My Thoughts on Cheap eBay Pens

A common question that I get from readers, and one of the suggestions that appeared in response to my New Year's Giveaway was "Write a piece on Chinese Pens."  By "Chinese Pens," most people are referring to pens sold under certain Chinese brand names (Jinhao and Baoer, among others) and can be purchased for very little money on eBay or Amazon Marketplace.  This is something of a misnomer and can be misleading:  Many pens are manufactured in China, including pens sold by well-known, established brands such as Monteverde and Conklin.  Other pen companies use Chinese-manufactured parts.  To avoid confusion, this piece is going to look at the first category (the cheap, mass-produced eBay pens), and give you my thoughts on why I think these pens aren't really worth your time and money. 

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Chipped enamel finish on Jinhao X450, purchased on eBay.

I've written about Jinhao pens before, when I reviewed the X450.  My review wasn't exactly glowing.  The main virtue of the Jinhaos (and Baoers, etc.) are the price:  these pens are ridiculously cheap.  You can find them for sale on eBay for as little as $3.99, shipping included. As you might expect, however, you generally get what you pay for.  For under $5, they are, objectively, a "great deal," if you receive a serviceable writer and the merchant doesn't send you pen with chipped enamel finish and a bum cap. (You can guess what happened to me.)  

Sure, you can ask for your money back, throw the pen away, pay another $5, rinse and repeat, but at that point I don't see why you wouldn't spring for a $12 Pilot Metropolitan, which in my opinion is the greatest entry level fountain pen available and could very well be the last fountain pen you ever need.  Even the Pilot Kakuno writes better than the best-writing Jinhao I have tried. Also, one of the main reasons I am drawn to this hobby is because I don't like disposable pens.  When you adopt the mindset that you are only going to purchase $5 fountain pens off of eBay so you don't have to worry about losing or breaking them, or can always throw them away when they stop working, you're forgoing one of the main benefits of using fountain pens: the pen is NOT disposable, but rather becomes something you use daily, and, if you want to foist the expectations onto your children or heirs, something you can pass on and have the next generation use as well.  If you want a disposable fountain pen that writes exceptionally well, just pick up a pack of Pilot Varsities.

I think a lot of people, my past self included, see these inexpensive pens on eBay as a way to quickly build a "collection" of fountain pens and have some daily variety at a budget price. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, but I would venture that you can get more satisfaction--and save yourself a LOT of frustration, by growing your collection slowly and spending just a bit more money on a smaller number of pens.  One or two slightly more expensive pens purchased from a merchant who can service the product is a better long-term bet than 10 cheap semi-disposable eBay pens.

That said, if you like the aesthetics of these pens (and the Jinhao x750 in frosted black is a nice looking pen), I would recommend that you pay slightly more money and purchase the pen from a merchant like Goulet Pens or HisNibs, which typically inspect the pens before they ship them to ensure they are not defective, and will allow you to do an easy return if you are dissatisfied.  (I have not purchased from HisNibs, but the retailer appears to be popular on various pen forums, and the website claims that they fill, test, and, if necessary, adjust all pens prior to shipment.)  

Final Note:  As to the argument that certain pens available on eBay "look exactly like Montblancs" or "look exactly like Lamy Safaris" at a fraction of the price, as a general matter I don't support trademark infringement, and won't recommend that you purchase those pens for that reason.  Nor will I link to those pens directly here.  As to why these pens are so cheap, and the implications of supporting the economic model that allows this sort of lowball pricing to exist, I would recommend that you read this article from Fountain Pen Economics.     

The opinions expressed here are my own, and I understand that many people might disagree with some (or all) of what I have written. The purpose of this blog is discussion, and I welcome any comments or feedback.  As always, thanks for reading!    

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains some affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase something from sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase a pen you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!      

