Daco fountain pen (writig set or solo fountain pen)

This is not a known brand, but it is one of the no name that are available around where I live. The most common, the DACO products, are available as gift packs with a ballpoint pen and a fountain pen. They offer low cost products that look decent, usually metal construction, and can make a good gift that does not cost an arm and a leg. Probably for the most people who are not big into fountain pens, a heavier pen might be associated with a quality one, made out of good materials. And because we are right around the time of the year when Santa is doing his thing, I am going to share my thoughts on this kind of giftable writing sets that usually come with a fountain pen and a ballpoint. (not an actual gift from Santa).

The price range for a DACO pen is around 10 - 25 euro, which is not a lot but at the same time the upper models get in the same price range as more known brands, like Pilot or Faber Castell.

I do not know the name of this model and I do not think it would be very relevant, it was part of a set with a mechanical pencil and a ballpoint pen. It is more a review of how does a pen like this holds up to a more reputable brand.

 

The fountain pen as I mentioned is all metal construction. It feels nice in hand, not too heavy, not too light. The body is a dark gray / olive that looks classic and nice. The metal cap has a couple of rings on it to break the monotony of the shiny metal. The first place where you can tell this is a budget pen is the clip, which is not that great. Once you pop off the snap cap, you can see underneath the tip of the clip the name is branded. It is not that visible. 

Once you remove the cap, you are greeted by a decorated fine nib and a shiny metal grip section that has the same couple of circles for a more interesting design and for better grip. The grip is not that bad, taking into account the section is made out of shiny metal. What I am not fond about is the small diameter of the section. It is not the easiest to get along with if you plan to write more than a page.

 

At the opposite end, the body has a shiny plain metal finial that is well integrated in the overall design of the pen.

 

The threads on the body are well-made. The pen takes international cartridges, long or short, which is convenient. Especially for people who are not that deep in the fountain pen hobby. Changing the cartridge when you are out of ink is a great, hassle free operation. The cartridges are widely available. And if you want, you can always get a converter for the pen and use bottled inks

For testing purpose, I used Pelikan 4001 black ink. It is a quick drying ink. The pen lays a fine and dry line. But it does write nicely. It doesn't need pressure and there is almost no feedback. On standard paper you can feel a hint of feedback, but on a quality paper the pen glides effortless. I would say this particular model is smoother than my Faber Castell Loom or the Metropolitan.

Even though this pen writes really well, I don't know if this applies to all their pens, or it is a wheel of fortune. I can imagine that producers like this one don't have the same quality control in place as bigger brands.

For a casual writer, a drier pen is great, as it means you can use it on any kind of surface.

If you want to gift someone a writing or a fountain pen like this, I think it will be fine, especially if the person you are giving it is not an enthusiast. The pen writes well out of the box, no intervention on the nib is required, the materials are of good quality and for most people a metal pen might scream quality opposed to a plastic/acrylic pen which will just feel plastic. The fine nib is great, as the pen can be used in any scenario, even in a regular office where quality paper is rarer than a pink unicorn.

Jinhao 992 fountain pen

The third in the bunch of AliExpress fountain pen purchases bought for $2.8 is the Jinhao 992 fountain pen. I used the fountain pen for some time now, and I am going to share my experience with it.

The Jinhao 992 fountain pen has a classic and clean look to it. It resembles Sailor and Monteverde fountain pens, but I wouldn't call it a copy, maybe inspired. Also, the design is so classic that you will find parts of this in many other pens.

The Jinhao 992 fountain pen is made completely out of plastic and comes in a bunch of solid colors, translucent or transparent. So, there are a lot of options to suit everyone's taste. For me, the classic black with silver trim was the nicest and classiest looking, so I went with it. I enjoy the look of the fountain pen and the feel in hand, but this is not quite the hole story.

It comes with a fine nib, which is on the small side, as is the entire fountain pent. It has some graphics on it, and it has Jinhao and F are also present. The 992 didn't come with the smoothest nib. It doesn't scratch the paper, it just has more feedback than I would expect from a fountain pen. The flow of the ink is what you would expect from a Chinese fine nib. Fast writing is not an issue with the pen, even though it is not a wet nib. It keeps up with no problem. It is a perfect writer on regular paper, it doesn't feather or bleed trough. Upside down writing is scratchy and extremely dry. It's not a thing that this fountain pen is really able to do it, which is a bit odd for a Chinese fountain pen.

The cap is a screw on, and it takes just a hair over one revolution to take it off. It comes with a strong clip and a trim at the point where the cap screws on the barrel. The trim has the name Jinhao on it and that is about it. There is nothing fancy about it, no motifs or shapes on it. I think the reason for this trim beside the visual aspect is the longevity of the cap. The plastic from which the fountain pen is made doesn't inspire much confidence, and I think it is easy to crack it if you tighten the cap or the barrel a bit too much. Adding a metal ring I think prevents this to happen, as it offers some extra rigidity to the plastic.

