Jinhao Pens

[Charles Skinner]

I am not really sure how to start this post. I now have a 450 and a 750 Jinhao pen, and can not put into to words just how pleased I am with the pens! I must admit, that it took me awhile to decide to "buy a pen made in China," for political reasons and also because I thought the pen would be of really poor quality. But, as far the political reason, so much other stuff we use every day also comes from China, and we think little about it.

 

These two pens are quickly becoming my favorite "writers," and I am a very serious journal writer, and write a lot every day. I have read a few negative things about the converters, but so far, have had no trouble with mine.

 

So, looking at things in a broad way ----- How will the high quality --- I beleive --- of these pens affect the historic pen makers in Germany and Italy and Japan? And yes, a few in the U. S. too? I know that the Jinhao pens are not made of material that pen lovers often desire, but to me, a pen has to have only one quality to be a favorite of mine! It must be a great writer! If it looks nice, that is a plus, but I have pens that have been and still are favorites that are NOT really beautiful, and these not so beautiful pens are still in my stable because they are good writers.

 

So, do you think Jinhao or other pen makers in China ----- and I know of no other at this time in China, ---- will make "old line" pen makers "sit up and take notice?" I wonder.

 

I am just blown away by my 450 and 750 Jinhao pens, and I just needed to outlet to express amazement! So, this is it.

 

Your thoughts?

 

C. S.

[KBeezie]

I liked the X750, but not the nib on th em, and they were rather decent when I replaced the nib with Goulet nibs (had a Medium on a Jinhao 159, and a Extra-Fine on the X750). The problem though is the feed and cap are not a very good design so they tend to dry out easily and become hard-starters the next day, or if you don't use them for about 2 days you have to sometimes force in thru th top just to get it to flow again. I've either given away or sold all my Chinese pens for one (no one bought it yet ). I think I've probably tried over 40 different Chinese pens, about 10 different Jinhaos in that batch and such. Some were decent, but none were spot-on reliable. A pilot Metropolitan for just a few dollars more was spot-on reliable compared to even my Jinhao 159 (ie: just worked, no tinkering required, didn't dry up etc).

 

Most of the Chinese pens offer a wide variety of aesthetics and sizes for a really affordable price, and they may work decent if it's the only pen you're using almost every single day (ie: keeping that fed wet and using the ink before it can dry out). They're also handy if you like to do some nib swapping with #6s (or #5s if you got something like a smaller Jinhao 250). Fortunately only one of the Jinhaos ever decided to have an enema on me and that was a Jinhao 599 with it's original converter, decided to dump the content of Electric Orange out the back of it into my pen case. Otherwise the main problem was constant drying out.

 

But yea that's my thought on them, they're fun to begin with until you learn about the more reliable options and start investing more in the direction you want to go. Especially since even a $2 Pilot Petit1 was for the most part smoother, lighter, and more reliable than any of the Chinese pens I have, I could leave the petit1 sitting around on my desk or bag for about a week and it would start right up, I just didn't know it existed until I was already on a Chinese Pen Buying Binge.

 

PS: I thought the same way you did about making the bigger brands take notice, but then after having used a lot of them for a month or two I started to realize why they haven't yet.

Edited November 17, 2014 by KBeezie

[WateryFlow]

^ I think you've been unlucky

 

Totally agree with OP! My Jinhaos are the best writers I've ever had. In terms of writing quality and reliability/consistency, far superior to low-to-mid price Parkers, Lamys and Kawecos, for example.

Edited November 17, 2014 by WateryFlow

[KBeezie]

^ I think you've been unlucky

 

Totally agree with OP! My Jinhaos are the best writers I've ever had. In terms of writing quality and reliability/consistency, far superior to low-to-mid price Parkers, Lamys and Kawecos, for example.

Unlucky with 50+ Chinese Pens? 11 Jinhao 599s, 10 Jinhao X750s, 2 Jinhao X450, 2 Jinhao 159, A number of Wingsung, Hero, Yiren, Baoer, etc?

 

I don't care for the low-to-mid Parkers, Lamy or Kaweco, for that price point the Japanese pens were better. (I've had to adjust most western pens out of the box in that price range where as the Pilots or Platinums I got for the same price required no adjustment out of the box).

Edited November 17, 2014 by KBeezie

[WateryFlow]

Unlucky with 50+ Chinese Pens? 11 Jinhao 599s, 10 Jinhao X750s, 2 Jinhao X450, 2 Jinhao 159, A number of Wingsung, Hero, Yiren, Baoer, etc?

 

I don't care for the low-to-mid Parkers, Lamy or Kaweco, for that price point the Japanese pens were better.

Hmmmm I dunno. I mean the ones you've listed there all cost about £4 or less each, so YMMV. My experience is for those costing around £10-15 such as the Century ones, the 650, 950, etc. I think you'll have a much more pleasant experience with them I'm sure.

