Hard to imagine a more fair-minded and thorough review of an extremely inexpensive pen.

I love my clear Jinhao 9019! The thickness feels good for old hands😊

9019 is a great pen. Huge for sure, but not every pen needs to be one I would write for hours with. I like to switch pens several times during the day and it is such a different experience. The medium I have is a gusher and I absolutely love it.

Considering their price point, Jinhao pens are excellent writers. I have been considering the 9019, but for the time being, I will continue to write with my X159 ; it writes beautifully with Diamine Oxford Blue. I dig the groovy graphics and music between the video clips in this review. Well done, HJ!

I have the new Teal solid colour with a medium nib. I love it's large converter that screws in. I love the way you used a sax fanfare to announce this lovely inexpensive fountain pen by Jinhao. I use Lamy turquoise ink in mine.

I am glad that you like it! It is a huge upgrade from the x159 and really did understand your criticism of it. I wanted to get the Medium for you bit they were sold out they day I got it for you. I do hope they they will come out with a Broad and stub at some point. I do think they are upping their QC. I have arthritis in my index finger, so bigger pens work better for me. Great review!

I have a number of these, all demonstrators - colorless, red and the blue. I have a colorless one inked with Quink black and a fine nib. Straight away, it wrote beautifully. I like large pens, so I had to try this. For $11 AUD, I wasn't going to lose.

Hi HJ! HAD to comment on this pen because I LOVE them! I have small hands, and at first it did seem a little unwieldy, but the more I wrote with it the less of a problem it became. They write SO SMOOTH and the huge converter is great. I have two already in fine and x fine and a medium on the way. I have had a pretty long writing session with mine and really it did not fatigue me as much as one might expect.

HJ, I own two 9019’s. One a Fine in Dark Blue and Gold, the other an Extra-Fine in Black and Gold. For my hands the 9019 fits comfortably and writes great like you said. I purchased mine from Amazon for $13.90. Nice video and great view changes.

Hey HJ, I am a fan of the 9019 as well...the new converter is a huge upgrade. I don't think we can use the word innovation for the bigger size but we can say that Jinhao has improved it! Great video.

I love my Jinhao 159 , a behemoth

I've had several Jinhao pens, and ended up tossing half of them. My experience has been that many of them don't survive regular use, but those that do are real troopers. If they bothered to pay attention to QA/QC during manufacture they could be a reliable purchase.

I got the clear demonstrator in Medium nib, and I really like it. It feels like a step up in quality for Jinhao. The converter in particular is stunning (which is why I got a demonstrator - I wanted to show it off). The only drawback is the thickness if the section is a bit too thick to be truly comfortable in my hand. But it writes beautifully.

Though I fit the demographic for oversized pens due to disability and arthritis, and have decent success with fatter pens, I still use plenty of thinner ones still. I'd definitely recommend it for hand issues, but your mileage may vary. And for those that say, "This looks like X," I say, "But what does X look like?" This is the classic cigar shaped pen. This is originally from Sheaffer's in the 1950s, and many well known brands used the design when it was still in copyright. Clip? A well out of copyright Parker design. If copying bothers you, realize that copying has happened since time immemorial.

Love your channel.. Thank you! Nice job with this one as well.. I have the black, EF version.. I like it.. for the most part. Best to you and the family. Frank in Colorado

Another wonderful review. Thanks. Spectacular painting collection. What museum/facility was that?

Hi HJ. Excellent review. I agree with you 100% about this pen. Not ideal for long writing session but a tremendous pen nonetheless. Wet, never skips, top converter. I also had terrible luck with Jinhao and Chinese Pens in general. 1 out of 2 breaks, leaks or has some other issue. But it appears there has been a seismic change upwards in reliabilty since 2022. Quality has improved considerably. i have 2 X109 2x9019 and several Centennials ... ALL PERFECT and amazing writers. I just would like to see a #8 Fude Nib from Jinhao to stick in these pens.

I'm glad you like the pen. It's one of my favorites in my collection. I have the solid wine color option.

Thanks for this review. Having just bought a premium celluloid pen with a gold nib, I am still up for trying this. That’s what I like about fountain pens, you can go as high or as low as you feel like going at any one time.

