various nibs on a Jinhao X750

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 23:37:46 -0400

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering how to get better performance out of your cheap Chinese fountain pens. I spent a few bucks and got my hands filthy with Hero blue-black ink so that you won’t have to.

I was super excited that our friends over at Goulet Pens (who did not sponsor or participate in this in any way) got through the giant snow storm that just pummeled the US east coast recently, and got a care package out to me. I’ve been collecting their nibs, you see. And this order gave me a pretty nice variety of nibs to work with. Goulet’s nibs are made by JoWo in Germany, stamped attractively with Goulet’s logo, and only cost fifteen bucks bare (use the feed that came with your pen).

The Jinhao X750: The pen that started it all

Sun, 03 Jan 2016 20:57:16 -0400

I’ve been a fountain pen user for about five years now. The number of pens I had was actually pretty small, and the few times I’d dabbled with “cheap” pens it ended with disappointment. Actually, the first time I dabbled with an expensive pen (the Namiki Falcon) was bitterly disappointing.

But then I read a blog about mounting a flexible dip pen nib onto a cheap Chinese fountain pen. Since the total cost was pretty low, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Jinhao X750 and a pack of titanium Zebra G nibs. At the time, the Jinhao pen cost almost six bucks. I really thought I was getting a great deal. And I did get a great deal, but I paid a lot more than I should have for it. This pen started me down the rabbit hole of admiring absurdly inexpensive Chinese fountain pens.

X750 on Notes from the Rabbit Hole

various nibs on a Jinhao X750

The Jinhao X750: The pen that started it all