Chinese Pens Show And Tell.

[Ian the Jock]

Maybe it's just me, but all of these new demonstrators, and washed out, peely wally colours just aren't buttering my parsnips.

Anyone else feel the same?

 

Give me a good old solid brass barrelled Jinhao any day.

 

Ian

[ian1964]

Maybe it's just me, but all of these new demonstrators, and washed out, peely wally colours just aren't buttering my parsnips.

Anyone else feel the same?

 

Give me a good old solid brass barrelled Jinhao any day.

 

Ian

 

I really like them. I think this is the type of Fountain pen that will foster interest from younger generation and promote the Chinese fountain pen industry....which is a good thing. When I pull out a demonstrator at work I get lots of admiring comments and lots ask to have a go. Never happens when I take my really expensive Montblanc 147.

 

But then Ian, I have always roasted my Parsnips

[dompred]

I just saw a Delike Alpha in blue finish, it looks awesome! https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=538433411612 On my translation it says "Aluminum Blue", is it really aluminum or is it brass like the rest of them?

[Ian the Jock]

 

I really like them. I think this is the type of Fountain pen that will foster interest from younger generation and promote the Chinese fountain pen industry....which is a good thing. When I pull out a demonstrator at work I get lots of admiring comments and lots ask to have a go. Never happens when I take my really expensive Montblanc 147.

 

But then Ian, I have always roasted my Parsnips

Yeah, I get that, too.

I have one or 2, and they are conversation starters, but it seems that recently it's been all "bad plugs and cracking issues" which isn't really showing my beloved Chinese writing instruments in a great light, although the dearer Wing Sungs appear to be great value.

 

If these plastic kiddie pens bring more bods into the fold, then all the better.

 

Ian

[truthpil]

I just saw a Delike Alpha in blue finish, it looks awesome! https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=538433411612 On my translation it says "Aluminum Blue", is it really aluminum or is it brass like the rest of them?

All the Alphas are brass, the blue one is just metallic blue. It looks nice！

[truthpil]

I really like them. I think this is the type of Fountain pen that will foster interest from younger generation and promote the Chinese fountain pen industry....which is a good thing. When I pull out a demonstrator at work I get lots of admiring comments and lots ask to have a go. Never happens when I take my really expensive Montblanc 147.

 

But then Ian, I have always roasted my Parsnips

Like Ian, I'm not really a fan of demonstrators and wish Jinhao would just put the awesome nibs from the 992 on a metal pen that wouldn't crack. Better yet, I wish Jinhao would make an aluminum-bodied pen Like this Hero Huafu 186 that is really rocking my world right now.

 

But ian1964 is right, the young'uns really love to see their candy-colored inks sloshing around in their pens.

[Mech-for-i]

well Finally figure out that so call Caliarts Ego-III mystery pen and what it is, Got one on the Nov haul. its basically Lanbitu / Laushi OEM and its now selling as Selmy or Late Coming store branded pen under the term just as " Piston Filler Demonstrater " and As well WSE got it as the Wing Sung 3009

 

 

I hacked mine with a Hero 58 two tone nib instead of the more generic Lamy Style nib. Its basically the Lanbitu / Wing Sung all trimmed down with the simplest of form, just circular barrel and section. No frill piston and they give it a Lamy-rish wire clip anmd a metal cap finale

[Mech-for-i]

And here's something interesting the Gui-Guan 711 Nickel Gray and 930 Gun Metal duo ( the 711 the lager one ) both vintage mid 90's .. just by looking at them its not easy to discern but they got a kind of nib SIPF specifically tailored for the pne. It;s not the conventional nib with a curved surface, nor the typical square off like the Lamy's Its got a what's called a faceted nib. The nib is all flat surface with the top, the side ( like squared off nib ) but also in between a slanted ( viewing from the front ) inter junction surface making the nib having altogether 5 flat surface. The 711 still spot the typicval 5.5mm feed circular but the part that mate with the nib is obviously shaped flat likewise. The 930 ( and the 910 also ) is simply a scaled down version of the same using a 4.3mm feed; otherwise the pens are pretty typical with snap on cap and fixed aerometric filling. Personally I really like 711's styling, especially the clean nib shape and stamping

 

Edited December 25, 2017 by Mech-for-i

[Seele]

well Finally figure out that so call Caliarts Ego-III mystery pen and what it is, Got one on the Nov haul. its basically Lanbitu / Laushi OEM and its now selling as Selmy or Late Coming store branded pen under the term just as " Piston Filler Demonstrater " and As well WSE got it as the Wing Sung 3009

 

 

I hacked mine with a Hero 58 two tone nib instead of the more generic Lamy Style nib. Its basically the Lanbitu / Wing Sung all trimmed down with the simplest of form, just circular barrel and section. No frill piston and they give it a Lamy-rish wire clip anmd a metal cap finale

 

Interesting picture that; goodness knows why they went the route of mixing in design cues from other pens that would not help with the reputation of Chinese pens.

