Majohn A1 (a capless clone)

[OCArt]

An eBay store is now offering four colors of this pen. $35 from seller industrialmechanical, a vendor I've used for other pens in the past.

[Holben]

Have you had good luck with this seller?  I have been wary of purchasing from them based on their feedback score.  Thanks for posting this.

[OCArt]

I've not had any problems with this vendor. They have 2,364 positive feedback points and only 53 negative. To me that's overwhelmingly positive.

 

2 hours ago, Holben said:

Have you had good luck with this seller?  I have been wary of purchasing from them based on their feedback score.  Thanks for posting this.

 

[Gloucesterman]

3 hours ago, OCArt said:

I've not had any problems with this vendor. They have 2,364 positive feedback points and only 53 negative. To me that's overwhelmingly positive.

 

 

Also, out of curiosity, I checked the specific negative reviews - the first page for the most recent 3 months. None of the negatives reeferenced fountain pens at all. This particular information may or may not be relevant.

 

BTW, I recently purchased a matte black one on etsy for $6.00 more!

[Holben]

6 hours ago, OCArt said:

I've not had any problems with this vendor. They have 2,364 positive feedback points and only 53 negative. To me that's overwhelmingly positive.

 

 

Thanks for this - I have one on the way.  I appreciate the heads up.

[A Smug Dill]

On 12/23/2021 at 9:02 AM, penzel_washinkton said:

Probably someone could confirm if VP's EF nib writes finer than the Moonman / Majohn A1 EF?

 

The Pilot Capless rhodium-plated 18K gold EF nib I have here lays down lines of ~0.2mm wide with Platinum Carbon Black ink on Rhodia DotPad 80g/m² paper (2020 stock, on which I note the sizing/coating is different from older stock I have). I note that there is some woolliness in the outlines of the ink marks; I wouldn't have expected that with Platinum Carbon Black on (older stock) Rhodia DotPad paper.

 

In the absence of a factory-supplied ink converter in the Majohn A1 I received, I transplanted the Pilot CON-50 converter (still filled with Platinum Carbon Black) into it; and, no, it didn't just work, but it's very difficult for me to diagnose what exactly were the problems, and whether a possibly imperfect fit of the converter has anything to do with it.

 

By the time I finally got it working and writing (smoothly) using the same converter and fill of ink, and on the same sheet of paper, lays down lines of ~0.35mm wide. The tines were pressed really tightly together out-of-the-box, and I couldn't get ink flowing properly through onto paper; the marks I managed to make sporadically were a light sepia in colour (i.e. writing very dryly). Trying to floss between the tines with a strip of old developed 35mm film put cuts in the film's substrate; and the nib is extremely stiff, and heavily resisted being manipulated with my fingernails. The nib slit is not perfectly aligned with the clip, once the nib assembly was installed in the pen (and locked in place by the tab on the metal cylinder of the nib unit, which is ever-so-slightly off centre), but sits slightly rotated.

 

(I've since removed the Pilot converter from the Majohn A1, and replaced it with the empty cartridge and protective metal shell supplied, after cleaning the nib unit. Surprisingly, now the nib slit is in alignment with the clip. I can't quite understand at this point how that works.)

 

p.s. Switching to Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, and using the cartridge and metal shell as the ink reservoir, before handing the pen over to my wife seems to help reduce the line width not insignificantly. It still writes nowhere near a Pilot EF nib, of course.

 

[MarioR81]

6 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

 

p.s. Switching to Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, and using the cartridge and metal shell as the ink reservoir, before handing the pen over to my wife seems to help reduce the line width not insignificantly. It still writes nowhere near a Pilot EF nib, of course.

 

 

So despite  the line width looks like this clone is "as good" as the original?

 

[A Smug Dill]

10 minutes ago, MarioR81 said:

So despite  the line width looks like this clone is "as good" as the original?