You made me curious, and I bought the demonstrator. I'm really enjoying writing with it. The nib is a revelation at that price point: smooth and generous. Getting my loup out, the tines are spot on- something you can't always say of very expensive pens. I love the demonstrator look with the large converter. It really uses the see-through character well without having to make it an eye-dropper. The only quality issue I've noted so far is the converter piston rattles a bit at full extension. But that's a very minor point. It's a lot of fun for little money. I think it will be in my rotation for a while. Thank you for a perceptive and accurate review.

Thanks for your wonderful review. One quick cranky question 😝... Like traditional vintage foundation pens if we pour the ink directly on the barrel without the converter will it work the same? Have you tried this?

Well, that's a fun title animation!

It fits the pilot parallel nib units and for that I will forever love it

Most comfortable pen i own. My ham hands make most pens feel insignificant but the 9019 feels great. Just a light but if bouncing nd line variation. Beautiful

Damn, that intro takes me back. Maybe you can sign with Blue Note :D

Jinhao changed their feeds somewhere along the line. I need to get a 9019 or another X159 and see if it's an improvement.

I bought a 3 pack transparent with the M nib and quite satisfied with all aspects. I hope they will make them with silver trim as I feel the gold is a bit gaudy on a large pen like this. I like the X159 a little better for various reasons like the trim, slightly smaller and nicer looking. The large size is optimal for me.

I love this pen. Incredibly smooth. I have the transparent blue currently inked with Robert Oster Fire & Ice. It fits in my (really big, size XL gloves) hands, and while it is bigger than many pens, I like writing with it. It survived long air plane flights from US to Brazil and back without leaking. I really like the huge converter, and I presume that Jin Hao will use it in future models. Great review, thanks.

I’ve been curious about Jinhao but never purchased any. Almost purchased one on sale for $5 bucks but just didn’t pull the trigger. I’ve sold off some of my collection and I’m just focusing on acquiring pens I know I already love, sailor and pilot etc. I too have been getting away from larger pens. I went through a mini, LARGE pen phase, and I enjoy my Edison Collier and Lenoardo Furore grande, but, I’ve found with hours of writing experience, the pilot custom 74 is like the perfect pen size IMO. I guess there’s a reason so many pens fit that Bill in terms of size. But! It’s also fun to have variety in your collection to help you remember why you love what you love. Great video, thanks!

Yay for the giant, screw-in converter. In a perfect world every pen would come with a converter that is maximized for its barrel. Preferably screw-in.

How interesting, Hemingway...I am actually currently Journaling with a Jinhao Fountain pen ✒ as I view this video. It is a soft, buttercup yellow x750. I will likely try out one of these Jinhao pens soon. They are quite aesthetically pleasing.

I like mine and got a second one! They are on the cheaper side but great for when you want a pen around and not have to worry about how expensive it is.

Great review as always. I love it when you say “Shall we?” It makes me smile so. I think it might be a bit thick for me. I have a few Jinhao x159 and I can write all day without getting cramp. I’ve never had a dud nib they’re so smooth like butter. My other favourites Kaweco perkeo “M”and sport “BB”

Glad you had a good experience. I have a couple of 9019’s and they are both good writers. I’d like to see other pens with that huge converter.

It does look very nice. I've had mixed experience with Jinhao as well. They vary from pen to pen and not just from model to model. I have liked the ones I've liked well enough to take a chance now and then, though. This video brings to mind a question I've had which you might know the answer to. When I first got into pens about 30 years ago, nobody was talking about nib size. It simply was not a going concern. Your pen had the size of nib it made sense for your pen to have for balance and aesthetics. But lately, I'd say in the past two years or so, people have talked as though a a size 6 nib is OBVIOUSLY superior to a size 5, objectively. Do you know where that's coming from and what the logic is?

Hello HJ. My current position for purchasing new pens is on hold. The 9 that I own are perfect for my needs. I do believe that pens like these make excellent starter pieces in our world of fountain pens. I do have an opinion on your video. First, the funky, retro throwback to the 1960's music brought back a flood of memories. Such a fun choice. Second, the green and white floral mat was a brilliant backdrop to the red pen. Nice job. Third, I forgot to congratulate you on acquiring 9K subscribers! Here's rutting for 10K. I know that you will get there.

I have one in my cart to try out soon. Which notepad are you using? I like the top spiral bound myself, as a left handed guy (and for quick notes).

