So What's the Story on Chinese Pens?

[jor412]

That's too bad about the Duke. Dukes have decent reputations so I bought a Beijing Opera 805. It was bit of a dry writer so I tweaked it. No problems with it after that. My only thing against it is that the nib seems to me to be a #2 or at the most a #3. The pen would've looked better with a slightly larger nib. Other than that, it's a beautiful well-made pen.

About the Kaigelu - I'd get a Kaigelu Parker lookalike in a heartbeat if it weren't so heavy.

[jd50ae]

This discussion seems to come up on every forum.
I have Duke, Jinhao and Namixin pens.
As far as I know they were all made in Germany.
I think the first "Chinese" pens I bought were from www.ISellPens.com.
I won't buy one unless it has the manufacturers nib and not the IRG variety.
They have all been exceptionally smooth and write the first time right out of the box.
I have had to buy doubles of a couple because my wife has absconded with the first ones.
And lucky for me they have all been larger pens.

[KrazyIvan]

Common misconception about where they are made because of the usual "Iridium Made in Germany" stamp on a lot of Chinese pens. I was confused about this at first. They are made in China but the iridium tipping (if it really is an iridium point) on the nib is made in Germany.

[jd50ae]

They are indeed made in Germany.

[writingrav]

They are indeed made in Germany.

Ok, can someone clear this up. I'm going with what KrazyIvan said. The nibs tipping is sourced from Germany but the pens are indeed made in China. Does everyone agree?

[Ziggy1333]

I'm pretty sure the Duke nibs are German made.....

Anyway what difference does it make, Dukes as far as my experience goes (I have 4 of them) are pretty smooth writers, Found them to be more reliable then Jinhao. But that's not to say that I have some great results with the Jinhao, they're fun to toy around with and practice smoothing and the what not....

[Saintpaulia]

Interesting thread. I have just begun my Chinese pens odyssey. Thus far not good. Based upon reviews of Dukes and Kaigelus I ordered at Duke D07 and a Kaigelu 357.

The Duke will not write decently at all. I've tried every thing I know how to do (which isn't alot-I still don't know how to "tweak" a nib), mainly cleaning it really really good. The nib-feed will not come out of the model I have. There is just no adequate flow.

The Kaigelu is a bit better. It at least writes and puts out ink but only up to a point. You know how someone will test a pen by quickly running the nib over paper sideways to see how much ink the pen lays down? Like its really fast back and forth sideways? This pen will not lay down hardly any ink that way. But if you do the same thing up and down it lays down a goodly amount. Now, what would cause this? Is it the nib that is at fault? - i.e. the nib lays out ink up and down vertically but not sideways horizontally? It should lay down ink both ways shouldn't it?

Now this Kaigulu does allow removal of the nib and feed, which I stumbled upon. I cleaned it really good this way after already cleaning it good before. It helped. But it still will not lay out ink horizontally in a test of how much ink it is capable of putting out, of keeping up with the demands made on the nib.

I liked both of these brands in their aesthetic sense. They have some good designers over there. But a pen that looks beautiful but will not emit adequate aflow is not pretty in my book. I have one more coming, a Picasso. We will see what it does.

[Saintpaulia]

To administration. I think there should be a sub-forum for Chinese pens. In a way, they are more important right now than, say, Italian pens. There are more questions and concerns with them for one thing. More stuff that is being tried and which fails or works. Chinese pens are of the moment and cutting-edge. Italian pens are old news. Not that there is anything wrong with old news! In other words, there is just as much happening forum-wise with the Chinese pens as there are with any other existing sub-forum devoted to a country.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Interesting thread. I have just begun my Chinese pens odyssey. Thus far not good. Based upon reviews of Dukes and Kaigelus I ordered at Duke D07 and a Kaigelu 357.

The Duke will not write decently at all. I've tried every thing I know how to do (which isn't alot-I still don't know how to "tweak" a nib), mainly cleaning it really really good. The nib-feed will not come out of the model I have. There is just no adequate flow.