Five Black Inks

Since pretty much everyone in the Eastern United States is snowed or iced in this weekend (well, except maybe you South Georgians and Floridians), I can probably guess what the readers of this blog have been doing.  For my part, I inked up a bunch of pens with every black ink I own to do a comparison.  I don't use a ton of black ink, but when I do, I want something that doesn't smear and isn't gray--nothing annoys me more than something being labeled a black ink and getting home and realizing that what I actually have is a washed out color that looks like water I used to rinse pens in.  So here goes.

1. Sailor Kiwa-Guro Nano-Black.  One of my top five fountain pen inks for everyday writing. I'll have to actually do a proper review of this ink one day, but this is my "writes-on-anything-and-is-permanent" black ink.  It's pigmented ink, so you have to be diligent about cleaning it out of your pens on a regular basis, but it doesn't feather or bleed, and best of all, it holds an extra-fine line in my Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black.  Kiwa Guro appears very dark once it's dry on the paper, and has a matte look to it once it's dry.  I do try to avoid using this ink in pens with very wet nibs.  Because it's a pigmented ink, the pigment can smear if it "pools" on top of the paper, so I use this ink nearly exclusively in my fine and extra-fine Japanese nibs. 
2. Aurora Black.  The blackest-of-the-black inks.  If you pressed me to name one relatively inexpensive, well-behaved and widely available black ink that works well in all pens, both vintage and modern, I would tell you to go buy a bottle of Aurora black.  For this same reason, if you forced me to pick a single ink--of any color--with which to be marooned on a desert island with a lifetime supply, it would probably be this one.  
3. Lamy Black.  This is where my list gets interesting, and where I'll preemptively answer the inevitable question: "Why the heck do you have five bottles of black ink, if they are all essentially the same color?"  As most hard-core pen addicts know, however, even though an ink might be labeled "black," that doesn't mean there isn't any variation.  Both Lamy Black and the next entry on this list, Delta Black, are "black" inks, but the Lamy has hints of green, and the Delta has undertones of dark blue/purple.  Lamy inks offer excellent value, and they come in a cool bottle with a roll of blotter paper.  
4. Delta Black.  I have two bottles of Delta black, and I've paid for neither (at least not directly).  A small bottle of Delta black ink is regularly given away as a "freebie" to pen show attendees, and more often than not a bottle is included with the purchase of higher-end Delta pens.  Many people's reaction is that this is somewhat boring SWAG, but I carry one of these small bottles of Delta ink in my briefcase because it's a great go-to ink in a pinch. The ink behaves nicely and works well in every pen I've tried.  I also really like the black with purplish undertones.    
5. Roher & Klingner Leipziger Schwartz.  I have a sample vial of this ink that I purchased from Goulet Pens, but I'm waiting for the next R&K Massdrop pick-three, because I'm going to stock up.  I don't know how to even begin to describe this ink, other than as "complex." It's definitely a "black," but on the page it looks completely different from any of the other four inks listed here.  It has the blueish/greenish/purplish undertones of the Lamy and the Delta inks, but it's much darker.  I like it, and it may give Aurora Black a run for its money as the top "black" in my arsenal.          

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I've cycled through A LOT of black ink in this hobby.  I've used up some bottles; sold off others, and settled on keeping the inks listed here, so I guess you could take this as my "Best Black Inks" list.  On a final note, I expect that some people will be surprised that I have not included Noodler's Black and Noodler's Heart of Darkness on this list.  These are extremely popular inks, and if you are looking for absolute permanence at a value price, you should consider them.  Since I use a lot of celluloid pens, both vintage and modern, I try to stay away from super-saturated ink like Noodler's and Private Reserve.  (I also avoid using pigmented inks such as Kiwa Guro in celluloid pens.)  In my experience, these Noodler's black inks are so saturated with dye that they smear very easily and take an exceptionally long time to dry.  You can dilute them with distilled water to make them manageable, but that's more trouble to me than it's worth.  I do, however, really like Noodler's Dark Matter, which while not "bulletproof", has a cool story behind it, dries fairly quickly and I've found it well-behaved on most papers.    

