Darkbulb
May 6th, 2016, 09:24 PM
After having read so much, often very positive, about the Jinhao fountain pens I decided that I had to at least try one. Considering the fact that these pens often sell for under $5 it was a gamble the size of a fru fru drink at Starbucks.
I spent $2.91 on mine and shipping was free from China to California so the cost was closer to a cup of drip coffee.
It took 13 days and it arrived safely in a well padded envelope.
(How do they do this for three bucks shipped? Do I even want to know?)
Taking it out of the padded envelope the very first impression I had was 'wow, this thing is substantial'! It had a very nice, rather heavy weight to it and it felt like a high quality pen just holding it in my hand. Well impressed at this point.
http://i66.tinypic.com/10gzfhl.jpg
Posted, with the cap on, it lies very comfortably in the hand and feels, as far as my novice self can tell, very well balanced.
http://i66.tinypic.com/2qaizjs.jpg
It came with a rather attractive looking medium duo-tone nib.
http://i65.tinypic.com/dc5wns.jpg
Opening up the pen reveals a converter ready to be filled up.
Really? Not even a new Lamy Safari comes with a free converter :)
Still, well impressed.
http://i67.tinypic.com/x3e739.jpg
Filling it up with the converter was just like using a Sheaffer converter where you twist the piston down, shove the tip into the ink..and twist the piston up et voila - it's full of ink.
There was really only one test left..how does it write?
Me, I have found that I prefer XF/F nibs and these Jinhao pens seems to be impossible to find with anything finer than a medium. So apart from fearing that it wouldn't write at all - to that the nib simply would be too wide for me - there was a full spectrum of hesitation as I put pen to paper.
With the risk of sounding like I'm being paid by Jinhao (not sure how much they could pay me really though as their pens are $3...) - all I can say is:
"If you haven't had a chance to try one out - do it. Get one tonight"
http://i64.tinypic.com/33mq5j7.jpg
I spent $2.91 on mine and shipping was free from China to California so the cost was closer to a cup of drip coffee.
It took 13 days and it arrived safely in a well padded envelope.
(How do they do this for three bucks shipped? Do I even want to know?)
Taking it out of the padded envelope the very first impression I had was 'wow, this thing is substantial'! It had a very nice, rather heavy weight to it and it felt like a high quality pen just holding it in my hand. Well impressed at this point.
http://i66.tinypic.com/10gzfhl.jpg
Posted, with the cap on, it lies very comfortably in the hand and feels, as far as my novice self can tell, very well balanced.
http://i66.tinypic.com/2qaizjs.jpg
It came with a rather attractive looking medium duo-tone nib.
http://i65.tinypic.com/dc5wns.jpg
Opening up the pen reveals a converter ready to be filled up.
Really? Not even a new Lamy Safari comes with a free converter :)
Still, well impressed.
http://i67.tinypic.com/x3e739.jpg
Filling it up with the converter was just like using a Sheaffer converter where you twist the piston down, shove the tip into the ink..and twist the piston up et voila - it's full of ink.
There was really only one test left..how does it write?
Me, I have found that I prefer XF/F nibs and these Jinhao pens seems to be impossible to find with anything finer than a medium. So apart from fearing that it wouldn't write at all - to that the nib simply would be too wide for me - there was a full spectrum of hesitation as I put pen to paper.
With the risk of sounding like I'm being paid by Jinhao (not sure how much they could pay me really though as their pens are $3...) - all I can say is:
"If you haven't had a chance to try one out - do it. Get one tonight"
http://i64.tinypic.com/33mq5j7.jpg