# A $12 Fountain Pen?!?!?!?!



## DurocShark (Apr 19, 2010)

http://www.xfountainpens.com/X450-Kurve-Vanilla-p/jh149.htm


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## Ligget (Apr 19, 2010)

With an 18k nib too!


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## Buzzzz4 (Apr 19, 2010)

and it says it has an 18K gold plated nib. (edit--funny we posted the same thing at the same time!)


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## EBorraga (Apr 19, 2010)

They have some very nice looking fountain pens for under $25.00. Nothing name brand, just wonder how they write. My everyday fountain pen cost me $15.00 and I wouldn't sell it for $50.00.


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## DurocShark (Apr 19, 2010)

Yeah, I'm considering picking up a couple. Just to see. Might be a good source for feeds and nibs and sections if nothing else...


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## Texatdurango (Apr 19, 2010)

Personally I think it's good for members here to see these types of pens, it sorta brings them back down to earth in their thinking that every pen they make should command $300 and that our main competition is Mont Blanc!

I saw quite a few similar pens in a display at a pen show last year and while some were "cheap looking", some were pretty nice. I took a few for a test drive and was surprised at how smooth the nibs wrote.

It's just good to know what the competition is when you go to a craft show and someone pulls out a $9.95 pen and asks you "so what's the difference? Why are you asking $150 for yours?" You might want to think of something else to say besides "well, that's just a cheap oriental import" because they might reply "except for the blank you made, so is yours!" :wink:


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## pensmyth (Apr 19, 2010)

Quantity over quality hummmm you choose. You can buy the $15.00 fountain pen and probably get a pretty good writing pen that is identical to the 999 other mass produced ones just like it. Or, spend a little more and get a unique one of a kind custom pen.


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## Russianwolf (Apr 19, 2010)

Lamy has been selling great inexpensive fountain pens for years, and I'd wager they are better than the ones linked. But I'm not competing with Lamy (or those other guys), I'm competing with you. :tongue:


As far as what to say to a client that says something like that?  How about, "that's an okay pen, but you'll never be confused for a pen snob with one of those in your pocket."


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## Texatdurango (Apr 19, 2010)

Russianwolf said:


> Lamy has been selling great inexpensive fountain pens for years, and I'd wager they are better than the ones linked. But I'm not competing with Lamy (or those other guys), I'm competing with you. :tongue:
> 
> 
> As far as what to say to a client that says something like that? How about, "that's an okay pen, but you'll never be confused for a *pen snob* with one of those in your pocket."




Mike, not to put too fine a point on it but a *pen snob* probably woldn't be caught with one of our kit pens in his/her pocket either!  :wink:


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## jskeen (Apr 19, 2010)

Texatdurango said:


> [/COLOR][/COLOR]
> 
> Mike, not to put too fine a point on it but a *pen snob* probably woldn't be caught with one of our kit pens in his/her pocket either!  :wink:



I dunno about that, Lee used to have one or two, as I recall


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## EBorraga (Apr 19, 2010)

I actually have 13 fountain pens that I didn't make. The most expensive one cost me $50.00. It's actually $150.00 retail, i got a really good deal on it. All of my fountains write exceptionally well. That being said, I'm just now venturing into making fountain pens. I'm going to make a few high end fountain pens with high end blanks. I'm not sure how they will sell, I guess we'll see. I've decided that I'm going to offer upgraded nibs and converters with my pens. Sorry for the rambling.


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## randyrls (Apr 19, 2010)

Texatdurango said:


> in their thinking that every pen they make should command $300 and that our main competition is Mont Blanc!




NO!  My pens are better than that!


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## chriselle (Apr 19, 2010)

Well, I just ordered a couple pens, some nibs and pumps....we shall see.


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## EBorraga (Apr 20, 2010)

Chris let me know what you think of them. Was thinking about getting a couple myself.


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## chriselle (Apr 20, 2010)

EBorraga said:


> Chris let me know what you think of them. Was thinking about getting a couple myself.



For sure,,,will do.


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## DurocShark (Apr 20, 2010)

I've ordered some too. . . I want to check out the hooded FP they have for $10.


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## Jgrden (Apr 20, 2010)

DurocShark said:


> Yeah, I'm considering picking up a couple. Just to see. Might be a good source for feeds and nibs and sections if nothing else...


That is a good idea. Put them in a parts bin after taking them apart. Junk yard pens.


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## ldb2000 (Apr 20, 2010)

Before you run out and buy these check out this seller http://stores.ebay.com/chinesepensupplier . The one you were looking at looks very much like one of last years Jinhao pens . The quality of these can be hit and miss , if you get a good one they write well if you don't .... oh well it was under $10 so no great loss . Jinhao is one of the better of these companies along with Hero and Baoer .


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## chriselle (Apr 20, 2010)

ldb2000 said:


> Before you run out and buy these check out this seller http://stores.ebay.com/chinesepensupplier . The one you were looking at looks very much like one of last years Jinhao pens . The quality of these can be hit and miss , if you get a good one they write well if you don't .... oh well it was under $10 so no great loss . Jinhao is one of the better of these companies along with Hero and Baoer .



Ya,  they are all pretty much the same thing I'm sure.  These are flooded all over the Japanese yahoo auctions, too.  If they are crap no big loss....if they aren't......great!


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## Rfturner (Apr 23, 2010)

There is no way to compete with that other than my creations are unique there will not be another one exactly like it


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## DurocShark (Apr 24, 2010)

My order came in today. The hooded FP came in with just a normal section, no hood. Grrr... 

