Just bought Jinhao from Loft Pens (eBay) - very pleased!

[Darthagnon]

I just bought 3x Jinhao #155 fountain pens (gold colour) and 1x Jinhao 8513 (gold colour, Cross-compatible ballpoint, with some refills) from Loft Pens on eBay.co.uk. I wanted to purchase a Jinhao #599 (Lamy-inspired), but after bargaining, the seller offered to throw it in for free. Picture shows some writing done with the pens, and a Cross Century (or something?) for comparison. They arrived within 3 working days, and well packaged. All came with universal converters, and a pack of 6 free universal cartridges. I'm very happy with the purchase; cost just over £20. 

 

The #155's are surprisingly heavy, though a big chunk of the weight seems to come from the lids. The caps are clip on, not screw-on; the texturing below the barrel isn't a screw thread. Line looks a little under 0.5mm, and it can perfectly replace a ballpoint or Uniball for my art and writing.

 

The #599 is interesting, as some versions seem to have  an ink window, others have a wire clip, others have a more "traditional" (non-flat, non-Lamy-style) nib. The lid doesn't feel quite as secure as on the #155's, overall a light metallic pen (nib holder is plastic). A very nice Lamy clone, writes very smoothly, much better than some Parkers I have. Line is marginally thicker, at 0.5mm, probably due to different nib design/wetter writing.

 

I've read that new, especially Jinhao, pens should be flushed with soapy water before use to remove manufacturing oils. I did so with all the converters, but only the nib section of the #599, and this seems to have made it a wetter writer than the #155, so I didn't flush the nibs of any of the others.

 

The 8513 ballpoint feels like the legit Cross pen. The tip is wobbles slightly, but I've heard even Cross pens can suffer from this. Size is identical, weight and design is very similar; in the hand, it feels like a Cross pen. The 12kt gold rolled Cross pens look a little darker/silvery than the Jinhao yellow-gold paint/coating (obviously not gold at this price). If ever you're looking for Cross refills, get a refill set with an 8513, cheap enough, fits real Cross pens, and you have a clone to take around or give as a present.

 

I'm very happy with the service of Loft Pens - reasonably prices, open to bargaining, freebies, quick postage, answers questions. I recommend, and will be buying again when I need some more Jinhaos for presents. 

 

Any questions or more photos or anything like that I can provide, let me know.