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Jinhao Fountain Pens - Worth The Extra Mark Up To Buy From His Nibs?


OakIris

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Hello Holly,

Not sure about that pen sorry. I use the 159 Models at work and the Bock size 6 complete nib unit fits into the apature with a little bit of adjustment. I then use one of Beauforts own convertors. The 159 with the Bock adjustment makes for a superb pen!

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I find his pricing of the Jinhao 159 at $35USD*

and his legally questionable reference to the Dollar 717i as a Pilot to be more than discouraging.

 

 

'Tis your prerogative re pricing.

 

Time permitting..please show us where HisNibs referenced "Dollar" brand

pen model i717 "as a Pilot".............................................................................

 

Thanks.

 

Fred

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'Tis your prerogative re pricing.

 

Time permitting..please show us where HisNibs referenced "Dollar" brand

pen model i717 "as a Pilot".............................................................................

 

Thanks.

 

Fred

 

 

Announcement: After being unavailable for several years, His Nibs is very happy to once again be able to offer the Pilot i717 piston-filler fountain pens. As you'll see below, these are available in both Demonstrator models and normal models with ink-view windows. Please see my video on these pens from 2008 here (I apologize for the poor audio quality back then!)

As per your request Freddy. Your reply is very much welcomed.
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k3eax, some buyers like to deal with a domestic dealer who provides pre-ship checks, post-sale service and support, and quick shipping. Others don't mind a wait of a few weeks, and are comfortable with eBay sales. These points already have been made.

 

The copy may be a typo or misprint. You are welcome to point out the issue with Mr. Haase, a respected member of the global fountain pen community. Contact information is available on his website, or you can use his FPN moniker, His Nibs. I'm sure he would welcome your feedback.

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Not sure this is entirely relevant to the topic, but in the last few months, I've had problems with my deliveries from China. It was the norm to have to wait about a month from the date of purchase (on eBay) for delivery to Canada. That was never a problem. However, several orders I placed this fall never arrived and ended up being refunded after I'd waited around 2 months - in some cases, I'd almost forgotten I'd ordered them! If you want your stuff quickly, I suppose paying extra to have it shipped from closer to home makes sense. Mind you I've never ordered from HisNibs. Then again, I have to admit I would never purchase a Jinhao 159 for 35 USD - but that's just me.

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Announcement: After being unavailable for several years, His Nibs is very happy to once again be able to offer the Pilot i717 piston-filler fountain pens. As you'll see below, these are available in both Demonstrator models and normal models with ink-view windows. Please see my video on these pens from 2008 here (I apologize for the poor audio quality back then!)

As per your request Freddy. Your reply is very much welcomed.

 

 

 

Thanks for the speedy reply.....As noted above 'Tis a typo....Cleary....

Additionally..perhaps you contact Norman..he is an upstanding citizen

and was selling items such as these 17 or is that 18 year*s ago..along with

nos Sheaffer pens et al.....

 

This does not constitute legal advice For that you haveta pay {freakinhappysmileyfacetimethingie}

 

 

 

 

Much Ado About Nothing.....

 

 

Still your friend and mine..

 

Fred

 

Redactin' to add an R to the word year*s....Typo on my part....and I don't like typing.....

Edited by Freddy
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Not sure this is entirely relevant to the topic, but in the last few months, I've had problems with my deliveries from China. It was the norm to have to wait about a month from the date of purchase (on eBay) for delivery to Canada. That was never a problem. However, several orders I placed this fall never arrived and ended up being refunded after I'd waited around 2 months - in some cases, I'd almost forgotten I'd ordered them! If you want your stuff quickly, I suppose paying extra to have it shipped from closer to home makes sense. Mind you I've never ordered from HisNibs.

Hi Dan,

 

I've noticed the same; I figured it was due to the rising tensions between the US & China, but if you're experiencing it in Canada, too, it must be something else.

 

- Anthony

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I had and have no desire to bad mouth Norman or his company, my thread title shows my motivation for starting this thread.

 

I have decided not to pay for his services to buy my Jinhaos simply because there is no compelling reason to do so. The consensus seems to be that the nibs on the pens made by Jinhao are generally decent and only need minor adjustments, and since I am not in a hurry, there is no reason to not wait for the pens to arrive from China. (And here's hoping that they actually do arrive!)

 

Holly

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I received two Jinhao 950's from China, the dragon and the bamboo versions; they were both ordered on the 13th of this month so I only waited for slightly over two weeks for them. Not bad at all!