Thanks, HJ! Agreed, can't go wrong. I enjoy mine, a lot. For comfort, I do prefer the slightly smaller X159. And yes, a stub nib or BB would be great fun on this Jinhao giant.

The 9019 is something of a "curate's egg" for me - the plastic feels like an improvement over the x159, and the oversize converter is excellent (even if the rattling in the barrel isn't). Cap threads feel like an improvement over the x159, even if there are still too many turns for my liking. The clip is simply horrid - looks fine (if not exactly original ) but is unpleasantly stiff in use. The writing experience out-of-the-box (or plastic bag, let's face it) is the usual Jinhao lottery. That said, all of them thus far have been amenable to tuning, and could be coaxed into being very pleasant to use . Some with a bit more effort than others - for me it's part of the hobby. Buy a three-pack of Jinhaos and spend the next week tinkering with whichever one is the worst of the bunch until I'd be happy to write with any of them - it's cheap entertainment & a learning experience too.

I added this pen in dark blue and it is a wonderful writer. fantastic opening and video graphics for this review

After using two of these for awhile I'd say that where they excel is in the large volume of ink they hold. For the same reason Jinhao really needs to offer larger nib sizes that can take advantage of all that ink capacity. Instead they have fine nibs?? These pens are just begging for a BB!

I had a couple of Jinhaos in the past and gave them away. Mixed results. I’m interested in this one though due to your very evenhanded review. Thanks for the video, I always seem to learn something here.

The other reason the converter is effective, apart from the size is it has threads on the barrel of the converter that keep it attached very solidly in spite is its size.

Fantastic review. I personally find the medium writes what I’d expect a broad nib to write like.

How do you think it holds up against the Wing Sung 630? Just curious. Similar size although 630 a little smaller. Just got knee pretty nice. Love the video.

I recieve my dadao on september, my pen have that "baby button" problem, but surprisingly its very smooth, i think it have a certain texture, and its very confort for my skinny hands. Really good!!

Hello! thank you and like for the interesting video! I like 9019. I thought for a long time before ordering, and ended up buying 9016. What can you say about the 9016 model?

I got this pen and LOVE it.

They are astonishing writers. I’ve all the colors (except red demonstrator) and in all nib sizes. I’ve found some issue with the medium nib, but the EF and F are absolutely INCREDIBLE in terms of smoothness, wetness and consistency… for the price are a steal, really!!

On Monday I expect a parcel with 2x9019 pens, ordered from China for 10 USD. I hope they will be comfortable!

I have a burgundy/red non-demonstrator. Medium nib. Like it. Good ink capacity. But thickness I am not so used to it. Wanted to have it and I don't regret buying it because the price is very reasonable. Cheaper than a Jowo nib unit 😂

I love it I purchased 3

Sound review, and, fair play, you didn’t let previous disappointments colour your judgement. My Jiinhaos have all been good, and i have an 80 in my currently inked rotation. I'm not really tempted by the 9019, however, as I'm no fan of big pens.

I am using a 9019..it is good

I like the 9019 but have had a hard time getting ink to flow through mine reliably. It does write extremely well when it is writing at all. I know that this combination of nib and feed can perform well since it's the same feed and #8 nib that they install on the X159, which I also own. I can't use my favourite Waterman Bleu Sérénité ink in my X159, however, as the nib will dry out and refuse to write if I set the pen aside for just a day or two. Using Namiki blue instead, (the kind that comes in the bizarrely shallow 60 ml bottle,) fixes this shortcoming. The Pilot/Namiki people don't market this stuff as a so-called "infinity ink," but it seems to work like one at least in this particular pen. It doesn't help with the 9019, though. I was curious about whether anyone else was experiencing these sorts of problems with the 9019 and/or X159? For awhile, I was thinking that it might have something to do with choosing a medium nib that makes greater demands on the feed than the fine nib on my X159, but I can see in the comments below that the medium nibs are working well for others. Maybe I just received a bad one and need to throw it away and order another?

I don't have any fountain pens with #8 nibs and I am sooooo curious. I also don't have any Jinhaos in my collection, so this could be a good option for me to test drive the size. That wine red one is totally my jam and the prices of these pens continue to stun me!

