probably because I was using Private Reserve American Blue.

 

Loaded the Hero 616 with Sheaffer Skrip. The pen writes a fine, dry line. First time writing with a hooded nib. It will take some time getting used to writing with a pen with just the tipping material showing.

[JemC]

First time writing with a hooded nib. It will take some time getting used to writing with a pen with just the tipping material showing.

Yeah, I favored the Hero 329/330 for a while because the painted arrow helped with quick orientation.

 

Today I've been using the Baoer 100, ground and adjusted from a wet F to a merely moist EF. I've really been enjoying this pen.

[J.R.]

Guanleming Demonstrator, converted to eyedropper - can't write this thing dry ! And, my trusty Wing Sung 233, loaded with homemade Royal Blue.

[sirtoti]

Just received some days ago my Beijing Jinxin 28A, so I'm running-in this fp right now.

For the time being it has a very good behavior. Maybe a bit light for a pen of those dimensions, but nib is great (smooth and good flow).

[51ISH]

Just received some days ago my Beijing Jinxin 28A, so I'm running-in this fp right now.

For the time being it has a very good behavior. Maybe a bit light for a pen of those dimensions, but nib is great (smooth and good flow).

 

 

There's a coincidence....I'm using my Beijing Jinxing today also.....I haven't used mine in weeks....other (family) stuff has had more of my attention lately.....but it started on the first stroke no problem...I think it has Diamine Denim in at the moment....both the Jinxing and I seem to like the combination.... sirtoti I think your mini review seems to sum up the pen for me too .....I think I will be using it a little more often...