Jinhao 992 Informal Review

[Honeybadgers]

UPDATE II:

 

Hello all,

 

Some sad news to report...

 

http://i.imgur.com/N2eEYmp.jpg

 

 

It happened when I tried unscrewing the cap to write a short note. This pen was never dropped and it never left my desk at home.

 

I pulled the nib and feed and kept the converter and tossed all the plastics. This pen was still on its FIRST fill of ink.

 

I think the plastic on these pens is excessively brittle; I've also experienced some of the trademark Jinhao "dry out" with the other 3 I'm testing, (I was hoping threaded caps would eliminate that problem, but no).

 

This whole experience brought to mind something my father always used to try to drum into my thick head...

 

"You get what you pay for."

 

The purchase of a non-disposable item should profit BOTH parties; I paid $1.67 for this pen and it was to Jinhao's profit; not mine. I never expected to bequeath this pen to anyone, but I didn't expect it fail in less than a week's time, either.

 

- Anthony

 

EDIT, PS: In case you've read my first "Update"; you might be wondering where the fifth pen is... I had given it to my mom to play with and she lost it... the pen, that is.

 

 

My amber has the same issue.

 

I personally suggest people avoid the 992 for a year or so. These are obviously first run productions and the molds need refinement.

 

Give it a year and I suspect jinhao will repair the issue (my brown demonstrater has the cracks in the plug and at the cap yours has too,) so maybe the mold that jinhao is using for the ambers specifically has the worst issue)

 

Honestly, though, just epoxy it back together. who cares if it's not pretty? the pen costs NOTHING!

 

But I also think we should keep buying the pen. We need to encourage jinhao to realize that this model is worth keeping making, because this might well be the best design they've ever come up with.

 

Give me a 992 with polycarbonate as good as a TWSBI, and I'd pay $25 for it.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[Flounder]

Is the cap welded together, or can a fellow slacken off that nut?

[grainweevil]

Seems a shame ('specially since I just ordered two new ones), but on the bright side, this has to be one of the most intensely reviewed and scrutinized two-dollar pens in history.

 

Heh, that's true.

 

Thanks for the thanks, although I'm kind of regretting it now that so many folks are getting ripped off on cracked pens.

 

It's hardly your fault. And it's only a two buck ticket to the "TWSBI Early Years Experience", which isn't bad for a bit of time travel.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Last night, I noted that the small vertical crack in the cap of my coffee has taken a sharp lefthand turn. I suspect the cause of the crack growing, is the way I drop it back into the jar in which I store it vertically.

 

In a fleabay purchase earlier this year I got a bunch of junk pens to work on. Some were Sheaffer school pens with cracks in the translucent barrel, but they still write well.

[rwilsonedn]

Just to add a data point: I received a translucent brown 992 last week, and put it into service yesterday. It writes very well and has great hand feel, as others have reported. It is also great-looking, for a demonstrator, anyway. There are two quite visible cracks in the barrel around the end plug. Time will tell if they are stable. But whether or not, I certainly have my money's worth. Thanks for bringing this pen to my attention.

ron

[otw]

I also purchased a couple of 992s: one clear and the other translucent blue. Like others here, the clear pen arrived with two cracks near the barrel end plug. Both are wonderful writers straight out of the wrapper, but the cracking issue is a real shame.

[ColdDeadHand]

- Screw on cap

 

I have yet to try a Chinese pen with a screw-on cap. Does it help with the drying issues that plague Jinhao/Hero/Baoer et all?

 

I have had almost no trouble with Chinese nibs, and little trouble with construction quality. What gets me is that no matter what inks I've tried, if I let the pen go unused for a day or two, the nib dries out. I assume it's just low tolerances between the section and the snap-caps, but it renders them unusable, IMO. I won't keep a pen that I have to play with for 5 minutes to get started.

[AmandaW]

 

I have yet to try a Chinese pen with a screw-on cap. Does it help with the drying issues that plague Jinhao/Hero/Baoer et all?

 

I have had almost no trouble with Chinese nibs, and little trouble with construction quality. What gets me is that no matter what inks I've tried, if I let the pen go unused for a day or two, the nib dries out. I assume it's just low tolerances between the section and the snap-caps, but it renders them unusable, IMO. I won't keep a pen that I have to play with for 5 minutes to get started.

 

Add an o-ring to the top of the section. You want one that makes it a little tough to push the cap on. I found one that was just right in a box of mixed sizes - very cheap at a hardware store - so I don't know what size it is. My Jinhao x750 is now totally reliably - starts first time, every time. My other one, which was the control in the test, will be getting it's o-ring as soon as I can remember where I put them...

[truthpil]

 

I have yet to try a Chinese pen with a screw-on cap. Does it help with the drying issues that plague Jinhao/Hero/Baoer et all?

