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Jinhao 992 Informal Review


truthpil

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Thanks, JollyCynic, for the update on your experiences with this pen! I agree that it's quite bizarre, unacceptable even, that the plastic would disintegrate like that. Neither of my 992s actually broke or developed a significant crack. I ended up throwing away the one used in this review because the feed got messed up from swapping nibs too much. The tiny crack it came with never grew, nor has the almost crack in my second one.

 

I think the opaque ones are still decent pens for ink experiments since they are so cheap and the nibs are often amazingly smooth.

Edited by TruthPil

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I've got one a while back last year in Coffee color, to me is more like amber. Anyway, I haven't use it yet cause I want a matching color ink with it I was looking into sepia colors. So I'm in the hunt for the nigh ink so I can enjoy these pen.

 

73045336-119D-45B4-97D9-5E5678F5B7B7_zps

FP's: Noodler's Charlie Pen, Noodler's King Philip Ahab, JinHao X450 Blue, JinHao X750 Gold, Jinhao 599 Transparent, Hero 366 Green, Hero 9626, Hero 329-A Jinhao Shark Black and Green,Jinhao 992 Coffee, Lamy Safari Black, Lanbitou /2 Transparent/ 1 Black /1 Red/1 Beige, Hero 9075 Black, Twsbi Go Saphire, Jinhao Porcelain Horses, Pilot Vanishing Point Black
INKS: Noodler's Heart of Darkness - Baystate Blue - Apache Sunset - Bullet Proof Black - Blue Nose Bear - Black Swan In Australian Roses - Widow Maker - 54th Massachusetts - Navajo Turquoise - Burning Rome - General of The Armies
OTHER INKS: Thortons - Green / Pelikan-Blue / J. Herbin 1670- Ocean Blue / Diamine Skulls and Roses

 

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I've got one a while back last year in Coffee color, to me is more like amber. Anyway, I haven't use it yet cause I want a matching color ink with it I was looking into sepia colors. So I'm in the hunt for the nigh ink so I can enjoy these pen.

 

73045336-119D-45B4-97D9-5E5678F5B7B7_zps

 

One of the brownish inks in Platinum's Classic line might fit well, such as Khaki Black or Sepia Black. Herbin Lie De The is also another good contender, I used to put it in my 991 in the same color as your 992. :)

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I brought in a number of these 992s as ink testers, multiples having turned out to be a good thing due to their rather consistently short life. I can thus mix and match working parts as needed, although we're approaching the Agatha Christie denouement ("And Then There Were None").

 

I actually didn't know the pens were Jinhao 992s when I first started purchasing them, as they were listed on the 'Bay by the far more compelling, "flat Gothic parallel art Flower body plastic WordArt Flat Whisper Fountain Pen." :lol:

 

 

The cap of one of my 992's fell in two parts after about 6 months of use. The pen itself, an older model 992, is still functional.

 

One of mine did the exact same thing, untouched, while I was looking at it! *Pop*!

 

That's good news. Selling clones or fakes is one thing, but rebranding something and selling it for exponentially more is another.

I'll probably never buy any Monteverde pens, but had to cave last week on a "Conklin" Duragraph stub in cracked ice that was a mere $33 thanks to a Penchalet sale.

 

Is "Conklin" in quotation marks because: Yafa, or because the Duragraph is a rebranded Chinese pen?

 

(I love the form factor of my Duragraphs, but have had to replace the nibs to get them to, y'know, write.)

 

The conklin all american is a fantastic pen, pil. It's really, really nicely made. Also takes any #6 nib. I'm using my all american as the testbed for my stacked nibs.

 

I ran into an All American when considering another Duragraph, and am so glad I did. I really like the pen (if with a Goulet/Jowo replacement nib on the Conklin feed)!

 

In which the benefits of handling a pen in person, in this case at an actual store, come to the fore. There's no way I would have given it a second look based on online images alone.

 

After a little under 3 months of daily use, my smoke demonstrator 992 cracked below the clip ring....

 

(I'm pretty sure now, though, that I caused the initial crack by tightening the cap too much, causing the section to wedge the inner cap up into the outer cap's curve and put too much stress on it. But the way the cap disintegrated on me after a few weeks of not being touched was really bizarre.)

