Jinhao Pens

[Bklyn]

My Jinhao 9009 is one of the smoothest pens I own (third place in fact), right up there with Lamy Al-Star and my Platinum 3776. My Jinhao 159 seems to have some good spring as well, I can go from a medium line to around a BB with some pressure. To be honest I wouldn't be adverse to trying one of Jinhao's solid 14K or even 18K nibs, I believe that they are taking this pen making thing seriously.

This is a great Jinhao story.

[Bklyn]

IMO, if Jinhao tighten their QC, they could take over the fountain pen world in less than a week.

Yes, can you imagine that?

[Bklyn]

if writing is smooth then it does not matter for me whether it is inexpensive local made pen or chinese brand like jinhao or expensive pens. i have ordered jinhao 126 from china and it still ib transit. Yesterday placed order for two jinhao 599.

I hope you get a GREAT pen. Please let me know? Love your thoughts.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Bklyn

[amarjit]

I hope you get a GREAT pen. Please let me know? Love your thoughts.

right now i am using jinhao 321 which is good one, since it has fine nib it is not as smooth as jinhao x750( my friend liked it so gave him x750). waiting for three jinhao which is in transit.

[ingolf]

I have several Jinhao pens. One Jinhao 159 is in use and three other are kept to be "spare parts". My 159 in use is not a bad pen.

 

I made a little adjustment to the ink feed section (pulling out the ink feed incl. nib and adjusting it to get a "fatter" ink flow). Now the writing performance of the EUR 5 Jinhao is not much worse than writing with my MB 149 (a EUR 730 pen).

 

Maybe my pens were "lucky" purchases as I have no quality issues.

To my opinion a Jinhao pen like the 159 offers the best price-performance relationship ever known to me.

I know it might not be fair to compare a 159 with a MB 149 as there are several features that makes a MB a higher value pen. But Jinhao did a good job with amazing prizes.

[TeaHive]

Understood. Can you imagine them making a GREAT pen for 50.00?

 

Hmmm.. No, I don't think I can really imagine it, lol! But that's not to say that some of the pens that are available now are NOT great. I really like my 599 (metal). It feels very comfortable in hand, and writes very well in terms of smoothness, nib size, and ink flow. And I only paid about $4 for it. So I'm more than pleased.

[Zookie]

I have several Jinhao pens and have been very pleased with them.

There was even a black X750 that I got for .99 with free shipping. No problems with it, but I suspect it was a factory "second". I can't think of any other reason why it would be so cheap.

Spend more for one? Probably not.

[edebill]

I like to try different pens, so I've bought a bunch of JinHaos. x450, x750 (I think I got all the color options), 159, 599A, and a wacky one that's got a gold dragon molded on the outside.

 

The gold dragon one is the only one that's had any trouble. It uses a smaller nib than the others. I bought it for my daughter and she had a lot of trouble getting ink to flow.

 

Prior to that my biggest complaint is not coming in nib sizes, so I'd have to take the $10 pens and add $15 nibs to get a fine point.

 

The 599A actually came with a very smooth fine point nib. I'd expected one of their normal nibs, but it comes with one that looks like a Pilot Varsity. The thin metal gives it a soft feel, and the point is nice and fine. It doesn't feel as "quality" as my Safaris, but I like writing with it more. It's been going back and forth to work in case I feel like having some variety. I suspect it'll become my new desk pen at work, replacing a Hero 616 that splattered me with ink when I uncapped it too quickly on Friday.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

IMO, if Jinhao tighten their QC, they could take over the fountain pen world in less than a week.

 

Perhaps... However, if they tightened the QC, would their pens be as inexpensive as they are now? QC costs money, after all.

 

Granted, we don't know just how much of their low prices are due to lackadaisical QC vs. government subsidies.

[deepak23]

My 159 is a pen i have kept in regular rotation even after multiple ink fills. I really like the proportions and the writing feel...

