What Chinese Pens Are You Using Today? 2018 + 2019

[Helen350]

SKB 20 $3.49US. This pen surprised me. I was expecting it to feel cheap - and it does. The plastic is very soft and light. This is like a disposable pen. But I was also expecting the nib to be really horrible. To my surprise, it wasn't! It is very smooth and needs no tuning. It is also a very wet writer for a fine nib. The nib isn't as fine as I thought it would be either. It is more like between a fine and a medium. I don't know that I can get used to the light feel though. If it had a little more weight it might be more controllable.

 

 

Doug: My F19 & F20 stay inked, and are used more frequently than I anticipated. I have found with 20 lb. weight paper,

you get a med. nib look. On 24 lb. weight paper, it is a definite F/M. I agree that the nib is a surprise, for it is smoother

than one might think beforehand. I own all 6 colors, with each pen inked according to the color; with the exception of the

black pen - got it inked with Lamy Dark Violet. I am not partial to black inks.

[drathbun]

 

Doug: My F19 & F20 stay inked, and are used more frequently than I anticipated. I have found with 20 lb. weight paper,

you get a med. nib look. On 24 lb. weight paper, it is a definite F/M. I agree that the nib is a surprise, for it is smoother

than one might think beforehand. I own all 6 colors, with each pen inked according to the color; with the exception of the

black pen - got it inked with Lamy Dark Violet. I am not partial to black inks.

 

I'm not partial to black inks either Helen. My favourite dark ink is Diamine Bilberry which is a dark purple. I bought two SKB F20 in black and green and a F19 in black. I gave the green one to my wife.

[Helen350]

Kaigelu 336 - M. nib. Ink: Noodlers Walnut Brown

Crocodile 377 - M. nib Ink: Diamine Syrah (Drathbun & I will do a review on this pen soon!!. After just

a bit of smoothing, and very careful flexing, the nib is just right! All I'm

going to say at this point--I believe this pen is a winner. Came with

a very nice pen sleeve.

[Helen350]

CROCODILE 377

This pen is classy with a capital 'C'. I strongly feel I have a winner. Now I do admit I had to tweak the nib

just a bit, however, with only a bit of micromesh & flexing the nib, it is wet & smooth. I have shown the pen

to a couple of folks, and they thought I had paid 3 times more than what I paid for it. If I were sitting in a

board room taking notes, any other more expensive pen would not make me feel intimidated. The pen

cap is not heavy, therefore it is well balanced when capped. Deep burgundy in color (reminds me

somewhat of the Platinum 3776 Bourgogne, with black stripes down the pen body. The section is short,

however, the transition is smoooooth.The cap clicks in place when you cap the pen, securing the cap to

the body. The cap finial has as gold tone Crocodile encased in a small acrylic bubble. There is a gold

tone band around the center of the cap finial. The clip is two tone, and shaped like an arrow. Will fit

nice on a shirt pocket. The end cap and section mirror each other. I have been writing with this pen

since I received it last week. Each day the nib flows better. Have used: 20 lb. weight, 24 lb. weight

& art paper in my Prayer Journal. The nib is a #6 nib--two tone-- Crocodile on the nib. It is evident

that China is upping its game in pen making. If I had a gold nib that would fit, I would use it with this

pen. The pen came with a nice pen sleeve. I want to assure you that this pen is not gaudy, but well

made and lovely. Since I keep my pens in pen cases I did not order a pen box. Converter.

Had not been able to locate this pen on Ebay or Etsy. However, found a seller who was willing to locate

the pen for me and Drathbun. The seller does not currently carry this pen in stock, however, expressed

that he would be willing to have some in stock if anyone is interested. If you are interested you can

purchase them from Bobby Etsy shop--Bobby Pen/Chinese Pens. Cost: $23.98. They come in three

colors: Red/Black;; Green/Black and Black. Nib size: EF/F.

STATS:

LENGTH: Posted - 5 1/3"

Capped - 6 1/4

Uncapped - 4 3/4"

SECTION: 3/4" - with a small rim at the base of the section. Transition is so smooth, I do not notice it.

End cap and section mirror one another.

CAP: 2 1/3" long; band has a Crocodile engraved on it. Does not have a model # engraved. Better pen

usually do not. Cap top has a gold Crocodile encased in an acrylic bubble; gold band around the

center of the cap finial. Unique finial.

CLIP: Two-tone, shaped like an arrow, snug

NIB SIZE: Unique #6 - two-tone with Crocodile emblem

WEIGHT: Posted - 36g

Cap - 16g

[Mech-for-i]

surprisingly good flow of ink and nice fine nib, not the smoothest but not scratchy either , very light weight

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[drathbun]

Crocodile 377 - Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink

 

[1nkulus]

Jinhao 159.

[Helen350]

Crocodile 377 - M. nib. Ink: Diamine Syrah

Lanbitou 3059 - M. nib. Ink: Iroshizuku Kon-Peki

Lanbitou 3059 - F. nib Ink: Lamy Dark Violet

 

[richardandtracy]

WS 601 Mk3 Red with windows, Diamine Ancient Copper.