  

The barrel has a small cylindrical end, nothing fancy here. 

The fountain pen is rather small, and for long writing sessions is not the most comfortable. You can post the cap securely on the back of the fountain pen to make it a more suitable writer for longer sessions. I usually write without posting the cap, but because the pen is small, thin and very light I use it with the cap posted if I take more than just a few quick jots. The cap has a good airtightness, as the fountain pen sat on my desk for a few weeks without being used and started with no skips when I picked it up to write with it.

The Jinhao 992 was supplied with a converter. And if you take into account that it cost $2.8 shipped, you will see that the shortcomings of the fountain pen are not that bad. It might not last a lifetime, but for what you pay you will get a decent writer.

The addition of a converter is nice, but mine at least is not a very good performer. The ink doesn’t flow liberally inside, and often air pockets are created due to the capillarity effect. Adding something to agitate the ink inside the converter would improve its function a lot. You can add it yourself or just swap it with an international standard cartridge. The Jinhao can't be used with long international cartridges as they do not fit inside.

Fake Wingsung 3008 fountain pen

I have seen a lot of talk about the cheap and very nice Wingsung 3008, and I decided to give it a try. Being my first piston filler fountain pen I was very intrigued by it. I ordered it along with other pens from Aliexpress and waited... and waited

One eternity later ... (to be fair the local postal service is not the fastest, so this contributed to the wait as well)

The fountain pens arrived in the mail. The fountain pen was in this orange cardboard small box. I took it out and after a short inspection, I realized it is a fake Wingsung 3008. I went back on Aliexpress and indeed the pictures presented by the seller were correct, only the description was misleading.

Right from the start, I could see the quality of the fountain pen was sub-par even for a Chinese fountain pen.

I will start with the exterior and the feel. The barrel is made out of clear plastic which has molding lines on the side. If you pay attention, you can see and feel them. The cap is made out of nice to the touch black opaque plastic and has a chromed trim at the tip and a nice and secure clip.

The cap is screw fit and comes off after 1 and a half tuns. Inside the cap, there is some sort of white plastic lining. I do not like the feeling when you screw it back on, there is no clear point at which the two sections are perfectly screwed, it always feels that you can twist it a little bit more. After you take the nib off you are presented with a clear nib section and feed, a very nice look. The grip has three flat sections for a "better" grip. one at 6 o'clock and the other two in the mirror at 10 and 2.

From this point forward, things look a little iffy. The nib is plane and has no decoration on it whatsoever. It sits very far from the section, it is like it is missing something, or it is a size smaller than the feed. Because of its position, I feel that I am writing with a wand. And it has a weird look  The metal in it is very thin, and after I pushed it a little bit it bent, which is not a good sign... Out of the box, the nib was ok-ish, but had a squeaking sound on paper. After a bit of tweaking and writing with it, the sound is not so obvious. Now it is writing fine, it is smooth and has a low to medium ink flow.

The piston filling mechanism offers a lot of ink capacity. I think the piston can't be disassembled for cleaning. To actuate it, you turn the nob on the top of the pen. It doesn't have a locking system, there is a bit of play in it when it is fully closed. Inside the barrel is a dimple over which the piston has to travel. You can feel that bump, as it requires more pressure to go over it, so I can consider it a "locking" mechanism. I do not know how other pens do it, but I don't think this is the best system. I am not worried that the ink will come out accidentally, but because the gasket has to travel over that hump over and over, make me think it's more of a disposable pen. 

The fountain pen is comfortable in hand, and it can be used for long writing sessions. The size is good, and it can be used without posting it. The cap posts shallow but really well and secure, without the risk of activating the piston.

So far I hadn't had problems with burps from the fountain pen, but at the same time, the fountain pen was never with me on a plane or on a desk where the sun is shining all day. But just from holding it in the hand and writing for moderate periods of time.

Beautiful fountain pens in Dark series season 3 (origins, nuclear plant)

 The German Dark series on Netflix has showcased very beautiful fountain pens over its run. I have managed to see all the episodes and I came across a very interesting looking one. I can't manage to find who is the manufacturer. If you have suggestions the comments are just below :)

The first fountain pen that I have spotted in Dark season 3 is the following one. A very interesting long and probably gold nib

The second fountain pen I have spotted is arguably an even nicer fountain pen, with a unique look. It has a very classic shape, black color, with gold trim. Especially the gold circles on the cap/barrel are quite unique and nice looking.

Tha same fountain pen is featured later being used to write in a journal.