What was your first fountain pen?
It’s a question that I love to ask because there is an astonishing number of people who have the exact same answers: “JINHAO”, “LAMY Safari”, and “Pilot Metropolitan” are the responses I hear almost every time!
We have been carrying LAMY and Pilot for about a year now, and there is no denying that the pens are incredible for the price, but if you’re on a budget, looking for a functional fountain pen, one brand soars above all the others – JINHAO.
JINHAO Price vs. Function
Are JINHAO Pens Good?
I’m not going to lie; you’re not going to get the writing experience of a Montblanc or a Pelikan from a JINHAO fountain pen.
They do write well but tend to dry out a little bit if you only use them a few times a week. The trims are very lightly plated, so it’s best not to use an abrasive polish on the trim as it will easily rub right off. If that's the case, why are these pens so popular?
The answer is pretty simple: they’re less than $10! That’s right, for the price of a movie ticket, you can enjoy hundreds of hours of writing.
Not only that, but you get a converter with the pen! Just the converter for a LAMY Safari will run you $7.50, and it’s nearly the same for a Pilot converter – and you don’t even have a pen to attach it to yet. If you consider the cost of the converters, two of the three most popular starter pens will still run you between $25-35.
You will get 95% of the reliability with JINHAO at less than $10, so it’s certainly a great place to start!
Why are JINHAO Pens So Cheap?
How can JINHAO fountain pens be produced at such a great bargain? When I first spoke to the Chinese distributor for JINHAO, I was shocked at the quantities they were asking to send.
Scale
If you ever thought an order for 100 fountain pens was large, JINHAO doesn’t even blink at a request for 10,000 pens.
I actually started to think that they would be unimpressed with an order of less than 100,000 pens. I guess the simple answer is that economies of scale through bulk manufacturing allows for these pens to be produced at unbelievably low prices.
From what I can tell, there are other economic factors at play, though.
Chinese Economic Factors
The government in China owns many manufacturing facilities that have the ability to supply raw materials to manufacturers further down the pipeline – pen manufacturers included.
When the Chinese government owns these manufacturers, they intentionally operate at a loss in order to create better profit margins for the manufacturers so that they can hire more workers. This is called a government subsidy.
They also subsidize exports; so Chinese companies can ship fountain pens overseas and be reimbursed by their local government.
All this allows us to nerd out over a $10 fountain pen like it was a missing chapter from Star Wars!
What is the Best JINHAO Fountain Pen?
I chose to focus on my personal favorite pieces from the Jinhao range, and have brought in less than 10 different models. There are quirks and features of each that could help you decide which one to choose.
Shark
Available in a fun array of colors, the Shark pens are great for young people trying to get involved in writing. At just $3.95, they are an inexpensive way to get your friends and family into the hobby!
JINHAO Shark - $3.95
X250
Fairly hefty in size, the X250 is a slender fountain pen with a two-tone nib and a silver grip section. It comes in a black “cracked ice” design, a fiery orange, and a marbled blue.
JINHAO X250 - $9.90
X450
The largest of the X-models, the X450 offers 6 different models, from a gorgeous matte black to a marbled red. My favorite feature of the pen is the triangular grip section, which is great for a beginning fountain pen user because it shows where your fingers should be in order for the nib to line up perfectly on paper.
For more information on the JINHAO X450, see our full review by a fountain pen beginner.
JINHAO X450 - $9.90
X750
The X750 appears a little slimmer than the other X-models, and has a smooth finished grip section, versus the ribbed and triangular sections of the X250 and X450. All three X-models feature snap caps.
JINHAO X750 - $9.90
159
The largest of all the JINHAO models, the 159 is shaped like a Montblanc 149. It also features a large #6 nib, so you can really feel its presence when writing. It comes in eye-catching colors from bright red and orange, to a subtle black and a full steel finish.
JINHAO 159 - $12.50
555 Dragon
If you’re looking for a themed pen to start your collection, you can get the JINHAO 555 Dragon for a price that is still less than the LAMY and Pilot options, at just $25. The dragons in the motif even have red eyes, so the pen looks spectacular!
JINHAO 555 Dragon - $25
9991 Dragon
The double dragon version of the 555, the JINHAO 9991 features the dragon motif on both the cap and the barrel. This one features a snap cap versus the screw on cap of the 555. At just $30, this one is a showstopper!
JINHAO 9991 Double Dragon - $29.50
Give the Gift of JIHNAO
It really comes down to your intentions…if you’re looking for the perfect gift, any pen in the JINHAO range will be a fantastic idea.
In fact, they’ll probably think you spent a lot more on their gift than you really did! If you’re new to the hobby and just want to try a fountain pen, you can’t go wrong with any pen from X-series, at less than $10.
If you have large hands, or if you just like the presence of a large pen, the 159 models are my personal favorites.
If you’re looking for a great desk piece that draws attention, but still allows you to add some character to you’re writing, the Dragon series is absolutely a must-have. The best part? If someone steals one of these from your desk, you’ll be grateful that it wasn’t your Visconti!
With JINHAO, there really is a little something for everyone.
Make sure to leave us your thoughts and comment below!
I started out with a group of vintage fountain pens I had discovered in my folks’ barn, left by the previous owner, in the early 1980s. All were in great condition, surprisingly, and I got a lot of mileage from them, even though fountain pen ink was very hard to find, in my area. Sadly, between college and several moves, they all disappeared…
I had a stroke in 2010, which impacted my writing hand, so ballpoint pens really cramped my hand. An acquaintance reminded me about fountain pens, so I started hunting. (The stroke surprisingly only hurt the gross motor skills. I can still write well, after I “fixed” the damage that many notes in college, and writing more notes for work had caused.) My first in the new collection was an old lever fill dimestore Arnold. Horrible writer, but it was one of my beloved lever fill pens. So I kept searching. The next was my new favourite pen. A Jinhao 159. The “primary crayon in the hands of a very small toddler” thing keeps me from dropping it, and it’s easily one of the most comfortable pens I have right now. I have an x450 and x750 as well, though my second favourite is a Wing Sung 6100, which is a finer nib, and better for the notes and such I still need to write.
Dollar for dollar, when you find a decent Chinese pen, they can be a great thing! (I still plan to get several more vintage fountain pens, but I currently have 7 Chinese pens, with around 20 more coming, from various companies, mainly Jinhao, Hero and Wing Sung. I’ve become an addict…)
thanks for sharing this type of informative article! thank you very much!gift pens
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