Perhaps you have wondered about the new fountain pens from China and India that have appeared on eBay in the last 12 to 14 months. I own a good number of them and have spent many hours over the past two years researching fountain pens from China, India and Taiwan.

These are my three favorite inexpensive Asian fountain pens. These have been carried to the office many times and have proved themselves to be good, reliable writers. I use Aurora Black, Sailor Flannel Gray and Sheaffer Red in these pens and they do well with each of these inks, but best with the Aurora.

Fuliwen F2010 (China). The Fuliwen F2010 is made in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It features black pinstripes over white metal with gold-toned clip and tassies. The white metal steel nib writes smoothly and filling is by pressure bar and sac. This is a truly lightweight, small diameter pen that most people will find comfortable to hold and use. Capped it is 5 1/4 (13.4 cm) and posted it is 6 (15.3 cm). Comment: If Fuliwen's inexpensive pens are this good, their upper-end pens must be very good. Expect to pay $30 or less with shipping for the F2010 or other inexpensive Fuliwens. Find Fuliwen fountain pens on eBay now!

Hero 330 (China). An unabashed knock-off of the Parker 51, the Hero 330 is graced with a fine, steel, hooded nib. Mine writes quickly and smoothly, laying down a dark line. It weighs less than 1/3 of an ounce and is comfortable to hold and use. Capped it is 5 3/8 (13.7 cm); posted it is 5 3/4 (14.7 cm). Comment: other hooded nib pens by Hero are worth checking out. Not only this, it is utterly amazing to see Hero pens with gold nibs for under $50! Expect to pay $20 or less with shipping for a steel -nibbed hooded Hero. Find Hero 330 fountain pens on eBay now!

Wality 52 (India). The Wality 52 (the company's products are also marketed under the name Airmail) is a lightweight retro-Euro style pen with a twist filler. Its two-tone steel nib writes very well; trim is either in white metal or gold-tone. The 52 also features a large ink-view window. I would prefer it over European pens that cost many times more. Cap lip diameter: 9/16 (1.3 cm). Capped it is 5 3/8 (13.7 cm); posted it is 6 1/8 (15.5 cm). Comment: Wality and Airmail pens are very inexpensive--but well-made--and offer tremendous "bang for the buck!" Expect to pay $25 or less with shipping for a Wality or Airmail. Find Wality fountain pens on eBay now!

There are many other makes of fountain pen from Asia; here are some other brand recommendations from my personal experience-- most of them with steel or plated nibs will be under $30 with shipping. I have had good success with fountain pens by JinHao (China-very smooth, cool clips and colors, but their larger pens are heavy), Minka (Taiwan-mine is heavy, but its built like a tank and writes like a champ) and Wenjue (China-classy looking and good writers). Of these three brands, JinHao (sometimes spelled "Jinhao") is the most readily available. Find JinHao fountain pens on eBay now!

I hope this guide will give you courage to launch out and buy/try some Asian fountain pens. There is a sequel to this guide that recommends seven other pens, most with gold nibs, that I feel fellow pen collectors/eBayers will enjoy.

Thanks!

drew49