 

In case you have one: shown through the clear barrel the piston looks like it has much wider contact areas than usual. One of the best features I like about the Caliarts Ego (my original version at least) is the replaceable O-ring piston rings, which can withstand extreme wear, unlike the integral piston rings moulded into the piston in one piece. Apart from being more hard-wearing, the Caliarts-type piston can take care of slight irregularities in the internal diameter of the barrel, while maintaining a larger contact area. It would be interesting to compare the Caliarts version against the otherwise identical ones.

[truthpil]

And here's something interesting the Gui-Guan 711 Nickel Gray and 930 Gun Metal duo ( the 711 the lager one ) both vintage mid 90's .. just by looking at them its not easy to discern but they got a kind of nib SIPF specifically tailored for the pne. It;s not the conventional nib with a curved surface, nor the typical square off like the Lamy's Its got a what's called a faceted nib. The nib is all flat surface with the top, the side ( like squared off nib ) but also in between a slanted ( viewing from the front ) inter junction surface making the nib having altogether 5 flat surface. The 711 still spot the typicval 5.5mm feed circular but the part that mate with the nib is obviously shaped flat likewise. The 930 ( and the 910 also ) is simply a scaled down version of the same using a 4.3mm feed; otherwise the pens are pretty typical with snap on cap and fixed aerometric filling. Personally I really like 711's styling, especially the clean nib shape and stamping

 

 

Very nice looking pens! With such a long nib, does the 711 happen to have any decent softness or flexibility? Those long tines make me wonder...

[Mech-for-i]

 

Very nice looking pens! With such a long nib, does the 711 happen to have any decent softness or flexibility? Those long tines make me wonder...

 

sort of, it does have some softness and springiness when writing but I would not say any flex at all, if you check carefully you can see that the faceted surface actually go almost 2/3 the length down the slit thus giving the tine quite a bit of structural strength, and this nib does only slight line variation. Many of Gui Guan 's more nominal #5 nib pens actually give more line variation ( but usually you have to work it )

[Mech-for-i]

 

Interesting picture that; goodness knows why they went the route of mixing in design cues from other pens that would not help with the reputation of Chinese pens.

 

In case you have one: shown through the clear barrel the piston looks like it has much wider contact areas than usual. One of the best features I like about the Caliarts Ego (my original version at least) is the replaceable O-ring piston rings, which can withstand extreme wear, unlike the integral piston rings moulded into the piston in one piece. Apart from being more hard-wearing, the Caliarts-type piston can take care of slight irregularities in the internal diameter of the barrel, while maintaining a larger contact area. It would be interesting to compare the Caliarts version against the otherwise identical ones.

 

Well I do have a Ego-II but mine is the blue opaque version so I really cannot show them side by side .. this one though still bear the gasket type material mold in sealing on the piston plunger but well for a pen only costing that I am not going to complain. The one thing I do like about the Ego is that it does not try to look like any others or plagiarizing styling.

[Jorge]

I have just received my new pack of Wing Sung 613s in the six available colors: Black, brown, dark green, grey, light green/dark yellow and transparent.

 

This re-engineered WS 613 is another P51 homage and looks very similar to the much better known Hero 616 (big size). There are a few but significant differences between them, worthwhile mentioning:

- The overall perceived quality is a bit better in the WS than in the Hero

- Color availability. While the first three mentioned above are practically identical as those offfered by the H616, there are another three attractive ones available for the WS613.

- The clutch ring is just like the one used in the P51, while the H616 uses a 2 thin washer/plastic ring sandwich to hold the cap in place.

- And the most significant one: The WS has a removable C/C filling system as opposed to the fixed "aerometric like" in the H616. Please note that the converter that comes included with the pen has a "huge" connecting opening (about 5.5mm internal diameter) as opposed to the more standard WS converter which has just 3.0mm approx. Cannot understand the reason why.

