What Chinese Pens Are You Using Today?

[51ISH]

Now you're talking, 51ISH!

 

If you like fine nib writers (and I guess with a username like that, maybe you do) I have a bunch of Heros in that Parker 51 style and I love them. I haven't yet bought a 110 with the gold nib. As I normally go for a medium or larger nib, I thought I'd start with a cheaper version to see whether I liked them - and I do!

 

I ended up with three of the 329s and three of the 613s. I am really enjoying them. As well as writing nicely, I'm really enjoying the fact that they work so well with some of my inks. Some inks work better (for me) in a fine nib than they do in a medium nib. (Like Diamine Merlot and Damine Umber. These pens put these inks down in a nicely saturated fine dark line. The inks look more washed out with a thicker, and maybe drier, line.) I like colour matching these pens with the inks and always have a couple inked.

 

But now I'm torn. Do I go and buy a 110? What if I Ike it a lot more than the steel nibbed pens I am so fond of? I'd have to buy a whole bunch of 110s! And then, there's the actual vintage Parkers to factor in ... Where does it end?

 

Ooh, that's right ... It doesn't!! :roflmho: :clap1:

 

 

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

 

This is so close to home

 

My Parker 51 was the first pen I bought on my return to FP's.....frankly for some time, I was far from impressed....until

I found some very useful advice here...and did some experimenting with various inks....of course now, it is one of my favourite and smoothest writers...so much so.....it is the only pen I have in that 'style' and have been looking at Hero 616's and 110.....100.....and of course finding 'new ones' along the way....subconciously, I think being put off by how good the 51 is.....I do know that Lovemy51 a member here, rates the 110 very highly...

 

So many pens......so little time (and money) that's the beauty of the Chinese pens....for the money....it's worth the risk....I can honestly say, I haven't been disappointed yet!

 

:bunny01:

[51ISH]

I had a 110 that wrote nicely but the pen was too small for my mitts. The nib fits right in a 616. So now I have a gold nibbed 616. It writes nicely and it rides around with my Parker 51's.

 

 

Scribblesoften, is the 110 smaller than the P51 then? Is it noticeably smaller in the hand?

[Flounder]

I was using my 616 jumbos today - both the batch bought last year, and the three I bought quite recently. I'm a stickler for detail and have noticed a few differences between the two:

 

The most obvious is that all three of last year's pens had hoods that weren't sealed in place, only greased. Great if you want to tweak nibs or realign everything inside. This year's were all sealed, better if you just want the pen to work out of the package without fiddling with them.

 

All three of last years nibs were smooth and wet in a way that gave their fine lines some character. All three of this years nibs started off with far more tooth, and needed attention to get up to the same standard. All three of this years nibs are less wet too.

 

There's a curious change in the caps too:

 

Last years had clips that extended away from the cap for a similar distance to the Parker 51, and then had a single bend to form a straight arrow. The jewels sit flush in their clips.

 

This years pens have jewels that don't quite sit flush in the clip, which is curved pretty much its whole length in a viscontiesque fashion. If you prefer them straight, it's not too challenging though.

 

2 of last year's pens have badly sized inner caps, which needed fettling for the cap to work properly. All the inner caps on this year's pens were fine, and looked to be made of a different plastic.

 

Both sets were from YesPen btw.

[cedargirl]

51ISH - I have 7 different styles of Chinese FPs and have only been disappointed once. That was a Kaigelu that needed quite a bit of nib and section work. It now writes well and I have learnt a new skill - which I'm happy to ave. I think in general, if you pay attention to who you buy from and look out for shoddy fit and finish, Chinese pens are excellent value and give good service.

 

Scribblesoften - How does the gold nib write? With a nib this small, where flex isn't something you are after (presumably), does it improve the writing? I can see how aesthetics and value are increased. I'm curious and don't have experience with gold nibs.

 

 

Flounder - an interesting observation. I understand that these days Hero pens appear to be made by multiple companies, but I also know that yespens takes pride in offering authentics. BTW I love your vacumatic conversions. Very clever. I really don't like the aeromatic fillers and usually resort to a syringe filler.

[richardandtracy]

Todays pens are my Charcoal K316 and the Huashilai A053.

 

I have wondered about the H110, but I have never seen its size specified. I tend to think the Hero 329 and 330 are too slender and much prefer the jumbo H616. However I do find almost all the Hero nibs I gave tried way too fine. I find a medium to be the smallest size I'm prepared to live with, and much prefer a broad or 1.1i.

 

51ISH, have you ever tried a Parker 61? It's like a more slender & elegant P51, and they generally have slightly better nibs, even though the rest of the pen has a tendancy to fall apart with age.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[J.R.]

Today I've got a couple... Wing Sung 233 and a Hero 329 'backup'. Both loaded with Aurora Black. S'Funny, in an odd way, but I never really check the ink levels in either of these models. They just don't seem to use any ink.

