I got this pen today

[inkstainedruth]

Oh, I'm with you on that!  I hate tossing cartridges in the trash, only to have them end up in a landfill somewhere; but I also hate refilling them (especially if I want to use a different ink from what was originally in them, because I also then have to clean them out well first...).

At the moment, I do have a cartridge in the Reform "Westinghouse" pen -- and I keep having to add distilled water to it because it's so dried up (it's one of the cartridges of Edelstein Amethyst, from my very first Pelikan Hub; and I've got 2 or 3 more to go in THAT tin, and then another set of cartridges in a tin that someone tossed into the "free for anyone who wants it" box at my local pen club a while back.  

I DO like the color of Edelstein Amethyst, and have considered refilling the next cartridge from the bottle, but of course that's also a PITA (plus then having to flush out the syringe).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Paul-in-SF]

I ordered a Jinhao 9019 based on various reviews, and it arrived today. I inked it immediately with Lamy Blue, but the "immediately" was probably a mistake, it doesn't write at all. No ink passes through the feed towards the nib. So I guess I will have to empty it out and do whatever flushing/ultrasonic it takes to get some ink to pass through, and then I can test whether the nib is any good or not. Le sigh. My first-world problem with a 2nd-world(?) pen. 

[Paul-in-SF]

3 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

I guess I will have to empty it out and do whatever flushing/ultrasonic it takes to get some ink to pass through, and then I can test whether the nib is any good or not.

 

I was wrong about the problem, the feed is apparently fine. The tines were just smashed together at the tip so no ink could pass. A little flossing and it writes fine now. Although since I had already emptied it, I will probably flush it out for good measure anyway before I ink it up again. 

[A Smug Dill]

Two Admok M800 (or is that just 800?) piston-fillers I ordered on Taobao.

 

Electing to pay a little bit (not even US$2) more this time for air mail, this order was delivered in 15 days, never mind I placed it just after Chinese New Year and delays were reasonably expected.

 

(In my one and only previous Taobao order, the contents were mostly paper products, and the difference in shipping charges between surface mail and sea mail was formidable. The parcel took six weeks or so to arrive, and wasn't in the greatest shape looking at it from the outside.)

[Brandywine]

8 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

I ordered a Jinhao 9019 based on various reviews, and it arrived today. I inked it immediately with Lamy Blue, but the "immediately" was probably a mistake, it doesn't write at all. No ink passes through the feed towards the nib. So I guess I will have to empty it out and do whatever flushing/ultrasonic it takes to get some ink to pass through, and then I can test whether the nib is any good or not. Le sigh. My first-world problem with a 2nd-world(?) pen. 

 

It is always a good idea to flush any pen from China before first use. 

They usually do not care much about end control and many of them still have production residue in the system. 

If possible, I also reassemble the feed and nib as mostly they are assembled in haste and carelessly.

That is the price you have to pay for cheap pens. 😉

[A Smug Dill]

4 minutes ago, Brandywine said:

It is always a good idea to flush any pen from China before first use. 

 

I find nothing to disagree with that statement at face value, because it also applies to any fountain pen generally, from China or otherwise. Pens from China are not uniquely or atypically in ‘need’ of precautionary handling; but it certainly does not mean they're free from it.

 

6 minutes ago, Brandywine said:

They usually do not care much about end control and many of them still have production residue in the system.

 

Considering that, from my observations, in 2023 (if not since earlier) HongDian has systematically tested the vast majority, if not all, of nibs with red ink before the pens on which the nibs are fitted leave the factory, and likewise Jinhao with blue ink, yes, there is residue in the system (particularly the feed) that the new owner ought to flush out of the pen before first inking.

 

I can't say the major European brands is doing the same in terms of broad-based testing. I know LAMY test some, if not all, of its new Safari and AL-star pens in that way with blue ink, but I'm not sure it even extends to the Scala and Accent (also fitted with Z50 steel nibs), Imporium (fitted with Z56 or Z57 gold nibs), etc. Aurora tests the nibs on some of its high-end models before sending them out; but, in my experience, that does not include steel-nibbed models such as the Ipsilon or the Tu. I haven't seen any evidence that Pelikan or Faber-Castell does that, across ten or more pens of either brand that I own.

 

Even some Japanese ‘Big Three’ brands sometimes supplied (factory-sealed) pens that benefitted from flushing with dilute detergent solution and then just water, to ensure consistent ink flow.

[Penguincollector]

  Those Admok brand pens are very pretty, the 800s and other models that I have seen popping up online.  Have you tried any other models, @A Smug Dill? 
 