 

I have had almost no trouble with Chinese nibs, and little trouble with construction quality. What gets me is that no matter what inks I've tried, if I let the pen go unused for a day or two, the nib dries out. I assume it's just low tolerances between the section and the snap-caps, but it renders them unusable, IMO. I won't keep a pen that I have to play with for 5 minutes to get started.

 

I don't know if it's because of the screw-on cap or not, but at least my 992 has no drying issues at all. I can leave it for a several days and it's wet and juicy on demand. I particularly enjoy using it with a TWSBI ECO 1.1 stub nib instead of the stock nib, although the stock nib is still a great writer. For the low price, it's worth giving this pen a shot....just don't buy a demonstrator because they seem to crack more easily than the opaque versions.

[truthpil]

 

Add an o-ring to the top of the section. You want one that makes it a little tough to push the cap on. I found one that was just right in a box of mixed sizes - very cheap at a hardware store - so I don't know what size it is. My Jinhao x750 is now totally reliably - starts first time, every time. My other one, which was the control in the test, will be getting it's o-ring as soon as I can remember where I put them...

 

The 992 already comes with an o-ring at the top of the section. One of the nice little bonuses of this model.

[TheRealMikeDr]

Just got mine yesterday. Bought it off Ebay for $6.60.

 

First impressions out of the "box" - plastic looks to be very cheap. Super duper cheap. Feels lightweight and cheap in the hand. The color is nice and the fake silver pieces look nice - a serious upgrade from the giant logo they like to put on some of the clips. Mine has some marks on it from the manufacturing process - little scuff marks - that polished right out with one round of light polishing. Sitting on a pen rest on the desk, from a few feet away, it looks like a decent little pen.

 

Mine came with the new "Lamy-style" converter which looks and feels like a decent converter.

 

The nib is smallish in size and nice looking - glad they did away with the fake gold plating they love to put on their nibs!!

 

Now the nib. I have about 10 Jinhaos, various different models, all with the medium nib. I think every one of them shipped with tines slightly out of alignment. This pen, on the other hand, was the first that had tines perfectly aligned! Very nice! I flushed it out then put some Pilot Blue ink in it and what do you know - this thing writes a perfect Western fine line! No skips, no hard starts, allows for some rotation (most of my other Jinhaos need to be right in the sweet spot or they start to skip) without missing a beat! Fairly wet and super smooth. Crazy!! This pen feels good in the hand (very light) and writes very nicely!!

 

After writing about half a page of notes I felt like the pen reminded me of another pen - similar size and feel. Then it hit me - I pulled out an old Parker Vacumatic and set them down side by side - Bingo! Yes, the designs are different (the Jinhao has a longer section) - but they're very similar in dimensions (uncapped) and weight.

 

I'm much impressed for the most part. If they would invest in some higher grade materials and keep the nib production consistent with the one mine shipped with they could easily sell this pen for $15 and I would be happy to start recommending this as a great starter pen over the Pilot Metro. In the meantime it almost has a disposable feel to it which is a shame because it writes so well.

 

http://i.imgur.com/os3mBDz.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/OEzaxEM.jpg

Edited June 17, 2017 by TheRealMikeDr

[truthpil]

Just got mine yesterday. Bought it off Ebay for $6.60.

 

First impressions out of the "box" - plastic looks to be very cheap. Super duper cheap. Feels lightweight and cheap in the hand. The color is nice and the fake silver pieces look nice - a serious upgrade from the giant logo they like to put on some of the clips. Mine has some marks on it from the manufacturing process - little scuff marks - that polished right out with one round of light polishing. Sitting on a pen rest on the desk, from a few feet away, it looks like a decent little pen.

 

Mine came with the new "Lamy-style" converter which looks and feels like a decent converter.

 

The nib is smallish in size and nice looking - glad they did away with the fake gold plating they love to put on their nibs!!

 

Now the nib. I have about 10 Jinhaos, various different models, all with the medium nib. I think every one of them shipped with tines slightly out of alignment. This pen, on the other hand, was the first that had tines perfectly aligned! Very nice! I flushed it out then put some Pilot Blue ink in it and what do you know - this thing writes a perfect Western fine line! No skips, no hard starts, allows for some rotation (most of my other Jinhaos need to be right in the sweet spot or they start to skip) without missing a beat! Fairly wet and super smooth. Crazy!! This pen feels good in the hand (very light) and writes very nicely!!

 

After writing about half a page of notes I felt like the pen reminded me of another pen - similar size and feel. Then it hit me - I pulled out an old Parker Vacumatic and set them down side by side - Bingo! Yes, the designs are different (the Jinhao has a longer section) - but they're very similar in dimensions (uncapped) and weight.