 

Take care,

JR

[Scribblesoften]

I had a 110 that wrote nicely but the pen was too small for my mitts. The nib fits right in a 616. So now I have a gold nibbed 616. It writes nicely and it rides around with my Parker 51's.

 

 

Scribblesoften, is the 110 smaller than the P51 then? Is it noticeably smaller in the hand?

 

Upon measuring, I find that the 110 is only about 2mm shorter and 2mm narrower than a 51/616. Before measuring, I would have thought the difference greater. There is not a huge difference but while writing, for me, it is noticeable. The 51 feels a lot more substantial.

[RedDread]

Hi there.

 

I've come to this thread on the advice of Scribblesoften. I'm looking to get a Hero (or similar) for my partner for Christmas, as she needs a pen with a fine or extra-fine nib to suit her writing. The issue is, I don't seem to be able to find a UK dealer who sells them, apart from the odd eBayer or vintage one popping up. Does anyone have any advice as to where I might be able to get these in the UK?

[51ISH]

Hi there.

 

I've come to this thread on the advice of Scribblesoften. I'm looking to get a Hero (or similar) for my partner for Christmas, as she needs a pen with a fine or extra-fine nib to suit her writing. The issue is, I don't seem to be able to find a UK dealer who sells them, apart from the odd eBayer or vintage one popping up. Does anyone have any advice as to where I might be able to get these in the UK?

 

 

Hi

 

Andy's Pens keeps some Hero's, he is great to deal with

 

http://www.andys-pens.co.uk/forsale.shtml

 

No affiliation and stuff

[51ISH]

I had a 110 that wrote nicely but the pen was too small for my mitts. The nib fits right in a 616. So now I have a gold nibbed 616. It writes nicely and it rides around with my Parker 51's.

 

 

Scribblesoften, is the 110 smaller than the P51 then? Is it noticeably smaller in the hand?

 

Upon measuring, I find that the 110 is only about 2mm shorter and 2mm narrower than a 51/616. Before measuring, I would have thought the difference greater. There is not a huge difference but while writing, for me, it is noticeable. The 51 feels a lot more substantial.

 

Thank you for taking the trouble to check this out for me

 

2mm in diameter is quite a lot....anything up to say.... 18% ...

 

 

Richard

No, I haven't tried the P61 ....I did look at them when I was looking at the P51....but was concerned by comments on their poor durability, and the complexity of the filling system....I'm not much of a tinkerer and fixer....

[JemC]

Scribblesoften, is the 110 smaller than the P51 then? Is it noticeably smaller in the hand?

Upon measuring, I find that the 110 is only about 2mm shorter and 2mm narrower than a 51/616. Before measuring, I would have thought the difference greater. There is not a huge difference but while writing, for me, it is noticeable. The 51 feels a lot more substantial.

Thank you for taking the trouble to check this out for me

 

2mm in diameter is quite a lot....anything up to say.... 18% ...

I agree, it's just enough of a difference to be significant in the hand. I love the way most of my 3__'s and 616s write, but wish they were more substantial.

I thought the Hero 100 Flighter would end up being somewhat of a Grail pen for me, but with the gold nib I found it to write just a little too wide (too close to Medium). The Vens 329 has too small of a body, but an awesome XF nib.

 

Still looking for a porridge that's just right!

[P.A.R.]

A gold/red "brindled" Baoer 388, with a bit of nib tweaking and smoothing. Cap seals well - great pen after tweaking for the money.

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/FOUNTAIN-PEN-BAOER-388-GOLD-RED-Brindled-B052-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/$(KGrHqV,!icE8V7Bpn1PBPU5LsG2Bg~~60_35.JPG

[nickapos]

P.A.R, I have found my baoer 388 to be too dry. In fact it is one of my driest pens. Have you done any mods related to that on your pen?

[P.A.R.]

P.A.R, I have found my baoer 388 to be too dry. In fact it is one of my driest pens. Have you done any mods related to that on your pen?

This is one of my most common issues with Chinese pens before I tweak them.

 

To adjust the nib for wetter flow, you need to spread the slit between the tines a bit. You can do this by taking the nib out of the pen and pulling each tine away from each other. However, in my experience this is difficult and the curved metal of the nib can be a bit hard on your hands.

 

Instead, I use a loupe or other magnification lens, and a firm, narrow piece of metal such as a nail file. With the pen inked and put together as is normal, I carefully but firmly press the nib (tipping down) as straight as possible down against the metal file - you will see the tines spread apart a little. Test the pen each time you apply more pressure for flow only, not smoothness. Once you are satisfied, use the loupe to make sure that the tipping of both tines meet up properly, using the file to press away from the feed on individual tines until they meet up. This second adjustment will bring your pen back to it's initial smoothness.

 

It's less complicated than it sounds, and if done correctly you'll end up with a wetter and slightly broader writing pen. Most Chinese pens I've bought are fine nibbed, and I prefer wetter writing mediums anyway. I also highly recommend getting a 12000 grit micro mesh pad for nib smoothing.

