Oversized Jinhao

The speed at which Chinese pen companies are releasing their new models is no longer a surprise. An obvious side effect of this practice is the practical impossibility to keep track of all the novelties in the market. But now and then a model strikes out and makes some waves.

The Jinhao Dadao 9019. Engravings on the clip ("JINHAO") and on the cap ring ("JINHAO - DADAO No. 9019").

Lately, Jinhao has released an oversized pen with a size 8 nib—the Jinhao Dadao 9019. In essence, this is a torpedo-shape pen, with very clean lines, made of plastic. Its overal shape and proportions ressemble those of some pens made by the Ban-ei group of artisans (and a number of small operations making jumbo pens). The actual dimensions of this pen are as follow:

Length closed: 142.4 mm
Length open: 130.3 mm
Length posted: 171.0 mm
Diameter: 19.1 mm (cap), 16.3 mm (barrel)
Weight: 31,5 g (dry)
Ink deposit: 2.2 ml

The barrel diameter, 16.3 mm, is slightly smaller than that of a 6-bu jumbo pen. However, the proportions seem basically preserved, rendering a very familiar pen... albeit with some interesting additions.

First and foremost, this pen is a cartridge-converter, and accepts short (0.7 ml) and long (1.45 ml) international cartridges, and standard converters. But the pen comes with its own converter that takes benefit of the oversized barrel—a girthier, larger converter holding 2.2 ml of ink.

An oversized converter that holds 2.2 ml of ink.

Not a new idea —Sailor used this same strategy in the 1960s for its model Magna L-, but is seldom seen in the industry.

A second detail, very common in Japanese pens, is the o-ring on the thread coupling the barrel and the section. This rubber gasket secures the connection between those two parts, and some users might feel tempted to eyedropper this pen, but first they should seal the tail hole on the barrel.

On the negative side, the pen lacks an inner cap, and this absence might cause premature drying of the nib, although it does not seem the case during the days I have been using this pen.

The size 8 nib made of steel: "JINHAO / F / X159". And a plastic feed.

The nib, a size 8 made of steel, had the options of EF, F and M nib points. Out of the box, my unit was dry and a bit rough, Some adjustment was done and now it writes smoothly and with an adequate flow. The conclusion is that this nib is correct, but it is not fully finished when leaving the factory.

All in all, the Jinhao Dadao 9019 is a very interesting pen, in particular when the price –about EUR 13, or even less— is taken into account.

On the other hand, the problems we see on it, however, are those common to many (PR) Chinese pens—lack of nib points, mediocre quality control, and limited distribution channels.


PS: At the time of publishing this Chronicle I took the pen from the pouch where I had carried it around for some days. Actually, I had not open the pen for over a week. And much to my surprise, the cap was filled with ink, and the converter was almost empty, and this, given the high capacity of the ink deposit, can be a very dirty issue. None of the other three pens in the pouch had this problem. So, we might need to handle this pen with care. Caution is adviced.

Jinhao Dadao 9019 – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
September 2nd, 2023
etiquetas: Jinhao, China, mercado

Chinese Naginata

After speaking about a naginata-like nib made in Germany, it might be worth to mention the Chinese versions of such a nib.

After all, it is only natural that Chinese companies created their own nibs specialized in writing Chinese ideograms. And that is the declared purpose of the Naginata Togi nib by nibmeister Nobuyoshi Nagahara.

One such example is the "Long Knife" (長刀) nib made by Hongdian, and implemented, among other pens, on the N6 model. But the N6 is such an interesting pen that the variable stroke nib is almost a secondary detail.

The "Long Knife" (長刀) nib by Hongdian. Note the similarities with the Naginata Togi (長刀研ぎ): the first two ideograms are the same.
The Hongdian nib is engraved with 刀F.

The N6 has the rare virtue of clicking the boxes of the requirements of many a pen aficionado:

A self-filling mechanism--a piston. An ebonite feed with a generous yet controlled ink flow. And ink window. A decent ink capacity (about 1.4 ml). An attractive matte-black look (one of the versions). And a variable nib.

The Hongdian N6 in matte black, with a ¨Long Knife" variable nib.

It could have been a gold nib, but then the price of the pen --about EUR 35-- would have been a lot higher. And the performance of this unit is very nice--smooth and very resistant to drying up when not in use. It indeed writes on contact.

However, there are two weak points in this unit. First is the lack of options--only EF, F, and variable F. Therefore this might not be your pen should you be looking for a broad point.

The second is the very limited line variation offered by this nib point. There is some, as can be seen on the picture, but is not much. Of course it is a variable F, but given this performance some might consider purchasing the lower-priced EF or F points.

