Chinese Pens Show And Tell.

[inkeverywhere]

Still waiting for those Baoer 388s to arrive and have been using my Kiagelu 316 as a daily writer for a while now. Since receiving it I have inked it with Lamy, Diamine and Pelikan 4001 inks with no problem.

 

Today I decided on Iroshizuku Ama-Iro in the 316, boy oh boy what a mistake, I wrote about 15 or so words in my diary and the ink just started running out onto the page. The page looks like world war three has taken place on it.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem with Iroshizuku inks in a Kiagelu pen?

 

 

Greg

[Ian the Jock]

Sorry Greg

I've only ever used Diamine inks in mine, and I've had no issues so far.

 

Ian

[Ian the Jock]

I thought today for a change I'd do something different as a S&T.

 

It's not so much about the pen, but about THE NIB, or a particular type of nib, The Fude nib to be precise.

Now, many already know about these, and have experience of them, however some may not, so, for those of you who have came across a nice looking pen on ebay and thought "I quite like that" then noticed in the listing that it had a "fude nib" or "bent calligraphy nib", "artists bent nib" or "Chinese calligraphy nib", and thought "whoaah!, I won't be entertaining that odd looking character" then read on.

As far as I know, these nibs (which do look just like a normal nib with the tip bent upwards) are specifically for using in Chinese calligraphy, and are supposed to be the fountain pen equivalent of using a brush.

I saw a chap in a video ages ago producing stunning Chinese characters and calligraphy using one of these, and it is indeed an art in itself.

Anyway, you don't have to just use them for Chinese characters as, it is, after all....still a pen.

And for the purpose of this, whatever it is, "insight", "info shot" or whatever, the pen I will be using is the Kaigelu 368, with, of course a fude nib.

And here it is in all it's bent nibbed glory.

 

As you can see, the nib is a pretty scary looking prospect, but don't be afraid, it's supposed to look like that.

Here's more.

 

 

This nib works in such a way, that if you hold the pen straight up and down, or close to it, it produces a fine line, then as you lower the angle, the pen produces a progressively broader line, like using a brush.

This can be great fun, and can produce pronounced line variation.

No doubt with much practice all sorts could be achieved, but I'll just show the variation that is achieved.

 

This is the pen straight up and down.

 

And this is it held at a lower angle.

 

There are no doubt many who could better demonstrate this than me, but this is my normal handwriting while adjusting the angle of the pen.

Not bad eh? I mean the variation that can be had...not the handwriting.

 

So there you go.

The next time you spot a nice pen with a fude nib, don't just dismiss it, if it's cheap...have a go at it, it can be great fun.

 

 

Cheers

Ian

 

[JohnSparegrave]

great post, it really was a pleasure to read.

[richila]

Thank you Ian! I had wondered what those nibs did.

[Ian the Jock]

Just a "quickie" today.

I mentioned this pen previously when showing my nib grinding efforts, but I've been using it to do a fair bit of writing today, and it is just brilliant.

The poor lighting and need for flash. doesn't show up the Baystate Blue very well, as in reality it looks ......well, like Baystate Blue, and it matches the pen well.

 

 

Cheers

Ian

[ian1964]

Ian, now you are more adept at this "grinding", do you leave the tipping in place or does the tipping disappear? I ask, because although I get really good results (for the most part), the tipping never survives!

[Ian the Jock]

Ian, now you are more adept at this "grinding", do you leave the tipping in place or does the tipping disappear? I ask, because although I get really good results (for the most part), the tipping never survives!

It depends Ian, If I'm looking to purposely do a "tipped" grind, I just grind away as little as I need to get the tip into a rectangular box, or chisel shape, then it's just a matter of smoothing and polishing the tip to the way I want it.

I don't grind off the corners of the tip. I just keep them square, but polish them by doing figure 8s on a polishing stick, then a bIt of writing, then polishing until It is as smooth and crisp as I want it.

Keeping the tipping is a far more time consuming process, as you are removing only a little at a time, then checking, remove a bit more, check etc.

I have found that both the tipped and untipped grinds that I have done are equally as smooth and crisp, although a stub which still has it's tipping does look a bit better, and does give a greater feeling of satisfation by the time you get to the end of it.

