Fountain Pen Or Ink From Vietnam

[Amyj]

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.

Great, thanks! It'll be quite interesting to visit I think, as I have a few personal tour guides. How does the ink look for fountain pens? Healthy? And is that the only colour ink available, or are there others as well? (Sorry, I'll be done with the questions soon, just as soon as I get there :3)

[penmanila]

it's a very vivid purple, as you can see from this comparison i made with other reddish inks:

 

 

i think i saw the usual blue and black at the shop, but this was as exotic as it got. it certainly won't be to everyone's liking, but as a souvenir for less than 50 cents, how could you go wrong?

 

and just in case you're interested, here are more shots i took around hanoi from our recent visit. feel free to PM me for more specific, non-FP questions.

Edited June 15, 2014 by penmanila

[penmanila]

while we're on pens in vietnam, you can get lucky and stumble on some very interesting vintage pens there, like i did from an earlier visit in 2009, and even earlier in 1994.

 

there's a street full of antique shops in ho chi minh city (formerly saigon) called le cong kieu, a spoke off the wheel that's the roundabout beside the popular ben thanh market. saw these:

 

 

 

 

came away with these (a pilot and a vac):\

 

 

from that earlier visit came this very nice french-made kaolo safety pen, sheathed in what seems to be aluminum or pewter, bought off the street for $15:

 

 

sadly i found no such trove of vintage pens in hanoi this time, but i'm sure that there has to be one in some nondescript corner, brimming with senior maximas, dorics, coronets, and such (my fantasy).

 

good luck on your hunt!

Edited June 15, 2014 by penmanila

[Amyj]

it's a very vivid purple, as you can see from this comparison i made with other reddish inks:

 

 

i think i saw the usual blue and black at the shop, but this was as exotic as it got. it certainly won't be to everyone's liking, but as a souvenir for less than 50 cents, how could you go wrong?

 

and just in case you're interested, here are more shots i took around hanoi from our recent visit. feel free to PM me for more specific, non-FP questions.

Oh, no, I love that colour! I was just wondering whether I would need to bring other colours or look around elsewhere.

 

My parents said there was a street full of stores selling fountain pens and dip pens near the place I'm staying, I wonder if that's what you're mentioning now. Thank you so much for all this help.

[fledermaus89]

mmm, that color is nice! Looks very much like Pelikan Violett...and at 48¢ a bottle...who can beat that?

[krishnanramani]

My god I missed all of these posts

 

Anyways I am using Queen Ink over a Week now & I am happy with its performance

 

I will give a full review with pics soon

 

Friends I really enjoyed reading all the post in this thread

[Seele]

krishnanramani,

 

I still have that visual of your brother at the Vietnamese stationary store doing his Freddy Mercury impression in order to get some Queen ink,

[krishnanramani]

krishnanramani,

 

I still have that visual of your brother at the Vietnamese stationary store doing his Freddy Mercury impression in order to get some Queen ink,

Yup He narrated a Very Funny Story. It took nearly 30 mins for him to make the shop person what he needed

[penmanila]

When I travel abroad hunting for pens, especially vintage ones, I always bring a few with me to show people what I'm looking for.

[Hanoi]

Doesn´t Manila have a lot of places you can go to find American pens given the long historical association with the USA? Vietnam is actually not a good place for hunting vintage pens. Most of the old pens that you can find around Hanoi are low quality French pens, the occasional no name Soviet pens, with the bulk of the so called vintage pens being1990s Chinese Parker clones. In mainland SEA your best bet is still Bangkok. Lots of 1960s and later vintage Japanese pens there as well as American pens. The Americans came to Vietnam for only a short time and left behind way more UXBs than PFMs.

 

 

while we're on pens in vietnam, you can get lucky and stumble on some very interesting vintage pens there, like i did from an earlier visit in 2009, and even earlier in 1994.

 

there's a street full of antique shops in ho chi minh city (formerly saigon) called le cong kieu, a spoke off the wheel that's the roundabout beside the popular ben thanh market. saw these:

 

 

 

 

came away with these (a pilot and a vac):\

 

 

from that earlier visit came this very nice french-made kaolo safety pen, sheathed in what seems to be aluminum or pewter, bought off the street for $15:

 

 

sadly i found no such trove of vintage pens in hanoi this time, but i'm sure that there has to be one in some nondescript corner, brimming with senior maximas, dorics, coronets, and such (my fantasy).

 

good luck on your hunt!

[Hanoi]

In this video you will find most of the Made in Vietnam pen brands at the beginning of the video. These domestic manufacturers produce mainly fountain pens for younger students. The guy in the video is a sales representative for these makers and he is demonstrating Vietnamese writing techniques to elementary school grade students.

 

Edited February 2, 2018 by Hanoi