I am still besotted with these. Following the success of my recent purchase of two Jinhao X159 fountain pens, I found myself tempted to add more, in other colours.
They are available in a variety of editions. Most colours have the option of gold-coloured or silver-coloured trim and a choice of a Fine or Extra Fine nib. Depending upon your preferences the prices ranged from £7.49 up to around £20.00 and the estimated delivery times also vary.
Lingering repeatedly over the online photos, I contemplated adding a couple more to my existing pair. Readers may recall, I had started by ordering a black one, with silver trim and a Fine nib. This was swiftly followed by a blue one with gold trim and Extra Fine nib.
For my next order, I went for a dark orange with silver trim, Extra Fine nib and also a dark red one, gold trim and Extra Fine nib. Two pens in one order. See how this escalates!
They arrived within 24 hours of ordering. Again, each pen was packed in its own simple padded envelope. Each comes with a converter fitted. No cartridge is included although they take standard international cartridges.
New pen induction ritual.
Again, I had the happy prospect of inspecting and preparing my new pens. Starting with the orange pen, and in what has become a familiar routine with my Jinhao flock, I started by examining the nib under a loupe. It looked to be set up well. I unscrewed the nib housing, separated the nib and feed and gave them a good rinse in warm water. In each of my Jinhaos from the seller Erofa, I have noticed a little blue ink residue in the water at this stage, a sign that the nib has been tested before sale. This is very admirable for its modest price.
I reassembled the nib, taking care to centre the nib over the feed and to hold it to the feed tightly as I pushed it back into the housing. I like the dark orange colour. It is not bright and showy, but more of a terra cotta.
Using cartridges.
I had given some thought to what ink to use, pondering a brown perhaps. But when the time came to ink the pen, I decided on trying a black cartridge. I have a stash of these, having bought WHSmith bags of 30, when they were about £3.00. I found that this ink actually performed very nicely and flows well. Somehow, this humble and inexpensive ink seems right to pair with the budget priced Jinhao – to keep the theme of getting the job done at the lowest possible price.
One big advantage of using these cartridges is that a pen will often have room in the barrel to carry a spare, great if you run dry while away from your supplies. I popped a spare one in the cavernous barrel of the X159. There was ample room for the barrel to be screwed back on, so much so that the spare cartridge could be heard ratting inside.
I thought of cutting a small piece off an eraser and putting it at the back of the barrel. I tried this, but on screwing it back together with the spare cartridge inside, the piece of rubber got stuck in the pen. I had also cut it too large, as the barrel would not screw on all the way. Having something stuck in the pen, or the risk of it happening, annoyed me and after eventually dislodging it, I decided on a different option, that of using a scrunched up piece of kitchen roll paper, (about 1 inch square, rolled into a ball) and placing it between the two cartridges, rather than behind the spare. This worked nicely: no rattle, and it could be removed easily. The cartridge did not get stuck either (a common issue with the Cross Bailey Light, incidentally).
Nib tweakery.
I had saved the red Jinhao for the next evening. When I inspected the nib, it was quite a way off the centre line of the feed, but this is very quickly and easily corrected. Again, I took out the nib housing and separated the nib and feed. I flexed each tine up and down a few times to loosen up the tine gap a bit, before rinsing and drying the parts and reassembling. I took my usual care over centering the nib and put it all back together.
I then noticed that the tine gap was a bit wider than it had been. Important lessen to self: make sure the nib is correctly centred symmetrically over the feed BEFORE widening the tine gap. It may be that once centred, the tine gap will be wider.
To ink the dark red pen, I got out six bottles of red ink and sampled them all with a glass nib dip pen. I settled on Pure Pens Cadwaladr, a lovely dark red. The colour reminds me of my favourite wax crayon as a child, in primary school “wet play” times!
I now have four Jinhao X159s each inked with a different colour. Here is the collection (so far!):-
| Pen colour | Trim | Nib | Ink |
| Black | Silver | Fine | Montblanc Royal Blue |
| Blue | Gold | Extra Fine | Diamine Tavy blue black |
| Orange | Silver | Extra Fine | WHSmith black cartridge |
| Dark red | Gold | Extra Fine | Pure Pens Cadwaladr red |
When you buy more than one of a pen, the downside is that you may find yourself liking one over the others. Currently, I tend to bring the orange one if going out, since its spare cartridge means I will not run out, away from home. With the prices being so attractive, it is tempting to gather up one of every colour, perhaps to use with corresponding inks. I would fancy a dark green and a brown next, if I were to buy any more. Then there are the white or ivory editions.
Mixing and matching parts.
There is also the useful option of being able to mix and match the pen parts and make your own colour combinations. For example I could put a black cap on my orange pen, and give it a Delta Dolce Vita vibe. Also the black pen, given an orange section, looks rather special. Mixing has a practical purpose as well as an aesthetic one, in that you can chose what ink colour you want to carry and then put the nib section with its converter or cartridge, into whichever barrel you wish. Don’t want an orange pen in a courtroom? Clothe it in a black cap and barrel!
