A guy in my pen club who is, among other talents, a wood turner, has dried and dyed and lathed and whatever else several wood pieces for pens. Do I own one? Nope. But I did buy a couple of fountain pens with wood barrels from online sellers. None came in those terrific looking boxes. One cracked. But if the converter holds, a little sawdust and glue can work wonders towards stabilizing that which is less stable than one might wish. Thanks, Chris, for another very cool review.
Thank you Chris for another interesting review in our world of pens and this, new to me, material of stabilized wood (I had to go educate myself a bit). To my eye, the Jinhao pen seems to have been stabilized with the “thick” resin solution (used on relatively softer woods because these allow a easier penetration by the resin). It is a costly and exacting process also based on completely slowly-dried wood. So, I would not buy the generic pen but trust Jinhao more to provide a better stabilized wood regardless of the nib. And so now I look forward to your selection for the nib swap video. Please keep your motivation up and your reviews coming. 🇨🇦
Thanks. I believe the same factory makes the stabilized wood components. Both pens seem very stabile. I have many distractions this month. Will do nib swap eventually.
Hi Chris! Very interesting review but as I already wrote this is not a Jinhao fountain pen. It is a fountain pen with a Jinhao nib group but not a Jinhao fountain pen. If it were a Jinhao it would have the logo or brand on the body of the fountain pen or on the cap. Every big and well known Chinese fountain pen manufacturer has their own brand or logo on their pens.
@@chrisrap52 Exactly, the nib group is from Jinhao not the fountain pen. If you put a Montblanc nib group in a fountain pen you do not have a Montblanc fountain pen. The brand should guarantee quality. In Europe from AE it appears that these fountain pens are specific productions for Chinese sellers, some built to replace the Jinhao nib groups with Bock groups.
Does Jinhao own their pen factories or do they use 3rd party makers? I'm not aware of any "Jinhao" guarantees. How much do resellers control the Chinese pen market?
@@chrisrap52 I understand that Jinhao has been producing all the parts of its fountain pens in their factory in Shanghai since 1988. They have acquired the ISO quality certifications that you as an engineer know well. Their production for China is important, but then everything changed with the possibility of the Western market. And with Al.exp. there was a revolution for both sellers and producers. Sellers get their supplies from suppliers and act as intermediaries; for this reason in AE you do not pay the seller but you pay AE for each of your orders. In this way the seller, if he has his fountain pens created, becomes his own supplier, with the advantages you can imagine. But the seller cannot have the Jinhao brand or logo put on the fountain pen, as all Jinhao fountain pens have.
@@chrisrap52 gotcha…I was getting confused by both being advertised as Jinhaos but one having “branded” parts (green) and the other referred to as being the “generic” (“red”) one…where the wood on the “generic” (red) one was “disappointing” vs how it appeared in the ad but the other one (green) looked more like the “nicer” wood…I know I’m not explaining myself well!
It is very interesting the "generic" pen had the better nib. I don't know if it is a Bock nib, but it did perform better, though I think the Jinhao branded pen is more visually attractive. Maybe you can swap nibs in thee pens, not the feed.
Unfortunately these 'relatively pricey' pens are real ( good looking ) junk. My pen totally seized up to the point I could NOT remove the cap! They are fragile and poorly made. This is more surprising because Jinhao's much cheaper pens - 9019, 9016, 1935 etc are very good.
A guy in my pen club who is, among other talents, a wood turner, has dried and dyed and lathed and whatever else several wood pieces for pens. Do I own one? Nope. But I did buy a couple of fountain pens with wood barrels from online sellers. None came in those terrific looking boxes. One cracked. But if the converter holds, a little sawdust and glue can work wonders towards stabilizing that which is less stable than one might wish. Thanks, Chris, for another very cool review.
Beautiful pen! Art reminds me of a Monet painting.
Thank you Chris for another interesting review in our world of pens and this, new to me, material of stabilized wood (I had to go educate myself a bit). To my eye, the Jinhao pen seems to have been stabilized with the “thick” resin solution (used on relatively softer woods because these allow a easier penetration by the resin). It is a costly and exacting process also based on completely slowly-dried wood. So, I would not buy the generic pen but trust Jinhao more to provide a better stabilized wood regardless of the nib.
And so now I look forward to your selection for the nib swap video.
Please keep your motivation up and your reviews coming.
🇨🇦
Thanks. I believe the same factory makes the stabilized wood components. Both pens seem very stabile. I have many distractions this month. Will do nib swap eventually.
Hi Chris! Very interesting review but as I already wrote this is not a Jinhao fountain pen. It is a fountain pen with a Jinhao nib group but not a Jinhao fountain pen. If it were a Jinhao it would have the logo or brand on the body of the fountain pen or on the cap. Every big and well known Chinese fountain pen manufacturer has their own brand or logo on their pens.
Logo & brand on nib. For me branding not that important. It is about how much I like the pen.
@@chrisrap52 Exactly, the nib group is from Jinhao not the fountain pen. If you put a Montblanc nib group in a fountain pen you do not have a Montblanc fountain pen. The brand should guarantee quality. In Europe from AE it appears that these fountain pens are specific productions for Chinese sellers, some built to replace the Jinhao nib groups with Bock groups.
Does Jinhao own their pen factories or do they use 3rd party makers? I'm not aware of any "Jinhao" guarantees. How much do resellers control the Chinese pen market?
@@chrisrap52 I understand that Jinhao has been producing all the parts of its fountain pens in their factory in Shanghai since 1988. They have acquired the ISO quality certifications that you as an engineer know well. Their production for China is important, but then everything changed with the possibility of the Western market. And with Al.exp. there was a revolution for both sellers and producers. Sellers get their supplies from suppliers and act as intermediaries; for this reason in AE you do not pay the seller but you pay AE for each of your orders. In this way the seller, if he has his fountain pens created, becomes his own supplier, with the advantages you can imagine. But the seller cannot have the Jinhao brand or logo put on the fountain pen, as all Jinhao fountain pens have.
Thks as always! So is the conclusion the red version wasn’t a “true” Jinhao but this color and the others are?
A "true" Jinhao? I believe these pens are all made in same factory, assembled by resellers who may or may not use "Jinhao" parts.
@@chrisrap52 gotcha…I was getting confused by both being advertised as Jinhaos but one having “branded” parts (green) and the other referred to as being the “generic” (“red”) one…where the wood on the “generic” (red) one was “disappointing” vs how it appeared in the ad but the other one (green) looked more like the “nicer” wood…I know I’m not explaining myself well!
I understand. In the end, Jinhao or not, it's the pen that matters.
Interesting; I didn't know about this pen. I wish it had written better for you.
I have a great nib to swap in. Look for that review.
@@chrisrap52That'll be worth seeing.
It is very interesting the "generic" pen had the better nib. I don't know if it is a Bock nib, but it did perform better, though I think the Jinhao branded pen is more visually attractive.
Maybe you can swap nibs in thee pens, not the feed.
I have some long blade nibs from AliExpress that I will put in. Price was too good to pass up.
@@chrisrap52 does anyone make an architect nib that fits?
Many. Bobby makes one. I got a Nagitnata nib from AliExpress I like. Video soon.
Unfortunately these 'relatively pricey' pens are real ( good looking ) junk. My pen totally seized up to the point I could NOT remove the cap! They are fragile and poorly made. This is more surprising because Jinhao's much cheaper pens - 9019, 9016, 1935 etc are very good.
Thankfully my 2 have been in daily use for weeks, no issues. Can't imagine why the cap would seize up.