Written sample of the "Long Knife" nib. There is some line variation by changing the angle between pen and paper, but not an extreme one. The paper square is 5x5 mm^2.

The pen as whole is a bit heavy --32 grams-- but it is well balanced if unposted: center of gravity at 66 mm from the nib end; at 90 mm when posted.

These are the dimensions of the pen:

Length closed: 137 mm
Length open: 123 mm
Length posted: 152 mm
Diameter: 15.0
Weight: 32 g (without cap, 20 g); inked
Ink deposit: ca. 1.4 ml

All in all, this pen is an excellent alternative to almost any other pen unless you wanted the ease of use and the cleanliness of a cartridge-converter or a broad nib. But this one costs only about EUR 35.

The main obstacle for the popularization of this and other Chinese pens is the distribution, limited to online channels. However, this also is changing as there are several of those mechanisms competing with each other. And Western and Japanese brands should pay a closer look to what is coming from China.


My thanks to "el abuelo Tobías".

Hongdian N6 – Montblanc Black

Bruno Taut
November 25th, 2022
etiquetas: China, mercado, Hongdian, plumín

Chinese Fillings

A common complaint among stylophiles in the last years was the lack of interesting filling systems among Western (and Japanese) companies. The situation changed a bit in the last years mostly through a handful of new and small producers (Conid, Masahiro, Edison, to name just a few).

Now, paradoxically, it is the Chinese --the People's Republic of China's-- industry the one rocking the boat offering more pens with self-filling systems. It looks like the Chinese industry –or at least part of it-- had really paid attention to the requests and complaints of the Western pen community.

The results vary. Some of those filling systems are copies of other previously developed and some are entirely original. Some work, some don't.

Here I am showing a very limited selection of these (relatively) new pens, but they show five different filling systems.

Five Chinese pens with five different filling systems.

Wing Sung 3013.

The Wing Sung 3013 is clearly inspired in the Twsbi Vac 700. The filling system is a plunger—that system invented by Onoto in the beginning of the 20th century, although nowadays might be better known in the hands of Twsbi (the above-mentioned Vac 700), and Pilot (Custom 823). Its capacity is 2.0 ml when optimized.

The Wing Sung nib can be replaced with a Pilot nib. The writing experience improves.

The nib of the Wing Sung copies the geometry of some inexpensive Pilot pens (Prera, Kakuno, Cocoon, ...), and in fact it can be replaced by a Japanese unit. The detail makes the Wing Sung more attractive.

PenBBS 492. Too often you need some additional tools to make the piston move along the barrel. Not a reliable system.

The PenBBS 492 (2020 edition) uses a magnet (a Neodymium magnet) to move the piston up and down along the barrel. This system is clearly not mature for its commercial use. The magnet will lose strength with time (and heat) to the point of not being able to to drag the piston to fill the pen. Sure enough, the pen can always be filled as eyedropper, but then the whole magnet system becomes irrelevant. The ink capacity of this pen is 2.6 ml.

PenBBS 355. This second version does work, not like the first release, whose rod would have problems disengaging the piston.

The PenBBS 355 is the Chinese version of the Conid Bulkfiller system at a fraction of the price. In essence, this is a piston filler in which the manning bar goes through the seal when not in use. The result is a very large ink capacity –2.7 ml on this case-- due to the very limited volume used by the filling system.

PenBBS 500.

PenBBS 500 or Twsbi meets Conid (thanks, Fudefan!). This pen's filling system seems to be original, although it truly resembles the system used by the maker Astra in the 1940s. It is a piston filler operated by a collapsible bar with the help of an integrated spring. The result, 2.0 ml of ink capacity.

The filling system works, but there are some rough edges. The rod end could offer more grip to be able to release it with just a finger. Now it is too smooth and you might need some rubber band or similar to ink the pen.

PenBBS offers very few variations on its nib points.

The nibs on all these three PenBBS pens are the same save cosmetic changes—made of steel, very rigid, limited inkflow...


Moonman T2. This pen is remarkably similar to the Stipula Tocco Ferro, but with a different filling system. The Moonman uses the so-called “Elastic piston”--a syringe operated with the help of a spring. This system is bulkier of than those previously described, although it reaches the very respectable volume of 1.5 ml.

Moonman T2. More than 50g...

The main inconvenient of this pen is, however, its weight of over 50 g. Its nib and feed, though, are compatible with those by Bock, and that makes this pen more interesting.


From my point of view, the first weak point of these pens is the nibs. On most cases, they are just correct and boring, and the brands do not offer any variation save that of a bent/fude nib (“calligraphic nib” is the name used by Chinese brands). The result is that most pens –particularly if of a single brand-- write almost the same, without any special flavor.