 

I really liked the way the fountain pens looked as soon as I took them out of their packages. The blue and white motif is very nice looking, IMHO; I am impressed! I also like the weighty heft of them. The weight may prove to be fatiguing but I haven't had a chance to write with either of them as yet; they just came in the mail so I haven't had a chance to clean or ink them.

 

Both of these were supposed to have medium nibs - not by my choice but that was all that was offered. The nib on the Dragon version of the pen, however, has a definite "F" stamped on it. The Bamboo pen has 18Kgp stamped on it, no size indication. I did an eyeball comparison and the nib on the 950 is definitely smaller than a #6 - not a very scientific check but the difference is obvious. I was hoping I could replace the nibs with something more interesting - stubs and such - but may have trouble finding the size I need. First things first - I need to try out the pens to find out what the stock nibs are like before worrying about replacement nibs.

 

The converters that came with the pen look OK and don't seem particularly flimsy, but I have read that in general Jinhao converters aren't particularly good. I will find out when I try filling the pens. Nice to know that Schmidt converters will fit the pens if I need to replace them.

 

I plan to take some photos and do a quick review of my new Jinhao's once I get them all and have had a chance to try them out. I am still waiting for a roller ball version of the 950 (I won't review that one, just show pictures of it - it is the Chinese Junk version of the pen) and a #8812, their rosewood fountain pen. I may still have to order the Shrimp and Horse version of the 950, especially if I like the way the others write - got to have a complete set, right?!? (Especially when the price is so right!)

 

Holly

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Holly,

Can you measure the diameter of the feed? A #6 nib uses a 6mm diameter feed, and a #5 uses a 5mm diameter feed. It's possible the small nib is on a 5mm diameter feed, so a standard #5 nib could be used.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

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Unfortunately I do not have a pair of calipers with which to measure the feed. I have had a pair on my wish list for a couple of years now, but that is less than helpful!

 

According to some reviewers on Amazon, however, the nib is a standard #5 nib. I also read on another site that the nib width was 7mm and the nib length was 17mm. Does that help at all to identify the size, Richard?

 

If it is a #5 nib, what is a good source for replacement nibs?

 

Holly

Edited by OakIris
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I have had both good and back luck with stuff shipping from China.

  • In one case the original order AND the replacement order failed to arrive, and the seller refunded my $$. This took quite a while, as we waited to see that the original order wasn't delayed in transit, then again waited to see that the replacement order was delayed in transit. So it was a few months before the seller gave up and refunded me.
  • In other cases, the order arrived within 2 weeks.
  • I understand that shipments are made in batches. Likely when they fill up a container.
    • So if you are at the end when the container is almost full, you ship quickly.
    • If you are at the start of filling the empty container, you have to wait until the container is filled before it ships.

As for nib adjustments. I can say that testing a nib, adjusting then cleaning out the ink takes time and effort. I would NOT do it for only a $5 per pen markup. Even if the pen needs no adjustment, I still have to clean out the testing ink. Some pens are easy and require little or no adjustments, others can be a PiA and require a fair amount of work to get the ink to flow decently.

  • Example1. I had a pack of Baoer 388s, of which an average of 4 out of 5 pens, needed the nib adjusted to get a decent ink flow. Those nibs were dryer than dry. But once adjusted they are fine writers, and I use one daily.
  • Example2. My pack of Jinhao 599 (my give-away pens), were all good, right out of the box, needing no adjustments. But I had to spend time and effort to ink, test and clean each pen, to verify that.

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It kind of depends... for example you can buy a few Jinhaos and have 1/5 be bad (thats about my ratio for good/bad Chinese fountain pens).

 

1. Waiting for a bad pen is frustrating

2. Bad pens give people a bad impression (all chinese fps are bad)

3. The shipping takes a long time and you have no idea when itll get here

 

 

You essentially avoid this problem by buying from him. Im not an advocate for him but Im just saying that it has its purposes. For example if Im getting a gift, I might want to buy from him to make sure that I get a gift on time and that its reliable. I would hate to give someone a pen and then have it be a bad pen, and give them a bad experience overall.

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2. Bad pens give people a bad impression (all chinese fps are bad)

 

 

 

 

wow... have u tried them all?