[richardandtracy]

...Richard

No, I haven't tried the P61 ....I did look at them when I was looking at the P51....but was concerned by comments on their poor durability, and the complexity of the filling system....I'm not much of a tinkerer and fixer....

The P61 is certainly more durable than a H616. A LOT more durable - of the 10 H616's I bought 4 years ago, only 4 are still usable. I had a P61 as (effectively) my only pen from the age of 13 to 38. It was the easier to use c/c version and it spoilt me for other pens. I tried a fair few other pens during that time (P25, Rialto, Vector, Geha... and others I can't remember at all because they were rubbish) but none of them tempted me away from the P61 for long.

The colour of mine was the burgundy, and it seems to be the least durable colour. Anyway, mine lasted me 25 years at around 20 pages of writing, 5 days a week. Not bad really. I'd suggest you get a beater P61 c/c just to give it a try (£20 max) and get a better one if you find you like it.

 

 

Today's pens, the Huashilai 3000 and A053.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[51ISH]

...Richard

No, I haven't tried the P61 ....I did look at them when I was looking at the P51....but was concerned by comments on their poor durability, and the complexity of the filling system....I'm not much of a tinkerer and fixer....

The P61 is certainly more durable than a H616. A LOT more durable - of the 10 H616's I bought 4 years ago, only 4 are still usable. I had a P61 as (effectively) my only pen from the age of 13 to 38. It was the easier to use c/c version and it spoilt me for other pens. I tried a fair few other pens during that time (P25, Rialto, Vector, Geha... and others I can't remember at all because they were rubbish) but none of them tempted me away from the P61 for long.

The colour of mine was the burgundy, and it seems to be the least durable colour. Anyway, mine lasted me 25 years at around 20 pages of writing, 5 days a week. Not bad really. I'd suggest you get a beater P61 c/c just to give it a try (£20 max) and get a better one if you find you like it.

 

 

Today's pens, the Huashilai 3000 and A053.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

 

 

 

Many thanks for the info Richard, to be honest I didn't realize until not very long ago actually, that the P61 had anything other than the Capillary Filler system, and I did read (before I came here) that if that failed, it was a 'difficult and expensive fix'. I shall have a look around, I seem to remember when I was looking last time the 61 being usually more expensive than the 51 (I'm talking at the 'lower end' here...not the I have never been inked/used, still in my box stuff :roflmho: ) Thanks again for the information, I shall keep my eyes open...

 

PS. Today I shall be using my Dolce-Vita Naranja, and the Baoer 79

[J.R.]

Trying the Guanleming 2001 Demonstrator, but I can already tell it's far too light - hey, it's all plastic ! Giving some thought to jerking the aero filler out of it, plugging the holes and trying to get about 5ml of ink in there, for a little "ballast". Anybody tried that yet ?

 

Take care,

JR

[JemC]

Trying the Guanleming 2001 Demonstrator, but I can already tell it's far too light - hey, it's all plastic ! Giving some thought to jerking the aero filler out of it, plugging the holes and trying to get about 5ml of ink in there, for a little "ballast". Anybody tried that yet ?

 

Yep!

 

Though I couldn't actually pull the sac out (felt glued on), so I just cut it off at the base. Left the breather tube in there. All I did to fill the hole at the base of the barrel was paint over it with crazy glue, let it dry, then repeat. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up dissolving away over time or somehow eating through the cheap barrel material.

 

But for now it's working! Just refilled it yesterday.

[nickapos]

P.A.R, I have found my baoer 388 to be too dry. In fact it is one of my driest pens. Have you done any mods related to that on your pen?

This is one of my most common issues with Chinese pens before I tweak them.

 

To adjust the nib for wetter flow, you need to spread the slit between the tines a bit. You can do this by taking the nib out of the pen and pulling each tine away from each other. However, in my experience this is difficult and the curved metal of the nib can be a bit hard on your hands.

 

Instead, I use a loupe or other magnification lens, and a firm, narrow piece of metal such as a nail file. With the pen inked and put together as is normal, I carefully but firmly press the nib (tipping down) as straight as possible down against the metal file - you will see the tines spread apart a little. Test the pen each time you apply more pressure for flow only, not smoothness. Once you are satisfied, use the loupe to make sure that the tipping of both tines meet up properly, using the file to press away from the feed on individual tines until they meet up. This second adjustment will bring your pen back to it's initial smoothness.

 

It's less complicated than it sounds, and if done correctly you'll end up with a wetter and slightly broader writing pen. Most Chinese pens I've bought are fine nibbed, and I prefer wetter writing mediums anyway. I also highly recommend getting a 12000 grit micro mesh pad for nib smoothing.

 

Thanks a lot

I do not prefer very wet pens, but this one is too dry for my taste.

I have a hero 266 that is too wet, and use it for my dry inks, that will not work no matter what in the Baoer.

I am currently using a 616 jumbo in parallel with the baoer and I think that it is exactly right in wetness.

Thank you once more.

[richardandtracy]

Today's pen is the Huashilai 3000. Nice little pen for the money.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.