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase an item from certain of the sites linked to in this article.  While I'd greatly appreciate it if you would support the site by using these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so.  Many thanks!   

My Five Best Fountain Pen Inks for Everyday Writing

UPDATE: A new version of this “Top Five” list was published on February 26, 2020. Check out the post “Daily Writers: The Best Fountain Pen Inks for Daily Use.”

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an explosion in the number of fountain pen inks on the market.  Six years ago, when I first picked up my pen again after a long hiatus, the main players with any sort of color variation in their ink lines were Noodler’s and Private Reserve. For us corporate drones, bottles of staid (and somewhat boring) inks such as Parker, Waterman, and Pelikan 4001 could still be found on the shelves of big-box office supply stores.  Today, the big box stores have more or less abandoned fountain pens entirely (except for disposables and super-cheaps), but the overall landscape has completely changed:  I now count 10 readily available brands of fountain pen ink in my desk drawer alone.  Great, right?  But a major drawback is the paralysis of choice and the potential for overwhelm.

I like to shuffle colors in and out of my pens, but there are five or so inks that I keep coming back to for everyday writing.  By “everyday,” I mean writing at work on cheap copy paper, in my pocket notebooks, and taking notes while I read.  With the exception of one recommendation, most of these inks are readily available and relatively inexpensive.  

1. Sailor Kiwa-Guro Nano-Black. Expensive, yes; however, the price has come down a bit lately, and this Japanese workhorse will get the job done anywhere, even in a Moleskine. It’s pigmented ink, so just remember to clean your pens out regularly. Some might balk at paying this much for black ink, but given how long a bottle of ink lasts me, it’s not really a consideration. The versatility of this ink makes it a useful travel companion.

2. Waterman Serenity Blue/Florida Blue. I’ve sung the virtues of this ink before, as it made my list of “Best Blue Inks for the Office.” Want something that’s nice to look at, writes well on any kind of paper, won’t turn any heads, and is inexpensive? Try this.

3. Pilot Blue-Black. Another great ink that’s typically only available in cartridge form in the U.S., though you can easily order it from Japan off eBay or Amazon (in the big 350ml bottles, too). Like Waterman blue, Pilot Blue-Black dries quickly and works well on most papers, but you also get some nice shading and red sheen when the ink dries.

4. Diamine Oxblood. Ever wish you had a red ink that was dark enough to use for everyday business correspondence? Pick up a bottle of Oxblood. Like the vast majority of Diamine inks, it plays nice with most pens and different grades of paper. When it comes to my personal favorite readily available red ink, it’s a toss-up between Oxblood and . . .

5. Sheaffer Skrip Red. With its classic fire-engine hue, it’s my favorite “true red” ink. Skip Red is probably one of the few bright red inks that doesn’t stain, and can be considered “safe” to use in most vintage pens (though I’d still advise you to be careful with lighter colored celluloids or demonstrators).

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This list reflects my own opinion. There are an infinite number of “top five” lists floating around out there, but people love recommendations, so here are mine.  What I need from an ink on a day-to-day basis is probably different than what someone else wants, but if this list can be helpful to even a few people out there, it adds value.  This list also shouldn't be confused with my "favorite inks of all time," because that list will include things such as limited editions and vintage inks (and is on the way).  

State of the Blog, a New Year's Giveaway, and the Top 5 Posts of 2015!

I'm a big believer in taking a day or two at the end of the year to take stock of where things are: what went right, what didn't go so hot, and most importantly, where you want to take things in the future.  This blog is no exception.  Overall, I'm very happy with how things are going.  I feel blessed to have an absolutely amazing group of readers that grows every week, which is really all any writer can ask for.  Even though it often takes me longer than I'd like to respond to your comments and e-mails, I read every one of them, and am honored that you take time out of your busy days to read what I've written.  This blog also has become more or less self-sustaining, meaning that I can pay my hosting fees while still generating some meager affiliate/ad revenue to keep products coming in the door for review.  For 2016, I want to keep things going in the right direction. 

