At long last, my Jinhao pens have come in. I starting this order back in November of 2022 and it took until March 2023 to finalize. So, you can imagine, I’m pretty excited that they’re finally here!
I ordered a variety of pens to fit missing niches in my starter pen offerings. Let me walk you through them.
The Shark
Jinhao Shark Pen
The shark pen is an ultra lightweight starter pen, made of plastic. I have it in two nib sizes – extra-fine (EF) and fine (F). The extra-fine nibs come with a hood on them, to help prevent the ink from drying out as it journeys down the tines.
The shark pen is really fun and definitely a conversation starter. People will definitely say, “Wait…is that a shark?” when they see your pen. I usually keep a few of these around as giveaway pens to potential new fountain pen users. At $3 (shipping included), it doesn’t break the bank!
Please note: the Shark has a triangular helper grip.
The 992
Jinhao 992
The 992 is a lightweight entry level pen. Compared to the Shark, the 992 has a broader grip and better balance. The grip section is rounded, not triangular like the Shark.
I selected this pen as a sample of what writing with an acrylic pen is like. The material is going to change temperature the longer you write with it. Acrylic pen lovers often like that the pen adapts to your hand.
The 992 has a cap that posts well and doesn’t throw the balance off as much for shorter-palmed writers as the Fauxfari, where the cap wants to pull the pen backwards. It’s a pen that’s going to feel good in a lot of hands and give you a more traditional writing experience than the triangular-gripped pens.
The 500
Jinhao 500
The 500 is another full-metal pen. Don’t I have enough of those? No! The signature pen is a good comparison to this pen, but this pen posts! It also has some snazzy colorations instead of Plain Old Black. This pen is longer than the signature pen, and because it posts it’s going to work better for larger palms. I haven’t written with it yet, but just holding it, I can tell the balance is very different to the signature pen.
This pen also feels more high quality than anything else I have in the starter line at this time. The tactile sensations of capping and posting the pen are quite pleasant.
The 35
Jinhao 35
This is another full-metal pen, but it’s a very slim pen. Slimmer than the art pen, and it looks and feels nice. There are two options: a matte black and a brushed silvery metal — it’s lightly brushed, so you’re still going to see fingerprints and smudges, and large scratches will show up, but it should hide small scuffs.
This is not a super lightweight pen. It has a bit of heft to it, which you’re going to get with all full-metal pens.
The other thing this pen has going for it, which really attracted me to it, is the slot-and-rail nib and feed system. This is like the nibs on the signature pen and the Fauxfari. They’re from different manufacturers, so while you can swap out the nibs between those to pens, I haven’t tested whether they’ll interchange with this pen yet.
If you like the width on the triangular training grips or just really like a narrow grip, you’ll like this one. You can see below, in the disassembled picture, how thin the pen is — it’s only JUST wide enough to hold the converter! Despite that, it has a nice taper on it, which helps with the balance.
The 159
Jinhao 159
This is a BIG, hefty pen.
If the Jinhao 35 is a tiny jet that can’t dock at the gate, the 992 is an economy passenger airline, the 500 is a sleeker commercial airline with first class seats, and the Shark is a prop plane, then the 159 is a trans-oceanic jet with a first-class level and stairs inside.
That is to say: this is a BIG pen. Big, weighty, with high-gloss bright enamel, it screams its luxuriousness at you. This is a pen for people with large hands or people who need the weight to stabilize their writing.
The nib is 18k gold plated and quite large. I think it’s a broad. I need to ink it up and measure to tell for certain. However, that fits the pen perfectly.
I can’t wait to break this guy out and get some writing samples up for you. I think it’s going to be An Adventure. I’m still in shock over how massive this thing is.
This is my only starter pen that breaks the $8 price – I’ve bumped it up to $10 but am still keeping it in the starter line. Why the price raise? Well, the pen costs more to purchase than any of my other starter pens, and it costs more to ship to me because of its heft and girth, and it will cost more for me to ship to you.
Don’t Forget!
As always, shipping is included in the prices on the site.
I floss the tines of all the pens before I ship them out and check the converters.
If you have an issue with any of your starter pens, just email me! If you have a damaged or defective pen, contact me and I’ll work with you to repair or replace it.