Chinese Pens Show And Tell.

[brg5658]

@Ian and/or @Bob: Can you PM me the video link or post it here?

 

Great writing sample and work on that nib Ian!!

[bobje]

Ian,

Spectacular results! I need to post my work with a plain old Jinhao 599.

 

Here's the video from the chap from Noodlers:

 

 

[richila]

I keep this quote written in a lot of places Each day, I choose Joy. by Valerie Kelley, on Flickr

I have been practicing my handwriting with my Jinhao X450 using J.Hebrin Orange Indien.

[Ian the Jock]

Good stuff richila, keep it up.

How do you find the 450?

[richila]

Good stuff richila, keep it up.

How do you find the 450?

I love it! It is heavy enough and wide enough to force me to relax my grip. I also have 599s, but they are so light and narrow that I tighten my grip way too much. I have to admit; I really love the beauty of this pen and its comforting weight in my hand.

[bobje]

Great quote, Richila! I'm also a fan of the Jinhao x450. The nib is nice and big and long, which might make it a little more forgiving.

[Ian the Jock]

Another one for "The Hongers" today.

 

 

What stands out for me on this pen....is .....The Nib.......it's toatie wee, or very small for those without the standard Jockanese handbook, and I mean really wee.

It possibly looks smaller because it curves at the sides, but it's still wee.

 

Crackin' nib, crackin' pen, nuff said

 

Ian

[bobje]

Ian, your terrific nib photograph just made me realize that the Hua Hong logo represents a happy little human with outstretched, joyous arms. Represented by something as simple as two interlocked "H"s! Very cool. Bauhaus look, but it's Chinese.

 

Nice shading with your use of Diamine Bilberry in the review, an ott ink for an ott pen, and the photos really capture the depth of the color. It is a shame that the Hua Hong 288 already has a name, because "Gothic Mirror Way" is much more descriptive. (For the record, "ott" confused me for a second, but then realized it was an acronym, not Scottish.)

[brg5658]

Great pictures and write-up as usual Ian.

 

The only thing I do NOT like about this pen is that it is an aerometric filler. At least the one I have of this type is. I don't care for aerometric fillers because they seem tedious to fill and they are harder to flush since you can't use a rubber bulb from the reverse side.

 

Save that small pet peeve of mine, you are spot on. I also have large hands, so I generally like larger pens, but this one is still a joy to write with. I can't get over the quality of these Huahong nibs...they are splendid little things!

[arcadeflow]

I dismissed Bilberry because I thought it was some purple, but it looks gorgeous in this pen! Such sheen and shading!

[Ian the Jock]

Bilberry is one of my staple blues.

Among others, I have always used it in my fude nibbed Kaigelu 368 and the shading is amazing helped by the variation from the nib.

It also shades well with finer nibs, as you can see.

I must admit to being a fan of blue inks generally, and Bilberry is definitely one of my favourites.

 

Ian

[richardandtracy]

I find that Bilberry does change shade. If it's in your pen too long (and presumably picks up CO2) it can change to a magenta shade. Seems to remain the same colour on the paper once it's there.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Ian the Jock]

I find that Bilberry does change shade. If it's in your pen too long (and presumably picks up CO2) it can change to a magenta shade. Seems to remain the same colour on the paper once it's there.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

I haven't found that yet Richard, although I have found that it can get a bit "gunky" if left in a pen for a while.

Also, if left in a pen, it can be a bit of a howler to clean out if you want to change ink, so I tend not to leave it in pens for any length of time unused.

 

Great colour though, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind if it developed a wee magenta tinge.

 

Ian

[J_MM]

Bilberry is one of my staple blues.

Among others, I have always used it in my fude nibbed Kaigelu 368 and the shading is amazing helped by the variation from the nib.

It also shades well with finer nibs, as you can see.

I must admit to being a fan of blue inks generally, and Bilberry is definitely one of my favourites.

 

Ian

I thought Bilbery was purple as well. I thought it was close to Noodler's Purple Martin so I never got any. May have to try it after seeing your writing. Certainly looks like blue.

[Ian the Jock]

Another nib grinding experiment Show & Tell today.

I decided to try and grind myself a fine oblique stub (nothing like starting off easy) and decided to use a Huahong 233 (ef) as my pen to butcher.

Now I know that fine cursive stubs have limited line variation as the broad line is fine to start with, but I thought I'd see what I could do.

I also decided to make it slightly oblique, as I thought that it would suit my sloping handwriting, and if successful, this pen would a "handwriting pen".

Below are my "workings" on paper as I attempted to achieve what I was after.

 

 

I thought at that point, I was done, but me being me, and being an eternal "footerer", It was a wee polish here, and a wee smooth there, until I finally got to where I wanted to be, I just can't help myself.

I really have to learn to stop when I "get there"

 

 

I'm not sure if being oblique has made any difference to the line variation, but I assumed that because I slope from left to right, being oblique would give a slightly wider line on the upward broad stroke when writing......Does it? who knows? all I know that I am happy with the result.

 

 

Overall, a pretty successful operation, which to be honest, doesn't require much in the way of tools or skill. I just took my time and worked gently and slowly.

I've stuck on a tools pic which is basically all that's needed.

A 10x loupe, an usb "bendy" light, a polishing/smoothing stick from my smoothing kit, and a pair of jewellers snips. That's it.

 

 

See....Easy peasy.....

OFF YOU GO THEN...THERES NOTHING STOPPING YOU.

 

Ian

[bobje]

Amazing visual storytelling through a nib grinding exercise, Ian.

 

There appears to be a more conservative, though more labor-intensive, method of creating a stub that maintains tipping. Randal6393 points out this textual online tutorial by Ludwig Tan. The difference is that instead of lopping off the tip, you resculpt the iridium bulb. I haven't tried this yet, but it looks fun.

 

http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/aboutpens/ludwig-tan.html

 

One other resource -- the Stub o' the Day thread on the "Of Nibs and Tines" FPN subforum. Terrific photographs and nib experiments.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/238274-stub-o-the-day/page-40

[Ian the Jock]

I don't think I'll be going this route Bob, It was "testy" trying to re-shape the thing with no tipping, never mind with tipping.

When I chopped off the tip of the Huahong, the piece that was chopped off was so small I couldn't find it...I'd imagine actually trying to work on something that's as small as that would be beyond my fat fingered capabilities.

And anyway, Peter Ford says that his untipped stubs are waaaaay better than the tipped ones, and he only does tipped ones as an option because punters were moaning that he didn't do them.

If it's good enough for he who creates nibular masterpieces, then it's good enough for me.

 

What do you think of the end result with the 233 Bob? Do you think there is a noticeable variation?

 

Ian

[richila]

This may be a silly question, but what is an oblique nib and what is it supposed to do?

[bobje]

Ian, I really like the variation on a moderately fine italic. It's enough to be noticed, but not so gigantic that you have to hold your pen in an absolutely perfect position, and it has a subtle but improved impact on normal handwriting. When I get some time, I may give the Ludwig Tan method a go and I'll let you know if it works.

 

Richila, this page on the Mr. Pen website has a diagram of the various types of obliques. It's under the subhead "Nibs the definitive."

 

http://www.mrpen.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d184.html

[ian1964]

Any chance of showing the underside of the nib please?