Chinese Pens Show And Tell.

[Mech-for-i]

Hero 616-2 original version with a Hero 616 std ( Black Green ) for comparison ; note that the original 616-2 had a unique size among the 616 family, its slimmer and shorter; a slight bit vs the std size and notably larger and girthier than the small size; come in Black, Blue, Red, and Yellow. Later when they add white to the range, the 616-2 revert to using the small size 616 as pattern and that's what current cataloged 616-2 are. 616-2's signature feature is the gold plated clip and color matched top jewel on the cap ( plastic in the original version, plastic cladded steel on the current version )

 

Hero 616-2 by Mech for i, on Flickr

Edited April 25, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[garyc]

3 pens arrived today (not sure if these are the correct names):

 

Delike Times

Delike Submarines

WingSung 7250

 

The WingSung is quite large, bigger than I thought it would be. The Delike Times was quite alot smaller than I imagined. It was a slight disappointment, considering the relatively high price, although it does feature a nice Delike M nib.

 

[sansenri]

thank you for showing these.

I was looking at these too, quite interested by the wooden 7250.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Hero 616-2 original version with a Hero 616 std ( Black Green ) for comparison ; note that the original 616-2 had a unique size among the 616 family, its slimmer and shorter; a slight bit vs the std size and notably larger and girthier than the small size; come in Black, Blue, Red, and Yellow.

I have the yellow 616. Lovely smooth nib but the aerometric converter should become a twist type converter (like all other aerometric converters out there so no fault of this particular model) and mine dries up every night. I'm swapping inks in it to try and see if there's one that agrees more with this nib and feed but I suspect air gets in from a gap in the cap that I cannot see.

[Mech-for-i]

A simple job ; a piece of rubber to held onto the end jewel and you can screw that thing off; then the ( hard ) inner cap can be pushed out or just pop out by itself; apply ( thick paste type ) silicone grease to its rim and surface that mate with the cap, use a simple stick to push it back in and some more of the silicone on the now exposed thread end , put the clip on and made sure screw tight back the end jewel, you then had the cap better sealed. Just a simple DIY, no fancy tools needed

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Thank you, I'll try this!

[Mech-for-i]

GLM ( Guan Le Ming or Guanleming ) 927 vintage mid 90s , mid size triumph nib ( the smaller one for most ), classic fixed aerometric filling, all metal construction including the section and coupler , tthis is the notorious mirror chrome finish which guarantee you a display of micro scratches and finger print collector inclusive. There is also a more user friendly pale matt nickel grey finish. Its worth noting the different take on the nib Hero ( GLM is a Hero sub brand thoug their range usually independent of the parent brand ) and Wing Sung had. Wing Sung usually had a slight turn up on the tip of the nib where Hero choose to let the curve profile continue and thus had a tip that's slightly curving & pointing down

 

Guan Le Ming ( GLM ) 827 mirror chrome, on Flickr

Edited May 5, 2018 by Mech-for-i

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

all metal construction including the section and coupler , tthis is the notorious mirror chrome finish which guarantee you a display of micro scratches and finger print collector inclusive.

Word.

I've never seen so many metal-built pens as when I dived into the China section of this forum. Honestly, so many metal pens... Wow.

[Bjeweled]

Because Chrisrap52 liked Penbbs pens I purchased 6 of them. They are stunning. However, i have one significant problem: I bought 6 Goulet nibs so that I could replace the Pen bbs fine nib with broads.I was able to switch the nibs on a 3009 and two 267 desk pens but two other 267 and one 3008 will not pull out no matter what I do. I have put the pens in hot water, used a rubber mesh ( liner used for shelfs) and a thick rubber band ...with each separately I surrounded the nib, pulled but nothing happens. I was thinking of putting the pens inside an ultra sonic cleaner but I am afraid of ruining the acrylic resin which is so beautiful. I do not like writing with a fine nib and love writing with broads. Would someone have an idea to suggest to remove the #6 Pen bbs nibs and replace them with a #6Goulet. Thanks.

[IndigoBOB]

A thick wide rubberband, but... oooh, you've already done that... Lots of muscle, maybe using rubber tipped pliers if you can make

that.

 

Be very careful since the fins on the underside of the feed are fragile. They will bend and the more you bend them the sooner they will break off.

 

I had better luck removing the nib first, carful to grip it without pulling on the feed and the fins on the underside. Then, once the nib was removed, I could grip the nose of the feed and remove it with some minor twists.

 

I couldn't fit a normal size Jowo on a PenBBS 308. I was informed that a Jowo 1.1 would fit, though. It's not that it doesn't fit in the section, but if you cap the 308 with a regular Jowo (round nib) it will get bent by the ceiling of the cap, unless they have augmented this, though I haven't heard of any news or such. I don't know if it was just my 308, but after that one I didn't order another.

Edited May 5, 2018 by IndigoBOB

[truthpil]

I couldn't fit a normal size Jowo on a PenBBS 308. I was informed that a Jowo 1.1 would fit, though. It's not that it doesn't fit in the section, but if you cap the 308 with a regular Jowo (round nib) it will get bent by the ceiling of the cap, unless they have augmented this, though I haven't heard of any news or such. I don't know if it was just my 308, but after that one I didn't order another.

 

I've got the same issue with my 308. It's quite maddening since I hate the stock nib (mine seems to write drier than everyone else's).

