What Chinese Pen Would You Buy

[zekemilli4]

I myself own several Wing Sung new old stock pens, as well as a couple of hero pens one being a 360 which doesn't write hardly at all. The Wing Sung pens are my favorite out of my 12 pens that I regularly rotate into service (2 refills per pen). I also own a baoer and a jinhau pen. both write pretty well, but my Wing Sung's outperform them both.

[Redbarchettayyz]

I've got 4 Jinhaos and 2 Baoers, and I can't say I've had a problem with any of them. They are all nice, solid, pens that write very smooth and wet. My personal favourite is the Baoer 79, the one that pretends it's a Starwalker. Screw down cap & posting, good weight and finish, and it is by the far the nicest writer in my collection. At less than 2 dollars plus shipping, I highly reccomend it. I dropped it a while ago and broke the plastic top of the body, and had another one ordered in minutes.

[SnowLeopard]

Never had a problem with a Chinese pen....that's because I'll never own one...I don't like copycats...of the great ones. I own, and use, the great ones. Give me a Safari with a steel replaceable nib, like a 1.1, any day. They're fabulous writers at the thirty dollar price point with converter!...and as good as anything under a C- note as a new issue.Had my 118 lb. girlfriend jump on one to test it for u, too. No problem. Vintage scribblers are wholly different animals. If u search well enough, u can find some really nice, reasonably priced, writers...but, do your homework first. No affiliations of any kind.

Edited September 20, 2011 by SnowLeopard

[inky]

I have a Duke that is very nice looking, but just can't keep it going.

A Picasso that is really pretty and writes pretty well, a little dry.

My favorite though is my Luoshi! Very pretty writes great. Every ink that I have used in it has been fabulous. Even better is how easy it is to flush and change inks. One wash with the bulb and it is running clear. New ink starts right up, perfect flow, I get great shading without gushing all over the place. Highly recommend the Luoshi.

[cocojj]

I'm torn trying to decide on one from the following choices for my next purchase:

 

Picasso Sweden Flower King

Duke Silver Rings

Haolilai 601F

 

:hmm1:

[Denny]

I could not resist and bought two pens from eBay recently - one Wing Sung 001 and one Hero 6071. Both for around $8 including postage. And both are well worth the money. The Wing Sung it's a heavy porcelain pen with a fine nib, the Hero is lighter with medium nib. Both are smooth writers, the Wing Sung giving more feedback. The only negative thing is that the caps are hard to post. Otherwise I am happy with the purchase.

[Torculus Resupinus]

If you had to pick one (or a few) inexpensive Chinese pens to buy, what would you chose?

 

Let's assume you are buying them from ebay, and want something less than $25.

 

Also, besides the Hero 616 / Parker 51, are there any that closely resemble famous pens?

Reminding myself of the OP. I have half a dozen cheap Chinese pens: four Baoers, one Jinhao, and one Ouguwen. I got them all from Gotoschool888, who seems still to be active on eBay, contrary to a previous post, and who gave me exemplary service. The only trouble I have had with any of the pens was a cosmetic fault in the Baoer 507 "8 Horses", my very first Chinese pen, the top ring of whose cap broke in pieces. Vivian at Gotoschool888 gave me a full refund since she couldn't just send a replacement cap.

 

All the Baoer and Jinhao pens write very smoothly indeed, although the nibs are absolute nails. I am guessing that Gotoschool888 check them out before sending them. All are cartridge/converter pens, and as another post has said the converters are pretty crummy -- a couple are almost unusable because a sticky label covers the transparent part that shows how much ink is left. But they can be replaced by standard converters, which aren't too expensive.

 

The Baoer 388 has already been mentioned as a Parker Sonnet flighter lookalike; also, the Baoer 500 emulates the all-black Aurora 88. The over-tight cap on both is the only real drawback in my experience. For $7.96 including postage, how can you go wrong?

 

I think the Baoer and Jinhao pens offer terrific value for money (so, in a different way, does the TWSBI), and I think Gotoschool888 is a very reliable and responsive eBay seller.

[mark e]

Never had a problem with a Chinese pen....that's because I'll never own one...I don't like copycats...of the great ones. I own, and use, the great ones. Give me a Safari with a steel replaceable nib, like a 1.1, any day. They're fabulous writers at the thirty dollar price point with converter!...and as good as anything under a C- note as a new issue.Had my 118 lb. girlfriend jump on one to test it for u, too. No problem. Vintage scribblers are wholly different animals. If u search well enough, u can find some really nice, reasonably priced, writers...but, do your homework first. No affiliations of any kind.

