So What's the Story on Chinese Pens?

**writingrav** · April 19th, 2012, 04:38 AM

I recently purchased a Jihao X750 - the Ivory. It is a very smart looking pen and writes smoothly, feels great in my hand, I'm very happy with it. I have two other Jinhaos and two Wing Sungs (that I haven't inked yet.) The total cost for these 5 pens is ridiculously low and I'm wondering why I don't hear more about people wanting/getting/using Chinese pens? Have I been lucky so far? Will I be sorry? Is it somehow more cool to be putting out $200 rather than $35?

**John the Monkey** · April 19th, 2012, 07:00 AM

I'm glad you got writers, Rav.

I've had a the same Jinghao, and two Baoers (517s) that are stinkers - despite hours of attention, they only write if you squeeze the cart, or turn the convertor - and even then, only until that squeeze/turn's worth of ink is used.

Perhaps ironically, the best Chinese pens I have cost least - three Hero 616 Jumbos, that are decent writers, and incredibly reliable starters, even after being left for a week or so. I think, ultimately, it's that lack of consistency that's soured me against these inexpensive pens, personally. Whilst I got lucky with the Heros, the others have been massive disappointments.

**KrazyIvan** · April 19th, 2012, 09:16 AM

I buy chinese pens knowing that I am going to work on them and practice nib grinding with them. I have a lot of Chinese pens. I have found mostly good pens but there have been some dogs in the bunch. I have learned that a good pen will depend on where you get your pens. Ebay is my main source for Chinese pens but I also get them from isellpens.com (no affiliation). I hear hisnibs.com also has a good selection.

If you want Hero pens, get them from eBay user yespens or the retailers already mentioned. Others out there may be factory rejects or fakes, as ironic as that sounds. The best quality Chinese pens so far have been my Kaigelu pens. I purchased one of mine from eBay user jewelrymathematics ~~pmstylus~~ (sorry wrong ID, they sell Kaigelus out of California) and I figured out they are the supplier or somehow affiliated to isellpens.com. If you see some pen photos on isellpens.com and then look at jewelrymathematics ebay listings, you will understand. It is faster to get the pens through isellpens but I live about a 6 hour drive from his base of operations.

I like Jinhao pens. All of the Jinhaos I bought from ebay user Member id gotoschool888 have been good. Seller comeonXXXX (x= some numbers I don't remember right now) has been good too but takes longer to ship.

The two Huashilais I have purchased required major work to get them to write. This included feed modification. I have a feeling they were factory rejects because my Schrade tactical pen has the exact same feed and nib and it writes perfectly with cartridges. The ink channel seems more defined in the Schrade than the Huashilais. Those have been my only problem childs. gotoschool helped me with my first Chinese fountain pen that did not work, again a Huashilai. They told me to put the pen in very hot water for a few minutes then transfer immediately to cold water. I don't know if that helped clear out any machine oils but it worked and the pen has been fine since. I don't recommend using the hot water trick on other pens, you may damge the finish or feed on some pens.

I make it a point to flush the pens with amonia water before the first use and that seems to take care of a lot of problems. I do see some people taking the breather tube out of their Jinhaos for better flow. I have not had to do that though I do adjust the nib for more flow. I hope this has helped some.

**Bogon07** · April 19th, 2012, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by writingrav

I recently purchased a Jihao X750 - the Ivory. It is a very smart looking pen and writes smoothly, feels great in my hand, I'm very happy with it. I have two other Jinhaos and two Wing Sungs (that I haven't inked yet.) The total cost for these 5 pens is ridiculously low and I'm wondering why I don't hear more about people wanting/getting/using Chinese pens? Have I been lucky so far? Will I be sorry? Is it somehow more cool to be putting out $200 rather than $35?

I've wondered why there isn't a forum for Chinese pens like the Italian one too ?

There seems to be a range of interesting and affordable pens coming from there. However I'm sure over time there will be some more exclusive and expensive fountain pens from China in the near future.

Maybe there isn't enough of a tradition built up yet ?
Or perhaps the brand pronounciations have people stumped.

**manoeuver** · April 20th, 2012, 10:31 AM

There's something of a stigma on many Chinese manufactured goods. It's very easy to dismiss anything made there as a FEPOS. The iffy quality of a lot of Chinese goods is a major contributor obviously.

That's good news for people who enjoy good writers at cheap prices- to me and many others, pen in hand is more important than bragging rights on the fora.

I got a swarm of Bulow x750s last year as a present. I kept one for use (it's a good pen) and have given the others away to people I like, all of whom were thrilled.

jor412 · April 20th, 2012, 07:26 PM

I've only tried about 10 Chinese pens, but so far, I've had good luck with them. After practicing some nib smoothing, I gave most of them away. I plan on going downtown next week and getting some more to practice with. These aren't the fancier looking Chinese pens so they're even more cheap than cheap.

**KrazyIvan** · April 20th, 2012, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by manoeuver

I got a swarm of Bulow x750s last year as a present. I kept one for use (it's a good pen) and have given the others away to people I like, all of whom were thrilled.

Those are the Jinhao 159 (Big Black German cigar shaped pen look-a-likes) correct?

