Believe it or not, I scored a Jinhao 599 on eBay for less than $2.00 with shipping and handling from China! I have reviewed this pen before and gave it high marks for the price. Now, it is an even better value.
Is this an anomaly? Actually, no. The solid color versions are pretty easy to find at that price as this goes to press (The transparent versions sell for a bit more).
This has got to be the best fountain pen deal out there right now! They look and feel very similar to the popular Lamy Safari and the nib is a smooth (if boring) Jinhao medium.
I decided to break out a four way nail buffer and do some surgery on the nib to turn it into a stub. I am not the best nib grinder in the world, but I was able to end up with a nice smooth nib in about 15 or 20 minutes. You can clearly see the line variation between horizontal and vertical lines in the picture to the left.
If you are looking for a really cheap pen (or 10) that you can carry around in your purse or pocket and won't be afraid to lose, this is the pen to get!
Just picked up one of these (actually two) with an extra-fine nib. Really a pleasure to write with, the nib is smooth, and the ink flows well. It's better than many fine nibs out there, and has more personality than the Jinhao medium, which I received a while back on a transparent model. It's more like a fine point than extra fine, and the build is solid. I am enjoying these, a great value as you say.
ReplyDeleteInteresting...looks like they use a different (shrouded) nib unit on the XF models. Anyway, these pens are a remarkable value!
ReplyDelete