Baoer 388 Review - A Work in Progress

[@VintageTexas59]

Great review, mine came straight out the box writing perfectly with F nib. Actually my favorite after Ballograf fountain pen, but the 388 has nice weight, top locks down perfect, using cartridges with a great flow. Very satisfied

[@hankosaurus]

Hi James. My experience is similar to yours. I have a number of 388 pens. All mine post perfectly, however. But I did have to "tune" several of the nibs. I really love the 388. It's my "take me with you anywhere" pen. I agree with your assessment about the real Sonnet. If one wants a real Parker Sonnet, then that's what they should buy.

[@frederickpalles9778]

The material on the barrel is different from it's stainless steel variant, The barell on the black variant is brass.

[@martynsnan]

Thanks James. I have a number of these pens and have also bought some to donate to a children's charity. They are very reliable and come in a number of finishes. I just checked and mine post firmly. I appreciate the review.

[@JG3Reviews]

Glad to hear you've had great experience, and I hope the children enjoy them.

[@donseglio]

I bought a 5 pack of the Baoer 388 pens and not one of them works well, they write fine but go dry in a few minutes, looking with a 30X loupe I could see that the tines were pressed against each other so of course, the ink would not flow. I kept them because they were not expensive and I want to repair them and get some experience doing repairs. I feel confident to try it out now so soon I try to fix them. My caps will not post either, a design flaw. I also bought a single the "Executive" version that works just fine but the cap does not post either.

[@davidanderson3425]

Thank you James. I enjoyed your review. I have a Baoer 388 and I like it. The first Baoer I bought was model 051. I was very pleased with how smooth the nib was. I didn't need to do any tuning. As you say, some Chinese pens are 'hit and miss'. I did buy another Baoer 051 to give as a gift but it arrived with a slight (but noticeable) flaw to the cap. Instead of giving as a gift I kept it to use at work but I am having more problems getting it to write. Regarding the tendency to copy Parker designs, I am not an expert on Parker pens but I have read that Parker set up a factory in China a long time ago. Then they decided to cease production in that country and the Chinese ended up acquiring a pen factory. Sorry, I am a bit vague on the detail but this probably explains why so many Chinese pens look similar to Parker models. However, clearly they have done some cost-cutting to bring the prices down.

[@JG3Reviews]

You're correct about the Parker designs and the seized factory & equipment. I've read that no one is 100% sure which pen company now has the machinery and which are just copying.

[@origamichik3n]

I had two Baoer pens - 051 and 388. And i can't say i really enjoyed any of them. Both had way too much ink flow, taking a long time to dry and bleeding even through rather thick paper. Replacing feed on 051 with the one from Jinhao 992 helped somewhat, but still not to my satisfaction. Also, both pens suffered from nibs drying out too quickly. Both ended up in my "retired" box together with Jinhao 159 and X450.

[@thomasvn]

I have a couple, and while they write nicely, they are not very airtight. They either dry out ,or more noticeably, the inks get darker real quickly, within a day. All my Diamines change color in them. If you are going to use fancy colorful inks, you should empty them when you stop using them.

[@JG3Reviews]

Good to know, thanks.

[@Harlem55]

Interesting, as having recieved a set of 5 of these, I haven't seen that problem.

[@horaciobuelna7429]

Very good. What size is the nib ? 5 or 6 ?. thank you

[@JG3Reviews]

This is a size 5.

[@stargazer1359]

Hey James...When I order Chinese pens, I always order at least 2....That way I get a better representation of that model.

[@stargazer1359]

And of three, two were very good writers

[@JG3Reviews]

Probably a good method. I think they used the same nib and feed as the 508, so it was basically 50/50 for me.

[@stargazer1359]

@@JG3Reviews oh, BTW, the Baoer 508 arrived, very good!

[@stargazer1359]

I find the Baoer 508 better than the 388

[@LovkynaPeral]

I think Baoer 801 is better to write. Did someone try that? It is soo good. But 388 is ok too. For the Price ✌️👌✒️

[@bartlebob]

Very nice review friend, it's a nice and comfortable pen. Mine skips a bit, what would you suggest ?

[@JG3Reviews]

My first step is always to thoroughly clean it by flushing it with clean water, or with 10 parts water to 1 part ammonia and a couple drops of mild dish soap (I keep a small jar of this solution around). Most of the time, this fixes it. You might also make sure the tines are properly aligned on the nib.

[@Harlem55]

Skipping is almost always one of three problems- most usually its that the tines are obstructed / not getting flow (shavings or oils from the manufacturing process, burping, etc.) and one really should always flush a new pen with water before inking it up the first time. The second problem that will cause this is the tendency to rotate the pen in the hand so that the nib isn't in the correct orientation to the paper for part of the stroke. The third is that group of problems such as baby's bottom, uneven tines, etc. which optimally need be corrected by a nibsmith if you don't know what you're doing.

[@sayantanpaul3951]

Is it a good option? Or should buy the jinhao 450? Do the gold color comes off after a while?

[@hankosaurus]

I have several of the x450. Mine do not post well. But they look great. They write okay unposted. All that said, I like the 380 much more. Classy pen. And only $2.40 shipped to your doorstep!

[@Harlem55]

Having picked up a Jinhao 450 (though I don't own one) The Jinhaos seem wetter and won't do as well on crappy paper (don't even think of using noodler's ink with a Jinhao pen) and are also quite a bit heavier.

[@coolhatul]

The pen has arrived and she is not writing, how do you arrange it?

[@MartasZLA]

Cool please make more chinese pens review.

[@luisocampo7748]

Does anyone know where I get a baoer 388 nib replacement or any other nib that can feed that pen ?

[@christopherstarr7607]

Can you do a video on tuning a nibs?

[@JG3Reviews]

I may do that. I have a pen that needs a bit more.

[@hankosaurus]

@@JG3Reviews looking forward to it.

[@stargazer1359]

Jinhao 500, So good....Hero 565....oh boy, really good.

[@Vishal-vp5lg]

Can I use it as a eye dropper...?

[@JG3Reviews]

Probably not a good eye-dropper candidate.

[@anantharamkongari4416]

What is the price

[@JG3Reviews]

Around $8 in the US at the moment.

[@tomwaters4761]

Did it come with ink in it?

[@Harlem55]

No, this does not come with ink. It does come with a standard international converter and will take short international cartridges or you can use bottled inks with the converter.

[@bikkies]

Where I think pens like this come into their own is for practice. Learn what the whole nib and ink thing is about, learn how to clean and maintain a typical generic pen. It's one of the pens where I first started in this hobby and they're cheap enough that it isn't the end of the world if you trash one. It's a good way to learn the ropes, the ideal gateway drug.

[@Harlem55]

Baoer is properly pronounced "Be'are" in English.

[@LovkynaPeral]

👍👌✌️✒️