WS 601 Mk2 Flashing Blue with windows, Noodlers BSB (the only pen I have to really tame BSB & make it the ink it should be - I admit I have not tried it in a P51)

WS 601 Mk2 Transparent Green, Diamine Turquoise.

 

All the above pens have a 0.8 to 1.2mm fude nib.

 

Use these pens instead of my P51's outside the house now. The same feel & durability, but no angst about loosing them.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Helen350]

WS 601 Mk3 Red with windows, Diamine Ancient Copper.

WS 601 Mk2 Flashing Blue with windows, Noodlers BSB (the only pen I have to really tame BSB & make it the ink it should be - I admit I have not tried it in a P51)

WS 601 Mk2 Transparent Green, Diamine Turquoise.

 

All the above pens have a 0.8 to 1.2mm fude nib.

 

Use these pens instead of my P51's outside the house now. The same feel & durability, but no angst about loosing them.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

Richard, where did you locate the fude nibs for your WS 601s?? Was a tool required to change the nibs.

Do not own many hooded FPs, and have never exchanged a hooded pen nib. Thinking about

biting the bullet on a WS 618 - red, with a F. nib.

[richardandtracy]

 

Richard, where did you locate the fude nibs for your WS 601s?? Was a tool required to change the nibs.

Do not own many hooded FPs, and have never exchanged a hooded pen nib. Thinking about

biting the bullet on a WS 618 - red, with a F. nib.

One of a couple of places I have gone to is this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-fountain-pen-nibs-0-6-1-2mm-bent-nib-for-wing-sung-618-wing-sung-601-pen/263690679113

 

I didn't need a tool, but if your grip is not as strong as mine, you might need a pair of pliers. I always had a pair to hand, just in case

1. Unscrew the hood and remove it.
2. Note the orientation of the nib and pull the nib from inside the collector. You may need to grip either side of the tiny tube nib with the pliers. The feed may come out with the nib.
3. At this point, while the feed is out, check to see the feed channel is clear and open it up if need be - this might be better done after fitting the nib & seeing if it's writing too dry, though. On a couple I have found a moulded lump blocking the channel where it seems as if a chip had broken off the bit of the tool moulding the feed groove.
4. Anyway, re-align the new nib & feed with the orientation you noted down and fit the nib into the collector, then screw on the hood. This last set of operations will be a bit of trial & error as the hood will inevitably fail to line up with the nib, and you'll need to take it off, reset the nib & try again. This is normal for the P51 too. The P61 improved on things and had alignment features moulded in, something the WS 601 has not copied.

Hope this makes sense.

This process is identical for the WS 613 & 618 too.

 

The fude nib I identified above is pretty much equivalent to a US medium and shows no real fude characteristics and can write quite nicely. I'd prefer it to be more like a UK medium, but I think that's pushing it a bit. If I could find the next size up fude nib, I'd give them a try.

On a WS 613 (which uses the same size nib, as does the WS 618) I fitted a H616 fude nib. These are larger diameter tube and longer. After an hour of very careful metalwork with a micro file & vice, I flattened the fude bit, cut off the end, reduced the diameter & length & I had an acceptable broad italic. Had a slightly scratchy corner, but it did work reasonably well, but it took so long it wasn't really worth the effort. The nibs shown above don't have enough metal in them to make a broad italic, though. Pity that.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Mech-for-i]

Yeah that is pretty much the same procedure for changing nibs on all the classic Chinese hooded nib models ; once you get the routine down its kind of trivial ... I've got loads of various calligraphy nibs to this spec and generally the mild variants are all for casusl quasi calligraphy style day to day writing and for cursive you can just think of them as a Medium

[bobje]

 

Penbbs 308 'Amber is a Cat'

[Holon]

race-competitor-you-amber-cat-penbbs-308.jpg

 

Penbbs 308 'Amber is a Cat'

 

Nice handwriting. I wrote with a PenBBS 308 Amber today, too. Filled with Diamine Golden Honey and Bock BB nib.(which is smaller then a Bock B nib...)

[bobje]

Really? A Bock B is broader than a BB?

[Holon]

Really? A Bock B is broader than a BB?

 

In this case yes. I was disappointed with the BB nib when I got it and did some online research. There are some complaints about the consistency of BB Bock nibs, which tend to be not so extra broad.

[1nkulus]

A friend left me a Wing Sung 698.

[Helen350]

Jinha 8802 - Mother of Pearl - F. nib. Ink: Chesterfield Antique Yankee. Nib is surprisingly smooth.

Writes like a true F. nib with very little feedback.. Lovely pearlessence. Fits nice in my small hand

without capping. Does not cap deeply; though it is secure. Snap cap. #5 nib. Took it with me this

morning for notetaking. No skipping, nor lack of ink for down strokes.

[miwishi63]

First stub italic - Jinhao 992. I'm hooked!

Edited May 18, 2019 by miwishi63

[Helen350]

Moonman M2 - Stub nib. Ink: Iroshizuku Kon-Peki (for journaling)

ASA Popsicle - Stub nib. ink: Diamine Magical Forest (for study notes)