Don’t judge me. I found this by accident whilst innocently scrolling for pens, on Amazon (don’t judge me, again).
To give it its full description, this is the Jinhao 80 Gray Fiber Brushed Fountain Pen. I chose the Fine nib version. There were also options for a black pen with either a silver coloured or black clip and options of Fine or Ultra Fine nib.
To acknowledge the elephant in the room, this is clearly based upon a certain well known iconic, much loved German fountain pen designed in the 1960’s although there are many key differences, including as to body material, nib and feed design, grip section material and filling system. The snap capping is also simplified.
Conveniently leaving aside the ethical considerations of purchasing such a pen, I will describe the pen and give you my opinion of it on its own merits. Let’s call this a homage to the Lamy 2000.
I was curious as to how the pen would feel, compared to the unique, tough and textured Makrolon of the Lamy. I have to say, that the plastic used does look and feel good and there is a textured finish in the plastic, which is pleasant to the touch.
The cap features a chunky, brushed steel clip which is sprung and works very well and is really quite astonishing given the price by western standards. There is no visible branding on the pen body or the clip, until you get to the nib. The cap finial is also just like that of the Lamy 2000, except in a matte finish rather than glossy.
The cap pulls off with a click. It is secured by the raised lip at the at the nib-end of the grip section clicking into the inner cap, as opposed to the horse-shoe metal ring (with its two protruding ears) of the Lamy. There is a plastic inner cap and I have not encountered any nib-drying and hard starting so far.
The grip section is of the same textured plastic as the cap and barrel and is very comfortable to hold. Where it joins the barrel, there is a shiny plated metal ring on the barrel. The absence of any step makes for a comfortable grip, wherever you wish to grip the pen.
On the Lamy 2000, the join between the barrel and piston knob is famously almost invisible. On the Jinhao 80, you cannot see the join either, but this is because there is none: it is a cartridge-converter pen, not a piston filler.
At the foot of the barrel, there is a steel disc inset, which presumably is just cosmetic here but gives the pen a distinctive look on a desk and shows attention to detail in this homage.
Unscrewing the barrel, the pen comes with a converter which works ok although I would have liked it to contain a metal coil ink agitator. This would help prevent ink sometimes sticking at the back end with surface tension rather than sloshing down to the nib and feed. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the barrel had metal screw threads inside and so you have metal-to-metal threads for the barrel to grip section.
And so to the nib. The pen came with a Jinhao steel Fine nib. There is no pretence of making a Lamy 2000 style semi-hooded nib, but rather Jinhao has adopted the design of a Lamy Safari or Al-Star nib, which has its advantages.
On mine, the nib wrote a fine line which was very dry. The nib was smooth with nice even and level tines but they were too tightly together for my taste. As I had chosen an ink that was also new to me (Rohrer & Klingner Isatis, limited edition of 2021) I soon found that in such a dry nib, the very thin single coat of Isatis, with no back-wash, looked very pale indeed.
It may be that the nib set-up would have suited someone with a more conventional writing style, but as a lefty overwriter needing a wetter flow, I tried to ease the tines a little, with brass shims. This proved to be quite difficult, there being no breather hole and the face of the nib being flat, rather than curved over the feed. After struggling with this for some minutes, I gave up and instead swapped the nib for one from a Lamy Al-Star. This operation was quite easy, using a piece of Selotape wrapped over the nib to pull it directly off the feed.
Now, with a Lamy steel nib, the pen is writing very nicely. I have refilled it with Waterman Serenity Blue, filled from a bottle, which is the ink that I normally use when trying out a new pen.
The cap posts, both deeply and securely and the pen feels comfortable and well balanced whether the cap is posted or not. It feels comfortable, lightweight and solid and writes very well.
Giving credit where it is due, the pen has been made to a good standard of quality. Whilst the supplied nib was a bit too dry for me, the pen makes an excellent vehicle for a Lamy Safari-style nib which can be enjoyed without the Safari’s faceted grip. You could even fit a Lamy gold nib if you were so minded.
For its very modest price, which was just £9.49, the pen is undeniably good quality and value. The only issue is whether your scruples allow you to live with yourself for supporting what some would call a “knock-off”. In my case, I did not buy it because I wanted people to think I have a Lamy 2000. I can flaunt my own Lamy 2000 to do that. But for a low cost writing tool and now benefiting from a Lamy nib, this is, leaving aside the ethical debates, a great pen. There are plenty of examples of pen homages for those who would like a low-cost alternative to a Parker 51 or Duofold, Pilot Capless, a Montblanc Rouge et noir, or even a Lamy Safari, perhaps to use as body double whilst our originals stay at home.
