Base pen for #6 nibs?

What are the ready alternatives for a base pen to use with the Goulet and Noodlers #6 nibs? Are there any contenders other than the Ahab or Konrad? If only these two, which is the least problematic? Looking for a low to moderately priced pen just to play with the various nib sizes available.

Jinhao X750 is a nice one. Just make sure you have a spare converter handy; the one they provide is a little flimsy.

Jinhao, Bulow, Knox, and some Nemosine pens also take those nibs. Nemosine, Knox, Bulow and Fountain Pen Revolution also sell reasonably priced nibs in that size.

Danitrio Cum Laude is #6

Nemosine pens, I've been playing with a $15 Singularity.

DaniTrio Cum Laude has a problem -- there's no inner cap, at least not on mine. Pretty, but just about useless.

Very cool! I already have a Nemosine Ltd. Fission. I suppose I could even order the Noodler's "flex" nib for use in this pen and not have to deal with the problems associated with the Noodler's Ahab or Konrad.

nemo said:

Nemosine pens, I've been playing with a $15 Singularity.

DaniTrio Cum Laude has a problem -- there's no inner cap, at least not on mine. Pretty, but just about useless.

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Mine don't have inner caps, but they do have a little black plastic part pressed into the top of the cap that covers the opening where the clip enters the cap. I've never had trouble with mine drying out or anything. Is that what's happening with yours, Doug?

To the OP: I've had several Jinhao X750s, and they all eventually leaked around the grip section. It's probably my least favorite entry-level pen. I'm guessing the Nemosine would be a better option. A lot of Bexleys will take #6 nibs, and a lot of models are reasonably priced for a US-made pen.

-Andy

andrew98 said:

Mine don't have inner caps, but they do have a little black plastic part pressed into the top of the cap that covers the opening where the clip enters the cap. I've never had trouble with mine drying out or anything. Is that what's happening with yours, Doug?

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That's what's happening. Great if you fill the pen and sit down to write a letter. In a shirt pocket, somewhere between 1-2 hours it dries up something fierce. I had a famous pen maker look at it to design and fit a custom inner cap but the price is more than the pen's worth ($75)

I've got the threads coated in beeswax which helps a little. Disappointing.

Are Jinhao and Bulow made by the same company? I see that they both have X750 and X450 models. I assume the price differences between these brands are due to fit and finish? Any real performance differences?

mikeschu said:

Jinhao X750 is a nice one. Just make sure you have a spare converter handy; the one they provide is a little flimsy.

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Will a Lamy Z24 converter work in the Jinhao or Bulow pens, seems I read that somewhere?

nortac said:

Will a Lamy Z24 converter work in the Jinhao or Bulow pens, seems I read that somewhere?

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I think it's a standard converter and the Lamy converters only work with Lamy pens.

Perhaps I was thinking of the Pilot converters?

nortac said:

Perhaps I was thinking of the Pilot converters?

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Nope. Waterman or international style push-on.

nemo said:

Nope. Waterman or international style push-on.

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Thanks for the clarification!

Well, I ordered two Jinhao X750s and a Bulow X750 and one universal converter. New nibs from Goulet arrived yesterday, two Goulet nibs, a broad and a 1.1 and the Noodler's "artist" set of three nibs, one of which is their flex nib.

nortac said:

Are Jinhao and Bulow made by the same company? I see that they both have X750 and X450 models. I assume the price differences between these brands are due to fit and finish? Any real performance differences?

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It's my understanding that the Bulows are just rebranded Jinhaos. A friend just got a 5-pack of Bulow X450s. I wasn't terribly impressed with what I saw. They will definitely need some tweaking before they're usable.

The Bulow may have a slightly better converter in it, that remains to be seen, and perhaps a few different color choices, but the hardware appears the same, probably not enough to justify the price difference. That's why I bought both. I'll post a comparison after I've had a chance to play with them.
The Bulow has a 2 yr warranty and comes with a bottle of "Chesterfield" ink. That ink doesn't seem to rate very well with the Amazon reviewers.

Chesterfield is rebranded Diamine.

SmoovD said:

Chesterfield is rebranded Diamine.

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It may not be too bad then, good to know!

Snargle said:

It's my understanding that the Bulows are just rebranded Jinhaos. A friend just got a 5-pack of Bulow X450s. I wasn't terribly impressed with what I saw. They will definitely need some tweaking before they're usable.

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Well I got two Jinhao and one Bulow X750s. I can confirm that the Bulow is a re-branded Jinhao, at least in the X750 line. The Bulow and one of the Jinhaos were obtained with the same SS brushed finish. With the two Jinhaos, they initially leaked where the nib and feed inserted into the front of the section, obviously not seated well at the factory, but with use and manually seating more firmly, they seem to have stopped leaking for now. The Bulow did not leak when first inked. All three pens came with fairly broad "medium" nibs that write well on premium paper, but not so well on cheap office laser printer paper. All three nibs wrote surprisingly smooth and a bit wet. The Bulow costs about $5.00 more than the Jinhao, has a 2 yr warranty. Although the converter seems mechanically identical in the Jinhao and the Bulow, the one in the Bulow looks nicer. The Bulow also came with a 10 ml ink sample, which I did not try yet. I have yet to try the other nibs for which I bought the pens for. I will update when I get a chance to try them.