Mine required quite a bit of fine tuning the nib and the feed. The nib is a stiff nail despite its larger #8 size. The plastic feels like... cheap plastic, unlike those better quality, thicker plastics with a tad of resilience and plasticity to prevent sudden cracking once you accidentaly drop it... but you get what you pay, so you have to manage the expectation here. Despite the cartridge being a screw type, with motion, it hits the barrel producing a rattling sound. As a writing experience, it takes a while to get used to it because of its larger girth, it feels like writing with a child's big, fat crayon.

It is the most comfortable pen I have ever used. I much prefer it to my Montblanc 149 or the x159 comfort wise. It fits my hands wonderfully.

Like you, I"ve not always had good luck with JinHao but I thought it was intriguing and for $8, worth a try. It knocked (and still does!) my socks off! The #8 nib and that huge converter are real plusses and I prefer a girthy pen! Mind you, it's large and wide enough it won't be a pocket pen!

I love mine, and it screams 'write with me'.

I love my 9019, how big it is. I have it in F nimb and transparent gray. It's my regular pen at the moment. However, I still prefer the writing of my several X159 as feel they are smoother.

5:50 I'm sure there isn't any gold plating whatsoever on any Jinhao pen, possibly some "gold" plating. Still love them, though!

FWIW, tho I don't have one for 1st-hand comparison, other reviewers have said the 9019 is a knockoff of the vaunted Namiki Emperor. Originally bought 2 (one red, one blue, demos) back when they first dropped with EF nibs only, & more recently a black 'business' version when they released with M nibs. Planning to grind one EF to a tight stub.

It's been on my list to add just to try larger pens. Normally I prefer slimmer pens like the Noodlers Charlie.

I’m really impressed with my Jinhao pens so far (I have 8 lol). They have perfectly acceptable build quality and come in delightful colors and thoughtful features (included converter for ex). I have noticed they can run a touch dry and skip very occasionally. But honestly I’ve had way more problems with my Lamy that cost 10x more so I have nothing bad to say about Jinhao!!

You made me curious. I just ordered a Jinhao from Amazon for €12.95. somehow it's scary... if such a cheap fountain pen is so good, then why have I spent thousands of euros so far?

Is it bigger than the Twsbi Vac700 iris ?

Thanks for the review. Looks nice, but it might be too girthy for my delicate little hand.

Sailor could take a page out of Jinhaos book on the KOP versions of their pens. I can't believe they use the same small converters in those pens. Very good pen for the price.

I have the 9019 for some time now. I like it, but it is too thick for long writing for me. The X159 and 82 had some smoothness problems. After opening the tines a little more, they are now some of my go-to pens. The nibs are both F nibs, writing like an FM nib now. 😁They turned out really nice writers. The 80 wrote butter smooth with a little (pencil) feedback out of the box. It's a good pen for some quick scribbles. The nib is too fine for me to write extended periods of time with it.

Agree, great pen, but too large . I have taken my X159 out of circulation, but it to is a good writer. No issues. Thanks KB

try the new slimer 9016. it is like driving a wagon in Naopli old town. I have both 9019 9016 for two weeks, x159 on the way.

That looks like a nice pen, but I'm not getting one because it looks much too large in diameter. I also don't know how I feel about huge nibs. All the pens I have use either #5 or #6 nibs (except for the Lamy pens I own). I'd consider a pen with this same converter but in a smaller size and with a smaller nib.

Much, much better than the X159, which doesn't seal as well and the clip breaks easily, but the 9019 is a little too big to be comfortable for the vast majority of people. If it were scaled down just a little, it would be amazing but they probably won't do that since they are determined to copy other makers' models. The huge converter is awesome!

6:10 "I can't wait to fill it" ...but the pen is already filled?

Jinhao QC is not consistent. Some are very good from the "Get Go" and others are not. Jinhao's were so inexpensive that I always kept a few around for gifts...

I have three Jinhao x159 with different colored inks that are my daily writers. I obviously like them, especially the big nibs. I am tempted to get the 9019, but the x159 is about as big a pen as I want. I think the 9019 would be over the top. I do however would like to see if the big juicy converter would fit my x159. Please, Jinhao make the converter available separately.

Hi HJ, my results are coherent with yours. I like the new post production elements, very good work and mix! Have you ever tried in your hands a Namiki Emperor? I've had a grip on it recently and it's even much bigger!!! I only liked the nib of that pen, but it's ridicously enormous in my medium - big hands. Take care and please go on like this with your renewed creativity. Sorry for not being present in your channell and by emails as I would like to be, I live in a very full and busy way and your videos keep on inspiring me like others.

