Here is a typical Chinese Hooded fountain pen, Wingsung 730, with its ordinary nib replaced by a 12K version from a Wingsung 101, once the flagship model from the factory which was shut down earlier this century.
Chinese fountain pen makers have been spending decades making hooded pens, following the notoriously famous and practical models such as the Parker 21/51/61. Despite the general shifting of the fountain pen design globally, nowadays mainland China still sees hundred and thousands of hooded pens sold out.
Many fountain pen junkies have complaints that those Chinese hooded nibs is that some of them turn out to be nail-nibs-they do not flex at all, which could be a big problem if you want to achieve a changing width of the line. The reason why those pens cannot give out at least some subtle flexibility is partly due to the inadequate quality control of the barrel that wraps the nib so tightly that it has no room to flex.
For this exported version of Wingsung 730 from the 90s, design and molding of the barrel went well, and after switching to a gold nib, it is flexible enough for daily writing.
FrankUnderwater 