Jinhao Century Mk 2

[richardandtracy]

An update:

 

After 4.5 months of pretty intensive use, the chrome trim on the cap rings is showing sign of wear and looks fairly tired - the rings have a dark grey central band around them, the chipped area of plating I showed originally has grown a fair bit. However the barrel is showing no signs of wear. The barrel finial is starting to go grey on the corners of the finial where the paint has worn thin.

 

However, the pen is still nice to write with.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[picautomaton]

Hey Richard, may I ask if you could check wether the nib sections are interchangeable? I have an additional two Duofold International nib sections and may just look at getting a couple of Jinhaos to house them.

[richardandtracy]

They are not interchangable at all. The Jinhao uses a totally different thread (pitch & diameter) from the Parker I'm afraid.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[richardandtracy]

This post is to report back on durability after 10 months of fairly regular use. The pen has been inked since I got it, and has never been out of my rotation and has been used regularly alongside Parker Duofolds, P51's an Onoto Magna Classic and the FPN Stipula Etruria. However, unlike the Etruria, it is still in my rotation.

 

The cap rings are looking a bit tired and grey in colour with a little bit of brass showing through in the areas of highest wear. The paint on the barrel finial is showing a little wear, there is a very narrow brass coloured ring (0.1 to 0.2mm wide) all the way around the end corner of the barrel finial. The cap finial paint is unworn. The barrel/cap material appears unscratched, and the only place it has suffered is when I dropped the cap onto the edge of a bit of crockery and chipped a lump out of the cap lip. This sanded back quite nicely and now I have a wavy cap lip. I will machine it straight sometime.

 

I accidentally discovered yesterday that the cap finial on the Mk2 Century unscrews and has a thread not too dissimilar to an M4 - I will check next time I'm in the workshop as I have a tap & die for that size. Once I get 7 pens finished, I may end up making a lighter finial for the Jinhao, as the cap finial doubles the weight of the cap. It's quite remarkable how heavy such a small lump of metal is.

 

Once the finial is off, it's possible to see the clip attachment, and possibly fit an alternative clip if you have one:

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx356/richardandtracy/Jinhao%20Pens/JinhaoCentury12_zpsa8c26193.jpg

 

There was a smear of glue on mine, may be more on others.

 

In the photo, you can just see the recess in the cap lip at the top of the photo where the tiny bite came out of it where I dropped it and the greyish rather than silvery hue of the cap rings.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

Edited February 27, 2013 by richardandtracy
Tripe writing errors.

[Mister John]

If you're looking for the definitive Parker Duofold Centennial replacement, I recommend the Kaigelu 316. It has much to recommend it--well built, nice nib, good writer. Its main flaws are weight (heavy) and balance (top heavy with cap posted).

[Thier.]

I personnaly love the Kaigelu 316 . The amber version is so ............. great !!!!

[antoniosz]

Richard, I want to thank you for the very thorough and ultra professional reviews of the Jinhao pens.
I sincerely appreciate them!...