 

I'm much impressed for the most part. If they would invest in some higher grade materials and keep the nib production consistent with the one mine shipped with they could easily sell this pen for $15 and I would be happy to start recommending this as a great starter pen over the Pilot Metro. In the meantime it almost has a disposable feel to it which is a shame because it writes so well.

 

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the pen! I have the same color as yours and think it's a real winner compared to the demonstrator models that seem to be crack city. Can you see any tiny cracks or potential cracks where the plug goes into the barrel?

 

Ugh...now I'm getting a hankering for a Vacumatic...

[Seele]

Sorry for coming in late; my "coffee" 992 took a while to arrive, a day after my blue demo Lorelei which took even longer.

 

Some of my fellow correspondents have already covered a few different aspects of both pens; the paper in the Lorelei box states that the material used is "PC Plastics" which can only mean polycarbonate, a much tougher and costlier material used for high load applications such as making crash helmets, but then I cannot verify that.

 

My 992 arrived without any sign of cracking, and I can pull out the barrel end plug with my usual inner tyre rubber grip quite easily. Regarding the infamous cracking issue: the material has to be quite brittle to start with, and if the crack appears after the plug has been installed, it means the plug is effectively prizing the hole open.

 

Bearing in mind the low cost of the 992, I do feel that the material used is polystyrene: it is inexpensive and behaves very well when injection moulded, but it's really brittle. The cause of the cracking phenomenon is more than likely the tightness of the plug's fit: it should really be a moderately tight push fit, anything tighter, especially if an interference fit, could be too much for the material to handle.

 

Due to the fact that the plug in my example is comparatively loose, I do not think there is too great a likelihood for it to get cracks started, even though I have no plan to use it as an eyedropper filler. If the plug is not easily pulled out, it might be tight enough to crack though: I think a preventative measure is to increase the clearance between the plug shaft and the hole the tiniest bit, and then use an adhesive/filler of some description to fill in the gap, including the space within the plug itself.

 

Otherwise, the pen is performing well on its first load of Waterman Absolute Brown, which write a rather juicy line on higher quality papers, and wet enough for lesser ones. I shall try drier inks in due course: for my <$2 it is exemplary so far, but I will of course put the Lorelei through its paces and see how it works: a black feed has already been ordered for it so we'll see if its higher price - and a 2g greater weight - would give a more enjoyable and longer-lasting ownership experience.

[thudthwacker]

 

I have yet to try a Chinese pen with a screw-on cap. Does it help with the drying issues that plague Jinhao/Hero/Baoer et all?

 

I have had almost no trouble with Chinese nibs, and little trouble with construction quality. What gets me is that no matter what inks I've tried, if I let the pen go unused for a day or two, the nib dries out. I assume it's just low tolerances between the section and the snap-caps, but it renders them unusable, IMO. I won't keep a pen that I have to play with for 5 minutes to get started.

 

I've got a couple of 992s which have been inked for a couple of weeks; I've never had problematic starts with either of them. I had drying issues with the 599, and the 886 I had was so bad that I got rid of the pen. The 992s have been great.

[TheRealMikeDr]

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the pen! I have the same color as yours and think it's a real winner compared to the demonstrator models that seem to be crack city. Can you see any tiny cracks or potential cracks where the plug goes into the barrel?

 

Ugh...now I'm getting a hankering for a Vacumatic...

 

No signs of cracking anywhere.

[InsuranceMan]

chrisrap52 recently uploaded a new video addressing the cracking issue and what he did to eyedropper some of his pens. He's an amazing reviewer. The demonstators are nice pens, but look absolutely amazing to me when eye dropped.

My two cents. Cliff

[Nyanzilla]

To-day I got three of these pens (colourless, light-blue and solid red). I paid less than 10€ incl. shipping. So I'll just use them and see what happens. If they crack or break, well, I still can use the converters and nibs as a replacement for my other pens. Buying these parts separately would cost more. So in any way it's a good deal and an interesting experience.

[fabri00]

This 992 is the copy of a cheap pen from Sailor, available as demonstrator in clear and blue. The exception is the ring of the cap, similar to that one of another model from Sailor.

I bought a couple of them in while in Japan, at low price, but not so low as the 992. I dont remember it, but probably something around 10/15 €.

Therefore I believe the 992 is a good pen for a ridiculous price, and if somebody like this pen and want better quality, material, nib and reliability in general, can buy the Sailor one.

[Flounder]

I sanded down my plug - less than 1 minute with 600 grit wet & dry, then 1500 to dress. Hmmm that's some pretty soft plastic!!!

[Nyanzilla]

My first big disappointment:

That pen cannot carry a long cartridge nor two short ones. As it is a "remake" of a Japanese pen, it has a too short barrel but it has got the nozzle for standard international cartridges. So you can use it with one short cartridge only, which is a waste of space.