Haolilai 575F

[Renzhe]

This is the Haolilai 575F. I got it for $12.99 at isellpens.com after seeing a positive review here.

 

 

Form

This is probably Flighter-inspired. The cigar shaped body of brushed steel is lustrous and bright, modest but not boring. Engraved on the cap is The clip is gold plated, partially smooth and partially texturised which is a nice perversion from the typical smooth textured clips. It also keeps the clip from being too much of a contrast to the brushed steel body. I don't quite like the shape of the clip as I find that the right-angle bend and the amount of protrusion from the cap disturbs the graceful lines of the rest of the pen. The clip looks like it came from another pen. The section has a smooth finish unlike the rest of the pen. Fingerprints show clearly on it. The nib is gold plated, and hooded. I usually find that gold nibs on achromatic bodies look out of place, but since this nib is so covered up, the little bit of gold shown creates an eye-catching focal point for the pen.

 

Function

The pen is about 13.7 cm long capped and 11.7 cm uncapped. Can't post the cap. It is 12 mm in diameter at its widest part; between 10 mm and 8 mm at the section. It takes cartridges and comes with a convertor. Being of metal, it's heavier than usual. This pen is very demanding of the user. It always has to be at a certain angle or it will skip, as shown in the writing sample. I've tried different ink and stationery but it will still skip once my attention is diverted from writing. Once you get past that, it writes quite well. It is not perfectly smooth; it has a bit of feedback, which many might prefer to super-smooth, 80's power steering. It produces a Western fine to medium line. It isn't flexible by my standards, but it can produce a wider line under adequate pressure. The convex shape of the section bugs me. I feel like my fingers might slide into the nib if I allow it. Actually the pen as a whole is very slick, and heavier than usual. While taking notes in class today, the pen slipped through my fingers like a giant rain drop and hit the floor. The nib got pushed about 2 mm further into the section............it writes wetter and smoother now. :blink: Hmm.........but it still skips.

 

For now, I'll keep this pen as my "Do you have a pen I can borrow" pen.

 

(One might wonder how to pronounce "Haolilai." To explain it as "how-lee-lie" is a pretty close approximation. But for some, approximate is not close enough. The exact pronuncation in IPA is [xaʊ˧˥ li˥˩ laɪ˧˥].)

 

http://i10.tinypic.com/35it93s.png

Edited January 4, 2007 by Renzhe

[HDoug]

A shame about the skipping, else it would be great, especially for the price. Nib can't be smoothed or flossed to eliminate the skipping? Just a thought.

 

Is that the supplied cartridge you were using, or something else? Love that blue -- and that text still keeps popping up in the most unexpected places! I thought I was safe here at FPN!

 

Thanks for the review (and the wiki link to IPA).

 

Doug

[lefty928]

Thank you for a detailed review, very helpful!

[guitarman19853]

Hahaha... your writing sample made me laugh.

[D.R.Mabuse]

Hmmm, sorry to hear that. I recently got a 575 from the same source and it works fine. So far (ulp). I specialize in Haolilai's, and have only had issues with a couple -- being loose capping (or, in the case of a 363, total refusal to cap). I do have a 616 that gives an annoying bit of "scratch"when I'm jotting fast notes, but I can live with that.

 

Overall I like the breed as I don't have to shake/hand warm/etc. it to get a smooth, full starting line.

[Renzhe]

That ink? Private Reserve American Blue.