On Fountain Pens - Part 2 - Current EDC
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| From left to right: The Jinhao X-750, the Duke 911 Black Shark and the Baoer 71 Starwalker. |
My Favourite Fountain Pens For EDC... So Far.
Currently, I have picked these 4 fountain pens as my daily carries. Yes, I know, 3 are Chinese pens, I will get back to that in a future post... I, unfortunately, cannot afford expensive pens and I am a new collector, so take these comments for what they are....
Baoer 71 Starwalker
This is my favourite all-around pen. It is light but still has some heft, being all-metal, and it works like a dream. An homage to the Mont-Blanc Starwalker... I love this pen, it's a really good writer. So, I bought two. Screw on cap, light pen, smooth. The nib is not large, but reasonably sized. The pen is light to carry in a pocket. The screw-on cap is great and the clip aligns on the nib and, on the patterned design, the cap pattern aligns with the section pattern... The nib is medium-fine and is average size ( nothing like a Jinhao x-450). It is very elegant and fits in very well in meetings. One of the rare pens that you have to screw-on to post, it is a charm to use either posted or unposted. Inexpensive and worth every penny, a great pen to use. Like most Chinese pens, it comes with a convertor and can use international cartridges.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7 (a Mont-Blanc homage...)
ergonomics: 7
weight: medium-light
flow (out of the box): 8
flex: 3
converter/cartridge: yes
Duke 911 Black Shark
Hefty but not too heavy. It has a presence in the hand, but it is not tiring to use. Extremely smooth nib, made in Germany. It needed a slight work-out "out of the box", but it soon got its legs... The pen is nicely designed, it can be held high or low with no problems. The cap snaps on and off nicely with little effort, although a little bit loudly if one is not careful... It can be "loud" in a meeting room ;) No wobbling when set down. The finish and weight of this pen make it a pleasure to hold. There is some feed-back from the nib, it is not scratchy though, just sings a little... Overall one of my favourites for daily business.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7.5
ergonomics: 7
perceived weight: medium-heavy
flow (out of the box): 5
flex: 4
converter/cartridge: yes
Jinhao X-750 regular and calligraphic nib
A fun pen to use. The nib on this pen is huge! I have a problem with pens that wobble on the table when you set them down - this pen is a wobbler! Otherwise, it's pretty good. I bought a black one and a silver one. Amazingly, in my experience, most Chinese pens require little or no adjustments out of the box. These 750s are good writers. The nib is very stiff but smooth and quiet. Wetness is good out of the box.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7.5
ergonomics: 7
perceived weight: medium
flow (out of the box): 8
flex: 3 and n/a (calligraphic, angle changes flow)
converter/cartridge: yes
Lamy Vista
First, I don't like manufacturers who charge extra for a convertor off the bat. Second, I don't like pens that write dubiously out of the box. Thirdly, I don't like pens with clips designed for Mars or by Martians.. That being said, these pens are interesting. They can be worked on and eventually I made some sort of peace with the thing. The nibs come in a variety of weights and are easy to change. The main advantage of these pens to me though is that they are light, so they are easy to carry in a pocket. The clip, as much as I have my reservations about it, is a Lamy trademark and works well in a casual shirt... I must admit. The price is also an issue, I feel I overpay for all these European plastic pens.
Well, one cannot bash a "classic" too much, so I will it leave at that and just say that it's a good writer after fiddling a bit and overall does the job in a stylish way.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 8
ergonomics: 8.5
perceived weight: light to medium
flow (out of the box): 5
flex: 3
converter/cartridge: no, must buy convertor separately - 1 cartridge included
Baoer 71 Starwalker
This is my favourite all-around pen. It is light but still has some heft, being all-metal, and it works like a dream. An homage to the Mont-Blanc Starwalker... I love this pen, it's a really good writer. So, I bought two. Screw on cap, light pen, smooth. The nib is not large, but reasonably sized. The pen is light to carry in a pocket. The screw-on cap is great and the clip aligns on the nib and, on the patterned design, the cap pattern aligns with the section pattern... The nib is medium-fine and is average size ( nothing like a Jinhao x-450). It is very elegant and fits in very well in meetings. One of the rare pens that you have to screw-on to post, it is a charm to use either posted or unposted. Inexpensive and worth every penny, a great pen to use. Like most Chinese pens, it comes with a convertor and can use international cartridges.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7 (a Mont-Blanc homage...)
ergonomics: 7
weight: medium-light
flow (out of the box): 8
flex: 3
converter/cartridge: yes
Duke 911 Black Shark
Hefty but not too heavy. It has a presence in the hand, but it is not tiring to use. Extremely smooth nib, made in Germany. It needed a slight work-out "out of the box", but it soon got its legs... The pen is nicely designed, it can be held high or low with no problems. The cap snaps on and off nicely with little effort, although a little bit loudly if one is not careful... It can be "loud" in a meeting room ;) No wobbling when set down. The finish and weight of this pen make it a pleasure to hold. There is some feed-back from the nib, it is not scratchy though, just sings a little... Overall one of my favourites for daily business.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7.5
ergonomics: 7
perceived weight: medium-heavy
flow (out of the box): 5
flex: 4
converter/cartridge: yes
Jinhao X-750 regular and calligraphic nib
A fun pen to use. The nib on this pen is huge! I have a problem with pens that wobble on the table when you set them down - this pen is a wobbler! Otherwise, it's pretty good. I bought a black one and a silver one. Amazingly, in my experience, most Chinese pens require little or no adjustments out of the box. These 750s are good writers. The nib is very stiff but smooth and quiet. Wetness is good out of the box.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 7.5
ergonomics: 7
perceived weight: medium
flow (out of the box): 8
flex: 3 and n/a (calligraphic, angle changes flow)
converter/cartridge: yes
Lamy Vista
First, I don't like manufacturers who charge extra for a convertor off the bat. Second, I don't like pens that write dubiously out of the box. Thirdly, I don't like pens with clips designed for Mars or by Martians.. That being said, these pens are interesting. They can be worked on and eventually I made some sort of peace with the thing. The nibs come in a variety of weights and are easy to change. The main advantage of these pens to me though is that they are light, so they are easy to carry in a pocket. The clip, as much as I have my reservations about it, is a Lamy trademark and works well in a casual shirt... I must admit. The price is also an issue, I feel I overpay for all these European plastic pens.
Well, one cannot bash a "classic" too much, so I will it leave at that and just say that it's a good writer after fiddling a bit and overall does the job in a stylish way.
Appreciation notes - 10 is highest (all subjective...)
overall looks: 8
ergonomics: 8.5
perceived weight: light to medium
flow (out of the box): 5
flex: 3
converter/cartridge: no, must buy convertor separately - 1 cartridge included
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| Drawn with Lamy Vista (medium nib) and Noodler's Dark Matter ink - Copyright 2013 DELO - Denis Deslauriers |
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