Baoer 051 Review

[ppdiaporama]

I’ve recently started down the path of trying out Chinese pens. They’re inexpensive and can be quite handsome as well. I bought my first one a few months ago with the sole purpose of taking it apart and tinkering with it

 

Given their low price (2,50$), I purchased two Baoer 051 from two different sellers on ebay; one black and chrome, the other mainly chrome with black stripes.

Interestingly, both pens came with different nibs and feeds.

 

Appearance & Design

 

This pen looks good. It bears the same design as a Monteverde Impressa. It doesn’t scream bling or cheap as some other Chinese pens do. This is a pen will look good in your shirt pocket or on your desk. It’s fairly elegant

 

However, I’m not fond of the top of the cap. I find that it’s disproportionate to the rest of the pen, especially to the bottom end.

 

The pen comes with a #5 nib. One of the two nibs is a bit shorter than the other and looks too small on a pen this size.

 

The grip section is quite comfortable. It’s large enough to fit your gingers. It’s tapered at the end to prevent your fingers from touching the nib.

 

Construction & Quality

 

Paint is chipping from grip section from one of the two pens that I purchased … and only after 1 day.

 

The clip is very springy and quite nice. It’s attached to the top using a screw. It is far nicer than what you typically find on Chinese pens in this price range.

 

Nib & Performance

 

As mentioned earlier, both pens had different nibs & feeds. The first had a very scratchy and dry nib with the imprint “Iridium point Germany” on it. I polished it using 12000 grit micromesh and it is now quite smooth.

 

The second one had a shorter nib with “Baoer” on it. This nib was fairly smooth and wet out of the box enveloppe.

 

Conclusion

 

Assuming that you get one with a good nib and that paint doesn’t come of the grip section (or anywhere else for that matter), this is a really good bargain. This is a good looking pen. It is well made and a pleasure to write with.

 

I purchased this pen because I wanted to tinker … mission accomplished! I even replaced the nib with a spare Edison!

 

[Nosferatualso]

Thank you this is really helpful. I will buy one

[drathbun]

Rather than post a separate thread, I'm adding my review to this one since I have exactly the same two Baoer 051 pens as ppdiaporama. It is interesting that mine had the different nibs and sections as well but I had the opposite problems. The one marked "Baoer" on the stripped 051 is slightly scratchy (easily fixed with micromesh) and the one with "Iridium" on the nib was as smooth as glass right off the bat.

 

 

I made a YouTube video today when I unpacked the black 051 and then looked at the two pens together. I got the black one on ebay for $3.32 Cdn. Ridiculous for such a well made pen. If the pen fails or gets a scratch, just buy another one!

 

 

I agree that this pen is almost exactly like the Monteverde Impressa. I've never had an Impressa in my hands but Matt Armstrong's comparison video between the Baoer 051 and the Impressa sheds a lot of light on the similarities and difference. Plus, Matt talks about which came first the Baoer or the Monteverde at this point in his video here:

 

https://youtu.be/ISxElp-iD4M?t=699

 

 

 

[Yohaanrods]

Thanks for the review!

[Drone]

A word of caution...

 

The pen being reviewed here has an articulated (hinged) clip. All of the Chinese fountain pens with articulated clips that I have encountered have a potentially big flaw - the caps are not air tight. Some are worse than others when it comes to the cap being sealed, so YMMV.

 

You can test this by putting the open cap end up against your lips and blowing into it. If air leaks through the cap easily, it's not even close to being sealed.

 

An unsealed cap when the pen is posted means the nib may dry out if the pen is left inked and capped for awhile (perhaps a day or two, certainly longer). It also opens the door for rust formation. Another negative byproduct of having an unsealed cap is the possibility leaks will escaping through the clip hinge. This problem is made worse because these pens have snap-on caps, not screw on caps which will at-least seal one end of the cap.

 

This is unfortunate and never should happen in the first place. Most of these pens leave the factory with a cap liner installed that the section snaps into. However the manufacturer leaves the end of the cap liner open, presumably to allow a tool inside to affix the clip hinge and finial assembly. It would be much better if the clip and end parts were assembled first, then an air tight cap liner inserted into the cap afterwards. However, doing things this way may mean a longer cap (or shorter nib and/or section) are needed to allow the sealed cap liner to clear the parts in the end of the cap.

 

If you never leave your pens unused without cleaning and drying them out, and you don't care if a leak gets out of control, then this issue shouldn't bother you. Personally, I found out about this problem when two Baoer pens with articulated clips rusted when I forgot to clean and dry them out. Now I intentionally watch out for unsealed caps on these articulated Chinese pens.

 

In some pens it may be possible to fix this problem. A fix would be to put some sort of air-tight barrier in the end of the barrel while still not interfering withe operation of the clip hinge. Anything you stick in the end of the barrel however is going to have to be thin so it doesn't get hit by the nib when the pen is capped. EIther that or try using a flexible but air tight glue, like silicone sealant maybe? A flexible glue will seal the hing while still allowing it to move. (Nah, I doubt that would work out in the long run.)

 

Have Fun - David

Edited February 28, 2019 by Drone

[drathbun]

A word of caution...

 

The pen being reviewed here has an articulated (hinged) clip. All of the Chinese fountain pens with articulated clips that I have encountered have a potentially big flaw - the caps are not air tight. Some are worse than others when it comes to the cap being sealed, so YMMV.

 

You can test this by putting the open cap end up against your lips and blowing into it. If air leaks through the cap easily, it's not even close to being sealed.

 

An unsealed cap when the pen is posted means the nib may dry out if the pen is left inked and capped for awhile (perhaps a day or two, certainly longer). It also opens the door for rust formation. Another negative byproduct of having an unsealed cap is the possibility leaks will escaping through the clip hinge. This problem is made worse because these pens have snap-on caps, not screw on caps which will at-least seal one end of the cap.

 

This is unfortunate and never should happen in the first place. Most of these pens leave the factory with a cap liner installed that the section snaps into. However the manufacturer leaves the end of the cap liner open, presumably to allow a tool inside to affix the clip hinge and finial assembly. It would be much better if the clip and end parts were assembled first, then an air tight cap liner inserted into the cap afterwards. However, doing things this way may mean a longer cap (or shorter nib and/or section) are needed to allow the sealed cap liner to clear the parts in the end of the cap.

 

If you never leave your pens unused without cleaning and drying them out, and you don't care if a leak gets out of control, then this issue shouldn't bother you. Personally, I found out about this problem when two Baoer pens with articulated clips rusted when I forgot to clean and dry them out. Now I intentionally watch out for unsealed caps on these articulated Chinese pens.

 

In some pens it may be possible to fix this problem. A fix would be to put some sort of air-tight barrier in the end of the barrel while still not interfering withe operation of the clip hinge. Anything you stick in the end of the barrel however is going to have to be thin so it doesn't get hit by the nib when the pen is capped. EIther that or try using a flexible but air tight glue, like silicone sealant maybe? A flexible glue will seal the hing while still allowing it to move. (Nah, I doubt that would work out in the long run.)

 

Have Fun - David

 

Thanks for the tips, David. If you told me yesterday I'd take an FPN user's advice and blow my fountain pen, I'd say you were crazy. But I did just that just now. My Baoer 051's cap (all black) is air-tight. The striped version has a different nib than the all-black version, so I'm going to go blow into the cap of my wife's 051. I hope she doesn't catch me.