**fountainpenkid** · April 20th, 2012, 08:35 PM

I went to isellpens hero pages, and i saw a couple with gold nibs for under $50....are the gold nibs worth it--will you be less likely to get a lemon?

Will

**KrazyIvan** · April 20th, 2012, 08:47 PM

They are plated. Don't put to much stock in them as far as keeping the finish. I have a Jinhao X450 that the plating rubbed off while I was grinding the nib down and wiping it with a paper towel. Not too bad but it surprised me at how easy it came off.

**manoeuver** · April 21st, 2012, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by KrazyIvan

Those are the Jinhao 159 (Big Black German cigar shaped pen look-a-likes) correct?

No sir, these are a slip cap, they don't look as fancy as that 159. Link-http://www.xfountainpens.com/X750-Ve...ck-p/jh157.htm
I believe xfountainpens is the only outfit that has the Bulow brand, which is by many accounts congruent with Jinhao.

**KrazyIvan** · April 21st, 2012, 10:54 AM

Looks a little like the X450 by Jinhao but that cap band looks like what Huashilai does on there 3K model.

**fountainpenkid** · April 21st, 2012, 12:19 PM

wait....so the seller @ isellpens is lying about pens like the hero 110? he says that they are NOT plated...

**dannzeman** · April 21st, 2012, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Bogon07

I've wondered why there isn't a forum for Chinese pens like the Italian one too ?

There easily could be if there's demand for one.

**KrazyIvan** · April 21st, 2012, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by fountainpenkid

wait....so the seller @ isellpens is lying about pens like the hero 110? he says that they are NOT plated...

Did not see that one but if Todd says they are not plated, I would trust him. Be weary of the eBay ones.

**etoyoc** · April 24th, 2012, 03:31 AM

I won't buy any more Jinhao pens. At least not until my luck changes. They are cheap pens, but after getting burned on 4 different duds, I am not buying another. My experience is that they are poor starters, skip like crazy, stop writing after 1/2 page, and take a lot of fiddling with to get writing again.

I have a Hero 329 that was good until the clips inside the cap got bent, but it is still serviceable. I did get a cheap set of Hero 616 that were problematic, with some work they no longer spurt ink constantly. They still burp/blurt, but not as much as they did. As far as I know they may be the counterfeit ones. All in all, I would be willing to give Hero pens another chance, but not on a bulk purchased pen like the 616.

**isellpens** · April 28th, 2012, 01:46 PM

All my Hero pens are gold as advertised plus I guarantee them. Many of my pens you could not even buy a gold nib for the cost of the pen.

**Sailor Kenshin** · April 30th, 2012, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by writingrav

I recently purchased a Jihao X750 - the Ivory. It is a very smart looking pen and writes smoothly, feels great in my hand, I'm very happy with it. I have two other Jinhaos and two Wing Sungs (that I haven't inked yet.) The total cost for these 5 pens is ridiculously low and I'm wondering why I don't hear more about people wanting/getting/using Chinese pens? Have I been lucky so far? Will I be sorry? Is it somehow more cool to be putting out $200 rather than $35?

1. I don't know.
2. If you are, so am I.
3. Nope!

I LOVE Chinese pens. I love the fact that I can afford to experiment with color and style and give some away.

I've been buying/reviewing some new ones, so I have way too many pens inked at the moment, but I always have at least two Hero 616s in rotation, and my Official Check-Writing Pen, the Hero 329 (Bad Green Gator).

I have what some people would call good pens, and they get used less often than my Chinese cheapies.

**KrazyIvan** · April 30th, 2012, 12:24 PM

I think sometimes the stigma plus actual problems with quality do keep people away. sbrebrown posted a video of his first Jinhao. It was broken on arrival but he got it put together. His subtle tongue in cheek humor could not disguise his dissapointment. Then he could not get it to fill. I am pretty sure he knows what he is doing so I fault the pen rather than user error. His subtle tongue-in-cheek humor could not disguise his dissapointment. At least that was my impression. I don't know why some people have bad luck with Chinese pens and some don't. As stated before, all but two of my Chinese pens have failed on me out of the box. Even then I got them working reasonably.

**dragonstail** · May 8th, 2012, 06:53 PM

I have several Chinese pens. Overall, they are a pretty good value, but the quality control is a bit loose, compared to the main line European brands. Some of them are great every day knock around writers, especially if you are concerned about losing a more expensive pen. I have several Hero 800's (a Parker 45 knock-off). They have gold nibs, not plated. With a little adjustment they are excellent. Todd at isellpens.com has always been super reliable to deal with.

**KrazyIvan** · May 8th, 2012, 08:07 PM

Here's one for you. I purchased what I have always thought to be a quality Italian pen. It is my second Italian pen, not from the same manufacturer. Both of my Italian pens have/had major quality issues that should have been caught before leaving the factory. I paid a pretty penny for them and am really disappointed with them. So, that's two for two. Not a good record so far and it's really making me think twice about considering Italian pens. I could fix the pen myself but that's not the point. It should have worked out of the box, in my opinion. Anytime I pay more than $50 for a pen, I expect it to work. Maybe my standards are too high???