So, four new pens for me before January was out. The black version is probably the most versatile to take any ink colour but if you want to treat them like a set of colouring pens, with every colour carrying a matching ink, then the Jinhaos are probably the most economical way of doing so.
Fountain pen blog 
Hello Rupert!
I was so intrigued by your first review of the Jinhao X159 that I purchased one- the dark brown with gold clip and an F nib. I certainly agree that they are remarkable value for just c.£7 pounds! They write perfectly decently, especially for steel nibs.
The other and slightly unexpected ‘benefit’ of having one to try is that they are virtually the same size as the Montblanc 149 Meisterstuck, a pen that has always been beyond my ‘permitted price range’. The good news for my wallet is that I find the pen too large and bulky (my ideal size being the Sailor 1911 Large or the Pelikans M600s or M800s): as a result, the Jinhao X159 has put me off wanting a MB 149…
I am enjoying the Jinhao and may, following your inspiring reviews, buy another one soon!
I wonder if Jinhao do a similar pen of a slightly smaller size?
Thanks, as always, for an informative review!
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Hi Philip,
Thank you. You make a good point. This pen is certainly a good way of finding out if a MB 149 is too girthy.
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Hi Rupert
From your first review of the X159 I went and brought one for its price it’s an excellent pen. Would I buy another one probably as they make a great work or journaling pen
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Jinhao makes a less girthy pen in their x750, as well as x450. I like them all as in general they are well behaved and priced extremely well! I have bought from Amazon…. I guess I helped fund Bezos’ flight to near earth orbit!
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Thankyou. Recently I have also enjoyed the Jinhao 80, which is the same size as a Lamy 2000.
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Can you also post where we might readily find No. 8 nibs in medium and broad to complement this pen? Thanks!
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I have not looked but you may search online, depending where you are based.
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Alistair, A quick search shows Beaufort Inks stock a few Size 8 nib units but only in titanium or gold, it seems. If you find a source for steel nibs, please let us know here.
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Thankyou James. You seem to have some experience of this pen, given your comments as to the grade of plastic and steel. I am not sure in what way you find these deficient for their purpose or what more you expected at this price point. Personally I think they are rather good, and I have owned a fair few pens in my time.
If you prefer a more precious resin, there is an obvious alternative, assuming you have no objections to financing Germany’s possible future aggressions.
You are of course free to buy whatever pen (or anything else for that matter) in accordance with your own conscience. Boycotting any imports from China must be quite difficult for you, but then I do not know where you are based.
You clearly have not been paying attention to this blog if you think me too cheap to buy something elsewhere.
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Rupert,
Thank you for your very thoughtful and well-written review of the Jinhao X159. I have two of them myself and am quite happy with them.
I have only one question (two, actually). You wrote about “Germany’s possible future aggressions”. What do you mean by that? What and when was the last “German aggression”, in your opinion?
Thank you very much for a clarification.
Cheers,
Thomas
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Thank you Thomas.
This is a fountain pen blog. I don’t think people visit this site to look for information on history of global conflicts which is well documented elsewhere.
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Rupert,
Of course. The thing is, I happen to be German, and your comment on “future German aggressions” seems so out of place in a fountain pen blog.
Best,
Thomas
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My comment was made in response to the other person, who was trying to demonise me for supporting Chinese products. It was intended as a sarcastic response, because of course Germany has no planned future aggressions. Sometimes sarcasm and irony do not translate well. No offence was intended to German people.
Warm wishes to you from London. 🙂
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Just a note to say your reviews are helpful, thoughtful, well written, and well photographed (lest you think they are unappreciated). I can’t afford high-end pens like the MB 149, or my frugality won’t allow me to buy one, so I might give these a try, especially the orange. On the other hand, my Pen BBS is fully inked—and unused (the nib has an antic disposition).
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Thank you Paul. Your kind comments are most encouraging.
For the price you cannot really go wrong with these, and it may make a good back- up for your PenBBS.
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James, since you aspire to a better world I would suggest that you start with yourself and take the energy you spend being hateful and turn it into something more useful, like donating your time to someone in need. While you are at it might as well throw out all the blood-covered tech devices that you used to enter the comment above, toss your television to the curb and donate most of your clothes to a shelter. Wouldn’t want you to support any more nuclear weapon building.
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I wonder what happened since the 1970s, when people around the world boycotted South Africa. Strange how so few people call for a boycott of China (though South Africa never was such a danger to world peace as China is today). I’m happy my mobile phone is made in Indonesia, and the previous one in Mexico.
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I read your review about the x159 and didn’t resist to soon bought one. Very nice writing indeed but a little extra large to my hand, since I’m used to a pelikan (not so good to write) and a couple of pilot 0,4 extra fine and very light marker.
Now, exploring your blog to find another pearls.
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Thank you Paulo. It is true, the X159 does have a large girth which may feel strange until you get used to it and then other pens may feel small. It depends what you have been using before.
