Has any body had any luck with Chinese Brands like Fuliwen, Naki, Jinhao, Wing Sung, Hero, Kaigelu, or Haolilai? Here are a few pictures.
Chinese Fountain Pens
- Thread starter pal
- Start date
I don't have any experience, I am a ballpoint user when I'm not typing. They look pretty decent. How do the prices compare? I imaging the polish of the nib tip is a big factor in performance.
No idea, but I would love to hear about it. If things are anything like the debate over the quality of Chinese made straight razors, the discussion would be passionate.
The third one down looks great.
The third one down looks great.
Last edited:
I've used the lower end Hero (the ones that look like a Parker 51/21)... qc is very inconsistent, but the price is right.
The hero 100 is a pretty nice pen, they are aerometric fillers and are a bit of a pain to fill completely. The lower end Parker51 copies like the 616 are lighter weight and feel cheap, but I'd say more inexpensive since they work well for the price.
In general these brands are kind of hit and miss on the Quality control, but when they work correctly, you can't beat the price.
Isellpens.com has a nice selection of these Chinese pens at very good prices.
In general these brands are kind of hit and miss on the Quality control, but when they work correctly, you can't beat the price.
Isellpens.com has a nice selection of these Chinese pens at very good prices.
- Thread starter
- #6
Isellpens.com is where I got the pictures. The prices are very low, that is why I was asking about the Chinese pens. I am just getting into fountain pens.
You get what you pay for - I've had several low end Chinese pens (Heros and Wing Sungs - if I recall). All of them were garbage. The nibs were very fine and very scratchy. The ink flow was also spotty.
If you are fountain pen curious, I would not suggest using a Cheap Chinese pen - in my view, ther disposable FPs that are better that these.
As far as some suggestions from the same vendor:
I've tried a Duke ($15 - $20) and it wasn't bad for the price.
The Pilot 78 is a decent pen for the money.
If you like the styling, the Lamy safari is a fantastic pen - the converter is great - one of the best steel nibs out there in my view.
Another good choice is the Pelikan Futur - this is a "school" pen designed for students (cheap and durable), but I think they look cool and Pelikan makes a good pen regardless of the price point.
If you are fountain pen curious, I would not suggest using a Cheap Chinese pen - in my view, ther disposable FPs that are better that these.
As far as some suggestions from the same vendor:
I've tried a Duke ($15 - $20) and it wasn't bad for the price.
The Pilot 78 is a decent pen for the money.
If you like the styling, the Lamy safari is a fantastic pen - the converter is great - one of the best steel nibs out there in my view.
Another good choice is the Pelikan Futur - this is a "school" pen designed for students (cheap and durable), but I think they look cool and Pelikan makes a good pen regardless of the price point.
The Hero 100 is the standard in China. It's almost a perfect clone of the ever popular Parker 51, which enjoyed the same success in Europe and the US.
I also enjoy Duke and Jinhao. The Jinhau Limited Editions can be had quite inexpensively on the bay and are outstanding, especially for the money.
Wing Sung is hit and miss in their QC but, for the price, buy a 5 pack and you'll probably get 3 great writers and two that will need some nib work. The purchase of this company by Hero has helped this immensely.
One that you didn't mention is the Bookworm line. They are a relatively new company with come good offerings.
Check out
www.Isellpens.com (Flat rate shipping and big discounts on discontinued models)
www.hisnibs.com (nib work done on every pen that leaves the store)
and an ebay seller called speerbob (a really nice guy with some cool vintage stuff that goes unnoticed by collectors)
No affiliation with any of these guys, aside from sharing a favorite forum with them, just a hugely satisfied customer of all three.
I'll also agree with Suzuki partially. Chinese nibs run very fine for their size designation. If you like a medium, get a broad and so forth.
I also enjoy Duke and Jinhao. The Jinhau Limited Editions can be had quite inexpensively on the bay and are outstanding, especially for the money.
Wing Sung is hit and miss in their QC but, for the price, buy a 5 pack and you'll probably get 3 great writers and two that will need some nib work. The purchase of this company by Hero has helped this immensely.
