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)

http://i66.tinypic.com/154vh8z.jpg

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:

http://i68.tinypic.com/14vnwr7.jpg

All pens came with;

- Fine nib, and

- one converter/pen

http://i65.tinypic.com/2qscxhx.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/2r4s707.jpg

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

http://i64.tinypic.com/eulv9k.jpg

...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"

http://i64.tinypic.com/kxac6.jpg

"Sweden"

http://i67.tinypic.com/1zdvkg4.jpg

"4th of July"

http://i66.tinypic.com/5m0ilz.jpg

"Unsuccessful"

http://i68.tinypic.com/nuj3b.jpg

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

[Xenter]

Looks interesting! I like the 4th of July combo you made. I only owned one plastic 599 (the dark clear one) with a fine nib and I really like the way it writes. I hope you have a good experience with the Jinhaos as well.

[Trom]

Nice!

 

I'm still in doubt whether to buy a pack or not. I'm looking forward to read your writing experiences.

[Sasha Royale]

Success develops copies. Ever notice that all car doors work the same way ?

 

The original design proved to be very successful. Not surprising that it is copied. Your pens are clearly marked with the name Jinhao, so there is no obvious attempt to misrepresent. I believe the copyrights have long since expired. The Jinhao version is a bit smaller and the plastic substantially thinner. I have experienced good service from this copy. Though I cannot judge long-term durability, I think it is good value.

 

Sorry that you got "stuck" with so many of these, of which you are" not a big fan". Maybe you can PIF to a school, after you have had great fun with them.

 

Write with joy.

[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

http://i64.tinypic.com/2q8zqtt.jpg

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):

http://i65.tinypic.com/2uq0oxi.jpg

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!

http://i65.tinypic.com/110glsn.jpg

Cleaned up and stowed stuff away

http://i68.tinypic.com/351bxc8.jpg

[george c]

Hi Dark,

 

What a great review and fantastic photography.

 

Yes, whiskey is good!!!!!

 

Ironically, just ordered two of these yesterday. Yep, $2.86 for the both of them.

 

Best regards and continued success.....

 

George

 

EDIT: Like your doodle........

Edited May 25, 2016 by george c

[Darkbulb]

Hi Dark,

 

What a great review and fantastic photography.

 

Yes, whiskey is good!!!!!

 

Ironically, just ordered two of these yesterday. Yep, $2.86 for the both of them.

 

Best regards and continued success.....

 

George

 

Thanks

I think you'll like them!

[Trom]

Thank you for the excellent review! Two questions, are the plastic 599's as good (writing) as the metal one?

Do they have the same nib?

[torstar]

Success develops copies. Ever notice that all car doors work the same way ?

 

The original design proved to be very successful. Not surprising that it is copied. Your pens are clearly marked with the name Jinhao, so there is no obvious attempt to misrepresent. I believe the copyrights have long since expired. The Jinhao version is a bit smaller and the plastic substantially thinner. I have experienced good service from this copy. Though I cannot judge long-term durability, I think it is good value.

 

Sorry that you got "stuck" with so many of these, of which you are" not a big fan". Maybe you can PIF to a school, after you have had great fun with them.

 

Write with joy.

 

All car doors open the same way? What about the Benz Gullwing you were driving around in last week?

[Darkbulb]

Thank you for the excellent review! Two questions, are the plastic 599's as good (writing) as the metal one?

Do they have the same nib?

 

THAT makes me really wish I had had the foresight to ink up the metal one as well...which..I didn't

 

Having said that, the two nibs actually rather different.

 

As you can see in this image there are three versions of 599s;

http://kbeezie.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nibs.jpg

 

My metal bodied one is the same as the green one above (Lamy Safari styled nib), but

The plastic bodied ones all have the v2 nibs as shown on the black demonstrator above.

 

I'll try to ink up the metal body one tomorrow and see how it compares.

 

Now, unfortunately, I feel as if I want a v3 as well...

Edited May 25, 2016 by Darkbulb

[bobje]

Your photography really tells this story well. Nice work!

[Trom]

Thanks, waiting for part 2

[Darkbulb]

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

http://i68.tinypic.com/23mab60.jpg

Conclusion: Buy both versions (or all three)

[Trom]

Thanks again!

 

I think I will buy a few metal ones. Although I saw a good offer for 8 plastic 599's as well.

[Darkbulb]

Thanks again!

 

I think I will buy a few metal ones. Although I saw a good offer for 8 plastic 599's as well.

 

It's disturbingly entertaining to create unique color combinations using the 8 plastic pen bodies

[Helen350]

Outstanding review on the Jinhao 599. I was not partial to the original nib on the metal versions, so I took the nib off the plastic versions and put them on the metal versions. Half of my plastic 599s ultimately developed small cracks. The metal 599s are more durable, and are wet writers.

[Darkbulb]

Outstanding review on the Jinhao 599. I was not partial to the original nib on the metal versions, so I took the nib off the plastic versions and put them on the metal versions. Half of my plastic 599s ultimately developed small cracks. The metal 599s are more durable, and are wet writers.

Ah, I didn't know that the nibs are interchangeable between the 599s models - that's great to know

[Helen350]

Ah, I didn't know that the nibs are interchangeable between the 599s models - that's great to know

I unscrewed the nib/section of the plastic or demonstrator (by color), and screwed them onto the metal version. The metal version has a plastic section with its' own nib. Just as you exchanged nib sections to give yourself a two-tone colored pen, I did it for the metal version.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2016 by Helen350

[ac12]

I have the one with the traditional nib.

It writes really nice and smooth

I think I will get a few to use for a "give away" pen, to get someone started with fountain pens.

[Darkbulb]

Receive a white metal bodied (v1) Jinhao 599

http://i63.tinypic.com/25tdaty.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/34q5y77.jpg