The Jinhao 599

[Darkbulb]

I am not a big fan of - nor do I support - blatant copies/rip-offs of other companies products but with a heart hungry for both bargains as well as pens I decided to swallow what's left of my pride (it went down easier with some whiskey) and buy some Jinhao 599s.

(The Jinhao 599 is a straight out copy of the Lamy Safari all the way down to the shape of the nib).

Yesterday two packages arrived (took about 10 days or so w/ free shipping from China);

Eight plastic bodies 599s ($14 w/ free shipping), and
One metal bodies 599 ($5 w/ free shipping)



There are technically at least three different models of the 599s - this article explains and shows it really well.

I will say that the metal bodied pen feels quite a bit better in my hand. I like the extra weight (it's about twice the weight compared to the plastic version) and it feels more sturdy when holding it. Having said that...the plastic pens felt a lot better than I thought they would...they are of surprisingly good quality.

Metal (w/ black Jinhao lettering) vs Plastic model:


All pens came with;
- Fine nib, and
- one converter/pen




The metal bodied pen I got already came in a duo-color combination (Go Giants!);


...which of course implies all the fun you can have when you buy a pack of these pens (Note: the pack I bought is traditionally a ten-pack but the black and white were not included in my deal).

As all parts are interchangeable you can mix caps, sections and barrels to get exactly the color mix you want. Here are some of my favorites;

"The Ferraris"


"Sweden"


"4th of July"


"Unsuccessful"


Coming up next: How do they actually write?
I got four new ink samples that I'll be putting into some of these pens tomorrow.
Fun stuff

[Darkbulb]

Had some time to test out the new pens - and new inks - today

Loaded up four of the Jinhao 599s with different ink;
- Red demonstrator got Diamine Pumpkin,
- Orange pen got the Akkerman Oranje Boven,
- Green pen got some R&K Alt-Grun ink, and finally
- The brown demonstrator pen got a dash of Noodlers Walnut ink



I decided to try out the inks (and pens) on two rather different papers - a Rhodia notebook and a Hobonichi Techo planner (Tomoe River paper).

Note that all these pens have Fine nibs so the lines here won't be very wide/wet so it will naturally not show off the colors as well as something wider would.

Results are as per below (I tried white balancing as best as I could):


Impressions:

599 pens:
Really impressed. I've tested four out of nine now and the nibs are consistently smooth and I really enjoyed writing with them. In some cases the ink flow seemed a little bit irregular but that might just be due to the first time using them and/or paper, etc. Well pleased with them so far!

The inks:
* Noodler's Walnut ink
I rather liked how it looked on the whiter Rhodia paper. It really came across as deep brown in person.
In the Hobo it became a bit too dark for me and got a bit too close to black to really stand out.

* R&K Alt-Grun
This ink was a bit of a pleasant surprise to me. I added it on a whim when I placed my order and as it turns out I really like it. It looks very similar on either paper and has a very dark green sheen to it. A very nice ink.

* Akkerman Oranje Boven
Holy cow - this is orange! It popped most on the white Rhodia paper but even on the bit more muted Tomoe River paper it still retained its orange 'pop'. This is a very, strong orange.

* Diamine Pumpkin
Writing with this ink right after having used the Akkerman one it was clear to me that this is a much more muted orange. It's very deep in color and much more towards the red side of things.

I also spent a minute doodling real quick (don't judge me!) to maybe more get a sense of how smooth the pens felt and I really, really enjoyed them!


Cleaned up and stowed stuff away

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Got around to inking up the metal bodied 599 (v1) pen as well (the one that has the Lamy Safari nib clone) and tried to do somewhat of a comparison between that and the plastic (v2) bodied pens (that sports a different nib shape).

Key take-aways, if you fail to read my miserable hand writing;
- v1 feels smoother (but marginally...they are both very smooth writers),
- v1 seems to lay a bit more even ink than the v2 as you might be able to tell in the photo below, and
- even though the v1 is about twice the weight of the v2 - when you're actually writing that difference doesn't really stand out



Conclusion: Buy both versions (or all three)

[scrivelry]

I have some of these and like them very much. I just ordered a batch of I think 8 of them for less than nine dollars. It does not have all the pretty colors, but it's a start. I would not be indulging myself in 8 Lamy Safaris.

The Jinhao and Hero "copies" of the Lamy Safari really don't bother me - knock offs are common in women's clothing, so it is not a new concept for me. Neither one is pretending to be a Safari - they are both very clearly marked, and that makes a difference to me, too.

[Darkbulb]

Receive a white metal bodied (v1) Jinhao 599

[ac12]

I got some to use for "give aways."
Mine have the traditional nib, rather than the Lamy look-alike nib.
Nice writing pen. Good for an everyday knock about pen.