Demo Admok J400 models

[Dan Carmell]

Two things at once: prices have dropped for this model as low as $27 and Admok has introduced the J400 in a clear demo mode, in either silver or gold trim. There are also other new colorways and past colors now in silver trim available at the links below.

 

The first two links are from an AliExpress store that’s new to me, Best Stationery (I bought 4 from them). If you want a known, reliable vendor, the third link is to the J400s at 365Days Stationery, although their selection is more limited. 
 

Friday another site-wide sale begins and with store coupons as well, it’s a good time to buy. 
 

FYI I have asked 365Days if the J800 is available in demo mode as well, and pointed out that it would likely to be very popular. Please remember there’s a

‘365 Days Stationery Store’ now on AliExpress with similar inventory but higher prices. The known store is ‘365Days Stationery Store,’ with no space between 365 and Days. (FWIW I have no relationship with 365Days other than asking them questions too often 😂 and buying pens at regular or sale prices.)
 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_msjibMP

 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq1d4mr

 

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMUujoB

Edited November 21 by Dan Carmell
To add photo!

[niuben]

Normally, I am interested a specific product so I can ignore some not-friendly pen brands who list China and Tanwan in their "country" menu(In fact, I admit the current situation, but I don't feel the same way in terms my stance, especially after seeing the website of Faber-Castell). But sometimes it is not easily to ignore them. The admok brands do cheat consumers in China, they sent a broken pen to a girl and with a very bad attitude to solve the problem although the consumer have  aleady gained compensates. Admok is a 小作坊,其对百利金的模仿也就那么回事，我并不推荐购买。

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

Despite the seemingly popularity of Admok on social media, my attitude towards this 100% copy-cat new brand remains unchanged from Day 1: avoid it. 

 

@niuben just mentioned a recent dispute from Admok, which caused a bit fuss among pen enthurists in China. The management and attitude towards customer of Admok is in a state of absolute SH(bleep)IT. Regarding design work, there is none from Admok. So, what is the value of Admok?

 

HD for its crowded design elements on barrel and LIR (Low Ink Refill);

JH for its monster converter under $10;

MJ for its occasional tribute to some timeless classic otherwise you never afford, but definitely long term fair with MB146. 

 

What is Admok for? knock off replacement parts of Pelikan? If all China pens companies operated in the same way as Admok, pen industry of China is going back to hell, again. 

 

 

[Dan Carmell]

This is all interesting. I’m sure there’s more to the story about the young woman with the broken Admok pen, but Chinese pen buyers must have very high expectations of pen companies. If we stopped buying pens because a company was rude or unhelpful, we would not be able to buy pens, because such things happen constantly. 
 

As for why the Admok pens are popular with Westerners, the answer is simple: look at the price of the Pelikan 800. Admok makes a decent pen that is the size and shape of an M800 for 1/10 of the price. Really, there’s nothing more to say about it. 
 

I have to say it’s a huge benefit to have posts from people living in China and involved in the pen forums there, so I hope we hear a lot more from people. Sometimes trying to understand what’s going on with Chinese pens (and not understanding Chinese) is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. 

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

40 minutes ago, Dan Carmell said:

This is all interesting. I’m sure there’s more to the story about the young woman with the broken Admok pen, but Chinese pen buyers must have very high expectations of pen companies. If we stopped buying pens because a company was rude or unhelpful, we would not be able to buy pens, because such things happen constantly. 
 

As for why the Admok pens are popular with Westerners, the answer is simple: look at the price of the Pelikan 800. Admok makes a decent pen that is the size and shape of an M800 for 1/10 of the price. Really, there’s nothing more to say about it. 
 

I have to say it’s a huge benefit to have posts from people living in China and involved in the pen forums there, so I hope we hear a lot more from people. Sometimes trying to understand what’s going on with Chinese pens (and not understanding Chinese) is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. 

Exactly. sometimes the reputation of one brand/ product totally reverses, compared with China domestic and overseas. This is common. 

 

I was so into some hand craft mechanical pencil from Japan. Then some very knowledgeable local gentleman on this forum revealed more facts of the maker, which helped me understand the heat in depth: It was a game between middle school students. 

[niuben]

On 11/25/2024 at 12:38 AM, Dan Carmell said:

This is all interesting. I’m sure there’s more to the story about the young woman with the broken Admok pen, but Chinese pen buyers must have very high expectations of pen companies. If we stopped buying pens because a company was rude or unhelpful, we would not be able to buy pens, because such things happen constantly. 
 

As for why the Admok pens are popular with Westerners, the answer is simple: look at the price of the Pelikan 800. Admok makes a decent pen that is the size and shape of an M800 for 1/10 of the price. Really, there’s nothing more to say about it. 
 

I have to say it’s a huge benefit to have posts from people living in China and involved in the pen forums there, so I hope we hear a lot more from people. Sometimes trying to understand what’s going on with Chinese pens (and not understanding Chinese) is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. 

Well, the design of Pelikan can't get my money and their nibs are not so good to write Chinese (at least for me). But if you're just looking for a replica in the style of the M800, it may be worth a try.

[A Smug Dill]

49 minutes ago, niuben said:

Well, the design of Pelikan can't get my money and their nibs are not so good to write Chinese (at least for me).

