Jinhao 992 Informal Review

[fountainpen51]

I do not know if this has been talked about, since there are many pages on this subject, but I have put a vintage Waterman nib flex, and it works perfectly, it has not given me problems of railroads.

[truthpil]

I do not know if this has been talked about, since there are many pages on this subject, but I have put a vintage Waterman nib flex, and it works perfectly, it has not given me problems of railroads.

 

That's very interesting! Mine railroaded when I used a Noodler's #2/#5 flex nib in it, but only if I wrote a lot without stopping to let the feed replenish itself.

[mr T.]

 

Do you find your Jinhao 992s drying out easily? So far my Jinhao pens seem to have a decent cap seal so no hard starts most of the time.

My two 992's (solid red and solid green) have no problems at all. No cracking barrels. no drying out. Really like the 992 with the standard fine nib. The only minus is that the barrel is too narrow for two short standard international cartridges. The 992 could be one of the best pens on the market at the moment in terms of price-performance ratio.

[truthpil]

My two 992's (solid red and solid green) have no problems at all. No cracking barrels. no drying out. Really like the 992 with the standard fine nib. The only minus is that the barrel is too narrow for two short standard international cartridges. The 992 could be one of the best pens on the market at the moment in terms of price-performance ratio.

I hear you. I used my salmon colored one quite a lot last week and this nib is just amazing. It writes wetter and smoother than my MB 145! The discolorations on the barrel mentioned in a previous post don't seem to be getting worse, so they are just a little annoyance that takes some looking for to notice.

[IndigoBOB]

The 992 is definitely growing on me. I have one inked with Baystate Blue with an Eco-1.1 stub and it is a smooth reliable writer that is highly portable.

 

I also have a couple back ups since the original nib is a smooth reliable writer as well and for only $2. I have found it hard to find as smooth a nib as this that is as Fine without it having that cheap squeaky sound.

 

I wish they made a larger version, but that's all I can gripe about so far right now.

[AmandaW]

I'm still enjoying mine because they do write well, but even more important: they don't evaporate the ink. We're just finishing up the hottest November in our recorded history and none of my 992s have faltered.

 

So many of my pens have already dried out, been cleaned out and put away for the summer, including, but not limited to, several Lamy Safari, Jinhao (599, 886 and x750) and Pilot (Kakuno, Prera and Metropolitan).

[IndigoBOB]

That says a lot.

 

I am not one for knock off's and I ethically prefer to buy the real deal if I like the knock off, but I will say, less ideologically speaking and more pragmatically: It is nice to be able to buy or have a reliable $2 fountain pen that doesn't have a squeaking nib.

 

It clearly doesn't feel like a sailor pen nor is it being sold as a sailor pen so it's not counterfeit, thus I am content to have this pen for "in-case..." scenarios and when I need a more portable pen.

 

It's not in my daily rotation anymore because I replaced it with an FPR Muft pen that uses an Eco nib, feels sturdier, and suits my ergonomics better, but I do like having it as a back up and am comfortable to give it as a gift.

[truthpil]

These pens can easily take other nibs, but has anyone found other pens that can perfectly take the 992 nibs? If you get a good one, these nibs are really fantastic, but I'd like to put them in other sizes of pens. These nibs are thicker than some other Jinhaos, so I've been having trouble finding other pens that easily take these. The FPR pens (Himalaya, Guru, etc.) will take these, but how about any others?

[JFB]

These pens can easily take other nibs, but has anyone found other pens that can perfectly take the 992 nibs? If you get a good one, these nibs are really fantastic, but I'd like to put them in other sizes of pens. These nibs are thicker than some other Jinhaos, so I've been having trouble finding other pens that easily take these. The FPR pens (Himalaya, Guru, etc.) will take these, but how about any others?

 

Have you noticed any rusting on your 992 nibs? I've noticed corrosion on a number of Jinhao nibs. (One from an X750 I cleaned last night had a small hole rusted right through it.)

 

Pax,

John

Edited December 8, 2017 by JFB

[truthpil]

 

Have you noticed any rusting on your 992 nibs? I've noticed corrosion on a number of Jinhao nibs. (One from an X750 I cleaned last night had a small hole rusted right through it.)

 

Pax,

John

 

That's interesting, I haven't seen any rust on any of my Jinhaos and I've been using some for 2 years. Might it have anything to do with the kind of ink you use, the climate, or where your pens are stored? I've put most of the more risky of the FP-safe inks into my pens and haven't had any problems.

[JFB]

 

That's interesting, I haven't seen any rust on any of my Jinhaos and I've been using some for 2 years. Might it have anything to do with the kind of ink you use, the climate, or where your pens are stored? I've put most of the more risky of the FP-safe inks into my pens and haven't had any problems.

 

 

Truthpil,

 

I've used an older bottle Waterman black. Some Diamin Chocolate Brown, a couple of J. Herbin inks and a couple of some Monteverde inks.

 

Pax,

John

[The Good Captain]

These pens can easily take other nibs, but has anyone found other pens that can perfectly take the 992 nibs? If you get a good one, these nibs are really fantastic, but I'd like to put them in other sizes of pens. These nibs are thicker than some other Jinhaos, so I've been having trouble finding other pens that easily take these. The FPR pens (Himalaya, Guru, etc.) will take these, but how about any others?

Which size nibs, as a matter of interest? No 6? I'm thinking of getting a 992 to have a play around with.