[amarjit]

My 159 is a pen i have kept in regular rotation even after multiple ink fills. I really like the proportions and the writing feel...

next month i too will buy 159

[bobje]

Many of us purchase pens from China through eBay, and we form our impressions of the entire spectrum of Chinese brands based on these examples. Pens in a variety of ages and current or NOS availabilities come from different types of vendors. If I formed my impression of the entire spectrum of German pens, for example, based only on the pens I could purchase through eBay vendors, my impression would not be uniformly positive. The Jinhao pens I have purchased from reputable online retailers, based in the United States or mainland China, have been consistently reliable and well-manufactured performers, with high-quality lacquer finishes. Their $6-$10 pens -- with shipping included -- compete extremely well against pens costing $30-60 from other countries.

[Pickwick]

About two years ago I bought a Jinhao 15 which has an unusual shape. My first reaction was the paint finish around the base of the cap will quickly wear off because it fits in a groove on the top of the barrel. I use it fairly frequently just to see it happen. Up till now, the finish is just as good when I first bought it for $6.50 with free shipping! Also even inked up and unused for prolonged amounts of time, it's still a first time reliable writer!

[jody_fpn]

>>If a Jinhao cost $70.00, would you still make the purchase?

 

I would look for vintage verses any pen costing more than a few bucks.

I am new to pens though.

 

Jody

[Pickwick]

>>If a Jinhao cost $70.00, would you still make the purchase?

 

I would look for vintage verses any pen costing more than a few bucks.

I am new to pens though.

 

Jody

They have the capability to produce a good quality product. When you think about it, Parker and Cross to name but two original American companies once manufacturing fountain and ballpoint pens in the US are being made there. I recently bought a Parker Urban, with "China" marked on it. I notice that Jinhao along with Hero are making a better quality pen in their range with a higher price tag.

 

China has the reputation Japan once had after World War Two for producing cheap badly made products. Look where Japan stands now in the manufacturing market producing high quality desirable products! China may well have their day in the possible near future.

[jekostas]

China has the reputation Japan once had after World War Two for producing cheap badly made products. Look where Japan stands now in the manufacturing market producing high quality desirable products! China may well have their day in the possible near future.

 

Very well said, and I agree wholeheartedly. The difference between China and Japan is that Japan had to learn how to do all of their manufacturing from the ground up. China has had the significant benefit of Western companies going and manufacturing there and teaching them pretty well everything they need to know to do so. Design, production steps, handling feedback and product redesigns, quality control etc.

[jvcn]

Their Achilles heel always seems to be quality control. When I visited China, some of the people I met told me that they felt that Chinese production was always better under foreign management than local (e.g. Apple) Even when they cloned things, they never managed to get the details right consistently unless there was a QC procedure in place that really penalized mistakes heavily.

[Sasha Royale]

 

 

If a Jinhao cost $70.00, would you still make the purchase?

 

 

 

No. I can get better fountain pens than Jinhao, for $70. I think the 599 is excellent value at $2.

I know of no pen, at $4, that I like better than the Jihnao x500.

[Flounder]

Interesting questions. You will occassionally find a cheap pen that can write as well as a $70 pen, especially if the $70 has a duff nib. It happens. IMO, that's not to say it is as good as a $70 pen.

 

At a $70 price point, there are a few design features I'd be definitely be looking for:

 

If a cartridge pen, the piercing tube should not simply be an extension of the plastic feed sleeve.

 

The feed sleeve should have some sort of mechanical method of assembly into the section, not merely glued in.

 

The cap should have a proper inner cap, and if the pen is a snap-cap, the inner cap should not be doing the snapping.

 

The clip should not be held between the cap and inner cap with a mere rivet or stake going through the inner cap.

 

I have a Jinhao 159, and had a Jinhao 321 before PIFFing it (way too may hooded nib pens, it wasn't seeing use).

 

They are good pens for the price, and at one stage wrote better than my Pilot Custom Heritage 92.

[deepak23]

At $70 we are entering Platinum 3776, Sailor 1911, Pilot Lucina territory. And these are amazingly well made pens for the price point. So, the answer is for $70 I'd rather go a little bit more to the east than look at Jinhao....