Look up in the sky! It’s a Parker Sonnet! No, it’s an homage! No, it’s a blatant Chinese knockoff called the…
Baoer 388 Fountain Pen
Price: $5.50
Nib: Medium
Filling System: Screw-Type Piston Converter / International Standard Cartridge
About the Pen:
Somewhere between homage and counterfeit lies “blatant knockoff.” I don’t own a Parker Sonnet, and even I can’t deny the uncanny resemblance between the Baoer 388 and the iconic Sonnet: from the shape of the section, to the rounded off barrrel, to the simple gold cap band, and all the way to the looks-like-they-stole-it-from-Parker arrow-shaped clip. Blatant. Knockoff.
How does the Baoer 388 compare to the Parker Sonnet as a writer? I have no idea. And that’s not the point of this review. Now that we have the “evil twin” business out of the way, I’m going to review this pen for what it is: an inexpensive, but usable Chinese fountain pen.
Appearance:
It’s a nice-looking pen. It should be, I guess. It’s a smaller pen, both narrower and shorter than a Pilot Metropolitan, but not quite in the Pocket Pen category. The finish is a really beautiful blue and black tiger-stripe pattern, although the blue is very dark, so you need to look closely or under a strong light to really see the pattern. At first glance, it looks like solid black or dark blue.
The entire pen appears to be made from brass. The cap and barrel look like they’re painted and lacquered. The barrel tapers to a rounded end. The cap has a small, gold-colored finial with a shiny black circle/button at the top.
The clip and cap band are both gold-colored. The clip, as you might expect, looks like an arrow. The cap band has Baoer etched into one side, and 388 etched into the other. And speaking of the cap, it doesn’t post at all. I generally don’t post any caps, so it’s not a problem for me. But I wanted to mention it because it’s something that really bugs some people.
The section is very simple, tapering from the barrel toward the nib before flaring outward juuuuussssst a tiny bit where it rests against a gold-colored ring.
The nib is a typical, #5 Baoer nib. This one is two-tone, and sports the usual Baoer name etched below the breather hole and a nice, simple arch design etched around the outer edge.
Build Quality (3.5/5):
Overall, the Baoer 388 is a decent pen. The finish and gold-colored hardware are beautiful. The barrel and section threads are machined perfectly, screwing and unscrewing very smoothly. The clip is springy, tight, and easy to use without injuring yourself.
I do like the converters that Baoer packages with their pens. They’re sturdier than the average Chinese converter, and I believe they also have a slightly larger ink capacity.
Despite the general nice build of the pen, it has several issues that I find annoying enough to call out.
The arrowhead part of the clip is shaped by folding the metal backward, so there is a rough metal seam that rests against the cap. Of course, it scratches the nice finish. The good thing is that the clip doesn’t wobble around, so you have to lift the clip to see the scratch, but I’d be concerned that the seam might catch on or rip the fabric of a pocket.
I had a little issue with the nib and feed. So I flushed the pen when I got it, inked it up, and wrote a bunch. Everything lined up fine and it performed well. Then, I disassembled it to give it a full cleaning, and I could not, for the life of me, get the nib and feed back into the section correctly. The feed would go in, but the nib would only go in a little bit and get lodged.
The cavity in the section looks round except for one small indentation that doesn’t really match up at all with the nib. Some pens have a slightly wider portion cut out to accommodate the thickness of the nib, but I didn’t see one. It took about ten tries.
Finally, I just put the feed in by itself and held it under a very bright light. There was a tiny, barely noticeable void off to one side of the feed, and I figured that it was for the nib. Luckily, I was right, and the pen went right back together. Incidentally, that first indentation I saw lines up with the TOP of the nib. I don’t think it serves a purpose, but it can be useful for reassembly.
And the last thing I want to mention is that the cap requires a lot of force to remove. I didn’t actually fling any ink around when uncapping it, but it was something I worried about. Because of this, I’d be afraid to use it anywhere I wouldn’t want to make a mess (like work).