The nib is scratchy as heck. I'll try to smooth it some and see if it can be improved. Very cheaply made pen, as I expected. Nice balance though, oddly enough. I tried some of their ink too. That ink is surprisingly nice. It flows well in my daily driver FP. It fuzzes about the same as the Monteverde I usually run. On quality paper, it lays down nice and looks solid. 

I also tried some of their converters. The copper bands look pretty good in person. Better than the typical "any color as long as it's black" converter. The pen itself came with a clear and white converter that doesn't look bad. But the black and copper just looks nicer. 

My take? I'll see what I can do to smooth and tune the nib in the pen and use it for a while. Worth the price *IF* the nib can be tuned. It'll never be a hand made pen. 

The converters and the ink are the gems here I think. The ink won't come close to the premium inks, but it's comparable to Monteverde's cartridges.


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## EBorraga (Apr 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info. Even with the nib problem I may purchase one or two. I will also look to see if you can just buy converters and ink. My daily driver is a Lamy Safari but I think I'm going to change to the Pelikan Pelikano. Seems too write a little better. And it's only $16.00. Almost writes as good as my $100.00 Waterman.


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## KD5NRH (Apr 25, 2010)

DurocShark said:


> http://www.xfountainpens.com/X450-Kurve-Vanilla-p/jh149.htm



That's about what I paid for two Hero 616s.  (copy of the old Parker 51)  They work great with Noodler's inks.  I use one with blue-black as my primary pen at work.

The Pilot Plumix and Penmanship are both under $10.  I wasn't overly impressed with the nib on the Penmanship, (Better than the ones I got with the PSI Traditional kits, though) but a lot of people seem to like the Plumix.
Plumix: http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/214_856_842/products_id/4564
Penmanship: http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/214_856_759/products_id/4007

For $15, you can get a Sailor HighAce or a Sailor Recruit.  The Recruit is an interesting pen.  I carry one in the notebook I take to city council meetings.  It does need special cartridges, but they're easy to refill with a blunt syringe. 
HighAce: http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/cPath/214_990
Recruit: http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/cPath/214_840/products_id/4547


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## DurocShark (Apr 25, 2010)

I just emailed them about the lack of a hooded nib. I'll report the customer service experience as well...


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## skiprat (May 1, 2010)

I ordered the set of 5 the other day and they just got here. Pretty quick!!

I couldn't really tell from the pics on the site, but I was hoping that they were screw caps but they are snap caps. I don't use a fountain pen but I figured that a snap cap could perhaps spray an ink droplet when opening??

I like the look of the two tone nib and I assume that the 18Kgp means 18 karat gold plating. 
I'll keep the mottled red one and the others will be used for parts.
I think I'll even use it to learn how to write properly with a FP and as a tester for other nibs.

It's a pity it has the brand name 'Bulow' on it, but lets see if it writes better than 'Dayacom'


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## johncrane (May 1, 2010)

Hey Stev! they look ok was the shipping cost over the top or not to bad, also stripping the body for parts sounds good to me too.:wink::biggrin:


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## skiprat (May 1, 2010)

John, $9 for 1st Class Int.

They weigh 45 grams without ink, so they have a nice heft to them too.
I just stripped one down....... REALLY tight!!! Don't know what glue they used but boy does it hold on!!

Edit; here's a pic of some bits that I'm likely to use/save. Small matching threaded parts are always useful especially if you can't make them.
With the exception of the pressed in parts to the original coloured blanks ( just painted brass tubes) the rest of the parts are threaded. I'm pleased that the black section that holds the feed is metal, I first thought that it was plastic. 
I'll make something out of these bits today and see if it ends up worth more than the $12:biggrin:


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## Texatdurango (May 1, 2010)

skiprat said:


> John, $9 for 1st Class Int.
> 
> They weigh 45 grams without ink, so they have a nice heft to them too.
> I just stripped one down....... REALLY tight!!! Don't know what glue they used but boy does it hold on!!
> ...


 
What about the clip?  It appears to have a logo or name on it.


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## chriselle (May 1, 2010)

I got the two I ordered as well.  Pretty quick shipping to Japan.  They are ok for 15 bucks or so...heavy with snap caps..grr.  I agree with Steven...I foresee ink splatter all over the inside of the cap.  

I've been staring at them all day trying to figure out if I can use them for parts.  We'll see.


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## DurocShark (May 1, 2010)

Ink splatter for sure!!! Ack! I thought the converter was leaking, but the pressure changes from the snap cap makes more sense.

I heard back re: the wrong section on my pen. They are sending me a x30 to replace it. No charge, no need to return the one I have. Nice to see that they have good customer service.


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## skiprat (May 1, 2010)

Texatdurango said:


> What about the clip? It appears to have a logo or name on it.


 
No logo, but it does have a pattern. The clip also has a recess trim ring so without it, it makes a good contender for a hidden/recessed clip.

Because the black grip section has so much meat, this also has the potential for trimming and threads added...watch this spot:wink:


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## DurocShark (May 3, 2010)

I emailed them about my pen that was supposed to have a hooded nib coming without a hooded nib. They responded reasonably quickly and offered me to choose another one. Apparently that shipment didn't come with them when it should have.

I chose the X30 in pearl and it came today. The fit and finish is nicer, as is the balance. I've got pics of both next to my silver plated Navigator daily driver:
















That Jinhao nib is surprisingly good. The finest point of any FP I've used, and it's a bit difficult to get used to. heh. The X30 feels even smaller. Both write decently after some love with some rough paper to smooth them.


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