Lamy Safari vs Jinhao 599

[austollie]

One of the hotly contested debates about value for money in the Lamy section of this forum caused me to order the Jinhao 599, so that I could make up my own mind about the quality of the Chinese pen.

 

In this review, I have outlined my comparisons.  I have tried to be as unbiased as possible, but that’s not easy, given that the primary interest of my collection is 1970s and 1980s student cartridge filler fountain pens.  The reason that the Lamy Safari speaks to me so loudly is that when it appeared in 1980, its styling was bold and in stark contrast to that of the established players, such as Pelikan with its Pelikano range. 

 

In this comparison I have used my favourite Safari, the Petrol special edition with a medium nib, and the Jinhao 599 with a fine nib.  Ideally, I would have picked a Safari with fine nib for the comparison, but all of those in my collection are currently at the office and I’m at home in Covid lockdown.  I had also given consideration to reviewing other Safari or Al Star equivalents such as the Wing Sung 6359, but I decided against looking at direct knock offs.  The Jinhao 599 is sufficiently different, both functionally and visually, for me to consider it a pen ‘inspired’ by the Safari, rather than a copy.  The dimensions of the Safari and 599 are sufficiently close that it’s possible to use a Safari cap on a 599 barrel and vice versa, albeit the fit is not great.  The sections and barrels are not interchangeable, because they use a different thread pitch.

 

So now to the (mostly objective) differences:

• The Jinhao has a different clip to the striking paperclip design of the Lamy Safari.  Personally, I prefer the Safari design, but that’s hardly surprising, given the focus of my collection;
• The Jinhao uses an international cartridge available from many makers, whereas the Lamy Safari uses a proprietary cartridge, designed to provide the maker with an ongoing revenue stream;
• The Jinhao uses a different shaped nib;
• The Jinhao uses a standard screw thread (which I will illustrate below), allowing those who want to, to make their own barrels with a standard tap.  The Lamy Safari uses a proprietary thread pitch;
• The Jinhao is an order of magnitude lower in cost than the Safari. 

 

And here are my subjective views:

• The Safari feels much better in the hand than the Jinhao.  The Jinhao plastic somehow feels cheap and cheerful, which is hardly a surprise, given the difference in cost;
• I didn’t like the Jinhao converter at all, whereas the Lamy converter works well.  However, to be fair, the standard Safari does not come with a converter at all, yet the Jinhao, at a fraction of the cost, comes with one as standard;
• Now of course what really matters to me is how a pen writes.  Well, here’s the kicker.  The Jinhao at a fraction of the cost of the Safari writes buttery smooth and is the equal of the Lamy Petrol in this regard.  That just floors me.  The quality of standard steel Lamy nibs is a little hit and miss.  The one that came with the Petrol special edition is good.  One or two have been scratchy or have required their tines to be flossed.  Based on a sample size of one, I can’t really make comments about the variability in the Jinhao nibs.

 

Anyway, enough verbiage from me.  Let’s now look at what they look like side by side

 

Photo 1 shows the two pens side by side.  I’ll leave you to work out which one you prefer.  I prefer the Lamy safari in terms of aesthetics and feel.

 

 

 

 

Photo 2 shows the two pens disassembled with their respective converters.

 

 

Photo 3 shows the Jinhao 599 with a standard nut (taken from a bicycle hub that I happened to have taken apart recently) screwed onto the section thread.

 

 

 

Photo 4 shows a handwriting comparison with an M nib for the Safar and an F nib for the Jinhao 599.

[OCArt]

I picked up a Jinhao 619 on a lark and have been very satisfied with its performance. Clearly a Lamy copy expect for the Jinhao branding on the barrel. 

[jchch1950]

The Lamy Safari can be used with many different nibs, from extra-fine to 1.9 italic, that are available in many pen stores.

[GeneralSynopsis]

7 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

The Lamy Safari can be used with many different nibs, from extra-fine to 1.9 italic, that are available in many pen stores.

Jinhao #5 (compatible?) nibs can certainly be obtained in EF, F, and 0.7, 1.1, 1.5, 1.9, 2.5 and 2.9 stubs (the EF is a bit tricky as if you are not careful you will get a hooded nib, but there are standard shaped nibs in EF). I have used (and have a stock of) the EF, F, 0.7 and 1.1. The EF is a nail, the 0.7 needs sharpening it is too round for my tastes, and the 1.1 I reground to 1.0 to match the Parker Vector F italic nib width, which I like a lot. Can't speak for how well the larger nibs function. 

[RJS]

Great review, thanks.

 

I have a few Lamy pens but probably won't buy any more. They nibs are rarely acceptable as they arrive, and offer little more that a $1 Chinese knock off offers. Lamy QC is shocking. My most recent Safari arrived with a crease in the nib! 
 

Lamy offer cool designs, but for the money they're very poor compared to similarly priced Pilot or TWSBI pens, for example.