Japanese companies were blamed for making very good nibs in many different points that were implemented in boring pens with very unimaginative filling systems, mostly cartridge/converters. Now, the Chinese industry is doing the opposite—exciting filling systems and terribly boring nibs.

However, some of these filling systems are clearly immature for the market. Either they are insufficiently tested or in need of further developments; and some of the pens are almost prototypes with problems to be solved. But they show an interesting path to explore in the difficult task to keep fountain pens alive in this world of computers, tactile screens, and Chinese virus.

Sailor Mini, 18 K (M) – Noodler's Beaver

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 13th, 2020
etiquetas: China, mercado, PenBBS, Moonman, Wing Sung

Platinum in China

In recent years Platinum has dedicated a lot of energy to the low end of the market of fountain pens. I have already expressed my skepticism about the long term success of this strategy, but in the meantime we see Platinum releasing a number of inexpensive models—Curidas (::1::, ::2::, ::3::), Prefounte, Procyon...

The Platinum "Little Shooting Star".

And last year --2019-- Platinum marketed a variation of the well-known model Preppy called “Little Shooting Star”, but only for the Chinese market. This detail makes this pen poorly known in Japan –or anywhere else--, leaving Fudefan and Inky Rocks as the primary sources of information.

Preppy and Little Shooting Star side by side. The nib units and the sections are the same for both models.

On my side I can only formulate a couple of questions I cannot answer:

-- Is it worth to release this variation of the long-produced Preppy instead of marketing the Preppy itself in the Chinese market?

-- Is this sector of the market that profitable? Or, in other words, can Platinum really compete with the myriad of inexpensive pens made in China that are launched into the market almost every week?

This seems a difficult challenge for Platinum.

Platinum Curidas – Private Reserve Dakota Red

Bruno Taut
Nakano, May 31st, 2020
etiquetas: Platinum, China, mercado

Platinum in the Market 2020

During the last months Platinum has released about four new models: the Procyon, several variations of the 3776 Century (allow me this stretch), the Prefounte, and the Curidas.

Two of those are mere variations of well-known and easy available pens. Not much is needed to explain this re the variations of the 3776 in fancy colors and with notable characters. The Prefounte, on its side, is just a fancy Preppy. The other two are indeed new and different to any other model in the catalog: the Procyon and the Curidas.

The Platinum Procyon (2018).

Variations on a well-known theme.

Then, what do all these pens say about Platinum?

My interpretation is that Platinum is focusing on the medium and low end of the market of fountain pens. And this is surprising given the recent activity of Chinese makers, whose manufacturing costs are much lower than those in Japan.

This strategy can work as long as these pens were attractive and original. But that can be said about of pens in any price range. In any event, the hugely expected Curidas could fit this bill, but that is not the case of the Procyon, whose sales are not up to what Platinum expected.

This section of the market is a very tough one, and nothing will be easy for Platinum.

Pilot steel overlay, Yamada seisakusho nib – Sailor Blue-black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 3rd 2020
etiquetas: Japón, Platinum, China, mercado

Tokyo Pen Trends 2019

(This review is part of a collective initiative to summarize and analyze the relevant events of 2019 in the pen scene. The other members are Fudefan and Inky.Rocks:
Fudefan's take on 2019: https://www.fudefan.com/2019/12/2019-in-review/
Inky.Rocks' video: https://youtu.be/L2M372smNEg ).


A lot might have happened, pen wise- in this year of 2019, but not everything is equally interesting, and each of us has a different view on those. These are my selection and of the relevant events, and my reflections on them.

1. Pen Scene.
2019 was the year of the 100th anniversary of Platinum. This company managed the celebration a lot better than Pilot, whose centenary was celebrated in 2018, but Platinum quickly lost momentum after a promising start.

In Japan, the only new pen released in 2019 was the Pilot Custom NS (the Procyon, let us remember, was released in 2018). The NS is the first steel nib in the Custom family, and its price is about 20% lower than that the Custom 74 with a gold nib. Is this a correct strategy in the Japanese market?

Other than this Custom NS, there have not been any new pen—all there is are rehashed pens, minor cosmetic changes on well known models. The Prime, the Platinum pen to commemorate its 100th anniversary, is little else than a 3776 in silver costume. Sailor, on its side, is mastering the art of generating original models –this is the name they use— to be sold exclusively at a certain shop. It seems a very successful system to raise the attention of customers by creating a false sense of scarcity.

A sample of Platinum 3776 Centuries. All of them are essentially the same pen.

As this, The Prime, is also a 3776 in disguise. The Prime was the pen Platinum released to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Anyway, not much new.

