Fountain Pen Or Ink From Vietnam

[krishnanramani]

Dear Friends,

 

My brother will be travelling to Vietnam - Hanoi City in a week. As usual I have asked him to search for FP & Ink.

 

Are there any specific brand of FP or FP ink which I need to tell him.

 

Also when I searched this Forum I found that a Brand name Queen Ink is bit local brand there. Any reviews for the same?

[krishnanramani]

Friends,

 

Awaiting for the details.

[krishnanramani]

Friends,

 

Any feeds? My brother will be returning next week.

[JeanManuel]

I hope he finds you some nice products. I have no knowledge of Vietnamese products. But there might be French and US pens in the antiques.

[krishnanramani]

Dear Jean,

 

Thanks for your reply, Ya going by the history of Veitnam, he might find few french & Us pens. But not sure if he will have time to visit antique shop.

[Zookie]

Alibaba.com lists several Vietnamese Pen makers, but as to what types I couldn't tell.

They look like ball point makers for the most part.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Zookie

[krishnanramani]

Mr. Zookie. Thanks on your information. I will check them.

[krishnanramani]

Finally my brother has managed to get 2 bottles of Queen Ink. He narrated a funny story how he managed to communicate to local people & shop person & get it

 

Unfortunately his trip is extended one more week & he will come only this Sunday

 

 

Will post the review once I use them.

[Hanoi]

most of the locally made fountain pen inks do not have brand names. It just said "fountain pen ink" on the bottle in Vietnamese. The branded inks mostly came from China. For the school students, most of them use inks they made from natural dyes from local trees. There is this plant that gives a purple dye which I don't know the name in English that the locals grind the fruit skin to a liquidy form then filter through a small cotton handkerchief to obtain a more homogenous end liquid. The occasional Parker or Sheaffer you can only find in the South. In the North, there are a few French pens from colonial period. Cheap Chinese and Japanese fountain pens are all over the country.

[Hanoi]

in Ha noi there are silversmiths capable of making sterling silver sections for pens, and I suppose they can make clips. The nibs you have to provide yourself. That said, Vietnamese silver is often higher than 92.5 sterling standard so can be too soft for this application. I have an 18k gold ring engraved with my initials which I use as wax seal stamp. You can find engravers in Saigon and Hanoi but with simple initials, non-ornate carvings, the southern craftsmen do a better job.

 

 

Alibaba.com lists several Vietnamese Pen makers, but as to what types I couldn't tell.

They look like ball point makers for the most part.

[krishnanramani]

in Ha noi there are silversmiths capable of making sterling silver sections for pens, and I suppose they can make clips. The nibs you have to provide yourself. That said, Vietnamese silver is often higher than 92.5 sterling standard so can be too soft for this application. I have an 18k gold ring engraved with my initials which I use as wax seal stamp. You can find engravers in Saigon and Hanoi but with simple initials, non-ornate carvings, the southern craftsmen do a better job.

 

 

 

 

most of the locally made fountain pen inks do not have brand names. It just said "fountain pen ink" on the bottle in Vietnamese. The branded inks mostly came from China. For the school students, most of them use inks they made from natural dyes from local trees. There is this plant that gives a purple dye which I don't know the name in English that the locals grind the fruit skin to a liquidy form then filter through a small cotton handkerchief to obtain a more homogenous end liquid. The occasional Parker or Sheaffer you can only find in the South. In the North, there are a few French pens from colonial period. Cheap Chinese and Japanese fountain pens are all over the country.

 

Dear Friend,

 

Thanks for your feeds on this. But my brother finds it very very difficult to communicate with the people there as no one speaks English.

 

Anyways he may visit couple of times in the future. Will ask him to get the hand made pen

[Hanoi]

Yes, English is an international language, but the Japanese and Italians have been exposed to English speaking foreigners for over a century, with an economy linked to clients all over the world, yet they still barely speak any English. Vietnam has a much less developed economy so it should come as no surprise that few people in the country speak any English. As a Vietnamese, I was fortunate to travel to Agra, Jaipur and Bhadohi, and the most covetous offerings I desired there were handmade silk carpets, and the Indian merchants there also can't speak any English saved for a few tour guides. So for the casual traveler, esp. if you want "bespoke" items made to your specification, hiring an interpreter is necessary, and not at all expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Friend,

 

Thanks for your feeds on this. But my brother finds it very very difficult to communicate with the people there as no one speaks English.

 

Anyways he may visit couple of times in the future. Will ask him to get the hand made pen

[krishnanramani]

Friends,

 

Finally I got the ink On the appearance the bottle looks very similar to Parker Quink . After I start using I will try to post a review.

[penmanila]

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. I've been to Vietnam (both the north and the south) a few times. I've been able to find some nice vintage pens in a street full of antiques shops near Ben Thanh market in HCMC, and most recently on Hanoi was able to get an unbranded but obviously Chinese-made pen, rather heavy, and done bottles of the Queen ink described above. The ink is a bright and glorious purple; a bottle cost me about 40 US cents will post pics later.

[krishnanramani]

Even I have got Purple ink

[FountainPenC]

wow that is nice... are they good quality?

[Amyj]

I apologize for adding so late to this thread. Ink in Vietnam that students use/ used to use is made from the berries of a plant very similar to (if not) pokeweed.

 

A couple of quick questions as I did not want to start a new thread (don't know if this is bad forum etiquette, if so, I'm sorry).

 

May I ask if you know the name or location of the shop that sells queen ink? I will be visiting vietnam soon, and hope to bring back as many pens and ink as possible.

 

Also, can anyone tell me about the paper quality in Vietnam? And do they still sell French lined (séyes) paper? I was hoping to buy a couple of journals there, but would not like to waste the space if they are not too good with fountain pens.

[tonybelding]

Also, can anyone tell me about the paper quality in Vietnam?

I have in the past accused Vietnam of producing both the world's worst coffee and the world's worst paper. However, that may have been unfair, since not many samples of either have reached me here in Texas! If you get a chance to try any, please relate your impressions.

[Amyj]

coffee is amazing in Vietnam!! (If you include the quarter cup of sweetened condensed milk), although it does make you go hardcore. I have tried Vietnamese paper once, but that was twenty-year old paper from my mother's old school books.

 

I would hope that the newer paper is at least a little tolerant to fountain pens (bleedthrough-wise), as FPs are mandatory in the elementary school years. I'll for sure write reviews of anything I find on my trip.

[penmanila]

here's that ink and pen that i got in hanoi--the queen ink was about 48 US cents for the 30 ml bottle, and the pen... i forgot but can't have been more than 5 USD--smooth nib, nice heft (brass innards, probably chinese-made, but without any markings; the ink was made in vietnam):

 

 

i got these from a bookshop in one corner of hoan kiem lake, very near the water puppet theater; you can't miss it. i didn't look for paper, though, and was writing on my midori.

 

oh--and i love vietnamese coffee: strong, rich, and flavorful; lots of varieties to choose from. it's the world's second-largest producer of coffee, so you'll get both the good and the bad, but with all the good stuff around, you're bound to hit the mark.

 

i've been to vietnam a few times over the past 20 years, and have been telling my friends how it's one of the world's best travel bargains. the usual caveats, of course, but the food, the crafts, the sights, and of course the people have always made a return trip worth it for me.