 

Edited, highlighted, to simply echo my own experiences. The plastic disintegrates (or *Pops* apart in front of me!) in weird, interesting, and ultimately disappointing ways. Some of the sections on mine have cracked and/or crumbled at the nib end upon being gently flushed (ie, one step up from being looked at). In more than one instance, the slight rim at the end of the section just sort of... peeled away, as I dried it.

 

At super-low prices, the pens are still decent ink testers, and the array of width choices is fun (though the 1.1 'stub' I received was more just a blob thing, evidently skipping the "Flat Whisper" treatment during production...). Just keep more than one to three on hand. ;)

 

~ S.

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..... (though the 1.1 'stub' I received was more just a blob thing, evidently skipping the "Flat Whisper" treatment during production...). Just keep more than one to three on hand. ;)

 

~ S.

Ha!

 

Truth

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Y'know I've been buying Jinhao pens for a long time, and there's a lot to like about many of 'em, but we do have to keep in mind a somewhat tired axiom which is nonetheless valid:

"Cheap is cheap" (it sounds more valid when sung by Ray Davies but still...)

This is certainly true of plastics (wow, if this were a video, here's where I cut in that word being whispered to Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate'-- WOW multimedia of the mind!) and the limits of plastics deformation & elasticity are too f'ing boring to go into here, except to say that cheaper plastics tend toward a loss of structural integrity especially at stress points, e.g. where threaded connections are overtightened, or where a stress bearer (such as a Pen Clip, even) is attached.

 

While I have yet to reach that saturation point (in my own case, that point where I've thrown away a number of Chinese pens equal to the number of Chinese pens I have ever owned) I take as a given that Cheap is Cheap, Y'gets Whut Y'pays Fer, and Jinhao's QC Sucks more Than it Spits. Doesn't make 'em bad pens overall, as long as expectations do not exceed the limits of reality.

Happy New Year!

Edited by SteveID

Just add an F at the beginning, and any Art stinks.

 

Except your own.

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Is "Conklin" in quotation marks because: Yafa, or because the Duragraph is a rebranded Chinese pen?

 

(I love the form factor of my Duragraphs, but have had to replace the nibs to get them to, y'know, write.)

 

 

Hi Spelikan, thanks for sharing your experiences with the 992. Either I really lucked out on the two I bought, or I simply don't use them enough for them to fall apart haha.

 

I put Conklin in quotation marks because it's not the true Conklin of old (maker of some amazing pens long, long ago), but just Yafa using the name to make a buck. I'm all for reviving a historical brand if the new product matches the quality of the legend, but it seems that rarely happens.

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Yeah, but "Sheaffer" is not the Sheaffer of old, either;-)

 

I find it hard to excuse the falling apart of 99x Jinhaos, though. Sheaffer Dollar Pens from the sixties do not do that, and I have elsewhere a whole thread on under $2 pens, and most of them do not do that either. The Baoer 801s and the various Hero 70xx pens are all-metal examples. or most Wing Sung or Yiren plastic pens.

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Hi Spelikan, thanks for sharing your experiences with the 992. Either I really lucked out on the two I bought, or I simply don't use them enough for them to fall apart haha.

 

You're welcome, and maybe the answer to your pens' longevity is: Both! :)

 

As with most phenomena, it's easier to notice and remember my negative experiences than the reality that most of the pens are still working...? But looking again, it's a scant "most"-- almost half have come apart or shed material in some fashion.

 

Yes, these pens are inexpensive. But they are also cheap, in really weird ways!

 

I'm glad for mine, and also unlikely to replace them once the last one to three fail. ;)

 

 

I put Conklin in quotation marks because it's not the true Conklin of old (maker of some amazing pens long, long ago), but just Yafa using the name to make a buck. I'm all for reviving a historical brand if the new product matches the quality of the legend, but it seems that rarely happens.

 

Okay, thanks! That's what I was thinking/hoping (vs the Duragraph's turning out to be another readily-available super-cheap [and even inexpensive!] pen rebranded and sold as something other than it Is, a la the Monza), if sad about the Conklin brand itself.

 

Cheers!

~ S.