I think this system is quite interesting while I am not sure as to which cartridges will be suitable for this model.

It reminds me a lot of the shortly produced C/C P51!

 

I have only had the time to ink one of them (the transparent one, with Waterman's Green) and it writes with a very nice and smooth, fine line.

 

I would recommend the WS613 over the H616 if I had to, while I like both.

 

[Mech-for-i]

Yangtze 206 Ballpoint mode by Mech for i, on Flickr

 

Yeah Yeah I know it said Ballpoint, but the Yangtze 206 is not just a BP, its also a fountain pen. Some time in the early to mid 80's Chinese fountain pen Mfr(s) come up with the idea to put a BP refill on the end of a fountain pen and made a dual use pen and this was then the in vouge among them and cpntinue production of such are present on almost all the brands and most major ( and not so major ) models. Which had this continued into the mid 90's ... Yangtze, more famous for its calligraphy supply do produce some nominal use fountain pen and they have their share of such in the form of the Yangtze 206, in this case in this beautiful pale teal color. The chromed tip end pictured above ( you can see the thin chrome ring further down that seperate the moving part against the barrel ) twist to retract / extract a short BP refill ( sort of like the Zebra / bic refill but cut very short ) .. inside the barrel on the other end is a fountain pen with a slim no.5 nib ( actually smaller than no.5 as the feed is only 4.8mm dia ), together with a fixed aerometric filler ( reduced in size )

 

Uncapped - Yangtze 206 pale teal by Mech for i, on Flickr

 

Yangtze 206 - 1993 production by Mech for i, on Flickr

 

As you can see its a simple workhorse pen but still come with a decent screw in cap with tassie ring Art Deco clip and a black plastic jewel ( no inner cap ). The cap ring is more for trim than for real. its a very thin aluminium friction fitted piece. The nib actually write decent, this color among the 4 different one is the most beutiful IMHO, the other 3 are Forest Green , Grass Green , and plain Black. This model , like all the other dual use pens are based on prior model of fountain pen. Almost all of them benefit from the BP end trimming that balance the nib side and also made a nice taper end to otherwise plain unadorned barrel end

Edited January 9, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[miatapaul]

Yes, I know this one. Good that it exists I guess but this color is definitely not for me.

 

I'm more intrested in the newly discovered solid black Wing Sung 618, about which I learned about from this forum... literally the day after receiving the demonstrator version. So I guess I'm gonna have two 618s.

I got a Wing Sung 698 in sold black and dropped it from about three feet onto a laminate floor (not very hard) and it cracked in half along the ink viewing window line. I was very disappointed and in fact asked the eBay seller office_supplies_pen if he could get one. He did give me a good deal on it, but this has made me think twice about any of these pens with ink windows. It seems to be a weak spot as it is two different plastics connected there. Otherwise I have been extremely happy with this seller's service.

[truthpil]

Has anyone tried one of these yet?

It's another homage to the Parker 45 (as mentioned in the description) and looks quite nice!

 

 

Taobao Seller:

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.1-c-s.w5003-17759885965.1.70ca4c3d2tANwU&id=563660892993&scene=taobao_shop

[truthpil]

I got a Wing Sung 698 in sold black and dropped it from about three feet onto a laminate floor (not very hard) and it cracked in half along the ink viewing window line. I was very disappointed and in fact asked the eBay seller office_supplies_pen if he could get one. He did give me a good deal on it, but this has made me think twice about any of these pens with ink windows. It seems to be a weak spot as it is two different plastics connected there. Otherwise I have been extremely happy with this seller's service.

 

That's terrible about the pen getting destroyed like that!

That was what I feared about the opaque versions with clear ink windows on any Chinese piston fillers. It might also explain why so many more demonstrators (or at least pens where the whole barrel is transparent) are being made.

[pomps]

One visit to this thread after a few weeks and I have already ordered 3 pens. Maybe I should avoid this thread.

[truthpil]

One visit to this thread after a few weeks and I have already ordered 3 pens. Maybe I should avoid this thread.

Same here, but it's better than doing the same in a Montblanc thread where the pens cost 100 times as much. At least that's what I tell myself to justify the madness. 😋

[AmandaW]

One visit to this thread after a few weeks and I have already ordered 3 pens. Maybe I should avoid this thread.

 

Same here, but it's better than doing the same in a Montblanc thread where the pens cost 100 times as much. At least that's what I tell myself to justify the madness.

 

And... what was ordered?