Jinhao 992 Informal Review

[dapprman]

Lets be honest about the cracking issue. Most of these we've got to give to people who are new to fountain pens and will be used with the cartridge converter. Most the recipients either won't notice the cracks (most you actually have to look for else you'll not notice them) else will not be too bothered a the pens still work well (as a whole - I've had 1 out of 12 that just would not write properly - down to feed issues).

[zdeveric]

My has broken on the cap bellow ring of the clip. I used glu to solve that.

[truthpil]

Lets be honest about the cracking issue. Most of these we've got to give to people who are new to fountain pens and will be used with the cartridge converter. Most the recipients either won't notice the cracks (most you actually have to look for else you'll not notice them) else will not be too bothered a the pens still work well (as a whole - I've had 1 out of 12 that just would not write properly - down to feed issues).

 

As a "gateway drug" for folks new to fountain pens, I think it would be better to give them a 991 than a 992. No cracking issues so far and the 991 looks so much like a Uni-ball pen that newcomers might feel more comfortable with them.

[mknoblauch]

Seeing the pic with the Noodlers flex nib did it for me --I've now got three of these on their way. Thanks for the review

[truthpil]

Here's my update on nib exchange-ability with this pen:

 

TWSBI ECO nibs = YES

 

Noodler's Nib Creaper/Charlie nibs = YES (but a little loose and the feed can't keep up for flexing at any decent speed)

 

JoWo #5 nibs = NO (on both the 991 and 992 the nib is a little too thick at the back end and won't sit back far enough to work well)

[stormymorning]

Thanks for the review and the updates! The possible nib switches are interesting too. I have to try my eco stub on it and my nib creaper flex nib. But first I need to wait for my order to arrive.... Patience, patience....

[WireFox]

I am rather late joining this one..but then I have been away for some time now.

 

I did not try the Jinhao nib because I have been there with other pens and whilst the nibs are often passable I have yet to find them pleasurable. I fitted a TWSBI 1.1mm stub nib before inking. I did want to see what the 992 looked like in the flesh though. I have been wary of investing much in demonstrators since I joined the TWSBI Destructive Testing Programme. Inevitably both the 580AL and the Vac 700 cracked and became unusable within a year. Please do not encourage me to write emails to TWSBI; they know all about it from many others and yet they keep selling the things so sending me a couple of spares made of the same material is hardly going to help matters.

 

The 992 is disposable from the start at £3.99 from a UK supplier but the pen I received is very far from disposable and whilst does not have the look of quality that the TWSBIs have it is nevertheless a most usable and comfortable pen. Lets be honest it can crack all it wants for that price and it would still make me smile.

 

 

 

[TSherbs]

Wirefox, which TWSBI nib is that (from what pen)?

[WireFox]

TSherbs, the nib is the 1.1mm stub; it was purchased separate from the pen that being the 580AL. In theory the 580AL uses a near No5 nib and the Vac700 a near No6. I say 'near' because there is dimensional variance depending on the manufacturer. Shoulder width should not be a problem but shank profile and taper can mean the difference between a good fit or not.

 

By way of example, in the 992, I tried a Faber-Castell nib...too loose and a Visconti nib...way too tight thus 'standard' nib sizing across pens reporting to take standard sized nibs is rather like Goldilocks choosing her porridge.

 

Just as postscript to my original post; I found the 992 converter and feed excellent delivering plenty of ink to the tip of the stub nib and giving a nice wet line. In contrast the 580AL was a dry feeder and fast writing would inevitably introduce skips.

 

I did try an eyedropper conversion but it leaked from the barrel finial. Be aware that, on my model at least, the finial is a separate insert push fitted into the end of the barrel and is not sealed in any way. The pen did not leak from the section/barrel joint but i could see bleed if not leaking into the thread of the feed housing section. I did use silicon grease.

