This is my first review so please be gentle with me.
I purchased this pen from Ebay. It was moderately pricey, but I liked the way it looked, and took a gamble. I am pleased that I did.

Appearance and finish

This is a metal of sorts with some nice laser engraving, and gold color fill. The inlays all have clean crisp lines, and there seem to be no missing lines. The pen is most likely brass ( I am sure) with an enamel finish. The finish is put on very well with no defects, and a nice deep shine to the polishing. The cap is a snap on that fits firmly, and works very well.


Size and Weight

With the cap on this pen is 142mm / 5.59 inches. With the cap removed form nib to tail it is 126mm / 4.95 inches. Posted it is 158mm / 6.25 inches. The Barrel is 14.7mm / .580 inches in diameter. The cap is 16.17mm / .636 inches X 66mm / 2.59 inches.
I have no way acurately measure the weight, but it is a heavy pen to me although it was listed as a medium weight. I know that a cup of coffe makes a good counter-weight.
It fits well in my hand posted or not, and while much weight is in the cap it is not so long when posted that it is hard to manage. The design of the pen seems to just deliver the weight down to the nib with no real ackward top heavy balancing act.



Nib Design and Function

I am a sucker for a good looking nib, and this pen certainly fits the bill. This is a longer nib at almost 1 inch from the end of the barrel to the tip. It is 18 KGP with nice lines in the engraving. It lays down a medium-fine line that is fairly wet. It is very smooth, reminding me of greased skies on an icy snow slope. I only wish my Pelikans came this smooth, and it is the highlight of the pen for me.


Overall Impression

I spent about $50.00 on this pen, and although it is large, and heavy, I have no regret. It really is easy to use, and looks very nice. The smooth wetness of the nib, combined with the good looks makes it one that I will have pleasure using at home. I don't think I'll carry it around much due to the size. There was one dissapointment to this pen, and it is purely a personal thing. The Cap is a snap cap, and not a screw on. I think a pen this size, and good looking that writes as well as it does, should have a screw on cap. If I could trim it down some, and change that one feature, I could have well found the perfect pen for me.

I hope this review has been helpful in some way, and in that I would've made some small contribution to FPN.

Chuck

Hmm this looks like it commemorates the first emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Shi Min.

Great looking pen, Thanks!

How's the plating quality on the nib?

On this pen the plating looks very good. As it does on the other one I have (which is still awaiting a review). The lines are crisp with no overflow, and the distinctions are clear. There are no places of missing plating which I can see. I can not tell you the microns as there is no way to know, but it all seems to flow well with good contrast, and smoothnes.

Thanks...Now if I could find one in black or almost black, I'd hit it.

I have a black one, and it's awesome. Also, a rather ugly fake wood one that's equally good. I've tried a lot of Chinese pens, and my favorites are Jinhao's, Dinuoyangs, and Wing Sungs.

Yeah, the names sound stupid, but these in my experience deliver better results than, say, Heros or Dukes.

Nigel Duncan

Excellent review. Very good photos. Thanks for introducing me to a pen I had not heard of.

Yeah...I found a black one on fleabay a while ago and ordered it, thanks to your review. I think I'll review it once (if?) it arrives.

Very good review for a first-timer . Not my taste but I agree the nib is pretty! And for $50.00!!
Enjoy it!

Probably brass, which seem to be the metal of preference for most ChiCom pens. Not sure why, might be a cultural preference for a heavier writing instrument. Might be something to do with a writing system that utilized a brush rather than a quill.

We have many Jinhao pens on my site at: www.isellpens.com . I have been very happy with the quality and performance of these pens. My prices are much cheaper than what you could buy on eBay.

I am so disagree with you on the price bit but now you are charging something like $25.00 for postage Id rather buy on ebay thanks.

isellpens.com theoretically cannot match eBay prices. Nothing against them. Todd just said too much too soon.

I cant believe your statement about your prices being cheaper. I think if you look at the gotoschool site you will find that their prices leave yours for dead, especially when you look at your shipping costs which I think are off the Planet.

i think todd serves more the USA market, not so much off the planet... like say... Australia!!!


PS. some US ebay sellers won't ship outside the US.

Todd does have very good prices, but when you compute shipping, for me its cheaper to buy from say Swisher's or Peartree Pens (no affiliation blah...blah...blah).