(The Capless LS has just been released in Japan and barely speaks about what went on along 2019. However, this is something new in the pen scene in Japan.)

In contrast, Taiwanese and Chinese pens are becoming a lot more active and innovative. They are offering new recreations of old filling systems with new models almost every month in the case of pens from the PR of China. Their distribution is also becoming more open and all those pens are easier to purchase.

This Wing Sung, obviously inspired on the Twsbi Vac700, in an example of the activity of many Chinese brands.

2. Ink Scene.
More colors more expensive. And the inflation continues.

The only positive side effect is the surge of small ink companies—Krishna in India, Trouble Maker in Philippines, Three Oysters in South Korea, Kala in Taiwan... But only time will say whether there is enough room for so many people. Or enough customers for so many colors...

But the radical approach to this would be to return to those old colors in unassuming inkwells for about JPY 400 per 30 ml: good and inexpensive ink.

When initially marketed, Irishizuku's inks were very expensive. Now they are among the most inexpensive in the Japanese market. And even cheaper are the regular Pilot inks (the inkwell on the right): JPY 400 (plus tax) for 30 ml. This is the radical approach to the present inflation in inks and their prices.

3. Paper.
Paper, or good quality paper, is also becoming a luxury good. But the production costs might be at the heart of this phenomenon. The paper industry relies heavily on the economy of scale and a small community like that of fountain pen aficionados is unable to generate a big demand. The result--producing small batches to fulfill the demand of such small group is inherently expensive.

"Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Collection", by Yamamoto Paper. Some of those included on this pad are no longer available because some mills are no longer in business.

The alternative, for the time being, could be to go back to old Japanese scholar notebooks, some of which are made of good quality paper, albeit not labeled or advertised as “fountain pen friendly”. Kokuyo Campus, and regular Tsubame notebooks are two obvious options easily available.

This Tsubame paper is excellent and inexpensive. There are other rulings...

4. Events.
The Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) is here to stay after a very successful second edition. Its main feature –from my perspective— was the ability of gather people from far away locations. TIPS acted as the meeting point for aficionados from places as far away as Spain and Australia, and that despite being more of a stationery salon than of a pen show.

Tokyo International Pen Show. Not a pen show, but a meeting point.

In contrast, the active Tokyo pen community seems isolated and detached from the rest of the World.


5. Social Media.
I am new to this environment, and I am therefore very naïve –or simply skeptical- about it. However, it is hard to miss the huge activity on social media, and the personal connections created through them. The result is a much better connected pen community where parochial attitudes –like those of Japanese brands- are bound to fail.

Japanese companies have not understood anything related to social media, and behave following patterns anchored in the twentieth century, with segregated and separated markets. They do not seem to understand online shopping across borders.

On the contrary, Chinese and Taiwanese pen companies have embraced this new world and are taking benefit from their constant presence on them.


I am sure there is a lot more that could be said about this year 2019, but this is what called my attention.

WiPens Toledo – Montblanc Irish Green

Bruno Taut
Nakano, December 8th 2019
etiquetas: Japón, China, Taiwan, mercado, evento, redes sociales, Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, tinta

Back to China. II. Integral Nibs

Integral nibs --those made out of the same piece of metal of the section—are rare in the history of pens. Only Parker –models T1 and 50 (Falcon)-, and Pilot –models Myu, M90 and Murex— made to the history books with them.

A collection of integrated nibs by all the makers whoever made them--Pilot, Parker, and Hero.

But the Chinese company Here, under brand names Hero and Paidi, also manufactured some examples, as I reported on these Chronicles (::1::, ::2::). And commentator Tefolium, of the blog "Brown Rice" (茶米（デ—ビ—）ノブログ), added some valuable information to my texts:

The three Paidi Century pens.

Hero 849.

Hero 850.

The Paidi Century pens were made around 2003 at the Jiangyin Craft Factory/Paidi Group of the Shanghai Hero Pen Company. The same company also produced pens with similar integrated nibs branded as Hero (models 849 and 850).

My thanks to Tefolium.

Montblanc 149 – Tomikei Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, April 4th 2018
etiquetas: Hero, Pilot, Parker, China

Back to China. I. Capless

This blog does not really have a lot of readers, but sure are they knowledgeable. So much so that sometimes they write some texts on their own.

Such is the case of Tefolium. He is the author of the blog “Brown Rice” (茶米（デ—ビ—）ノブログ), a great source of information on pens made in China. Tefolium passed by and shed a lot of light on the origin of some Chinese pens that showed up on these Chronicles.