So what does this mean for you?  One of my biggest fears is that I'll produce boring content and/or simply re-review products that too many people already have reviewed to death, without offering any sort of unique perspective.  That's where you all come in. This year, in exchange for leaving a comment on this post containing a suggestion for a new article or review, you'll be entered into a giveaway for a special secret "grab bag" of products.  Most of these are products that I've been sent or that I've purchased throughout the year for review, and just don't have the room to keep.  I'm not going to tell you what's in the box, but trust me, it will be good.   As always, subscribers to my e-mail list will automatically be entered into the giveaway.  

And now, I give you the five most popular Gentleman Stationer posts of 2015:  

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1.  My Review of the Conid Bulkfiller Minimalistica.  Following this year's Atlanta Pen Show, I made a conscious decision to streamline my pen collecting and focus on custom-made pieces.  Conid's new lower-priced entry, featuring its proprietary "bulkfiller" filling system, is perhaps my favorite (and apparently you all like it too). 

2.  Franklin-Christoph Eyedropper Mania. Another post-Atlanta Pen Show piece. (I guess I should go to this show every year!)  I have both of these pens inked and sitting right here in front of me, filled with Sailor Apricot (the Model 65) and Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo (the Pocket 66).  I really don't ever get tired of looking at these pens, and the Masuyama nibs are fantastic.   

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3.  Bung Box Blue-Black.  2015 was certainly the year of limited-edition ink craziness, and Bung Box led the way.  The 4B is a gorgeous color. 

4.  My "Tier One" pens. Episode 164 of the Pen Addict prompted more than one of us bloggers to draw up our own "Tier One" and "Tier Two" Pen lists.  I'm a list junkie writing for other list junkies, so it didn't really surprise me that this post was in the top 5. 

5.  Top Five Fountain Pens for Less Than $75.  We'll see whether TWSBI's new Vac Mini eventually cracks this Top 5, but the availability of a solid pen in the $25-75 price range continues to pose a challenge, and the pickings are slim.  

I also didn't want to close out the year without sharing some personal favorites with you.  I definitely had the most fun testing and writing about mechanical keyboards--which is perhaps my nerdiest obsession ever--and I think I've finally found the keyboard that makes writing on a computer fun again.  (Review forthcoming, I won't spoil the surprise.)  I also really enjoyed visiting and recapping both the Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Pen Shows, where I got to hang out with fellow bloggers and enthusiasts for several days.  Both are definitely on the list this year.

Thanks again, and best wishes for 2016!

Joe

Done.

It ended up being just over 53,000 words, once I ran the NaNoWriMo word count verification widget:  about 43,000 typed, plus another 10,000 handwritten.  That was quite an adventure, and fittingly, I closed out the month by handwriting my final 1,000 words.  While the book is far from finished (as in, not even halfway there), this was a great way to get started, and I'd definitely consider participating again next year.  Now, to get back to some pen-and-ink blogging, here's a shot of my last set of tools.   

Staples sugarcane paper composition book and a Franklin-Christoph Pocket 66 eyedroppered with Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo.

I really enjoyed taking a break from the blog to write some fiction, but now I'll probably take a short break from further work on the book to let the ideas percolate for a while and get caught up on other projects.  This was definitely one of the harder things I've ever done, in terms of daily commitment and discipline.  I'm not sure 1500-2000 words of anything on a daily basis is sustainable for me, especially if I want to maintain the standard of quality I shoot for in my writing.  While NaNoWriMo is a great vehicle for getting as much down on paper as you possibly can, I often felt that I was pushing quantity over quality, and that I had to keep going past the point where "the well was dry" for the day.  

Anyway, thanks to all of you who reached out with words of encouragement.  It made a real difference.  I thought about hanging up on this challenge at least twice, but always managed to wake up the next day and get back on the horse. 

Happy writing, and to those of you still finishing up NaNoWriMo today, write on!