 

Ian

Edited February 20, 2016 by Ian the Jock

[ian1964]

Thanks Ian.

[inkeverywhere]

After a very long wait my 388's finally arrived. Flushed them and checked nibs for alignment and filled one one with Aurora blue.

 

The nib is much finer the the usual medium you seem to get on Chinese pens, but still very nice to write with. I have been using a Kiagelu 316 as a daily writer for some weeks now and this makes the 388 feel like a demi size pen. The 388 nib is much smoother than the Kiagelu stock nib. I have taken to the Kiagelu nib with micromesh and the resulting finer/smoother nib is much more pleasant to write with.

 

Chinese pens and their low cost price let me experiment with the nibs much more than what I'd even consider with pens I have forked out hundreds of dollars for.

 

Now the hard part comes - working out what Chinese pen to buy next???????

 

 

Greg

[Ian the Jock]

I can't remember if this pen has featured previously, but I was using it today anyway and thought I'd put it on the show and tell.

When I first got it I wasn't sure if the "slimmer", "fluted" section was going to suit me, but I need not have concerned myself...

It is extremely comfortable to use, especially over longer periods of writing.

A TOP PEN.

 

 

Cheers

Ian

 

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by Ian the Jock

[bobje]

Hilarious! But I don't know, Ian, going from $1 to $5 is a 500 percent price increase.

[brg5658]

I can't remember if this pen has featured previously, but I was using it today anyway and thought I'd put it on the show and tell.

When I first got it I wasn't sure if the "slimmer", "fluted" section was going to suit me, but I need not have concerned myself...

It is extremely comfortable to use, especially over longer periods of writing.

A TOP PEN.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

Ian

 

 

 

Where are you finding the Hero 7022 for $5? I haven't seen any for less than $9 to buy outright, and I snagged 2 for $7.50 each via "Make an Offer" ($15 for the pair).

 

It's a great pen for sure, even if it is more like a ~$10 pen.

Edited March 30, 2016 by brg5658

[Ian the Jock]

Hahaha

I think there have been some crossed wires.

If you are used to using pens in the 1 to 5 dollar range, then this pen would be a step up, although I can see how it could be read differently.

 

I think I paid around $8 for mine.

 

A brilliant pen, regardless of the price.

 

Ian

[brg5658]

Hahaha

I think there have been some crossed wires.

If you are used to using pens in the 1 to 5 dollar range, then this pen would be a step up, although I can see how it could be read differently.

 

I think I paid around $8 for mine.

 

A brilliant pen, regardless of the price.

 

Ian

 

Ah, I get it now. By the way, Diamine Grape is the perfect ink for that pen!

Edited March 31, 2016 by brg5658

[Ian the Jock]

 

Ah, I get it now. By the way, Diamine Grape is the perfect ink for that pen!

It is, yes.

I tried a few different colours in it previously , but since the grape went in, it has been ever present.

You're right it's a cracking combination.

 

Ian

[richila]

Ian, can the nib be removed from a Baoer 517? I have one nib that just doesn't work right.

Edited March 31, 2016 by richila

[Ian the Jock]

It can Richila

They are push fit like the Jinhaos.

 

What is that's not right about the nib?

[richila]

It can Richila

They are push fit like the Jinhaos.

 

What is that's not right about the nib?

Thanks, I love these pens and didn't want to destroy it. It randomly splotches, faster than I can use blotting paper. I replaced the nib unit with one from another pen. I have a loupe now, so I will take it out and examine it.

[BDUAres]

1st post here. Hope you like it,

 

This is the Jinhao FP-LDCR-2, which some people may have thought did not exist outside of a single image on the Jinhao pen website.

 

My wife bought it for me directly from the Shanghai Qiangu Stationery Company in 2004. It looks similar to the 1200, but the cap is very different, and the body does not feel "smooth" like a 1200. Instead you can feel the scales. It was packaged in a Jinhao Number 23 box

 

.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212717_zpswp4gqfax.jpghttp://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212744_zpshadpyioz.jpghttp://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212727_zpsn0r4tyas.jpghttp://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212844_zpslvimh7kt.jpghttp://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212929_zpslgcdlwrt.jpghttp://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k166/bduares/Pens/20160413_212900_zpsq9xgdvjb.jpg

Edited April 14, 2016 by BDUAres