Edited November 17, 2014 by WateryFlow

[KBeezie]

Hmmmm I dunno. I mean the ones you've listed there all cost about £4 or less each, so YMMV. My experience is for those costing around £10-15 such as the Century ones, the 650, 950, etc

At $15 to $20 or more I'm getting a Pilot Metropolitan which hasn't failed me once in the two I got, and the OP mentioned the exact same ones I had.

 

Of all that 1 X750 and 1 159 were pretty consistent outside of the occasional drying out (and that was after I replaced the nibs with $15 goulet ones). The 650 and 950 uses the exact same nib and feed as the cheap X450/X750/159.

Edited November 17, 2014 by KBeezie

[a_m]

I have used many Chinese Pens - but for whatever reasons they have not sustained long. I didn't have any reason to change nibs - but i have observed that in the beginning the Chinese nibs are super smooth. But that smoothness and line width does not last long with regular use. The nibs seem to write broader, more ink starts flowing and somehow the initial smooth writing experience is no longer there.

 

And invariably all my current pens are either Indian pens (with Indian or German nibs) or Pilot FPs

[WateryFlow]

The 650 and 950 uses the exact same nib and feed as the cheap X450/X750/159.

Minor point but the 650 and 950 use different sized nibs

http://imgur.com/W6IhLiq.jpg

 

While they write smoothly for me I'm happy to keep using them

 

 

 

So, do you think Jinhao or other pen makers in China ----- and I know of no other at this time in China, ---- will make "old line" pen makers "sit up and take notice?" I wonder.

 

There are many pen makers in China but many of them are the same company under a different brand name. If it hasn't happened already I doubt it will ever happen in the foreseeable future because FPs are generally considered luxuries, so I don't suppose western companies feel even remotely threatened about how good a writer they are.

Edited November 17, 2014 by WateryFlow

[richardandtracy]

Do I think the other pan makers will sit up & take notice?

 

No.

 

Why? Due to complacency rather than because Chinese makers have no good pens.

 

My favourite Chinese manufacturer is Kaigelu, which I think has higher quality output than Jinhao (certainly better plating). They do some amazing pens and I love the resin used for their K316 - wish Parker used it for the Duofold.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Sailor Kenshin]

 

----- How will the high quality --- I beleive --- of these pens affect the historic pen makers in Germany and Italy and Japan? And yes, a few in the U. S. too?

 

 

 

 

I don't think it will have any effect on the German, Italian or Japanese pen makers...different markets. And I LOVE my Chinese pens.

 

Owning one brand does not stop me from buying another.

[Sasha Royale]

Jinhao fountain pens are good value, but quality control is inconsistent. I have both the x750 and x450. I find that

the x450 writes better. Of the large nib and feed pens, the feed with the circular mark (WateryFlow's photos) work

better. I think the standard converter cannot always keep up with the large feed ink demand Sometimes, a coaxing

of the converter is needed to restore ink flow. Jinhao models with smaller nib/feed have better ink flow.

 

Various PRC (Taiwan is ROC) pens are in my inventory. They give good service, but I regard them as "extended-life"

disposables. I play with them, but go elsewhere for solid quality.

[Helen350]

Of the Chinese pens I own, I pick and choose what I am going to buy. My x750 writes beautifully with a Goulet 1.1 stub. My Baoer 8 Horses has a Knox nib, and writes very smoothly. My Jinhao #159 also has a Knox nib, and I could not be more happy with its performance. My Jinhao 599s were smoothed with micromesh, and they get a daily workout with each of my studies and class notes. I've been fortunate not to have had any hard startups. Granted the converters do not hold an inordinate amt of ink, but I do not find it an inconvenience to ink up my pens when working. Though I do own some Esterbrook, Wahl-Eversharp, Sheaffer and Wearever vintage pens, and some more costly pens, I find myself frequently drawn to my X750 with the Goulet 1.1 stub because it does the job. Ink feed is good and is able to keep up with the demands of a 1.1 stub. SBREBrown on YT teaches how to smooth a nib, as well as making a nib wetter, and this knowledge has helped me with these Chinese pens. Granted these are not the $200-$1,000 pens, however there is a market of people on limited budgets who still enjoy writing with a fountain pen, and thank goodness there are pens to meet that budget requirement.

[Guernseytim]

I've got a couple of Jinhao pens. My x750 is currently my daily writer at my desk as it never fails. Writes nicer than my old mont blanc Starwalker ever did.

 

So good I bought my nephew one to encourage him to write and prep more when studying. He loves it too.

 

They're heacy pens - I like heavy pens.

[rwilsonedn]

Do I think the other pan makers will sit up & take notice?

 

No.

