Chinese Pens Show And Tell.

[Ian the Jock]

Ian,

yes, the Jinhao Pearl Dragon is indeed attractive in yellow gold. But my opinion is that it would be far classier in rhodium. The nib needs to be all in a matching rhodium color, of course. Also, here is my opinion about the ball at the end of the finial, held by the talons. It appears to a shade of green, possibly dark jade. Personally, I would do a mod on the finial, drilling it out from the inside and then illuminating it from within, using a tiny LED light. A green finial is OK, but you might consider lapis. These are only my humble opinions. Other than that, nice pen.

Bob

 

Have you been on the Malt Bob?

Drill and insert whit? Tiny leds? Illuminate from within?

I think you are vastly over-estimating my technical capabilities Bob.

The ball is indeed dark green. I think it has something to do with a story about a dragon king and a jade pearl, but I'm not certain.

It's quite a fun pen, and charming in its' own way.

 

Ian

[Ian the Jock]

Ok, as promised, here's the last of my 3 recent "ah what the heck" purchases.

 

The Hero 9315

 

I just liked the look of this pen, and thought the rose gold would look good against the dark gunmetal, and I was right...it does.

And as per the rest of my >$2 Heros, it writes very, very, nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've kept the light kinda low to try and show the Rose gold against the Gunmetal, therefore not the greatest pics, but they show the pen quite well.

 

Ian

 

 

Edited to state that I cannot believe I mis-spelled believe in the writing sample.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Ian the Jock

[bobje]

Ian, my attempt at a pretentious tone may have required more malt. Now that I think about it, no malt whatsoever might have made it even more pretentious!

 

[Helen350]

Yes, I've seen this one Helen.

I particularly like the look of the section and nib, but overall it's just a wee bit "girlie" for me.

Please note.

I am in no way trying to offend anyone or appear non PC with that statement.

 

It is a very nice pen though Helen.

 

Ian

 

Even more than 'girlie', I was surprised at the cost $50. You can make an offer, and I might do that. Yesterday I noticed a few other Picasso pens which I had not previously seen. Also, were you able to locate the symbol found on the Avignon clip in your Picasso book?

[FrankH]

 

Have you been on the Malt Bob?

Drill and insert whit? Tiny leds? Illuminate from within?

I think you are vastly over-estimating my technical capabilities Bob.

Not to mention that it would be a shame to spoil such a subtle pen by adding too much bling.

[Ian the Jock]

 

Even more than 'girlie', I was surprised at the cost $50. You can make an offer, and I might do that. Yesterday I noticed a few other Picasso pens which I had not previously seen. Also, were you able to locate the symbol found on the Avignon clip in your Picasso book?

Not yet Helen

I think it may be a combination of different bits of different images, but I'll try and find out.

 

Ian

[Ian the Jock]

Not to mention that it would be a shame to spoil such a subtle pen by adding too much bling.

Hahaha, what are you trying to say Frank

[bobje]

Ian,

as you know, my assessment of your pearl dragon pen is that it could use just a touch more flair. The finial, for example, is an understated green jade orb encased in talons. Now this, on the other hand, if executed as a dragon head rather than a cobra, would successfully reinforce the dragon theme.

 

 

 

[Ian the Jock]

Ian,

as you know, my assessment of your pearl dragon pen is that it could use just a touch more flair. The finial, for example, is an understated green jade orb encased in talons. Now this, on the other hand, if executed as a dragon head rather than a cobra, would successfully reinforce the dragon theme.

 

 

 

You're right Bob

It would certainly reinforce the theme of the pen, however, to keep with the theme and story, the Jade pearl would need to make an appearance somewhere.

I have had my head turned with these ornate numbers though, and the cobra one you showed will be next on the ornate hitlist.

 

Ian

[Ian the Jock]

Recently, I had the need to write a pretty lengthy piece of correspondence, 26 full A4 pages as it turned out.

The pen I chose for this task was my Huahong “Red Belter” which has a fine italic nib, and inked up with diamine midnight it performed flawlessly, and effortlessly throughout.

This got me reaching for another couple of my Huahongs, the Red Lava and an all black 233, both of which have fine nibs, although the 233 is a bit finer.

I inked them up, and away they went, and I’d forgotten how nice they were.

Many people may not have even heard of Huahong, even, after BobJ sang the praises of the Blue Belter in a fairly recent magazine article, so I thought I would make them the subject of todays S&T for anyone who hasn’t come across Huahong pens before.