I'm curious about the new batch of 308s that were made this year (the solid, pastel colors), but I doubt they had any reason to change the cap design since I don't see any Chinese users swapping the nib.

 

If only they'd release the 309 in more solid colors!

[truthpil]

My latest haul ; a PenBBS 309-42SF Bamboo Moon ( pale blue ) and the 308-8GF Strawberry Ice ( with gold plated appointment ), and guess what - I ordered a batch of plastic eyedropper for my hobby work, only 50 ea. of 0.5ml and 1.0ml but the seller ship me 4400 x 2ml ; yes you are not hearing it wrong, I got 44 packet of 100pc of these. Now I got to figure out what should I do with them, and I still need those 0.5ml and 1ml for my scale modelling paints ... Ahhhh ....

 

PenBBS 309 Bamboo Moon and 308 Strawberry Ice - gold plated appointment by Mech for i, on Flickr

 

Mech-for-i,

 

How's your new 309 doing? Curious to hear your thoughts on it.

I'm considering getting the same light blue one because it's the only appealing solid color being offered and they are selling out.

 

Does anyone get the feeling that a lot of Chinese pen companies (other than the big ones with standard lines like Hero) treat pen-making the way clothing companies do their products, I.e., making new designs for each season while no longer making the previous season's designs?

 

I noticed this when I wanted to get another Lingmo Lorelei and gold-trim Jinhao 992, not to mention all the Penbbs inks and pens that seem to be only made in one giant batch so that when they're gone, they're gone for good. It's very frustrating!

Edited May 6, 2018 by TruthPil

[Mech-for-i]

The 309 write and perform pretty much as expected, same kind of nib as the 308 so no surprise there. Piston is working straight and nothing special, nothing really stands out one way or the other. Actually the kind of translucent white solid color one is not bad. And the Sand Grey is kind of a timeless color though its probably not the prettiest. Yu are probably right about the connection so to speak to fashion , especially for PenBBS

[truthpil]

The 309 write and perform pretty much as expected, same kind of nib as the 308 so no surprise there. Piston is working straight and nothing special, nothing really stands out one way or the other. Actually the kind of translucent white solid color one is not bad. And the Sand Grey is kind of a timeless color though its probably not the prettiest. Yu are probably right about the connection so to speak to fashion , especially for PenBBS

Sigh, the white one is hard to find now. I've learned the hard way that if a beautiful Chinese pen comes out that is not part of the standard lineup from a major brand, you'd better buy it right away.

 

Does anyone have both the 2017 and 2018 versions of the 308? I'm wondering if tjr space inside the cap is the same on both, because the older model has a plastic ring inside that will push most JoWo nibs to the side when capped. If that problem was fixed, I'd easily but several more pens.

Edited May 7, 2018 by TruthPil

[IndigoBOB]

I'd be on that, too...

 

I like the shape of the section on the 308: Has a a nice taper with a sharper more substantial flare my fingers fit well into...

 

But I do like the overall shape of the 309 a little more.

[truthpil]

I'd be on that, too...

 

I like the shape of the section on the 308: Has a a nice taper with a sharper more substantial flare my fingers fit well into...

 

But I do like the overall shape of the 309 a little more.

Agreed, I like the dimensions of both. My 308 just feels so comfortable to write with for extended periods and the beautiful acrylic is a bonus.

 

Maybe I'll just wait and hope that Penbbs releases a new batch of 309s with more solid colors.

[IndigoBOB]

Agreed, I like the dimensions of both. My 308 just feels so comfortable to write with for extended periods and the beautiful acrylic is a bonus.

 

Maybe I'll just wait and hope that Penbbs releases a new batch of 309s with more solid colors.

 

 

You're right, they really are both fabulous pens. I think they're a wonderful addition to the fountain pen world with the 308 being my favorite Cigar shaped pen I've held, and the 309 holding its own well in my hand.

Edited May 7, 2018 by IndigoBOB

[truthpil]

 

 

You're right, they really are both fabulous pens. I think they're a wonderful addition to the fountain pen world with the 308 being my favorite Cigar shaped pen I've held, and the 309 holding its own well in my hand.

I decided not to risk waiting since everything Penbbs makes seems to be a Limited Edition and once they're gone, they're gone. I was able to get the last "Southshore" solid blue flake (309-32SF) design available. I paid a few bucks over the original price, but it was worth it for a beautiful pen. I'm still terrified that the seller is going to call tomorrow morning and say, "Sorry, but that one was sold out and we forgot to remove it off the site. Do you want this butt-ugly one instead?" If I actually do end up with the right pen, I'll post some nice shots on this thread. It's a real beauty!

 

Once I saw Chrisrap's video review and how you can unscrew the section to fully clean it, I knew I needed two of these. Maybe the next one will be the absinthe green one.

Edited May 10, 2018 by TruthPil

[taike]

The PenBBS nib ( & feed ) is shaped and highly tuned for writing the home language and I can see why it would be somewhat awkward to use it for Latin based writing especially if one write quick. Personally I deal with multiple language day to day and had no problem with them but then I tend to be not very choosy with nib also

 

I had a closer look at the PenBBS nib in my 308 and guess it is a little different. The tipping ascends slightly. But without knowing that, I didn't find any issues in writing western languages. And, sadly, it does nothing to improve my Chinese characters.

[Mech-for-i]

I do not think any nib could magically improve one's writing, whatever language and writing style. What they provide is a tool that's carried with them some features and performance, that's all.