 

Nope, certainly not as good, ignoring the question of bang for buck. It's got 80% or more right, I'd say; but the EF nib is neither ground well enough to be fit for purpose (in my opinion), and even if the line width was exactly as intended by the manufacturer, how tight the tines were pressed together, to the point of ink not flowing, out-of-the-box is a QC issue. Sometime misalignment of the nib slit and the clip, once the nib unit is installed and held in fixed orientation by the metal tab, is another. There is something subtly different about the ‘knock’ mechanism; the button doesn't seem to engage the plastic disc right underneath it correctly, when the two halves of the pen body are separated. It takes more pressure to engage and screw the two halves back together when the nib unit is already install in the business end, and the ‘knock’ button is not in the nib-retracted position, than with the ‘original’ Pilot Capless matt black Vanishing Point I have here; so not being able to toggle the ‘knock’ mechanism's state while the two halves are separated can make for some uncomfortable instances of reassembly.

 

And all that is before I know anything about the pen's sealing effectiveness against ink drying out when the nib is retracted.

[Karmachanic]

40 minutes ago, MarioR81 said:

 

So despite  the line width looks like this clone is "as good" as the original?

 

 

I'd say for now, yes. Besides the fact that the steel nib does not have the bounce of the original.  Check back in a year.  In my experience the A1 puts down a line very close to the VP F.

[MarioR81]

nice thanks

[J120]

In my opinion,  it is as good as the original with some improvements.  The first is they made the section one piece so there won't be the glue issue where some VPs front section comes unglued over time. The volume at which these pens are produced eliminate any longterm worries about finding a part in the event you might need one. Inevitability there will be parts sold individually. The VP nib units and Pilot cartridges fit perfectly so there is always that option.

 

I am comparing it daily with VPs and if I did not know there was a difference there would not be much difference. Having to align the nib unit when twisting it on instead of it sitting in place is true but minor because it does not affect the use of any of the 9 models I own. There are no rattling or jamming issues. 

The empty cap cartridge is a nice touch, though you can do the same thing if you are willing to press the used pilot cartridges inner plastic disc back in place, just not as efficient as getting a cap.

 

Each person's tolerances and mileage will vary but at the end of the day is is a Majohn VP. I am going on three weeks. Every time I pull these out at work or the home office they write. No skips, no issues. I have cartridges and converters in. I have the original cartridges and converters in some, Pilot products in the others. They all work. Unless I am just lucky, that is 9 pens and counting that seal. 

 

Improvements? I wish they would just release the other models and colors now instead of waiting until after the Chinese New Year. 

 

 

 

[J120]

This is the state of things with the Majohn A1 being sold on Ebay. The sell price exploration and generic email circus continues. At this point I will only be buying straight from the manufacturer on Taobao in the future. There are only 3 sellers I can name at the moment who do not conduct business like this. It is a bad look when a few try to take advantage when there is money to be made by being upfront about what stock you have and what price point you want to make money at. Buyers beware....

 

 

This is the generic email you might get on Ebay or Aliexpress at some point:

 

 

Thanks for your purchase in our store.
When we prepared the item,we found there was something wrong with the whole batch order,so we need to exchange with the supplier,but the new batch has not been sent out,so we can't confirm when it will be available.

Would it be possible that we cancel this order first?When the new batch come,we will let you know and give you best price,please think about this.
Looking forwards to your earliest reply.

 

 

 

[kpong11]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:25 AM, J120 said:

Improvements? I wish they would just release the other models and colors now instead of waiting until after the Chinese New Year. 

 

 

 

May pick one, if they consider to make it in facet version

[J120]

The clipless Piano Black version is now available on Taobao. As of today, each model should come in both forms but we only have 10 versions "available " at various times for purchase. I would expect a more robust release cycle after the Chinese New Year. 

[Karmachanic]

And I thought I had no interest in the clipless version.

[Aditlojs]

On 1/4/2022 at 7:46 PM, J120 said:

This is the state of things with the Majohn A1 being sold on Ebay. The sell price exploration and generic email circus continues. At this point I will only be buying straight from the manufacturer on Taobao in the future. There are only 3 sellers I can name at the moment who do not conduct business like this. It is a bad look when a few try to take advantage when there is money to be made by being upfront about what stock you have and what price point you want to make money at. Buyers beware....