The girth of this pen is well known, but glad that the test drive will give a sense how a Namiki Emperor would write like, better to spend a dozen dollars, than thousands on an Emperor. No rush, but something I have in mind.

Wonderful exposition and review of a fine, inexpensive pen! I've had a 9019 for several weeks, and share your assessment of its qualities. The size is not off-putting to me. I'm sorry you've had trouble with Jinhaos. I've owned quite a few, and never had a problem with the nibs, whereas I have had to take a brass shim to far more expensive Conklin (Jowo?) and BENU (Schmidt) nibs to get them to write at all. Thanks again for the great video!

With the big converter, I consider this pen to be a piston filler. The piston just happens to be removable. I didn’t like the thickness at first. I put the pen away for a month before using it again. Now I love the thickness! I don’t know how my opinion could change so much in a month. I wouldn’t want anything thicker, but this pen is nice.

Cool pen but not one I’m interested in.

I very much doubt the 9091 is acrylic. The x159 is injection molded as is this, and looks and feels like styrene, which is a very different polymer. The injection molding on the x159 is very poor--lots of built in stress that results in them literally self destructing. These weaknesses are a function of cheap resin, poorly designed molds, and a shoddy curing process. This is just another attempt by Jinhao tho punch above their weight. They should stick to Sharks and 750s. After the x159 I got out of curiosity literally exploded in my pen drawer, I will never trust their injection molded crap again.

Let me know if you want a Christmas card frank in Oswego,ill

Unpopular opinion: I don’t want to try to ruin anyone’s experience with this pen because there are a lot of people who love it.. and that’s fine. This is only my opinion, my personal critique. These pens feel and look cheap to me. I bought a couple so I could compare and be sure. I have one that’s red next to a (old) 159, X450 and a X750. They’re all the same color with gold hardware but the 1909 stands out in a bad way. It looks dull and plasticy. My other complaint, and this one is even bigger. It rattles. It’s one thing that it’s a cheapo Chinese pen. I mean, I know what I was getting myself into. I have a mountain of Jinhaos, so I know what to reasonably expect but the rattling makes it feel extra cheap and takes me out of the writing experience. Maybe if I just put a cartridge in it, it may solve that issue but the converter is long enough to shake and rattle against the inside and it drives me crazy. Honestly, for a big pen, I prefer the old 159 with a Goulet #6 nib swap. It’s smooth as a Cadillac with that non swap and looks great on red. If the 159 had a better clip, it’d be about perfect… for a big pen.

I like it, but it´s even bigger than a montblanc 149 and not a piston filler ? wtf ?! and seemingly asians like fine nibs.

3 dollars? The fuck?

If it weren’t made in China, I’d consider it.

They stole the clip from Pilot. For that they don't deserve a review.

I have the red and sea blue demonstrator 9019s. As I prefer thicker lines I choose the M nib and this is probably more MB compared to the M nibs of the Jinhao 82 (Sailor PGS lookalike). The red one I carried in my pocket after the second full fill and somehow some ink spilled and got under the cap liner. A lot has evaporated but there are still to spots, the bigger one near the clip insertion. I found a video of someone dissassembling it to clean that area, but I haven't got the tools and as you and this guy mentioned one does not know how brittle the acrylic is. This pen writes so juicy and smooth. And I have very small hands. Probably not for writing very long, but shorter passages are quite okay. I like the look and the feel of it. The seablue demonstrator one I used Diamine's shimmer ink Mystique in and it wrote a bit inconsistently in thickness but I considered it a thing of the ink, how the shimmer was distributed. What I also noticed that the nib was not centered on the feed. I then made the mistake I guess of m8ving the feed not the nib with my fingers to realign. Then I noticed ink in the grip section right at the end right behind the nib. So I then had to align the nib itself 2 or 3 times. Since then I changed the ink to Robert Oster Romeo and Juliet and it works better. Maybe I put pressure on the nib with the shimmer ink. And now all of a sudden the ink in there has gone! Btw. I am a newbie who fell into the pen, ink, paper rabbit hole in summer 2022. So all in all I am probably getting myself the clear demonstrator, too. Best feature for me is the big, wet, and smooth nib. Thank you for your interesting videos!