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I have in my collection at any one time possibly 30 JINHAO Fountain Pens which I use as gifts to anyone who will accept them, all of my recipients accept them readily and if they are Brits like me they will ask for one for

their wife or child ,why, because they like them,having edited their pages when they were selling lots of pens

direct from the makers they used to show this video which I suppose was a promotions idea they used to show a

sort of frame which held 6 or so nibs which were being tried out before sale. I have never found the company difficult to deal with, I edited their pages for FREE as I liked what I bought and it was very affordable,I never

ever learned to adjust a nib as I never ever found a problem with them,all I learned to do was flush out the

Convertor which in every instance would allow better flow and I would have no further problems with the pen.I

even got to name a few of the pens.I had a most pleasant experience one day trolling the internet to discover the recently deceased famous cricketer Max Walker appearing on what used to be the ABC TV show he was on about his

pens Namely Mont Blanc Boheme with which he had written some 40 or so novels, he then went on to show a Jinhao

Golden Dragon which he had purchased somewhere in Asia for a couple of dollars, he swore by this pen as a daily

user which he displayed in his pen rack alongside his Mont Blancs.I was so impressed that I contacted Jinhao and told them that he had in fact done them a great favour by promoting the Golden Dragon and that they should reward him for that ,they readily agreed and sent me two of their best pens to present to him on their behalf,he was

absolutely astounded at what they had done,so much so that he wrote me a very personal note and sent me a copy of Hats,Caps,and helmets fully autographed, a photo which I will treasure all of my life.My favorite Jinhao has to be one which I named,it is called The Abalone,Mother of Pearl or some other name which it has been given recently it is well worth it,I have three.

it will cost you a little more than others but is well worth it. Trust Me. oneill

Edited by oneill
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Thank you for your above post regarding the Jinhao pens. I recently purchased five on Ebay from a dealer I enjoy shopping with. They were not his usual offerings & no one else bid. I already have one & enjoy mine, but these were purchased to be given away; I hope they also will be good writers for the recipients.

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Unfortunately I do not have a pair of calipers with which to measure the feed. I have had a pair on my wish list for a couple of years now, but that is less than helpful!

 

According to some reviewers on Amazon, however, the nib is a standard #5 nib. I also read on another site that the nib width was 7mm and the nib length was 17mm. Does that help at all to identify the size, Richard?

 

If it is a #5 nib, what is a good source for replacement nibs?

 

Holly

Sounds like a #5.

Goulet Pens do #5 nibs: https://www.gouletpens.com/replacement-nibs/c/294

 

Regards,

 

Richard

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wow... have u tried them all?

I believe his point was that if someone gets a bad pen they may have a tendency to lump together all the pens from that manufacturer or from that country as being bad pens. Earlier in his post he mentioned that in his experience about 1 in 5 Chinese pens have a problem.

 

Both of the Jinhao's I received had great flow right from the start, but further use of the pens on different paper made me realize the nibs did in fact need some help. One nib had a tine misalignment and both needed some smoothing to make them write better for me. I will probably do a bit more smoothing, but I think I will enjoy using these pens.

 

I am not sure how extensive or thorough the nib checking at His Nibs actually is. The pens are not filled with ink so smoothness is not checked. I think he only looks at the nibs with a loupe - "high magnification" - and adjusts the tines if they are out of alignment or too far apart/too close together so that it would effect the ink flow. Perhaps it would have saved me five minutes or so for them to have fixed the alignment before shipment, but I would still have had to do the smoothing.

 

@Richard: The #5 nibs at Goulet's are Edison nibs and come as complete unit with the feed and feed holder; depending upon how easy it is to remove the nibs from the feed assembly, one of those would probably work. I see that Fountain Pen Revolution sells loose #f5 steel nibs for $7; I may get one of their broad nibs just to see what it is like. Replacement #6 nibs seem quite prevalent compared to #5’s; I will continue to look for more choices.

Slightly off topic: I only have one Edison fountain pen, ended up sending it to a nibmeister to have the nib fixed so I would like it. Doesn’t mean all Edison steel nibs are problematical, of course – didn’t we just have a similar discussion? lol – but it does make me wonder if it is worth the $20. (On the other hand, I may try one of the stubs in my Edison pen. Like most of us here, you are an enabler, Richard. My wallet doesn’t need help spending its money; I think it already does that on its own while I am sleeping. :P)

 

Holly

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Both of the Jinhao's I received had great flow right from the start, but further use of the pens on different paper made me realize the nibs did in fact need some help. One nib had a tine misalignment and both needed some smoothing to make them write better for me. I will probably do a bit more smoothing, but I think I will enjoy using these pens.

You mention that they were OK to begin with but then needed their tines realigned. Tines sometimes do naturally become misaligned with use, but that's not the fault of the pen. It happens with all pens depending on how you use them.

Smoothing them would have been unnecessary.

Edited by Bluey
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