The Kaigelu is a bit better. It at least writes and puts out ink but only up to a point. You know how someone will test a pen by quickly running the nib over paper sideways to see how much ink the pen lays down? Like its really fast back and forth sideways? This pen will not lay down hardly any ink that way. But if you do the same thing up and down it lays down a goodly amount. Now, what would cause this? Is it the nib that is at fault? - i.e. the nib lays out ink up and down vertically but not sideways horizontally? It should lay down ink both ways shouldn't it?

Now this Kaigulu does allow removal of the nib and feed, which I stumbled upon. I cleaned it really good this way after already cleaning it good before. It helped. But it still will not lay out ink horizontally in a test of how much ink it is capable of putting out, of keeping up with the demands made on the nib.

I liked both of these brands in their aesthetic sense. They have some good designers over there. But a pen that looks beautiful but will not emit adequate aflow is not pretty in my book. I have one more coming, a Picasso. We will see what it does.

I have one single Hero and one other Chinese pen (which might be a Haolilai, not sure) that have so far eluded my attempts to get them writing well. Good luck with these pens and if you don't mind my asking, where did you get them?

[writingrav]

Interesting thread. I have just begun my Chinese pens odyssey. Thus far not good. Based upon reviews of Dukes and Kaigelus I ordered at Duke D07 and a Kaigelu 357.

The Duke will not write decently at all. I've tried every thing I know how to do (which isn't alot-I still don't know how to "tweak" a nib), mainly cleaning it really really good. The nib-feed will not come out of the model I have. There is just no adequate flow.

The Kaigelu is a bit better. It at least writes and puts out ink but only up to a point. You know how someone will test a pen by quickly running the nib over paper sideways to see how much ink the pen lays down? Like its really fast back and forth sideways? This pen will not lay down hardly any ink that way. But if you do the same thing up and down it lays down a goodly amount. Now, what would cause this? Is it the nib that is at fault? - i.e. the nib lays out ink up and down vertically but not sideways horizontally? It should lay down ink both ways shouldn't it?

Now this Kaigulu does allow removal of the nib and feed, which I stumbled upon. I cleaned it really good this way after already cleaning it good before. It helped. But it still will not lay out ink horizontally in a test of how much ink it is capable of putting out, of keeping up with the demands made on the nib.

I liked both of these brands in their aesthetic sense. They have some good designers over there. But a pen that looks beautiful but will not emit adequate aflow is not pretty in my book. I have one more coming, a Picasso. We will see what it does.

It is certainly a hit or miss adventure. I have Wing Sun's that I can't use, my Kaigelu works well and 2 out of 3 Jinhao's are absolutely superb writers from the get go. The good news is that these pens cost so little compared to other brands that the risk is potentially worth it. If all the money I've spent on Chinese pens added together yielded me 2 superb writing instruments, beautifully styled, I can't complain.

[KrazyIvan]

Just a guess but I think the tines are too close together. When you do the vertical stroke, you may be flexing the nib just slightly and opening the tines so more ink flows. When you do the horizontal strokes it tends to close the tines, hence no ink flow, especially if they are already closed up tight. Hold the nib up to a light. You should be able to see a uniform slit of light all the way to the nib. If it closes up at the nib, you know it's too tight and restricting flow.

The easiest way to open up the tines is to hold the pen as if you were going to write with it on a hard but cushioned surface and at about 45 degrees. I do this on my desk glass top with my desk pad on top. Then just press down so that the tines spread apart. Be careful and don't press so hard that you damage the nib. It is a steel nib so it will take a bit of pressure but don't go crazy with it. Do it once then check your work. "Rinse and repeat" until you get the desired flow.

[Saintpaulia]

Just a guess but I think the tines are too close together. When you do the vertical stroke, you may be flexing the nib just slightly and opening the tines so more ink flows. When you do the horizontal strokes it tends to close the tines, hence no ink flow, especially if they are already closed up tight. Hold the nib up to a light. You should be able to see a uniform slit of light all the way to the nib. If it closes up at the nib, you know it's too tight and restricting flow.