[TSherbs]

TSherbs, the nib is the 1.1mm stub; it was purchased separate from the pen that being the 580AL. In theory the 580AL uses a near No5 nib and the Vac700 a near No6. I say 'near' because there is dimensional variance depending on the manufacturer. Shoulder width should not be a problem but shank profile and taper can mean the difference between a good fit or not.

 

By way of example, in the 992, I tried a Faber-Castell nib...too loose and a Visconti nib...way too tight thus 'standard' nib sizing across pens reporting to take standard sized nibs is rather like Goldilocks choosing her porridge.

 

Just as postscript to my original post; I found the 992 converter and feed excellent delivering plenty of ink to the tip of the stub nib and giving a nice wet line. In contrast the 580AL was a dry feeder and fast writing would inevitably introduce skips.

 

I did try an eyedropper conversion but it leaked from the barrel finial. Be aware that, on my model at least, the finial is a separate insert push fitted into the end of the barrel and is not sealed in any way. The pen did not leak from the section/barrel joint but i could see bleed if not leaking into the thread of the feed housing section. I did use silicon grease.

 

great info

 

thanx

[truthpil]

It's been a few months since this thread started so I'm wondering....is anyone still getting new 992s with cracked barrels?

 

I'm finding that I like the 992 more than the LingMo Lorelei and would like to get some more opaque versions for putting Hero 5028 nibs in, but don't want any more cracked pens. Maybe I'm too optimistic to think they've already solved the problem at the factory.

[bob_hayden]

 

Lets be honest it can crack all it wants for that price and it would still make me smile.

 

But my 50-year-old Sheaffer Dollar Pens have not cracked yet!-)

 

I bought three different solid color 992s last month. All look fine to the naked eye; all show small cracks under a loupe. My guess is that nothing will be fixed as long as the pens continue to sell, and when they stop selling they will be replaced by a new model -- with new problems;-)

[WireFox]

Mine was perfect but time will tell. What I did notice is that the o-ring between the barrel and the section helps to prevent over tightening and that has to help. The cracking must be down to mechanical stressing either introduced in the design of the moulding and/or induced by the mechanics of fitting the cap to the pen or the section to the barrel. If the moulding has inherent stressing then even gentle handling could cause the cracks to appear and propagate. Good ergonomic and aesthetic design does not necessarily equate to well engineered unfortunately.

 

Edit: Bob, I will check with a loupe; good point. I use a 64 year old Sheaffer Sentinel every day and that has not cracked either...but my 4 year old Visconti Van Gogh has already developed a couple of cracks in the resin. In the end it is down to material and moulding design and I don't think much goes into the engineering of many modern pens :-)

Edited August 17, 2017 by WireFox

[Mech-for-i]

Well, my 4 X solid color version all working fine ; showing no cracks yet. I just check it under a light table and loupe. Cannot speak for the demonstrators, I did acquire half a dozen of them but since my intention with them is to hack them they all end up disassembled and parts used on some of my weird experiments. Speaking of that I finally got around and found how to disassemble the cap properly. It turned out just the old fashion way, screw off the finale and the inner nuts and inner cap can be pushed out from the top, just need a lot of persuasion. The cap band can be plied off but it will require major force taken and I see no necessity in doing so

[Arkanabar]

I got an orange demo as a PIF. I have no idea how long ago it was purchased. It has a couple of cracks around the barrel plug, about 3-5mm long. I did not closely examine the pen before putting it to use. It does not post securely; I generally have to screw the cap down onto the barrel.

I don't think it has enough threads on either the cap or the section for ED use. Mine came a little dry (still on first fill, Yama-Guri diluted 2:1 with distilled water), though SBRE Brown's instant wetness increase seems to have done the trick. The nib is engraved with a stylized Jinhao chariot, smooth and well-aligned, with only a touch of feedback and a faint brushing sound when I write. It writes a little finer than my M200 fine. I agree with ParkerDuofold that it's smoother than I remember my F Plaisirs being (before I lost one's section, and dropped the other on its point).

