Jinhao 992 Informal Review

[bob_hayden]

We'll probably never know what is going on at the factory. I would be surprised if Sailor would sell them machinery to make competing pens, but if Sailor is farming out production to China they may have had to allow this. Still, it does not seem to be the norm. Tribute pen parts often do not interchange with the original.

[old4570]

 

Wing 9133 ....

[TSherbs]

same nib on the 9133 as the 992?

[loubapache]

Looks like the Wing Sung 9133 also has an end plug.

[truthpil]

 

Wing 9133 ....

 

So which do you prefer among these?

I avoided the, 9133 just because I thought the metal ends were ugly. I really wish they would make a plugless model, but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

This week I inked up the salmon 992 mentioned a few pages back in this thread. I haven't used it much in the 6+ months that I'd had it, so it looks identical to when it arrived. The nib still blows me away. It's buttery smooth and even puts my Montblancs and most of my vintage Parkers to shame (if you like ultra smooth, that is). I graded a stack of papers last night with it and the writing experience was just perfect (the students' papers, not so much).

[Mech-for-i]

...... I graded a stack of papers last night with it and the writing experience was just perfect (the students' papers, not so much).

 

Hey easy on the kids .... lol ... I used to be the TA during my days in college, I can relay

[NinthSphere]

They should put some metal barrel and cap for this pen.

 

There's the metal Lingmo Lorelei.

[old4570]

I was planning a comparison soon ..

To date I have not used the 9133 , but I have used the 992 ...

I have quite a few reviews to get through , + Just got a digital audio recorder , so hopefully some voice overs .

To review - several flashlights - and might be a small micro quad ( FPV ) coming for review as well .

+ Playing with a small electrical motor for RC right now - Trying to keep busy !

Edited April 26, 2018 by old4570

[Sailor Kenshin]

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?

I'm still searching for an italic nib that will fit my 992.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I'm still searching for an italic nib that will fit my 992.

I've ordered one of these pens, since they look identical to J992 to me and I want more stubs.

[truthpil]

I'm still searching for an italic nib that will fit my 992.

Did you try the nibs from the Hero 5028 calligraphy set?

Edited April 27, 2018 by TruthPil

[truthpil]

I've ordered one of these pens, since they look identical to J992 to me and I want more stubs.

 

I believe those are OEM pens made by Wing Sung. I got the 2.9mm version, but the barrel and cap and different...more Lamy Safari style.

It writes wonderfully (somewhat crisp and dry as an italic should) and have become my long-awaited replacement for Preppy highlighters.

The materials aren't the best quality though so you may want to be gentle with it. There are several reviews on Taobao with photos of broken feeds and ink all over the place.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Did you try the nibs from the Hero 2048 calligraphy set?

No, because I don't have one any more.

 

Seriously considering the DIY italic gambit.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

 

I believe those are OEM pens made by Wing Sung. I got the 2.9mm version, but the barrel and cap and different...more Lamy Safari style.

It writes wonderfully (somewhat crisp and dry as an italic should) and have become my long-awaited replacement for Preppy highlighters.

The materials aren't the best quality though so you may want to be gentle with it. There are several reviews on Taobao with photos of broken feeds and ink all over the place.

Yeah I saw those Lamy Safari style but I'm actually more interested in the nibs alone. I saw them on ebay (the nibs alone) but they come in bundles of 4 or 6 and I don't think I want the 1.9 and above widths for now. As soon as mine arrives I'd like to swap it for the nib in my Moonman M2 eyedropper.

I'm so glad that the nibs write well!

I'm not so glad that the plastic is so brittle. What if somebody didn't want to swap the nibs? That's so unfair. Jinhao should offer their 992 with the option of stub nibs.

[truthpil]

Yeah I saw those Lamy Safari style but I'm actually more interested in the nibs alone. I saw them on ebay (the nibs alone) but they come in bundles of 4 or 6 and I don't think I want the 1.9 and above widths for now. As soon as mine arrives I'd like to swap it for the nib in my Moonman M2 eyedropper.

I'm so glad that the nibs write well!

I'm not so glad that the plastic is so brittle. What if somebody didn't want to swap the nibs? That's so unfair. Jinhao should offer their 992 with the option of stub nibs.