 

 

This is the generic email you might get on Ebay or Aliexpress at some point:

 

 

Thanks for your purchase in our store.
When we prepared the item,we found there was something wrong with the whole batch order,so we need to exchange with the supplier,but the new batch has not been sent out,so we can't confirm when it will be available.

Would it be possible that we cancel this order first?When the new batch come,we will let you know and give you best price,please think about this.
Looking forwards to your earliest reply.

 

 

 

 

 

I received a more personalized email from an Etsy seller.  They mentioned the extreme lock down happening in China right now.  They can't get to the pens or ship the pens.  Could it be that these sellers cut a corner and just sent out english emails that they had previously prepared?  In the end, the result is the same.  They can't currently fulfill the order and suggest cancelling.  

 

 

[J120]

 

You do not cancel an already paid order due to delay. 

 

I ordered pens directly from the manufacturer's page recently. They got stuck at the airport for 21 days. They eventually made it here. 

 

If you have stock, you are shipping orders, and you are having the same issues as everyone else you would have no reason to cancel.  I would assume most people like myself would wait under the circumstances.

 

This is price fishing.  That seller sent the generic "bad batch" email. They are claiming defective models. I find that to be sketchy and convenient. They also did not offer to wait for replacements or ask for  understanding for the delay. They jumped to refund and cancelation so you cannot leave negative reviews. 

 

 

[OCArt]

What is the URL for the Majohn website please?

8 minutes ago, J120 said:

[snipped....]I ordered pens directly from the manufacturer's page recently. [....snipped]

 

[A Smug Dill]

21 minutes ago, J120 said:

They jumped to refund and cancelation so you cannot leave negative reviews. 

 

Sellers on AliExpress, in my experience, almost always do that.

 

If you as the customer don't press the “Extend processing time” button, the order will get cancelled automatically by the system if it is not marked as shipped 9(?) days after an order is placed, anyway.

 

We simply have no visibility as to which cancellation does what to the seller's standing or rating on the marketplace platform.

 

…

 

Nevertheless, Taobao simply doesn't work for me for the three categories of things I'd be interested in buying: fountain pens, bottled inks, and books on Chinese calligraphy. Bottled inks because Chinese postal regulations prohibit shipment of any liquid out of China; fountain pens, because Taobao sellers are wary the one or two ink cartridges included in retail packages of c/c-filled pens will cause a shipment to be stopped and rejected/confiscated/dumped by Chinese Customs officials on account of the no-liquid rule; and books, because even for the sellers who will accept orders with overseas delivery addresses, the shipping costs are exorbitant and dwarf the price of the books, especially when I'm usually after very thick volumes.

 

I'm not going to arrange for the goods to be shipped to a consolidation-and-forwarding service, either, and let the seller wash its hands off completely as soon as an order has been delivered to some warehouse's address in China.

 

So, for now AliExpress remains to me the only practical and viable option (in some instances) for ordering hobby-related products from mainland China.

 

12 minutes ago, OCArt said:

What is the URL for the Majohn website please?

 

HongDian, Majohn, etc. do not have corporate websites for listing or showcasing its products to consumers globally, if that's what you're asking for. Majohn probably has a website designed to attract commercial interest from prospective retailers; I know HongDian does. If you want to see the brand's products, and as much of the manufacturer's own/original marketing collateral for them, you need to be looking for their official (or “flagship”) stores on Chinese-language marketplace platforms, such as Taobao and JD, which are operated independently and aimed at a domestic audience.

 

[J120]

I hear you on the ink. 

I stick to pens and paper shipments in bulk. 

 

I just buy in bulk and pay the shipping freight which has never been more than $15 for the pens. I never get less than 10 of anything but I know most people will frown at having to do that. I will say no middle man, no upcharge, access to the product upon domestic release,  and things that may not be released on traditional US access channels does it for me. 

 

My coworkers appreciate the constant new pens days because I buy in bulk and I have to give away the excess. I do not mind buying in bulk but I know that might put some off. It is currently the only method to reduce the freight.