Edited by Spelikan
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You're welcome, and maybe the answer to your pens' longevity is: Both! :)

 

As with most phenomena, it's easier to notice and remember my negative experiences than the reality that most of the pens are still working...? But looking again, it's a scant "most"-- almost half have come apart or shed material in some fashion.

 

Yes, these pens are inexpensive. But they are also cheap, in really weird ways!

I have to ask, how many of yours are demonstrators and did any opaque models disintegrate?

 

I have a running theory that the demonstrators are more prone to cracking than the opaque ones.

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I was going to ask the same question. I have between one and two dozen of 599, 991, 992 and 994. An opaque 599 broke and a 991 that was colored but which you could see through broke. That's all I know of. I have not dug them all out to see if they disintegrated while I wasn't looking.

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I have to ask, how many of yours are demonstrators and did any opaque models disintegrate?

 

I have a running theory that the demonstrators are more prone to cracking than the opaque ones.

 

 

I was going to ask the same question. I have between one and two dozen of 599, 991, 992 and 994. An opaque 599 broke and a 991 that was colored but which you could see through broke. That's all I know of. I have not dug them all out to see if they disintegrated while I wasn't looking.

 

Clear pens, all!

 

A suddenly significant data point, it would seem.

 

("Demonstrators" to many, I suppose, although I don't consider staring at a barrel-encased converter or cartridge a demonstration of much other than misapplied terminology. ;))

 

 

~ S.

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Aha! So my theory still stands.... I know there are a few cases of cracked opaque 992s buried in the 30 pages of this thread, but the vast, vast majority of the cracked pens reported are the non-opaque (is that better than "demonstrator"? :) ) pens.

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One of the brownish inks in Platinum's Classic line might fit well, such as Khaki Black or Sepia Black. Herbin Lie De The is also another good contender, I used to put it in my 991 in the same color as your 992. :)

 

Good to know, I will do some research about your suggestions. Will definitely be cool having a ink that matches the pen color. Thank you!!! :)

FP's: Noodler's Charlie Pen, Noodler's King Philip Ahab, JinHao X450 Blue, JinHao X750 Gold, Jinhao 599 Transparent, Hero 366 Green, Hero 9626, Hero 329-A Jinhao Shark Black and Green,Jinhao 992 Coffee, Lamy Safari Black, Lanbitou /2 Transparent/ 1 Black /1 Red/1 Beige, Hero 9075 Black, Twsbi Go Saphire, Jinhao Porcelain Horses, Pilot Vanishing Point Black
INKS: Noodler's Heart of Darkness - Baystate Blue - Apache Sunset - Bullet Proof Black - Blue Nose Bear - Black Swan In Australian Roses - Widow Maker - 54th Massachusetts - Navajo Turquoise - Burning Rome - General of The Armies
OTHER INKS: Thortons - Green / Pelikan-Blue / J. Herbin 1670- Ocean Blue / Diamine Skulls and Roses

 

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Good to know, I will do some research about your suggestions. Will definitely be cool having a ink that matches the pen color. Thank you!!! :)

 

Glad to be able to give you some ideas! I can be pretty OCD about matching pens to inks, the result being lots of pens and inks haha.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The cap on my 992 finally cracked to bits. I had actually slackened off the cap nut a little to help prevent this in 2017, and it was always more of a desk pen that saw very litle clip use.

 

Possessions are fleeting!

Latest pen related post @ flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com : vintage Pilot Elite Pocket Pen review

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Good to know, I will do some research about your suggestions. Will definitely be cool having a ink that matches the pen color. Thank you!!! :)

I was using Noodlers 41 Brown in my 'coffee' pen.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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The cap on my 992 finally cracked to bits. I had actually slackened off the cap nut a little to help prevent this in 2017, and it was always more of a desk pen that saw very litle clip use.

 

Possessions are fleeting!

Another milestone in quality control and engineering!!!

Just add an F at the beginning, and any Art stinks.

 

Except your own.

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And of course, all possessions are fleeting, and one does indeed get what one pays for, but the price is right...

Edited by SteveID

Just add an F at the beginning, and any Art stinks.

 

Except your own.

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I have piles of Chinese pens that have not disintegrated -- some many years old. This seems to be almost a Jinhao exclusive "feature";-)

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