The nib on mine is really stuck in the pen, so be prepared to destroy the pen in order to remove the nib.

[bob_hayden]

I recently bought a 1.1 nib on eBay USA with this listing title

 

1.1/1.5/1.9mm Lamy Pen Nib Fountain Pen Z50 Spare Nib Replacement School Supply

for $3.49. It's intended to fit a Safari but is not made by Lamy. It's in a Pai Li 004 Safari clone now. I also bought two entire pens with 0.7 and 1.1 nibs for $2.19 each with listing title

 

Bamboo Calligraphy Art Writing Fountain Pen Chisel-pointed Nib 0.7mm-2.9mm

Both are OK. Let me give you some background that may help to evaluate my opinion. Other wide pens I have owned include

 

• c.1962 Sheaffer gold signature stub
• 2 c.$100 Sheaffer broad gold nibs
• myriad Sheaffer No Nonsense or Viewpoint Made in USA calligraphy pens
• Hero 5028 set

I think of the calligraphy pens as being made for drawing letters but too scratchy to use to write a letter. An exception is two (but not all) XF Sheaffers.which have way more tooth than the signature stub but are good for ordinary cursive writing and give a significant difference in line width between horizontal and vertical strokes. The signature stub does that while being super3 smooth. The Sheaffer B nibs give a fat line of uniform width and are super smooth.

 

The Hero set is somewhere in between. There is not much in the way of tipping but the corners of the tip are rounded off giving more smoothness at the expense of loosing some of their calligraphic properties. All the Hero nibs were too wide/wet for me to use to write a letter. .

 

Placing my recent purchases from China in that context I would say these nibs are similar to the Sheaffer XF calligraphy nibs in having some tooth yet also some calligraphy properties and not too toothy to prevent use and a daily writer. The 1.1 nibs are broader than I would like while the 0.7 is too narrow and does not give much calligraphic effect. Otherwise I have no complaints.

 

Amazon and others have been selling the "bamboo" pen under a "fashion" name (I think it is Antonio da Para) and claiming a steep discount from the $100 or so "list price". It has the Hero "Genius" nib rather than a calligraphy nib. If you fancy such a pen you can buy the pens for $2.19 and the Genius nibs are two for $0,99 on eBay, Be warned that the pen itself looks tacky compared to your average Chinese FP. I don't think anyone on FPN would mistake it for a $100 (or even $5) pen but buyers on Amazon seem impressed.

[RocketRyan]

I have a Bock titanium nib in one of mine, works great.

[truthpil]

No, because I don't have one any more.

 

Seriously considering the DIY italic gambit.

Oops, I meant 5028. I can't keep any numbers straight that are over three digits.

 

They fit well in the 992 and with the right ink and paper you can use the 1.1 and 1.5 nibs as daily writers. Dry inks will reduce the stub effect so that they write crisper for calligraphy purposes.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oops, I meant 5028. I can't keep any numbers straight that are over three digits.

 

They fit well in the 992 and with the right ink and paper you can use the 1.1 and 1.5 nibs as daily writers. Dry inks will reduce the stub effect so that they write crisper for calligraphy purposes.

I appreciate your suggestions! But I don't have any Hero calligraphy sets. DIY it is...and I will report on my results.

[bob_hayden]

I am not usually one to swap nibs but sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. Recently I received two pens from China with grossly defective nibs and one was a 992, I found the feed partially unscrewed after which the nib is easy to remove. (It was not obvious how to remove the feed but I had no reason to do that.) In addition to the other damaged nib I had two different nibs salvaged from other sick pens. There was no reason to think any of these would fit, but all three fit in the 992 quite easily. The bad news is that the 992 did not grab onto them so they were just perched there loosely and came out all too readily. I imagine this is related to TruthPil's assertion that the 992 nibs are thicker than usual in which case other nibs may be too thin in a 992. Perhaps a bit of tape as a shim or a tiny dab of glue would help, For now the seller of the 992 has offered a replacement nib so I will wait and see how that goes. (The other defective pen is quite happy with its salvaged nib.)

 

Has anyone looked at the Baoer 517? It has similar price and styling but no plugs that I can see and appears much sturdier. I have three of these and maybe half a dozen 992s and I prefer the way the Baoer pens write.