 

Whereas I'm happy enough with Pelikan piston-fillers' (pen body) design, fit and finish, and cap seal effectiveness; and (my wife and) I have rewarded the brand by buying literally umpteen M1xx, M2xx, M4xx, M6xx and M8xx pens, in spite of my general distrust of its nibs. So I can't get past the opportunity to get (in this case, Admok) pens that has that form, but doesn't use those nibs; at the least, I want to know if the ‘challenger’ has managed to replicate the cap seal effectiveness and the small number of turns to uncap.† I was doubly ‘happy’ that Admok had chosen two other German nib brands' offerings as the default options for the J800 line, so I can compare German nib against German nib, all without compromising on the design of the pen body.

 

Yes, I did buy an Admok kit to refit a genuine Pelikan Souverän M8xx nib, on account of having multiple of them but just one M815 into which they would fit; the very reason why I ended up with the extra nib units was because I wasn't happy with what came factory-fitted (and I ham-fistedly reground it fully cognisant that I was destroying resale value).

 

As far as writing in Chinese goes, I guess it depends on how tall (and wide) one's handwriting is. Some of the M20x EF nibs are OK even for 5mm-tall hanzi characters. I personally don't subscribe to the school of thought that the handwriting of “the average person” using a particular language ought to be significantly what is common in print (e.g. in paperback novels); having that level of precision and control is something to aspire to, as a matter of technical proficiency, in my opinion.

 

† I will say that both Pelikan Mxxx and the ‘copycat’ Admok J800 are apt to ‘uncap’ seemingly by themselves even when just kept strapped down inside pen cases that occasionally get moved around.

[niuben]

3 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Whereas I'm happy enough with Pelikan piston-fillers' (pen body) design, fit and finish, and cap seal effectiveness; and (my wife and) I have rewarded the brand by buying literally umpteen M1xx, M2xx, M4xx, M6xx and M8xx pens, in spite of my general distrust of its nibs. So I can't get past the opportunity to get (in this case, Admok) pens that has that form, but doesn't use those nibs; at the least, I want to know if the ‘challenger’ has managed to replicate the cap seal effectiveness and the small number of turns to uncap.† I was doubly ‘happy’ that Admok had chosen two other German nib brands' offerings as the default options for the J800 line, so I can compare German nib against German nib, all without compromising on the design of the pen body.

 

Yes, I did buy an Admok kit to refit a genuine Pelikan Souverän M8xx nib, on account of having multiple of them but just one M815 into which they would fit; the very reason why I ended up with the extra nib units was because I wasn't happy with what came factory-fitted (and I ham-fistedly reground it fully cognisant that I was destroying resale value).

 

As far as writing in Chinese goes, I guess it depends on how tall (and wide) one's handwriting is. Some of the M20x EF nibs are OK even for 5mm-tall hanzi characters. I personally don't subscribe to the school of thought that the handwriting of “the average person” using a particular language ought to be significantly what is common in print (e.g. in paperback novels); having that level of precision and control is something to aspire to, as a matter of technical proficiency, in my opinion.

 

† I will say that both Pelikan Mxxx and the ‘copycat’ Admok J800 are apt to ‘uncap’ seemingly by themselves even when just kept strapped down inside pen cases that occasionally get moved around.

Wow, I didn’t know those facts about the pen caps. I always thought they would be very reliable and wouldn’t open by themselves (another point I don’t like). I’m not sure about your writing habits, but for me, I really don’t have much fondness for modern round nibs. Of course, all of this is just my personal opinion, and everyone has their own preferences. I wish you happy pen collecting

[Armo]

I have a J400 in black, not a fan of too much bling, and had the same problem with the cap coming loose but it seems to have sorted itself out. This pen is always inked and has become my daily carry. Unlike the Pelikan, it doesn't come with any options for an ink window (unless you buy the demonstrator version) but is cheap enough that should anything untoward happen to it I wont be crying in my beer for a week. It's a lovely writer and I have become a great fan.

[Dan Carmell]

10 hours ago, niuben said:

Wow, I didn’t know those facts about the pen caps. I always thought they would be very reliable and wouldn’t open by themselves (another point I don’t like). I’m not sure about your writing habits, but for me, I really don’t have much fondness for modern round nibs. Of course, all of this is just my personal opinion, and everyone has their own preferences. I wish you happy pen collecting

In contrast to modern round nibs, I guess you mean fude or bent type nibs? The PenBBS ‘normal’ Fine, as opposed to their round Fine, is more pleasant to use and works better with my handwriting. Looking at the PenBBS Fine nib, it is slightly elongated compared to a round fine and while I understand that’s an adoption to suit writing in Chinese, I think it makes for a better tip over all. 

[niuben]

18 hours ago, Dan Carmell said:

In contrast to modern round nibs, I guess you mean fude or bent type nibs? The PenBBS ‘normal’ Fine, as opposed to their round Fine, is more pleasant to use and works better with my handwriting. Looking at the PenBBS Fine nib, it is slightly elongated compared to a round fine and while I understand that’s an adoption to suit writing in Chinese, I think it makes for a better tip over all. 

Oh ， I mean Ir and I don't know how to express it in English. The modern one, 下水太充沛且写感太滑，我个人实在喜欢不起来，当然有机会我会买一根试试看，我还没有拥有过百利金/笑哭😂