According to Tefolium, the Chinese got their hands in the Pilot Capless as early as in 1967, but the political turmoil of the times –the Cultural Revolution and all that followed— prevented them from producing any capless pen until the 1990s.

The two capless pens made in China: a Lily 910 on top, a Dangong 56 on bottom.

Eventually, three Chinese companies filed patents of uncapped pens: Wuhan Pen Factory, Heifei Pen Factory, and Anda Group. However, only the first two produced any such pen.

In 1990, Wuhan Pen Factory made the Dagong 56. And in 1991, Heifei Pen Factory made the Lily 910 (where 910 points out at the year of production). The Anda Group never came with a capless pen.

My thanks to Tefolium, who is the actual author of this text.

Pelikan M200 Cognac – Diamine Graphite

Bruno Taut
Nakano, April 3rd 2018
etiquetas: capless, Pilot, Lily, Wuhan, China

Matching (XXI). Oaso 'Safari'

After having reported on the Lanbitou 757, that obvious copy of the Lamy Safari, it is only natural to speak about the Oaso ‘Safari’, another kid on the block of copies.

The Oaso 'Safari'. The official name might be completely different, though.

Oaso is a small brand and little information about it is available. Some say it is a second brand of the well-known Picasso, from Shanghai. Both brands appear as related on alibaba.com (retrieved July 15, 2016), the website of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group. Nothing can I say about the official model name, either.

Which one is the Chinese; which one the German? The names are written on the barrels and on the nibs.

This is indeed an obvious copy of the Lamy Safari, but less so than the already reviewed Lanbitou 757. The Oaso shows a very clear difference with respect to the original: the cap jewel. The Lamy cross is now the logo of Oaso, a sort of an ‘O’.

The cap jewels are different.

The material of this matte black copy is a bit darker and more polished than that of the charcoal (or umbra) variation of the Lamy Safari. The Chinese nib is made of steel and is chromium coated instead of the black look of some Lamy nibs. However, as was the case with the Lanbitou 757, Lamy’s and Oaso’s nibs are interchangeable.

The nibs are interchangeable. Their qualities are on par.

Their feeds are almost identical. The Chinese version has a worse finish, but the ink flow is correct.

Writing samples of the Oaso 'Safari' with tow nibs--an Oaso F, and a Lamy F. These two nibs behave in a similar fashion.

So are the converters. The Oaso version seems to be an almost exact clone of the Lamy Z28 unit save for the color of the materials. The Chinese copy even has the notches to hook it to the pen. Both are marked with their brand names.

The converters are also interchangeable. They are almost identical.

All in all, the Oaso ‘Safari’ is a knockoff of decent quality. And the question is why all these companies bothered copying inexpensive models. The reason seems to lay on the Chinese domestic market, where the Lamy Safari holds relatively high prices. And it seems that these Chinese companies –Lanbitou, Hero, Picasso, Oaso…– have had an effect: Lamy has lowered the prices of the Lamy Safari in the Chinese market to remain competitive.

My thanks to Mr. Mizukushi.

Bank-ei in black urushi – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 15th, 2016
etiquetas: China, mercado, Lanbitou, Oaso, Lamy

Sri Lanka

Just a short travel note today. Some months ago I traveled to Sri Lanka, where I did some stylographic scouting.

I went there thinking I was going to find Indian pens, mostly ebonite eyedroppers. After all, Sri Lanka and India are close neighbors with a history of commercial ties. And on top of that, Sri Lanka has never had any production of fountain pens.

What I found was very different: no Indian pens in sight, but Chinese ones made by Hero. Model 336 was often the only fountain pen available at specialized shops. Its price was LKR 150 in Colombo and between LKR 200 and LKR 250 in Jaffna. Hero ink was also available for a mere LKR 50 per 62 ml ink bottle.

Hero ink at a shop in Colombo. Their price was LKR 50 per bottle (62 ml).

My stylographic shopping.

The exception to this Hero rule was the occasional Pakistan-made Dollar pen model 707. This is a very light piston filler with a steel nib. This nib is not even tipped, and the writing point is made out of bending the nib itself. All in all, the Dollar 717 is a very basic pen and its price does indeed reflect this: LKR 70 (in Colombo).

The Dollar 717. Its price in Sri Lanka, LKR 70. Less than EUR 0.50.

These findings show something we all know—the rapid expansion of China all around the World. Chinese capital for Colombo Port City and Chinese pens for the Sri Lankan market obey to the same principle.

(At the time of publishing this text the equivalence between Sri Lanka Rupee and Euro is LKR 100 = EUR 0.60).

Pilot Vpen – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 10th, 2015
etiquetas: Sri Lanka, China, India, Pakistan, Dollar, tinta, Hero