"best" Chinese Pen With A Gold Nib

[truthpil]

My experience with Hero current production 10K nib had all been positive I would not say they are butter smooth but they are generally smooth with a bit of feedback and a slight cushioned type of bounciness ; personally I like the pencil sized ( literally same diameter as a standard hexagonal pencil ) H703 ( a copy of sort of the Cross Spire ) or the more traditional ( but heavily build ) H708

 

Hero H708, on Flickr

 

I appreciate that Hero is using the smaller nib from the H703 and the larger nib from the H708 on other pens of different sizes. I really enjoy the H703's nib because I can get some decent line variation out of it quite naturally while writing and it also lets inks shade nicely, but the body is just too thin for long long writing sessions. I believe the H706 has the same nib on a thicker body which would help.

 

Still, my favorite Chinese gold nib is the Lucky 14k because it can really do a decent job of flexing. I just wish it was smoother, but smoothness is not something Chinese pens are known for and shouldn't be expected.

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

 

Checked the weight for the 2065 - 45g. I tend to write w/o caps (unless it is a pocket pen). Have small hands. So without the cap, it might not be too bad. Have you tackled using micromesh with gold nibs?

On a part of my gold nib fountain pen's, i did use micromesh because i wanted a smoother nib , but not on the Hero 2065 .

[Megaloblatta]

The results of my long quest for good Chinese gold nibs which prompted this thread:

 

1) I find the NOS 14k Lucky nib that can be had on a Wing Sung 698 to be the best soft Chinese gold nib currently available. I'd even categorize it as flexible because the line variation is about even to a Noodler's Nib Creaper nib.

 

2) The 14k nib on the Hero 100 seems to be the best Chinese "nail" gold nib if you happen to get a good one. They can be buttery smooth.

 

I agree. Until I tried the gold nib on a 698 I didn't realise how smooth and wonderful fountain pen nibs could be. I have quite a few pens - Sheaffers, TSBI, Pilot and Pelican, and none of their nibs are as good.

[1nkulus]

Probably, the Wing Sung 698 as of date. My experience with Chinese pens is rather limited, so it is possible something better might pop up.

[MuddyWaters]

I seem to alternate between making runs at Indian pens and Chinese pens. Having just finished an Indian run, my intention is now on Chinese pens. I have just purchased a Wing Sung 618 because I find the metal mechanism of the 601 pump filler to make the pen too back heavy; I hope that the 618 will not induce same problem. I also have a 698 which my girlfriend happily uses: I think this is a good pen but find the plastic too smooth and slippery, and the threads too sharp. Anyway, all that to say that if the 618 is a pen that I enjoy using, I would consider purchasing one with a gold nib. Has anyone tried one of those? I am sure it would not get the type of attention that the open 698 received.

[Karmachanic]

Some would consider this a stretch. Opus 88 Koloro with a 14k #5 FPNibs semi-flex.

[truthpil]

Anyway, all that to say that if the 618 is a pen that I enjoy using, I would consider purchasing one with a gold nib. Has anyone tried one of those? I am sure it would not get the type of attention that the open 698 received.

The gold nib on the 618 is identical to that of the 601. It's a decent nib, but not quite as good as the gold nib on a Hero 100. It's as stiff as can be but flow is decent. The gold nib for the 698 is vastly superior if you like some flex and a more interesting writing experience. I also don't care for the feel of the 698 pen itself, so the lovely gold nib has found its way into a Moonman M100 and will probably stay there.

[MuddyWaters]

The gold nib on the 618 is identical to that of the 601. It's a decent nib, but not quite as good as the gold nib on a Hero 100. It's as stiff as can be but flow is decent. The gold nib for the 698 is vastly superior if you like some flex and a more interesting writing experience. I also don't care for the feel of the 698 pen itself, so the lovely gold nib has found its way into a Moonman M100 and will probably stay there.

Maybe I should just look into a Hero 100 then... probably a lighter pen and easier to write many pages with. Do you still own and use one?

[truthpil]

Maybe I should just look into a Hero 100 then... probably a lighter pen and easier to write many pages with. Do you still own and use one?

I have two, one writes too fine and dry for me but the other is just perfect with a nice wet Western EF line. If you want a smooth "nail" nib with no softness whatsoever and don't mind the old-fashioned aerometric filling system, it's a perfect workhorse.

 

The other day I graded around 70 student essays with a Hero 100 filled with Herbin Lierre Sauvage and it was a delightful experience, no fatigue at all and still plenty of ink left in the pen.

