Street market seller in SE Asia
jf...@my-deja.com
and Hon Kong. Whenever I went to a market, I looked for booths
selling fountain pens (but I did not search out any “real” pen
shops). The only booth I found selling fountain pens was at a street
market in the Mong Kok neighborhood of Hong Kong.*
The seller obviously did not know much about the pens, and this was
just a small part of her business. She had about 20 different pens on
display, and was asking HK$39 each. I bought three pens for HK$100
total (about US$13): a Baoer 701, a Dikawen 821, and a Jinhao X450.
All of the pens came with piston converters. I had never heard of
these brands, and I chose the pens based on their esthetic appeal. I
found pictures of my pens on eBay.
While my Duofold Centennial was out for repair, I started using the
Baoer. It was a pleasant surprise, writing a uniform and clean fine
line with a very smooth feel. I still like my Parker better, but I
like the Baoer more than my Mont Blanc 146.
* The only other shops in Asia where I remember seeing fountain pens
were in the Silk Street Market in Beijing. If I ever go back, I plan
to take a closer looks at their merchandise, and plan on a target
price of about US$5 per pen (about 35 RMB) or less.
Bluesea
<jf...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:bccf0ef9-9d96-44b1...@y39g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
Thanks for the trip report. You got a good deal!
--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi, but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.
jf...@my-deja.com
I have been using it as my every day pen since then. These are my observations after seven years of daily use.
Using Parker Quink, it still writes a fine line smoothly and reliably. (Quink flows well, and does not clog this pen like the Mont Blanc ink does.) The fine nib has a satisfying feel: it glides smoothly with springiness similar to my Parker Duofold, and not stiff and unyielding like my Mont Blanc 146. Despite the other issues described below, this is a great tool for applying ink to paper.
The gold plating must have been very thin, since it has worn away on all of the outer surfaces and exposed the underlying brass. The cap is made of brass and painted with black enamel which has worn away in several places. The clip has survived without any obvious deformations, so it still functions as intended.
The cap does not fit snugly on barrel. I do not remember whether it was always this way, or this is evidence that the seal has worn out, but the fit is snug and tight on a new Baoer 701 that I got on ebay for about US$3. This might allow some additional evaporation if the pan in not used regularly.
The seal on the piston converter wore out after about five years. I was able to find low-cost replacements on ebay for under $1 that also fit my Dikawen and Jinhao fountain pens (but not my Parker Duofold).
Overall, I am very satisfied with this pen as a writing instrument. I understand that it may not have the cachet or prestige of some other pen and will not look impressive, but it also costs a lot less.