Dependability (4/5):
The ink flow in the Baoer 388 is fantastic. It writes right away without skipping or hard starting, even if left uncapped for 60 seconds.
My only complaint is that the line of ink the nib puts down is inconsistent and sometimes mushy. The edges of my line are uneven and not well defined, even on smooth Rhodia paper. And some strokes come out fatter/sloppier than others.
Comfort (5/5):
This pen is really great to write with. I had no cramping or other discomfort at any time, even after writing multiple pages of text. And despite the section having a smooth surface, it never got slippery as I wrote.
Writing Experience (3.5/5):
Other than the inconsistent and mushy writing line, I really can’t complain too much about how the Baoer 388 writes. I have small handwriting, so the inconsistent line is more noticeable than if I were to have larger handwriting. It’s a true Medium nib, and I really wish they had the option for a Fine nib.
The nib is super smooth, and it never skips or hard starts. It just keeps chugging along.
Reverse writing is pretty scratchy, but it puts down a very nice, fine line.
Note: As you can see in my writing sample, I was clearly unhappy with how the pen writes…but looking at the sample now, it’s not that bad. I must have been in a “I want to write tiny” sort of mood. I wouldn’t say the nib is spectacular, but it’s not as bad as this sample would indicate.
Value (4/5):
For just over $5, the Baoer 388 makes a great everyday pen. It’s a very pretty, well made pen that writes great. If you have larger handwriting and prefer Medium nibs, then you’d probably love this pen. If you’re looking for a crisp writer, though, then this pen would probably give you fits.
The Nutshell: Overall Score: 20/25
[table width=100% colwidth=”50%|50%” colalign=”left|left”] “Best Qualities”,”Worst Qualities”
“Smooth writer”,”Cap takes too much effort to open”
“Very nice finish & hardware”,”Mushy, inconsistent line”
“Comfortable to write with”,”Hard to reassemble nib/feed”
[/table]
Conclusion
The Baoer 388 is a really nice little pen. The fit and finish are outstanding, and it looks and feels more expensive than it is.
For me, I’d classify its Medium nib as “decent.” It’s okay…it does the job. But I prefer finer nibs that write with a more consistent line. The look and performance more than make up for the inconsistency, though. So if you’re in the market for a nice-looking, dependable pen that you can use every day, the Baoer 388 is a great option. Especially for the price.
Baoer is not only who made “cheap Sonnet”. I have Kaigelu 356 (http://inln.me/things/fountain_pens/kaigelu-356/). It’s not quite 1 to 1, so it can be considered more honest 🙂 Anyway, both pens, as I can see, are similar enough.
Ken,
Thanks for writing so nice and comprehensive reviews on fountain pens!
I own a Baoer 388, sometimes it doesn’t write continuous (although not out of ink) and since a few days it leaves full drop of ink on the paper.
I was carrying the pen to work every day, so I blame the temperature variations the pen was exposed to. Let’s see if this still happens with
It seems that the ink you used is more expensive, per ounce, than the pen 🙂
Thanks,
Razvan
Thank you so much for reading, Razvan. I’m glad you found the review helpful. If you’re having trouble with ink flow, I can think of two things too try. First, make sure the feed is installed correctly and that it’s aligned with the nib. If the feed is not in the proper place, it could cause air flow issues, which could explain the skips and ink drips. Second, with the temperature variations you described, enough ink may have evaporated to cause particulates to block ink flow. This could easily happen with iron gall inks and very saturated inks like Noodlers and Diamine. I recommend a good flush/cleaning with warm water and a couple drops of dish soap.
Hi Ken, thank you for your answer. The nib is aligned properly with the feed. Since I use cartridges, I was cleaning the pen (water only, I was afraid to use anything else) about once a month.
It seems that ink is leaking where the cartridge gets into the pen.Probably this allows more ink to flow on the nibble too. I will get a new pen, as I don’t know how to fix it.
Razvan
The issue is fixed, by using the conversion kit, included. It seems that the conversion kit holds in place better than the cartridges, no leaks by now. Filled it with Parker Quink, previously I was using JinHao international cartridges.