I think this is probably the best pen I've yet seen to buy and give away, and if I do, I'll likely go for the opaque version. They are also probably pretty good fodder for learning to grind nibs.

[AmandaW]

The clear 992 I bought in June had a small crack appear near the barrel plug in the past week. I've repaired it by removng the plug, filing it a little and gluing the plug back as Seele shows in the video. (Thankyou!!!) Fingers crossed it will now be good for a long time.

 

Despite the small cost I really value this pen. It was my first DIY nib grind to make a small italic and turned out pleasing to use. It also starts first time every time. I am looking forward to seeing how it performs through summer. (Actually, I'm confident enough to have already ordered an opaque grey one a few weeks ago. That's the only downside with these pens - the achingly long time in the post.)

Edited September 4, 2017 by AmandaW

[dan in montreal]

 

But my 50-year-old Sheaffer Dollar Pens have not cracked yet!-)

 

I bought three different solid color 992s last month. All look fine to the naked eye; all show small cracks under a loupe. My guess is that nothing will be fixed as long as the pens continue to sell, and when they stop selling they will be replaced by a new model -- with new problems;-)

 

I agree completely, bob_hayden. Mine have cracked and the cracks will expand, and expand. They will end up in the garbage bin in a matter of weeks. Not really worth the time to fix them in my book. Does anyone really think they will re-engineer this thing? Have Jinhao and Baoer bothered changing the white plastic inner caps on a variety of models, like the x450, x750, 388, etc? These have been known to crack for years upon years!

This 22 page thread has made me realize how strange it is we keep coming back to these cheap knock-offs - don't they defeat the very purpose of a FP? You should be able to use a fp longer than a cheap ballpoint, no? What am I missing?

[mitto]

I don't know why people buy Chinese pens when they can get a quality vintage Sheaffer School pen or a good old Parker 45 for $6-10?

[truthpil]

Here are some reasons why people like myself, despite preferring to use vintage flex pens whenever possible, still buy Chinese pens:

 

- They are often the cheapest way to get an amazingly smooth nib. For example, my 992, 991, X750, and X450 are far smoother than most of my Parker 45s) and cost less than a tenth of the price.

 

- Several models, like those from Jinhao especially can take other nibs very easily so it opens up an inexpensive way to try all different kinds of nibs. Vintage school pens are not nearly as versatile.

 

- These pens are cheap enough that you can experiment with grinding your own nibs or try other various hacks which you wouldn't want to try on any other pen.

 

- Lastly, there are some really lovely looking inks (from Noodler's especially) that I really don't want to try to clean out of my nicer pens but are a breeze to clean out of these easy-to-disassemble Chinese pens. For example, yesterday I wanted to use a vibrant waterproof purple ink to mark notes in a textbook. I knew Noodler's North African Violet would do the trick, but didn't want to stain the converters on any of my good pens and needed a pen I could easily dismantle to scrub it out of once the project was over. First I thought about using a Parker 45, but there are some parts in the section that are extremely hard to get sticky ink out of (I had a bad experience getting Bad Blue Heron out of a P45). The Jinhao 165 was a no-brainer and is now doing the job marvelously.

 

You are probably right about Jinhao not fixing the problem with the 992 and I'm going to resist the temptation to get another one for that reason, but there are still great pens out there in the same price range. The 991 has become a go-to workhorse for me and has no cracking issues whatsoever. Even though it's kind of ugly, I prefer the way it fits in the hand and sits flat on the desk more than the 992.

[Mech-for-i]

I don't know why people buy Chinese pens when they can get a quality vintage Sheaffer School pen or a good old Parker 45 for $6-10?

 

Its probably the same answer as asking why would anyone buy a Sheffer or that good old Parker when they can buy for the same price or even cheaper new fountain pen of very good performance ... after all, they are different, all of them and each one of them had their virtues. They are , different and give their own joy and pain in use. Whether its a Jinhao 992 or a Montblanc 146 , a Hero 616 or a vintage Parker 51 ; there is enough of a difference and individuality among them all.