 

agreed, snow--then again, it just rubs me the wrong way to buy anything chinese, these days--why bother, when high-quality, relatively inexpensive pens are made everywhere, including the u-s-a, not to mention the vintage market--and it's not like it's an electronical gadget, where you have no choice--

 

although i did buy a picasso pen off of ebay when i first started using f-p's 3-4 yrs ago, so that i could get into it cheaply, and to see if i would enjoy using f-p's (i write really fast and snotty, and didnt know if i was suited to f-p use)

 

at any rate, after about 6 months, the picasso nib just snapped in half--and i have a medium-lite touch--one of the tines hit me on the forehead---but, by then, i'd fallen deeply in like w/ an apparently neglected and misunderstood pelikan 140 m-nib that i got for $48 on ebay---polished, rinsed, filled, fired write up, and never a problem in 3 yrs of daily use

[richardandtracy]

To my list of Chinese pens I can now add:

Jinhao Century Blue 'Celluloid' (Just like KrazyIvan's replacement pen) and

Kaigelu 316.

 

Both are heavy, good looking pens which deserve considerable respect.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[KrazyIvan]

Some recently added to my collection:

 

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5815924583_0095e97ffe_z.jpg

Jinhao J30 by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/5816489146_b895b483d5_z.jpg

Jinhao J30 uncapped by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5815915139_db3a05f980_z.jpg

Jinhao J30 Nib by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

I've bought a Jinhao J031 yesterday (from eBay). It's been shipped but there's no tracking number

 

i wonder i'll receive it safely ?? Do you have any experiences or problems with buying a non-tracking number item?

 

I have had a few pens arrive safely with no tracking number. Those usually take longer to arrive.

 

Hi !

Today I've safely(!) received my Jinhao J031 M nib which i've been waiting for 18 days to arrive.

 

It has really perfect workmanship more that i expect. Nib work, good-looking matte handle, glossy black body and gold ring of the cap makes the pen expensive look.

 

Highly Recommended.

 

Glad it worked out for you.

[Carro]

I bought a Hero 35 boxed it is great. A Duke cloisonne it wonderful it also came boxed. and a lovely quite fat Jinhao. I bought them at eBay from China, I did flush them all first but they wrote wonderfully and I am delighted. I have seven more on order and I hope they work as well.

Carolyn

[Carro]

I bought a Hero 35 boxed it is great. A Duke cloisonne it wonderful it also came boxed. and a lovely quite fat Jinhao. I bought them at eBay from China, I did flush them all first but they wrote wonderfully and I am delighted. I have seven more on order and I hope they work as well.

Carolyn

[lovemy51]

this one came in last week:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/KGrHqJlwE3JGSyKeqBN4WCWG0Kg_12.jpg

 

 

Duke D52

i already had the all black, but this one has a nice teal blue body one can't appreciate from the pix.

 

coming in the mail:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/KGrHqEOKpwE4kVYPpIJBOP1STyWvw_3.jpg

 

Luoshi 973 brown marbley body

 

and...

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/KGrHqIOKp0E3uZ2ByBOBdiQBOQ_3.jpg

 

Yiren 615

 

 

the Duke writes very well, as expected... at least by me.

[Scrawler]

this one came in last week:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/KGrHqJlwE3JGSyKeqBN4WCWG0Kg_12.jpg

 

 

Duke D52

i already had the all black, but this one has a nice teal blue body one can't appreciate from the pix.

 

<snip for brevity>

I like the looks of this Duke D52. Is it the angle you have photographed it from, or does it really have a long nib on a shorter body? In recent times I have come to really appreciate a large nib sticking out from a short barrel. An extreme example of this style is the Montblanc Hemingway. I was wondering if Chinese pens were at last starting to style their pens like this.

[richardandtracy]

Must get a 'Duke', they seem to have a good reputation & I want to see if it's deserved.

What is the Balanve like on the Dukes? Do they have huge brass lumps in them?

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[SHK]

Non of them! Not mine!

[Atrata]

Some recently added to my collection:

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3331/5791490986_315acb2b88_z.jpg

Huashilai Fountain Pen by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

 

You, sir, are a very bad influence.

[lovemy51]

this one came in last week:

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/KGrHqJlwE3JGSyKeqBN4WCWG0Kg_12.jpg

 

 

Duke D52

i already had the all black, but this one has a nice teal blue body one can't appreciate from the pix.

 

<snip for brevity>

I like the looks of this Duke D52. Is it the angle you have photographed it from, or does it really have a long nib on a shorter body? In recent times I have come to really appreciate a large nib sticking out from a short barrel. An extreme example of this style is the Montblanc Hemingway. I was wondering if Chinese pens were at last starting to style their pens like this.

 

 

first of all, i forgot to mention these are not my photos. they are pix from the vendors.

 

 

hi, Scrawler. the nib is not that long. it's just the angle of the shot, i guess.

[RudyR]

I have not and will not buy or own a chinese pen or product as far as I can help it. I am pro Taiwan. Free Tibet.

[Scrawler]

I have not and will not buy or own a chinese pen or product as far as I can help it. I am pro Taiwan. Free Tibet.

What about Taiwanese pens? There are some really good makes from Taiwan.