* Let’s see if this still happens while the pen is kept at room temperature only.*
Just got one…good little pen. I have three actual Sonnets, and I like the Baoer nib better than the metal Parker M nibs on two of mine. The Parker gold nib is nicer, though.
Thank you for reading, Joe. I’m glad you like your 388. Their quality control is spotty, but if you can get a good one, they can write wonderfully.
As with most all Chinese fountain pens, you hit it on the head, the QC is wretched. Baoer and Jinhao are made by the same Chinese company, and as such it truly vexes me why the two brands are not only inconsistent from item to item but across different PARTS of different items for each manufacturer. My Baoer 388 us the only Baoer I own, but several in my family own Jinhaos and the inconsistency is most irritating. That said, your notes on the nib struck me differently, I found the wet line especially lovely when using it with an ink that shows a lot of shading, such as Apache Sunset for example. But as far as inconsistency in QC, you say your 388 does not post, while mine gives me the ILLUSION of posting, fooling me for minutes on end only to fly off and skitter into a corner. Argh.
Thanks, Steve! The thing with manufacturing is that a company like Jinhao probably doesn’t actually make their stuff. There are probably a couple factories that produce pen bodies and sell them in bulk to companies like Jinhao, Yiren, and others, cranking them out by the thousands. Most parts are probably injection molded with a few others machined. All those machines suffer wear over time and the tolerances creep. Eventually, they figure it out and replace/repair the worn parts, but if they don’t have a decent QC process, they might not catch these things for a while. That’s why you might buy one pen and the section doesn’t properly screw into the barrel, but your friend gets the exact same pen and the section is great but the finial falls off. And who knows where they get their nibs. There might be a Chinese company that makes them with similarly lousy QC, or they might buy the rejects from Jowo or something. It’s a good thing they’re cheap because it’s a total crapshoot as to what you’ll end up with. As always, thanks for reading!
Of all the fountain pens I have this little inexpensive Baoer 388 pen is my usual EDC pen which I like more than some of my genuine pens costing very much more plus people think it is a Parker Sonnet If I lost it (or it was stolen) I would just buy another, but I would think twice about replacing an expensive pen I rate it 4.5 / 5
Hi Alan, thanks for reading. The 388 definitely gives you great bang for the buck. It’s a great EDC choice!
I am looking for a mechanical pencil that will match thé set? Andy idéas
I don’t know of one. The 388 is styled after the Parker Sonnet, and they do make Sonnett pencils. But I’m not sure how many different colors they make.
I have a ‘cheap’ Baoer 388…l like it, apart from…the top doesn’t stay on the barrel when writing? Any suggestions anyone?
Hi Ken,
Last week I received a pack of 5 of these pens that were on discount on AliExpress and I have to say I’m really impressed, all 5 are excellent quality and write a very wet and consistent line, maybe from the time you made your review up to now they worked hard on the QC. My only complaint is their wetness as my handwriting is small and the line they throw is much more like an european B and too wide for me, I’m expecting some Jinhao F nibs I ordered to arrive soon to fix this issue without altering their original nibs.
Just a quick note, I have a Sonnet and initially thought they were knockoffs but comparing them it turns out the Sonnet is bigger, I’d say they are inspired by it but not a knockoff.
Regards.
Hi, Ken. If you wish to post the cap on the pen, push it down firmly and twist it. It then locks on firmly.
Nice review.
Cheers. Alex.
I have three of these Baoer pens and I love them. I also have a Jinhao x450 which is a REAL beauty – quite large and chunky but a lovely marbled blue pen. That one has a marbled nib and is broader – about medium I would say. Consequently it writes a wetter line and would probably not suit someone who with tiny writing. I can’t imagine how they manage to make such decent pens for so little money.
That post above contains an error, owing to the fact that my young grandson was here distracting me. I did not mean to say that the Jinhao has a marbled nib. I meant to say that it has a part gold plated nib. Sorry. If you met my grandson (who is five) you would understand. Someone once described him as, ‘That wild boy’. He was not wrong.