  I went for these bargain priced pens from Aliexpress, with animals (no penguins, but still very cute) and a Safari clone with a very soft almost plush feeling to it: 

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

13 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

Have you tried any other models, @A Smug Dill? 

 

I only have one other Admok pen, from some time ago, which is essentially a Moonman M100 (also fitted with a Schmidt nib unit, but being an FH241, which is smaller than the FH452 in certain variants of the Admok M800) in all ways but the name.

[Penguincollector]

1 minute ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

I only have one other Admok pen, from some time ago, which is essentially a Moonman M100 (also fitted with a Schmidt nib unit, but being an FH241, which is smaller than the FH452 in certain variants of the Admok M800) in all ways but the name.

 I just looked that one up, I like the shape and size of that one. 

[Baka1969]

[RedPie]

8 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

I went for these bargain priced pens from Aliexpress, with animals

They all look very happy! 😊

[A Smug Dill]

9 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

Those Admok brand pens are very pretty,

 

Both of my new Admok 800^† piston-fillers required non-trivial adjustment work to achieve the maximum potential ink capacity of the pen's design. After reseating the pistons, each pen gained about 0.5ml in ink capacity.

 

^† I looked on AliExpress and Taobao, but could not find any marketing image or text in product listings from/by Admok that put an M in front of the 800 in the pen model's designation. There is no mention of the model in the imprint on the cap band. Most listings on Taobao — including the Admok Store's — for the model call it ADMOK简800, but 简 (or 簡) in no way translates, transliterates, or alludes to M. Hence, I must conclude that I was wrong to refer to the model as the M800.

[ruby.monkey]

On 2/28/2024 at 8:44 AM, Brandywine said:

 

It is always a good idea to flush any pen from China before first use. 

They usually do not care much about end control and many of them still have production residue in the system. 

If possible, I also reassemble the feed and nib as mostly they are assembled in haste and carelessly.

That is the price you have to pay for cheap pens. 😉

I've bought at least a score of Chinese pens, cheap and mid-range, over the last few years. Not one has needed flushing in order to work properly.

[Penguincollector]

2 hours ago, RedPie said:

They all look very happy! 😊

  They are cheap and cheerful, as @Sailor Kenshin often says. I really enjoy these EF nibs, too. 
 

 

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Both of my new Admok 800^† piston-fillers required non-trivial adjustment work to achieve the maximum potential ink capacity of the pen's design. After reseating the pistons, each pen gained about 0.5ml in ink capacity.

 

^† I looked on AliExpress and Taobao, but could not find any marketing image or text in product listings from/by Admok that put an M in front of the 800 in the pen model's designation. There is no mention of the model in the imprint on the cap band. Most listings on Taobao — including the Admok Store's — for the model call it ADMOK简800, but 简 (or 簡) in no way translates, transliterates, or alludes to M. Hence, I must conclude that I was wrong to refer to the model as the M800.

  You were not alone referring to the Admok 800 as an M800, at least one video referred to the model as such. There was also a video where there was an extra finial with a familiar bird on it included with the pen. Fountain Pen Therapy is the channel.

[Penguincollector]

  My EF 2000 arrived today. A super bargain and overnight free delivery with Amazon Prime.

 

[Misfit]

I got a pen in the mail today. It’s a Sailor Compass HighAce Neo with a 1.0mm stub nib. I wrote with it in a Leuchtturm 1917 notebook. The converter is sold separately, and comes in several colors. 
 

[Baka1969]

 

Montblanc Starwalker Cool Blue <m>

[Prof Drew]

1 hour ago, Misfit said:

Sailor Compass HighAce Neo with a 1.0mm stub nib.

Do you like it? I like stub nibs too. Sailor made the HighAce for decades as their affordable FP. I have one that is very cool. Stainless steel. I wish the stubs were a bit narrower than 1.0 though. Happy writing!

[Prof Drew]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:28 AM, Penguincollector said:

EF 2000

Enjoy the 2000! I ordered one too. The feel is something else.

[Misfit]

15 minutes ago, Prof Drew said:

Do you like it? I like stub nibs too. Sailor made the HighAce for decades as their affordable FP. I have one that is very cool. Stainless steel. I wish the stubs were a bit narrower than 1.0 though. Happy writing!

So far so good. I usually buy pens with 1.1mm stub or italic nibs, so it’s a size I’m familiar with. I didn’t know the HighAce had been around so long. They do go up to 1.5mm and 2.0mm. I’ve found 1.5mm is almost too wide for daily writing. I wish there were more 1.3mn stub nibs. 
 

Franklin-Christoph specialty nibs, those made by nib meisters, run smaller than 1.0 for the B versions.