One that you didn't mention is the Bookworm line. They are a relatively new company with come good offerings.
Check out
www.Isellpens.com (Flat rate shipping and big discounts on discontinued models)
www.hisnibs.com (nib work done on every pen that leaves the store)
and an ebay seller called speerbob (a really nice guy with some cool vintage stuff that goes unnoticed by collectors)
No affiliation with any of these guys, aside from sharing a favorite forum with them, just a hugely satisfied customer of all three.
I'll also agree with Suzuki partially. Chinese nibs run very fine for their size designation. If you like a medium, get a broad and so forth.
Last edited:
Of the Hero 51 and 21 clones, the 100 and 329 are best. The 616 and 9xx lines are not so great in the "feels good in the hand" department.
I haven't used Heros recently, but 10 years ago they were pretty hit and miss, with poor ink flow and inconsistent quality. Perhaps they've gotten better.
While I like the extra-fine nibs, I just couldn't get the pen to work for that long.
While I like the extra-fine nibs, I just couldn't get the pen to work for that long.
I've used the Hero pens since the last 20 years (school days). The QC is not as great as back then, but they used to last quite long. In fact I still have a few - though I don't use them any more.
I think the Chinese pen industry was already making its mark, before China grew big in outsourced manufacturing. These brands have been much before that. Though like I said, the new round of low cost manufacturing would have impacted their quality as well.
I think the Chinese pen industry was already making its mark, before China grew big in outsourced manufacturing. These brands have been much before that. Though like I said, the new round of low cost manufacturing would have impacted their quality as well.
I have 5 Dukes. They're quite good for the price (they were mostly in the low teens, one a bit less than that).
I bought them when I thought I'd lost my Montblanc 146 and was going to switch try switching to cheepie pens. Then I found it (which means I've never actually lost an FP), so I bought myself a Pelikan m800 to celebrate and haven't been using the Dukes.
My two criticisms of the Dukes are:
1) two of them have unsealed caps so the ink dries making them hard to start 2) they're made of metal and therefore heavy.
If you're interested PM me, perhaps we could arrange a swap for shaving stuff or I'll sell one or two quite cheaply.
I bought them when I thought I'd lost my Montblanc 146 and was going to switch try switching to cheepie pens. Then I found it (which means I've never actually lost an FP), so I bought myself a Pelikan m800 to celebrate and haven't been using the Dukes.
My two criticisms of the Dukes are:
1) two of them have unsealed caps so the ink dries making them hard to start 2) they're made of metal and therefore heavy.
If you're interested PM me, perhaps we could arrange a swap for shaving stuff or I'll sell one or two quite cheaply.
I have found Chinese pens to be hit or miss. I have had some wonderful Hero and Duke pens that wrote flawlessly.
I have a stainless steel (flighter) Hero 100 in my pocket right now. It is one of my favorites, along with a gaggle of Pelikans and couple of Parkers. I have three of the model 100's, in different colors, all are great writers. I have several of the cheaper Hero's, 330's, 329's, and 616's, these tend to be kind of hit or miss, you get what you pay for, I guess. The Hero 200 series pens are also nice, they are patterned after the Parker 75, and the two I have work very well.
Larry
Larry
I have a very nice Jinhao that I've had for quite a few months. It looks nice, writes well and didn't cost the Earth. I haven't carried it around in my pocket, it lives on my desk, so I cant say if it leaks or not. But, for the price, I cannot see any reason to not recommend the brand. So far, a very smart pen and good value.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x146/dh10au/P1040718.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x146/dh10au/P1040718.jpg
- Thread starter
- #16
Hey, that Jinhao is a great looking pen as well!
I bought a Duke Bamboo and a Hero 329 from Hisnibs. They're both excellent writers and very nice pens. Then I bought a pack of Heros off of Ebay for about 1/10th the price... they were much lower quality, two had been cracked in the package. They all write very well, though they don't look as nice as the pens from Hisnibs. I use them at the office or for handing out to people that have never used a fountain pen before. Nice to have something more or less without value for that kind of work.
