What Chinese Pens Are You Using Today? 2018 + 2019

[drathbun]

The one on the top - Kaigelu 316 White/Black stripe - Iroshizuku Asa Gao

 

[Helen350]

Kaigelu 336 - M. nib Ink: Noodler's Walnut Brown

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

[1nkulus]

Jinhao X750 w/ R&K Salix.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Three citrus-colored 'Montblanc 149s'....AKA Jinhao 159. Green (with an italic nib) loaded with a yellowish lime mix of Krishna inks, the orange with Diamine Sunset, the yellow, Levenger Shiraz. (Which is actually a pink, especially when diluted.)

[Helen350]

Three citrus-colored 'Montblanc 149s'....AKA Jinhao 159. Green (with an italic nib) loaded with a yellowish lime mix of Krishna inks, the orange with Diamine Sunset, the yellow, Levenger Shiraz. (Which is actually a pink, especially when diluted.)

 

Sailor Kenshin: I love how you stated "Three citrus-colored Montblanc 149s...aka Jinhao 159" With smooth nibs, they do

write extremely well and save us tons of money.

[bobje]

Great macro shot of the Kaigelu imprints, Doug. I enjoy that imprint.

[Helen350]

Lanbitou 3059 - M. nib. Ink: Iroshizuku Kon-Peki (notetaking at Women's Ministry meeting this evening)

[drathbun]

Great macro shot of the Kaigelu imprints, Doug. I enjoy that imprint.

 

Thanks Bob. The lower one in the photo is the charcoal colour; my favourite nib of the three although all the them are awesome.

[Helen350]

Been enjoying my new Crocodile 377. Ink: Chesterfield Emerald Green. Nib is smooth with barely any feedback. Will not be doing any micromesh, Have to admit I like the looks of the green Croc. 377.

The 377 is a classy looking pen. Used it at the hospital earlier today, and the staff was very

interested. Allowed the young lady to write with it, and answered her questions where to purchase

fountain pens, since she had never seen one. Nothing like having an opportunity to do some

fountain pen "evangelism".

[drathbun]

Wow! That green 377 is very nice Helen! I'm glad it writes as well as the red one.

 

Today I'm writing with my Moonman M600 Brown Checkerboard acrylic with Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink.

 

[Enkida]

I just received and inked up a Wing Sung 698 and am very pleased with it. I'm not sure I enjoy the way the cap screws on completely, but other than that, it's been writing admirably and feels like a very good quality pen for its price bracket. Inked up with Pelikan Edelstein Olivine.

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

What's the difference between the 698 and the 3008 that I recently bought (and am very happy with)?

[Enkida]

What's the difference between the 698 and the 3008 that I recently bought (and am very happy with)?

 

I don't have a 3008, but I did waffle between the two before going for the 698. Obviously there's the "huge" price jump to 20-ish € rather than 4€ per pen. But there are reasons for that...

 

Wing Sung is not one monolithic company; it's a brand that was sold off and split between several different companies who are licensed to produce under the "Wing Sung" name. The 3008s are produced by one of the companies, the 698s by another.

 

The 698s have a superior quality build on the body; the piston is more solidly constructed, has a lock at the cap so it can't accidentally turn, and goes all the way down (something the 3008 appears to not do from what I've heard on reviews...) Additionally there's no "rusting screw" business going on inside the cap. I'm sure there's miniscule weight and length differences as well, but since I can't compare, IDK what those might be. The 698s also come in a variety of styles and colours, some of which are not transparent, while as far as I've seen, the 3008s are all demonstrators.

 

In terms of nib quality, I've heard they're on par with one another. The 698s can also come with gold nibs if you want to spend more money on them, but I've heard that the gold nibs are not worth the extra money in terms of writing experience.

 

Lastly, the 698 comes in some pretty nice packaging (a Kakuno clone style package), with a converter full of silicone grease, and very detailed and thorough instructions which are unfortuantely, only in Chinese.

 

Again, as I said I don't own a 3008 so I can't compare, but the 698 is like... a very minor step down from a TWSBI Eco. I only say this because the cap of the 698 does not close as nicely as an ECO's - you can feel the plastic threads squeaking against each other when you screw shut the pen, which makes me wary of using too much force lest I crack the plastic. I'm leery of cracking the ECO caps too, but moreso on the 698 because of the way it's built.

 

I'm very happy with my 698, but I was willing to put out a higher amount for a single near-guaranteed solid pen. That being said, I don't think you can really go wrong with a piston filled pen that only costs 4€ either; I just wanted a bit higher build quality on the pen body and had the money to spare for it, personally speaking.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Enkida. I have an Eco, and while, yes, there is a slight difference in material quality, I prefer the 3008, mostly because the Eco's grip bugs me a little.

 

I just inked two of the F 3008s, one with Chesterfield Zircon (firehose!) and another with 4280 Flamingo Pink (bit more dry).

 

Again, fhanks. For the money, the 3008 is a fun pen.

[Enkida]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Enkida. I have an Eco, and while, yes, there is a slight difference in material quality, I prefer the 3008, mostly because the Eco's grip bugs me a little.

 

I just inked two of the F 3008s, one with Chesterfield Zircon (firehose!) and another with 4280 Flamingo Pink (bit more dry).

 

Again, fhanks. For the money, the 3008 is a fun pen.

 

It'd be lovely if you could share pictures of these with the rest of us too!

[Sailor Kenshin]

It'd be lovely if you could share pictures of these with the rest of us too!

I'll give it a 'shot' a bit later!

 

http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/8015/5933/5028/Wing_Sung_3008_a-640p.jpg

 

 

...with apologies for the awful photo quality. No idea what's wrong with the camera, but these are still fun pens.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Sailor Kenshin

[Enkida]

Thank you! Not really, because now I have an interest in Chesterfield Zircon.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thank you! Not really, because now I have an interest in Chesterfield Zircon.

Which is now Unobtainium.

[Helen350]

Which is now Unobtainium.

 

Yes, it is no longer available. Thank goodness we were able to secure some of our favorite Chesterfields

before they were "unobtainium". I inked up my Sheaffer with White Dot today with Chesterfield Antique

Yankee.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yes, it is no longer available. Thank goodness we were able to secure some of our favorite Chesterfields

before they were "unobtainium". I inked up my Sheaffer with White Dot today with Chesterfield Antique

Yankee.

Yup. They had a 'We're disappearing!' sale. You bet I stocked up.

 

 

Enkida: Iroshizuku Kon-Peki and Ama-Iro seem close, but $$$....now Monteverde has a good range of blues. There will probably be a similar color at $8-$15/per.