FirstFlyte

A bit of back-story: I began looking into Chinese pens 3+ yrs back, when the penfluencers on YouTube all starting singing their praises. Back then, the copies I acquired were complete and utter junk—perhaps I was just unlucky with the 6 different pens I purchased to try out.

Jump forward to late 2025, and a few of the Chinese pen manufacturers have really upp'd their game—and I've seen increased pricing as a result.

So, the question is: What's your favorite Chinese pen? Did you switch the nib out or purchase a specialty nib for it? Here is my current favorite:

Asvine J16 - blue ebonite - JoWo #6 <M> - approx. $100 CAD at the time

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Pilot kakuno and LAMY Lx only shown for size comparisons...the real stars of the show:

1. Jinhao 75 Grey Lattice - 27g, aluminum (I think?), lovely colorway, c/c pen with a black pvd coated nib, and a very satisfying snap cap
2. Pilot Tank AMS 17G - 22k gold-plated nib which I'm told swaps with the vast majority of Pilot's entry level pens (kakuno, MR, Prera, etc.)...and it's an eye-dropper! Nice! This pen deserves serious consideration if you're eyeing a kakuno, or any of Pilot's entry-level line-up. No cartridges and no converter required.

Both these pens are a real p

Yesterday I came across some information about KOKUYO paper. I use two of their papers—Campus and Campus MIO (both very kind to fountain pens, although the latter has been referred to as their best).

It would appear that KOKUYO's upcoming offerings are set to change things up a bit—I also learned that there are a lot more KOKUYO paper recipes out there. And there are a whole bunch of new journals, planners, etc. set to launch in September, particularly within the Jibun Techo line-up (a competitor to the vastly popular Hobonichi brand). One particular product that caught my eye was the [KOKUYO Century Edition THIN Paper Notebook

Some months back I picked up a JINHAO 9016 with a <M> width 'heartbeat' nib. If you're not familiar, the heartbeat nib has a nib slit shaped like a heartbeat you'd see on a medical monitor.

While the nib's slit design is an interesting one, I'm not exactly taken with its performance (or lack thereof) of my copy. While it accomplishes its task of getting ink to the page, I don't find it does it with a consistent flow—due I feel to its design with its various directional changes.

Has anyone else with this nib experienced similar underwhelming performance? Just wondering.

aTdHvAaNnKcSe for sharing your experience.

Ok, so I've been at this hobby for 20+ years. I love the variety of all of the different filling systems. I've never spilled a drop of ink. Ever.

Today I inked up a blue swirl Asvine V800 1.1stub with Kobe Minatogawa Lime #19. Wrote a page or so, then set it aside.

Opened a few journals/notebooks to the pen & ink log pages.

Picked up the V800, removed the cap, and unscrewed the ink reservoir lock. Ink spurted out EVERYWHERE!! What a mess!

TIL: When you reach for a blue Asvine V800 vacuum filler but instead pick up a blue ebonite Asvine J16 piston filler and unscrew the end cap, unexpected things happen. The more you know.

Anyone using Breakdance? If not, why not. If so, does it meet your expectations?

I have no investment in Elementor, so the WordPress Builder playing field is wide open for me.

I think it's high time I procured an ebonite fountain pen, and so I'm setting about to do some research. Would love it if you'd share your knowledge:

• polished vs. matte finish observations
• cigar-shaped would be great
• quality ebonite (so Japan (Nikko?), Germany, India)
• somewhat large in size, with a #6 or #8 nib (perhaps gold-colored or gold-plated stainless steel?)
• good/great quality manufacture
• cartridge/converter or eye-dropper filling system
• reasonably priced (max. $250CAD if possible)
• solid colors preferable
• ebonite general care and feeding

Does such a pen exist? Anything to recommend?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe

I pondered just recently on what it must have been like back in the day when the BiC Cristal was first introduced. According to wikipedia it was released in Europe in 1950 and came to North America in 1959.

The BiC company invested a lot of money in advertising, winning awards for their work, and used the slogan in the title above.

I've not yet uncovered any first-hand accounts in journals, magazines, etc. that speak to how the shift from fountain to ball-point was received for the new-fangled "Atomic pen". Here we are now enjoying our fountain pens and putting a positive spin where possible on all of their apparent foibles. I wonder if the gene

...when their box states 'Original Recipe' Vegetable Thins. What is passing for a Vegetable Thin these days is nowhere near the consistency of the original recipe. I find that many of the old stand-by weekly cracker purchases present themselves these days as pithy, tasteless shells of their former glory. I expect there are three reasons for this:

• changing taste buds (with age)
• greed - using cheaper ingredients/reducing ingredient amounts to keep corporate profits up
• today's products are possibly less harmful to your health than they used to be when they were more tasty

So while I get all of this, I still can't believe that what is sold as the original recipe Vegetable Thins is really

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Just passing this along. I took my CARAN d'ACHE Chromatics Ultra Violet bottle down from the shelf where it has sat dutifully albeit forlornly inside its hexagonal box for the past 4-5 years, and ink'd up a new PLATINUM Procyon with a <M> nib. I was very surprised to see it dry on Tomoe River Paper (original formula) in just a few seconds (easily <5). It was such a surprise that I thought I'd post about it just in case anyone was in the market for another fast drying ink.

Please check the web for writing samples as I'll not include one here. My take on the colour is that of

Wondering what sort of foam/rubber padding I should use under an aquarium? It is my understanding that these pads help with vibration isolation and also additional support if on somewhat uneven surfaces to a lesser degree.

Is there something at Home Depot or Office Depot or ??? that would be good for this purpose? I'm guessing something close to what a mousepad is made of?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe

Thought I'd share this recent blog post (review) from The Pelikan's Perch concerning the latest in Pelikan's M200 model line.

Hi! Wondering whether something like a 0.3 2H pencil (mechanical) would stand up to sketching outlines on cold press paper. I feel it might be a touch thin and the lead may break too easily on the more textured paper(s).

I suppose a follow-up question may be: Aside from aesthetics and general comfort, are there any other reasons to go with a traditional pencil over a mechanical one? I love the ease of use of not having to be constantly sharpening a traditional pencil...

Cheers, and aTdHvAaNnKcSe for your thoughts.

I'm new to watercolor. I believe masking fluid is used primarily as a way to preserve white areas when a wash is applied. Question #1: Is this true?

Question #2a & b: What other situations do you make use of masking fluid to achieve results which require white? Conversely, when do you revert to using a highly saturated (or opaque) white watercolor paint or gouache?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe for any insights you share