The easiest way to open up the tines is to hold the pen as if you were going to write with it on a hard but cushioned surface and at about 45 degrees. I do this on my desk glass top with my desk pad on top. Then just press down so that the tines spread apart. Be careful and don't press so hard that you damage the nib. It is a steel nib so it will take a bit of pressure but don't go crazy with it. Do it once then check your work. "Rinse and repeat" until you get the desired flow.

KI, that's it? Just press down on the nib? Nothing put betw. the tines to ease them apart? I mean, after the pressing down, would not the tines just go back to the orientation and distance apart they had before? But yes you are right, the "daylight" does not extend all the way to the nib tip, not by a long chalk. Also, should this procedure be done while the pen is inked up?

[KrazyIvan]

KI, that's it? Just press down on the nib? Nothing put betw. the tines to ease them apart? I mean, after the pressing down, would not the tines just go back to the orientation and distance apart they had before? But yes you are right, the "daylight" does not extend all the way to the nib tip, not by a long chalk. Also, should this procedure be done while the pen is inked up?

I am assuming you do not have tools so, that is it. Your aim is to bend the tines outward to open the slit without actually bending the tines away from the feed or springing the nib. I do it with the pen inked so I can check my work immediately. I also have a slight variation where I actually grip the tines with my thumbs and push on them from the feed side something like this, just with two hands and some slight pain involved :


Nib adjustments. by IvanRomero, on Flickr

You will need to make sure your nib tines are also aligned after the whole thing.

TWSBI has a video that I will have to look for that shows a different method of doing the same thing. It involved some cushioned pliers. It is easier to adjust the nib that way but now you are introducing a tool that has leverage in the equation that can make things go wrong a lot faster.

[KrazyIvan]

Found the TWSBI video. http://youtu.be/x0pNht6vsfE

[Saintpaulia]

Thanks alot KI. Actually since posting my last, I got out my binocular microscope (usually used in my botanical work), and looked at the nib of my Kaigelu 357. I had a piece of Clairefontaine paper under it on the microscope stage. I pressed down on the nib as per your suggestion. I could see "daylight" all the way to the tip doing it this way. The distance betw. the tines seemed uniform and wide enough to see daylight reflected off of my paper into the nib (I use a microscope light, very focused and bright). So this does not seem to be the problem. I will have a look at the linked video next that you kindly provided. Breck

[KrazyIvan]

The magnification is going to exaggerate the spacing, just keep that in mind. All of my good flowing pens have the slit uniformly spaced. Assuming good vision and if you can't see the light without magnification it still might be too tight.

[Saintpaulia]

The magnification is going to exaggerate the spacing, just keep that in mind. All of my good flowing pens have the slit uniformly spaced. Assuming good vision and if you can't see the light without magnification it still might be too tight.

Frankly Ivan, I cannot see any space betw. the tines with my naked eyes. I have legendarily poor vision. Can I at least use a loupe? My microscope can be set at 7X too by the way. Anyhow, let's say that the space is still not wide enough betw. the tines. Not having a pair of pliers, or whatever, like that fellow had in the TWSBI video, how do I spread 'em? I've done the simple pressing down, as you know. So if that doesn't do it, what's next? (Keep in mind please that I bought my first fountain pen in this current life span only three and a half months ago! It says under my user name "Junior Member" - that characterization is correct!

[Saintpaulia]

I have one single Hero and one other Chinese pen (which might be a Haolilai, not sure) that have so far eluded my attempts to get them writing well. Good luck with these pens and if you don't mind my asking, where did you get them?

Not at all. I got both at eBay via the Chinese vendors. For the Duke that would be the comeon1788 and for the Kaigelu, new_trust1. Given that the Duke has been one big hassle I have to give comeon1788 extra points for good communication before and after the sale.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hope you get 'em writing well!

[Saintpaulia]

Hope you get 'em writing well!

Thanks. I am still hoping for a followup answer to this question from my last post to KrazyIvan: "Anyhow, let's say that the space is still not wide enough betw. the tines. Not having a pair of pliers, or whatever, like that fellow had in the TWSBI video, how do I spread 'em? I've done the simple pressing down, as you know. So if that doesn't do it, what's next?"

Or anyone else for that matter. I would like to use this pen but in its current condition it is only writing at about half its potential.