[bob_hayden]

On the subject of nib corrosion and Jinhaos, long ago I had a marbled blue heavy Jinhao -- probably an X450. As had long been my custom, and still is today, I left it with several other nibs soaking in a jar of water with a drop of dish washing detergent. When I took the nibs out, it appeared that the Jinhao had created some kind of electrolytic reaction that plated some things and corroded others. For example, a Lamy Safari nib was pitted badly. The Jinhao was banished from the kingdom for its bad behavior, and I have not had a problem like that since. It did make me wonder if Jinhao was using some unusual materials in its pens.

 

Another possibly relevant experience... I generally buy Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives, including a set of steak knives. These proved to have been made in China, but turned out well. Later, though, I wanted to buy some more, but the packages I found in the hardware store contained all rusty new knives of "stainless" steel. I would presume the 992 nibs are of stainless steel, but perhaps of the kind used in those steak knives. It is a problem with goods from China that an isolated company can try to improve quality control, but they may not have the economic clout to get their suppliers to do the same.

[truthpil]

Which size nibs, as a matter of interest? No 6? I'm thinking of getting a 992 to have a play around with.

The 992 takes #5 nibs, although I've found some #5s fit better than others. TWSBI ECO nibs fit the best. If you get one, I recommend getting the newer model with gold trim. It seems to be just slightly better made than the chrome trim version.

 

I may just have to get a white one so any stress marks on the plastic won't be visible. The nib is just too good to pass up!

[truthpil]

On the subject of nib corrosion and Jinhaos, long ago I had a marbled blue heavy Jinhao -- probably an X450. As had long been my custom, and still is today, I left it with several other nibs soaking in a jar of water with a drop of dish washing detergent. When I took the nibs out, it appeared that the Jinhao had created some kind of electrolytic reaction that plated some things and corroded others. For example, a Lamy Safari nib was pitted badly. The Jinhao was banished from the kingdom for its bad behavior, and I have not had a problem like that since. It did make me wonder if Jinhao was using some unusual materials in its pens.

 

 

Come to think of it, my older model X450 came with a really junky nib that easily bent so I replaced it without even using it. It's thinner than the nibs on the X750 and I think they've changed the nib on the newer x450s. I wouldn't be surprised if that old nib would rust if left on water.

[The Good Captain]

The 992 takes #5 nibs, although I've found some #5s fit better than others. TWSBI ECO nibs fit the best. If you get one, I recommend getting the newer model with gold trim. It seems to be just slightly better made than the chrome trim version.

 

I may just have to get a white one so any stress marks on the plastic won't be visible. The nib is just too good to pass up!

Thanks for the info TruthPil. I reckon I'll still partake, for a bit of fun.

[Arkanabar]

Chinese steel can be kind of variable; when reading about buying an axe, the recommendation was to find an antique American blade and mount it on a new handle. It was claimed that the Chinese will throw all the ferrous scrap metal they can find into a smelter and heedlessly melt it all down together, and use it for whatever application without really testing it to see what they've actually got.

[truthpil]

It was claimed that the Chinese will throw all the ferrous scrap metal they can find into a smelter and heedlessly melt it all down together, and use it for whatever application without really testing it to see what they've actually got.

 

That sounds very typical of Chinese manufacturing haha

[bluebellrose]

Chinese steel can be kind of variable; when reading about buying an axe, the recommendation was to find an antique American blade and mount it on a new handle. It was claimed that the Chinese will throw all the ferrous scrap metal they can find into a smelter and heedlessly melt it all down together, and use it for whatever application without really testing it to see what they've actually got.

in a wok on a makeshift brick oven to make steel during the big making steel campaign lol. My mom's like lol they aren't making steel, they are stir frying metal.

Edited December 28, 2017 by bluebellrose

[truthpil]

Well folks, it's been quite some time since I first got this pen and a lot has happened since then. My time spent with the 992 has taught me a lot about what not to do with inexpensive fountain pens...

 

When I first got this pen, it wrote amazingly well with perfect smoothness and flow. Then I started messing with it by trying out various nibs to see what would fit. Let me tell you now that these pens were not designed to be taken apart and tinkered with like Noodler's pens or some more durable metal pens. This became clear to me when I tried to ink this pen tonight and the original nib just fell right out. At this point that's pretty much what happens with any nib I try to put in it and I never tried to force a large nib in it or anything silly like that. In hindsight, I should have just been content with the original nib and left my ECO stub in my ECO and my Creaper nib in my Creaper haha. Lesson learned when it comes to inexpensive plastic pens!

 

The looseness of the nib also seems to have messed up flow quite a bit. Now I can't get any ink to flow decently in this pen. It's an extremely dry writer and the sloppiness of the nib may have something to do with that.

 

One last mistake a made that has probably contributed to the inability to flow is that after using this pen for months I decided to try the infamous Baystate Blue in it. BSB wouldn't flow at all and now nothing else will either. If I can't get flow restored after a bath in Rapid-O-Eez, then this baby is probably destined for the dung heap and all I have to blame is myself.

 

By contrast, I only changed the nib on my 991 a couple times and it still writes ok, but is still drier than I'd like. By yet another contrast, I have completely left alone the nib on my second 992 and it's just as amazing a writer as when I got it. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

 

The moral of the story is, these pens were probably not meant to be messed with.