Edited June 25, 2019 by TruthPil

[Mech-for-i]

Let's be honest, bar specific nibs , almost all Chinese gold nib vintage or new had little or no flex at all , the language its intended to write do not require that and in fact with quasi calligraphy most Chinese writes, the writing actually favor the more rigid ( though not nail ) ones, and that reflects in the gold nib mostly being somewhat cushioned and slight springiness instead of flex or giving much ( if there's ) line variation , yes some of them give decent line variation when worked but that is not the primary character of them , say nibs on the Hero 710 / Gui-Guan 81, Wing Sung 200X , and then some ... picture a typical Chinese ( and Japanese ) Calligraphy / Fude nib , its just an exaggerated form of the nib used for the language's writing , nobody use them by pressing on it to spread the tine , they work the stroke by various technique employed to write the said language but the typical latin based cursive writing of dragging, and pressing is certainly not one of them. Ditto for all the normally grounded nib, people write similar fashion just without the extra line width control offered by the bended / curved tip but one who's proficient in using a fountain pen to write Chinese / Japanese can easily employ it to give strokes line variation simply by the said technique even with a fairly rigid nib though some slight give would help ( which most Chinese gold nibs do have )

Edited June 26, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[truthpil]

Some great points from Mech, as always!

The recent open-nibbed pens in Hero's 70X line have that nice bounce that Mech is talking about and the feedback is subtle. Of only the 100 had the same bounce!

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

Maybe I should just look into a Hero 100 then... probably a lighter pen and easier to write many pages with. Do you still own and use one?

Hero 100 it's a very nice fountain pen , at least mine it is ! It's not a very wet pen but also it's not a dry pen and it is a smooth writer . And something else important will be and i know it's been said before on the Hero 100 it is important to buy from a trusted source there are out there a lot of fake Hero 100 , for example '' chrisrap52 '' and '' The Pen Habit " reviewed on YouTube fake Hero's 100 , without knowing that .

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Stefan-Ionut-Marius

[richardandtracy]

I have little experience with gold nibbed Chinese pens, as my only one is the Kaigelu 319 (reviewed here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/208622-kaigelu-319-lapis-review/ in 2011). I ceased seeing the pen shortly after buying it and have never seen one since then. To be honest, I rarely use pens with painted/lacquered finish as my hands seem to be acidic and have a poor effect on the finish, bubbling it up rapidly, and to preserve the K319 I've not used it since 2011.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

Let's be honest, bar specific nibs , almost all Chinese gold nib vintage or new had little or no flex at all , the language its intended to write do not require that and in fact with quasi calligraphy most Chinese writes, the writing actually favor the more rigid ( though not nail ) ones, and that reflects in the gold nib mostly being somewhat cushioned and slight springiness instead of flex or giving much ( if there's ) line variation , yes some of them give decent line variation when worked but that is not the primary character of them , say nibs on the Hero 710 / Gui-Guan 81, Wing Sung 200X , and then some ... picture a typical Chinese ( and Japanese ) Calligraphy / Fude nib , its just an exaggerated form of the nib used for the language's writing , nobody use them by pressing on it to spread the tine , they work the stroke by various technique employed to write the said language but the typical latin based cursive writing of dragging, and pressing is certainly not one of them. Ditto for all the normally grounded nib, people write similar fashion just without the extra line width control offered by the bended / curved tip but one who's proficient in using a fountain pen to write Chinese / Japanese can easily employ it to give strokes line variation simply by the said technique even with a fairly rigid nib though some slight give would help ( which most Chinese gold nibs do have )

 

 

How do you feel about Wing Sung 400 and Hero 200 A ? I got one of each and i found them to be very good writers , i wonder if i was really lucky or those pen's are generally good writers ? I bought a few days ago a Hero 110 , that pen should get to me in about a month but i don't know much about that pen !

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

The Wing Sung 400 and Hero 200 A are really superb writers .

 

 

[Mech-for-i]

 

 

How do you feel about Wing Sung 400 and Hero 200 A ? I got one of each and i found them to be very good writers , i wonder if i was really lucky or those pen's are generally good writers ? I bought a few days ago a Hero 110 , that pen should get to me in about a month but i don't know much about that pen !

 

As you have discovered both of them are quite sterling performing as far as writing goes , they use basically Parker 75 style nib, not in any sense soft but not exactly what I would call firm ( at least compare to their steel counterpart in their own respective models ) ; if one is not really after flex as in flex for calligraphy and just a good writing pen I see them as pretty good buy. the 110 is basically just a 616 with a 12K nib and a fancy cap, that's all it is but for the price they typically goes, I am well OK with it after all its the gold nib that really cost

Edited July 10, 2019 by Mech-for-i