Jinhao 51A, Another New ( Or Is It Renewed ) C/c Filling Hooded Nib

[rollerboy]

For my first hooden nib pen I'm undecided among this Jinhao and the Kaco Retrò.

 

 

 

Having tried both my preference is for the Jinhao 51A over the Kaco Retro. The only thing I liked about the Kaco Retro is the playfully styled wire'n'ball clip. Pretty much every other aspect of the pen was a disappointment:

 

- the nib (billed as an EF I seem to recall) was a European F in width and had a bland ball-tipping feel (which is some people's preference but not mine). The two instances I tried were the same so possibly Kaco has consistency going for it at least.

- the pen is actually cylindrical in shape. There's no taper (or very, very little) to the section as in most Parker 51-ish pens. I found that both unattractive visually and it made the pen feel thicker in the hand than I found comfortable.

- the cap/decap action was uncertain ... I don't think there was any feedback as to when capping was "done" and you could stop pushing. Also, air pressure buildup seemed to resist the capping action. (It happens on other pens as well but it's blatant with the Retro.)

- it's a plastic pen (nothing wrong with that) but it's also a plasticky pen (if you know what I mean).

 

The Jinhao 51A based on three instances:

- finer than the Kaco but wider than what I would call EF.

- blandish but not bland. Two of my three instances came wet enough to be "fun" even if mechanically a bit rounder tipped than I like.

- it's a properly tapered Parker 51-ish shape.

- It looks like a more expensive pen than it is. The cap in particular is nice for the price point.

- based on my small sample size there's more width, feel, and tuning variation across 51A's than Retro's so you might want to order more than one at once to ensure you get one you like.

- the nib sticks out far enough that it actually falls somewhere between a fully hooded and a semi-hooded pen. I found being able to see a bit of the nib practical in terms of staying on the sweetsport and not rotating off it.

Edited November 11, 2019 by rollerboy

[truthpil]

For my first hooden nib pen I'm undecided among this Jinhao and the Kaco Retrò.

 

 

If it's your first hooded nib ever, then I'd go with a Hero 616 Plus. It's a simple, classic design in a nice size that writes perfectly.

[Mech-for-i]

should I take mine all out and made a photo comparison for you guys ..

[Mech-for-i]

For my first hooden nib pen I'm undecided among this Jinhao and the Kaco Retrò.

 

 

before committing you should probably check this( inner working ) thread regarding the pen parts innard ; if all you want is to had a taste of hooded nib then any goes, if you are specifically wanting to try out vintage Parker 51 style mechanism , then be noted, some might look the part but they are really different pens

[LazyPen]

Having to choose among 51a, 992... and eventually wing sung 618... which is the better option ?

[truthpil]

Definitely not a 992. They write wonderfully but the plastic randomly cracks or crumbles on a high percentage of them.

[LazyPen]

51a and 618 are more reliable under this aspect ?

[Mech-for-i]

992 is an OK pen but not at the quality of the 51a and 618 , both of consistently better quality.

[LazyPen]

 

If it's your first hooded nib ever, then I'd go with a Hero 616 Plus. It's a simple, classic design in a nice size that writes perfectly.

Better built and more reliable than 51a, too ?

 

[Mech-for-i]

well that would depend on which 51a you are referring to .. while Hero had only 1 variant out of the 616 Plus, Jinhao had multiple variant of 51a ( as already depicted on this thread ) , if we would like to compare like to like , the all plastic 51a to the all plastic 616 Plus, my experience is that the Hero is better put together and the material on hand feel better ( with exception of the cap where the Jinhao feel a notch more substantial ).

 

However the 51a also come in versions like the acrylic, wood barrel and the journalling edition , all of them use a different metal coupler equipped pen parts and of course the different barrel and in the journalling edition, even a different cap, the material and thicker construction required thus made the pen heftier and feel more sturdy and shift the weight and balance, and on the journalling edition that long barrel obviously change the ergonomics too

 

with the 616 plus and the all plastic 51a, the whole pen is more homogeneous along the length and also due to the material and molding its fairly light weight ( if not posted ) and suffer some form of back heaviness if posted ( unless you got really big hand and /or hold the pen relatively back sided ), where with the other 51a variant the weight is more centered along that clutch ring or a bit up the barrel and this may or may not be an issue for anyone and may or may not be an advantage likewise.

 

as far as reliability goes, almost all these newly made hooded nob that use that single piece integral feed ( whether retro styled or not ) pretty much maintain a fair degree of consistency ( so log you do remember to do that initial cleaning and had it properly upkeep ) and I do not see any reliability issue there other than the need for proper capping ( sometime people just forget that these slip on cap require one to properly push it tight to let the inner cap seal with the hood )

[LazyPen]

And what about Hero 329 ?