Unfortunately they seem to be a bit thin on the ground these days, apart from maybe a couple of ebay sellers who are asking for pretty high prices, but thorough searching (and no doubt folks in China) can unearth the odd bargain.

So here we go.

 

Huahong Red Lava, and Huahong 233

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian

[bobje]

Ian, you are absolutely right. These are delightful, well-crafted pens, and I love the nib imprint. We are grateful that you found them and made them visible on FPN.

[Ian the Jock]

Thanks Bob

It was great while it lasted, but it would appear that we've now had our fill, unless you want to pay pretty hefty prices.

Maybe we've been our own worst enemy.

 

I'm going to have a bit of fun and give one of my Belters away, hopefully I'll get it sorted out later today and get something on the forum.

 

Ian

[Helen350]

Thanks Bob

It was great while it lasted, but it would appear that we've now had our fill, unless you want to pay pretty hefty prices.

Maybe we've been our own worst enemy.

 

I'm going to have a bit of fun and give one of my Belters away, hopefully I'll get it sorted out later today and get something on the forum.

 

Ian

 

Ian, you're going to give one of your Belters away~ Hopefully, I will be the lucky one!!!!

[Ian the Jock]

It's easy to get involved, and have a chance to get it Helen.

Just join in on the HAVE SOME FUN & WIN A PEN thread.

 

Good luck.

 

Ian

[voidoid]

Great thread. I thought I'd contribute just a dollop of info on the Duke Uranus 130, a.k.a. "Scotland."

 

(Apologies in advance for the quality of the pics... I lack both the equipment and the talent to keep up with the more yummy posts I'm seeing from you all.)

 

The first image shows the four different colors that I own of this model. There's also a black on which I took a pass.

 

The second image shows the above in more detail.

 

The third image is a sample of my writing on a Rhodia dot pad.

 

The last image is a shot I took through the lens of my magnifier visor. I wanted to get a little more detail on the nib. I'm amazed that it came out as clearly as it did.

 

Enjoy,

- Bruce

[Ian the Jock]

Great stuff Bruce......and welcome.

Nothing wrong with your pics at all, and anyway, it's all about sharing your pens and your experience with them, which you have done, so all good.

I have no idea why Duke call the pen the 130 Scotland, but it may have something to do with the plaid pattern, which is enough to have had me considering these pens on a few occasions.

As of yet I don't have any Dukes, but many others do, and rave about them.

Have you tried flossing the nib to get rid of the skipping problem?

Another solution that may help is to tear open a brown envelope and do some figure 8s and infinity signs on the inside (rougher part) of the envelope.

This has worked for me in the past where occasional skipping was an issue, however, if you haven't tried flossing, I'd give that a go first.

 

Ian

[Helen350]

Ian, another Picasso is on the way! That nib on the Avignon is so smooth, it feels almost like butter. Also have a Pilot Custom 74 with B. nib in transit (got a real good deal).

 

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/6/6/4/6/0/3/webimg/596857724_o.jpg?nc=551

 

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/6/6/4/6/0/3/webimg/597332628_o.jpg?nc=11

[Ian the Jock]

Ian, another Picasso is on the way! That nib on the Avignon is so smooth, it feels almost like butter. Also have a Pilot Custom 74 with B. nib in transit (got a real good deal).

 

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/6/6/4/6/0/3/webimg/596857724_o.jpg?nc=551

 

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/6/6/4/6/0/3/webimg/597332628_o.jpg?nc=11

OOOH! Fancy.

That's a nice looking pen Helen, and if other Picassos are anything to go by, it will be a splendid pen.

The nib is really nice too.

Don't you just love the unique Picasso nibs.

 

Well done on the Pilot too, a very much lauded pen here on fpn.

I've never really paid much attention to Pilot, I'm more a Waterman kinda guy, and that's what I tend to look at when I'm away from my staple diet of Chinese pens....oh! and Deltas as well.

 

Ian

[Helen350]

I like the Delta as well, though most are beyond my budget. I do have two Delta Vintage pens--one dark blue and the other acid green. Smooth nibs, and a nice feel in my hand. I have used them as EDs. The custom 74 will be my 3rd Pilot. I would really like to catch a deal on the Pilot Vanishing Point--B. nib. If the nib on my new Picasso is anything like the Avignon, I will be delighted beyond measure.

[Ian the Jock]

Awwww naw! Helen, just Naw

I don't like the vanishing point at all.

It's a pen I would never consider, a bit like the Parker 51, both are revered on here, the Parker to silly extremes, but neither of them butter my parsnips in any way at all.

 

 

But just think how boring life would be if we all liked the same things.

 

Ian