 

Why? Due to complacency rather than because Chinese makers have no good pens.

 

My favourite Chinese manufacturer is Kaigelu, which I think has higher quality output than Jinhao (certainly better plating). They do some amazing pens and I love the resin used for their K316 - wish Parker used it for the Duofold.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

I'm with Richard, just because we have seen this so many times. European or US companies think that (your choice: Japanese, Taiwanese, mainland Chinese) products are terrible and could never compete. Then one by one they go away, unable to stand up to the competition.

My experience with mainland pens has been very favorable: a couple of problems that needed fixing, but quite a number that were excellent out of the box after proper flushing. Statistically it's not that different from my luck with pens from any other country, except Japan (whose companies make consistently excellent pens, but that could just be my good luck). I don't believe this is unusual. If someone has trouble with a high percentage of a large number of anything, it's wise to ask about the person as well as the product.

ron

[TSherbs]

Will other more traditional pen makers take notice?

 

Who cares? My Chinese pens are fantastic. I own two pens over $50 ($55 and 75$), and I only bought these after MUCH research into their dependability and quality (Monteverde Prima 1.1, and the Parson's Essential med italic). I was not disappointed, and with two excellent expensive (what I call expensive) pens, I have no need for more. I haven't bought a pen for more than $5 in some months now....What you can get for under $10 is kind of mind-boggling, really--if you are not looking for brand prestige.

[by78]

My experience with mainland pens has been very favorable: a couple of problems that needed fixing, but quite a number that were excellent out of the box after proper flushing. Statistically it's not that different from my luck with pens from any other country, except Japan (whose companies make consistently excellent pens, but that could just be my good luck)...

 

I envy your luck with Japanese pens. All my Sailors (regular <M>) wrote dry and scratchy out of the box, and one of them wasn't even properly polished. I asked around and found out that my experience was unfortunately rather typical. Apparently, Sailor's QC on their regular, non-specialty nibs has been utterly disgraceful for the better part of past ten years.

 

I also had feed starvation with one Platinum 3776. Another Platinum (President) has poorly cut threads, which makes screwing the cap a hit or miss. My experience with Pilot is no better. One of my Custom 74s wrote like a firehose due to a separation issue between the nib and feed. Another Custom 74 wrote dry on the push stroke, a problem it shares with a much more expensive Custom 743.

 

But my five Jinhaos all wrote well out of the box. The only problem I've had was a broken converter, but at the price point I got them, I was surprised that they even included converters in the first place! I should add that I like my nibs giving a very slight amount of feedback so I could feel the paper.

 

Needless to say, I've got more satisfaction out of my Jinhaos than many other much, much, much more expensive pens I own. I'd recommend these Jinhaos to anyone, not because they are cheap, but because they are very good pens in their own right.

Edited June 11, 2015 by by78

[The Blue Knight]

I think they are good for the money however I have given away all of mine except from a Kaigelu 356. The problem is there are pens that write a lot better for only a little more like my Parker Frontiers, low end rotrings and my Parker 15 which I'd rather use.

[by78]

I think they are good for the money however I have given away all of mine except from a Kaigelu 356. The problem is there are pens that write a lot better for only a little more like my Parker Frontiers, low end rotrings and my Parker 15 which I'd rather use.

 

I got my FIVE Jinhaos for under $15, shipping included. Shipping excluded, Parker 15 costs three times as much, and Frontiers more than seven times. I have tried neither, but I doubt they write three or seven times as well as my Jinhaos. I'm not implying that there is or should be a linear relationship between price and writing experience, but you catch my drift.

 

You get what you pay for, and sometimes you get (a lot) more, which is the case with Jinhao.

Edited June 11, 2015 by by78

[The Blue Knight]

by78 I dont really get your point. I saw you posted about the a Waterman Carene a few days back but 1 of these pens costs maybe 40 to 50 times as much as a Jinhao so like me you do see you get something more at these higher price points. Or you wouldnt be considering a pen at one.

[by78]

by78 I dont really get your point. I saw you posted about the a Waterman Carene a few days back but 1 of these pens costs maybe 40 to 50 times as much as a Jinhao so like me you do see you get something more at these higher price points. Or you wouldnt be considering a pen at one.

 

 

My point is that value is subjective, as is what makes for a 'great' pen. Jinhaos are more than competent writers in their own right regardless of price. The fact that one can acquire five for $15 USD makes them great pens to me, for they write as well if not better than many pens costing 10 times more.

 

As I said, I was "not implying that there is or should be a linear relationship between price and writing experience", meaning I don't think a Waterman Carene should write 40 times better. I expressed an interest in the Carene mostly for the reason of aesthetics, because beautiful inlaid nibs are scarce, and scarcity often creates demand and commands a premium, which many, myself included, are willing to pay.

Edited June 11, 2015 by by78