 

Is has a hooded nib, too, but I much prefer it over that 616 for the fact it has not a like parker clip.

 

[Mech-for-i]

well well, you are then looking at not just the clip ... do know .. many of these vintage models retain the fixed aerometric filling system and if you are not prepared to work with them I would advice to go else where ; stick with the C/C filling , the Piston Filler ( Wing Sun 18 ) or the Piston Pump Vacumetic ( Wing Sung 601 ) , strongly advice anyone new to this go read the inner working thread I had link above in previous post on this thread.

 

329 is a notch slimmer and shorter than the 616 , what the photo show is 329 XF , the XF part is silk screen printed on the cap and not only that the 329( normal ) version actually had a different cap , and just like many of the vintage models like 329, 616, 007, etc etc ... its a very old design and can suffer some time from QC issue but more than anything its fairly lightly build , certainly not as robust and not as well build as 616 PLUS, 51a and alike, the only model I would recommend out of these vintage fixed aerometric filling hood nib models I would recommend today , other than the Hero 100 , would be the Hero 565 which is a fresh new re-issue of the defunct Gold Star 565 and benefit from all the new tooling and material etc ... following is my most recent 565 photo and NO you will not get the pen that way it will just be either all basic plastic in Black, Maronn, or Green

 

Hero 565 retrofitted, on Flickr

Edited November 15, 2019 by Mech-for-i

[LazyPen]

Thanks Mech.

 

It seems nice... and has not the parker-like clip !

[AmandaW]

There are quite a few listings for the 51a offering it with a nib they call an "art nib". Has anyone tried one?

 

[Mech-for-i]

well that is the kind of de facto standard calligraphy nib on that de facto 18.5 spec form factor nib , while I had not try the 51a version with the nib I had plenty of experience using them on other pens using that same nib .. its well generally speaking easier to control the strokes over the open nib no.5 calligraphy simply due to its narrow surface on contact to the paper, while not quite as useful as day to day writing as the smaller petite calligraphy as used by PenBBS, Delike or Moonman on theirs nor the similar no.1 & no.2 on the hooded nib ( the shown nib would be corresponding to a no.3 18.5 hooded calligraphy nib , not quite as pronounced as the even more radical no.4 and no.5 ) , just as the name suggest they are for calligraphy & painting rather than nominal day to day handwriting but none the less its Ok to use it that way if your writing accommodate

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Mech-for-i

[AmandaW]

Thankyou. I will order one because that is what I am looking for: nibs for painting and drawing. It is encouraging that the the Chinese manufacturers are so advanced in design for art, but difficult because I don't read the language. The picture of the nibs is very helpful. I am guessing the Jinhao #6 nib I just ordered for my PenBBS will be similar to the #4 or #5?

[WarrenB]

Hello all. I'm still a little confused as to whether the section and feed of the acrylic/wood-barrelled 51a can be disassembled. I was under the impression that the plastic versions couldn't, until someone did it. On the other hand, the acrylic 51a I have isn't budging. Do I need to give it more welly, or just move on?

[Paganini]

Hey Warren,

 

The 51A section is secured by a bit of glue on the threads, and on the "wings" of the feed collar. I got mine off by running some hot tap water over it for a few minutes, and using a "rubber thumb" for extra friction. If you have some nylon pliers or a vise to secure the metal connector with that will be helpful as well.

 

- N

[WarrenB]

Glue in the threads? Well that was clever of someone.

 

Well thanks Paganini, honest thanks, but hot water must be made of something different in your part of the world. I dunked it in near-boiling water and it wouldn't budge. Tried rubber bands, vinyl gloves, and latex gloves. In frustration I went for pliers and the bloody metal connector bent and tore before the glue even felt like giving up.

 

I hope the plastic ones are easier to disassemble. In the meantime, anyone fancy a spare amber barrel?

Edited October 8, 2020 by WarrenB

[Paganini]

Hey Warren,

Wow, really sorry to hear that! Our hot water is pretty hot, but it's not actually boiling. I guess the amount of glue in there must vary from pen to pen. I seem to remember Chris Rapp mentioning in a teardown video that he found just a bit of glue on the threads. I had to work pretty hard to get mine off, and there was a fair bit of glue in the threads. Maybe they put yours on with Gorilla Glue or something!

 

I'm afraid the all plastic ones are even harder to disassemble; I haven't tried yet, but I read that they're press-fit and nearly impossible to open.

 

- N