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Thanks for (both) reviews. I’ve recently got back into FPs and bought a parker IM (Prestige), great writer, but thin and a Conklin All American. The conklin feels good even though I do not have big hands. The problem with the conklin is that it came with a F nib and I have purchased a M nib. First M nib skips all the time, second nib they sent skips all the time, the local agent has sent a third nib (the F writes perfectly – Pilot Take-Sumi ink). Waiting for that to arrive. A long way of saying I was after a similar shaped pen without spending the $150 (in my money). The Jinhao x159 looks to be perfect and, after your two reviews, I have purchased one. Cost me AUD$17 with tax for the M nib (I could have got it for under $10 if I wanted an F nib). Will take a while to get here, purchased from AliExpress. Anyway, I will clean when it arrives and see how a $17 pen performs against a $150 pen with #6 JOWO nib. I will report back.
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Dear Kevin,
Thank you for your comment. The skipping with your Conklin All American nibs could be due to a few different problems. The first step is to flush the nib and feed thoroughly and then examine how the tines and the tipping look, under a loupe. It may be that it’s a “dry” nib, in which case the tine gap can be opened (very carefully) just to increase ink flow – without turning it into a gusher. Or it could be due to “baby’s bottom”, an overly smooth tipping which can usually be corrected fairly easily once you know what the issue is. It is best to get this done by a nibmeister at a pen show perhaps, if you have access to one, or look for advice online to try it yourself.
If you like the feel of the All American, then I expect you will also like the Jinhao X159 which is similar and obviously a great bargain. Good luck.
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Hi Rupert,
Thank you for your advice. The local agent has taken to provide a new (now the third) medium nib. I am awaiting that. Whilst awaiting that to turn up, I again flushed both Medium nibs I have (again), let them dry and tried them. Same result, they write perfectly when I fill the pen and they are (very) wet, but after about an A5 page both start skipping again.
And something about great minds, I ordered a Jinhao X159 from AliExpress two days ago in Wine Red. I’m looking forward to trying it out after reading several positive reviews. I could have got one for AUD$8, but only in Fine nib. Had to pay AUD$15 for a Medium nib – still a bargain. Thanks again for the advice
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Greetings from America. Just found your blog with the reviews on the Jinhao X159. I like hefty sized pens and have coveted a MB 149 for some time, but just haven’t pulled the plug on that. I have several Jinhao fountain pens and have always enjoyed them. I bought my first X159 and like it so much I bought another one. Simply put, they when I want them to, they feel good in my hand and are very consistent. I’ll hold off on responding to any answers of a political or social nature and just say thank you for your honest reviews and making your blog available. I’ll continue to read it.
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Very informative, thank you. I have purchased this pen about 3months ago. It feels great in the hand. I did not not use any special cleaning procedures but just filled it with Herbin Rouge Grenat ink. It started out well but after a few days kept drying out and skipping a lot. I realize that the tines of the nib are close without any gap in between. Tried to press it down a few times but I do not want to damage the nib. Can it be the ink? Would you recommend to use Waterman, Parker or Lamy inks? Or should I be still keep trying to separate the tines further on? When you do that, should the pen be filled? – Thank you for your reply.
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I have not used Herbin Rouge Grenat ink but Herbin inks should not cause any issues with your pen. It may be that the nib and feed are a little clogged with grease from manufacturing, or ink sediment or paper fibres. You could try flushing the nib and feed section in warm water with a little bit of detergent and then rinse and dry them thoroughly. (I dry them by wrapping in kitchen paper or tissue, and then shaking several times, to get the water out by centrifugal force!)
If you still wish to adjust the nib after this, then the way I do it is to extract the nib and feed first, then grip the nib, with your thumb over the middle, then press it down (gently and carefully, with little bounces) against the thumbnail of your other hand so that you can feel the amount of pressure you are applying. This has the effect of widening the tine gap. Obviously you must not overdo it or the pen will write too wet, or not at all. Stop frequently to check the result, with a loupe if you have one. Also, try flossing the nib with brass shims.
If you still wish to change inks, then any of those that you mentioned should be fine but my personal preference would be for Waterman Serenity Blue, a lovely royal blue and flows, lubricates and generally behaves well. I like to think that its solvents help to clean the ink channels too. Good luck.
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FWIW, the X159 is one of my wettest FPs. It writes first time, every time. That’s not to say ALL X159s will be the same, but anecdotal evidence suggests that to be the case. The fact that yours was writing wet then dried up suggests gunk in the feed/nib. Drying and skipping is simply ink starvation and, as evidenced previously, it was writing fine so something has happened. Usually that’s gunk somewhere it’s not supposed to be.
FWIW, I use Pilot Urushizuku take-sumi black and Pilot Namiki Black ink in the pen with excellent results. I would be giving the nib/feed a flush first before I started any of the mechanical remedies.
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Thanks Kevin, that is good advice.
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