Fountain pen blog 
Jinhao have introduced two excellent new pens recently; the model 80 and the X159. I have both. I think perhaps I had better luck with the nib fitted to my Jinhao 80. I could never say it was dry. In fact I didn’t feel any need to tune or adjust the nib whatsoever. Like you I own the Lamy 2000 so I’m not trying to pretend the Jinhao is a Lamy. I currently have my Jinhao 80 filled with Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa. I am perfectly happy with the pen itself and have no ethical concerns about buying a so-called “knock off”.
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Thanks Dave. It is good to hear that you are enjoying your Jinhao pens. I have had several over the years and generally find their nibs to be very good. The Scabiosa looks a lovely ink. I do not have it but use their Salix iron gall ink occasionally.
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I would be perfectly comfortable leaving my good pens at home while using good quality knockoffs at work.
I’d get to write with aubergine without the worry of losing my precious Sailors. There, anything more expensive than a Pilot G2 is considered a “fancy” pen.
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Aubergine ink…what have I been missing!
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You are forgiven, but as a penance now order a Lamy 2000 blue Bauhaus limited edition right away.
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Very good! They are probably unobtainable now, but I have purchased a good number of Lamy pens in my lifetime so I consider my “pen-ance” was served in advance.
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Can’t judge you for buying a cheap pen from Amazon. I do on occasion, you could say that Jinhoa design department aren’t as creative as they could be, they haven’t used the Lamy name on the pen and aren’t saying it’s a Lamy. So homage would be the best description not a fake
From your review of the pen it would be a good pen to use at work looks okay but doesn’t have the same price as a Lamy 2000
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Thanks John. I would like to see Lamy make a copy of the Jinhao 80 fitting a steel Safari nib. But I doubt they could do it for under £10. 🙂
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I bought the “stealth” all black version from AliExpress – black clip and furniture. I love it. It is most definitely not a Lamy 2000, but has its own charm. I prefer a more interesting nib than the options offered by Jinhao, so separately bought a “Lamy-style” 1.1mm stub for CAD3 or so. Transformative. I also bought a Lamy-style Naginata-style (nothing if not stylish!) nib which I adore. It’s currently making a similarly transformative difference to my Jinhao 35 (which is not a Parker 25). These are cheap but undeniably well made pens. I almost wrote “designed”, but I think “interpreted” is more accurate.
George Harrison made some comment about songs all being made up from other songs. Jinhao do not claim this is a Lamy 2000, but there’s no denying they’ve taken a lot of its design features. It has cheaper materials but is well made and a fraction of the cost. Horses for courses. For those whining about Chinese products… take a look at where your ridiculously expensive Apple device was made.
Judge these pens on their own merits – they’re not all good, even measured by their low price point, but some are outstanding and will last as well as the stupidly expensive Italian, Japanese or German pens.
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Your stealth edition with the stub nib sounds great. Yes, a pen can sometimes be transformed by replacing a nib, making it much more enjoyable and can turn a mediocre pen into one that you are much more likely to use.
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Thanks for the review. I just say this on Amazon and I took the bait and ordered one. I always liked the look of the Lamy 2000 but the nibs never really felt comfortable to me. I do not think they tolerate those who turn their wrist inward as they write. Anyway, thanks for the review.
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Thanks John. Yes, the Lamy 2000 nibs do not suit everyone and can have a narrow sweet spot.
I put a Safari nib in the Jinhao but it turned into a gusher. I have since put the Jinhao fine nib back in the pen and it is now writing nicely.
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Got my two Jinhao 80 FPs. Your review is spot on! If the pen were sitting on a desk and a person was looking at it from four feet away, he likely would not be sure it was not a Lamy 2000.
For the price, this is a great pen. On more than one occasion, I paid hundreds of dollars for a pen that came with a bad nib or would dry up totally after overnight and then be impossible to start again without some work or dipping into water. So far this is passing all the tests and, of course, is cheap enough to take anywhere and not worry if lost.
Thanks, J
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I have just bought the Jinhao 80 after getting the X159 and think it is a great pen. Reminds me of the pens I used at school all those years (50!) ago. Good price, writes nicely and looks good. Ok, it is no Lamy but there again, it does not fall into that price range.
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Thank you for a very well written review. Upon reflection, I think that this pen reminds me more of the Lamy Profil models, 80, 81 and 86 (made from circa 1975 to about 1982), as the grip and nib set-up are similar, and the pen is slimmer around the middle than the paunchy 2000. The Profil models were piston fillers, though.
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Thank you very much. Yes, there are strong similarites there. Those old Lamy models look very appealing and it is a shame that they are no longer produced.
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