Thanks Doug, I just ordered one from Ali Express but there was an option for a Medium nib, so I chose that. I can't afford even moderately expensive pens, so these reviews keep me having fun with fountain pens by letting me know about pens I can afford. Thanks again

I have followed Jinhao for 6 years now and am loving what they have introduced recently. I have a white 82 and a white 80. Very pleased. And now a Jinhao 82 mini or two. Thanks for the video Doug

1. Jinhao! Love those guys. 2. I wonder what percentage of Jinhao pens are sold locally in China. More generally, I wonder how large that market is, what colors and models are most popular. Anybody watching from China?

I bought three of these 82s, and they’re all great! I bought a pink, aqua and olive green, different nibs…2 medium and one fude. Those didn’t feel stiff at all and plenty juicy upon first stroke. I was pleasantly shocked. Love your sweater Doug!

Good to see the clip of William Shatner displaying his famous Canadian understated acting. Classic.

Thanks Doug for the musical intro and as usual, the entertaining and informative review! What a way to start a Saturday!

Who doesn't dig the cuteness of the Sailor Pro Gear Slim? I have done been influenced to purchase a Jinhao 82;the first one I got was a nib that left a lot to be desired/dry and scratchy. So,I swapped a 1.1 stub from my Kaweco Perkeo calligraphy set and it turned into such a fun pen! Emboldened by the above,I purchased two more Jinhao 82 pens(all three of mine are the Deep Blue sparkly ones, sometimes referred to on the Chinese websites as "fluorescent". When I stuck in the bulb syringe to clean the new, medium-nibbed 82,low and behold ink ran out of the nib! They must be individually checking the nibs!!! It writes as mooth and wet as one could ask for. Writes better than pens I have that cost 10x as much(and more). What more praise could I heap on a $3.29 pen? Ok,one negative about my 82;the clip is a little too stiff. But once it's into my shirt pocket it's not going to slip off like say,a Lamy 2000 might. And it's the perfect size for a true "pocket" pen. I have three X159 Medium nibs incoming for my little brood of X159s(Burgundy,Navy Bleu,Ivory,and Black). My Jinhao 51,genuine mother-of-toilet-seat resin, with Bobby mini-fude nib is one of my favorite fountain pens. Don't get me started on my darling HERO 565s(my Sheaffer's Pen For Men substitute). All this is to say that after hearing from some penfluencers that have a sort of snotty attitude,and looking down their nose at Chinese pens,I think they are really missing out on a great segment/experience of the fountain pen mania. Not to mention all that can be learned from swapping,smoothing and spreading tines on nibs that aren't too "precious". The Chinese are definitely upping their game on quality of nibbage,especially the Medium size. Learning how to maximize your pens is a most valuable asset. This new Jinhao 82 with Medium nib has me writing pages and pages. Smooth and wet(Diamine Oxford Bleu). I hope the other 82 I got at the same time writes as exellently as this one! I have medium-size hands but short fingers and prefer to use the 82 unposted. It is nice posted as well. The 82 is almost as big a deal as the X159. Almost. I haven't even dared to get a Centennial 100 or whatever the model is. I feel pretty sure I would really like them. Maybe when they come out with a new color/finish... Thank you Doug,for keeping us all informed on the many great pens you feature on your excellent channel. Love ya baby. Mean it!

Your reviews keep getting more interesting. Thanks Doug

Hi Doug, really enjoyed your video. I bought the medium nib version and it is a lovely writing experience. The nib glides across the page and keeps up with me as I tend to write fast. I've ordered more 82's medium nibs because they recently brought out some gorgeous colours. Love your videos, keep up the good work. My thanks.

I agree with your assessment of the 82. I bought four of the 82s. I swapped out the nibs for mediums and an archtect nib. Now they write decently wet.

I wasn’t planning on buying an X850 or more Centennials, but you’ve inspired me yet again, Operator.

Great value! Thanks Doug!

Loved the intro! I might have to try an 82 if I can get one with a medium nib. It’s so affordable and might make an EDC. Thanks Doug.

I bought about 5 of them, in pastels and transparent, as you can swap the finials and make some very cute pens!

For the price, most of the Jinhoa pens I’ve bought are amazing pens. Not a Mont Blanc, but not as bad as you might think.

Doug, can you please repeat that coffee order? I got lost after Venti😊😊😊😊 Seriously though great review of the Jinhao, most popular, lineup. Much appreciated.

I have an 82, with two more in the mail. Yes, this is a pen where nib swapping is essential for happy writing. I put an architect nib in mine. The size and form remind me of the mid century pens, although this isnt a piston filler. But it is a more than adequate pocket pen, and it feels real good in my large hand. Nice review, Doug!

Thank you! This was a very enlightening as well as entertaining review. You are truly a star in the great Milky Way of fountain pen review videos! Take care! P.S. You play guitar too?! Hot damn!

I’ve got 4 82s on the way to me right now. The new translucent ones are a MUST have if anyone likes pastels and they’ve got two brown ones, one even with shimmer.

Hi Doug I've bought the X350 and it's becoming one of my favourite pens

Very informative and entertaining review. Thank you, Doug. I recently got one of the Jinhao all-black stealth pens, and continue to be favorably impressed with the improvement in their quality control and component fit. Though Jinhao pens used to be hit-or-miss, all those I've bought in the last six months or so seem to write, mostly, right out of the cello sleeve, where there is one.

Ah! I found the Jinhao 82 this past week so it is not in my "Doug made me buy it" list! LOL! I got them in pink and a mint/pistacchio color in a medium nib, to use with the shimmery inks from Inkvent calendars. They will arrive some day. Hope to see you in a pen club meeting soon!

Got my 159, x159, x450 today.. really big pens, all write straight out of the box .....

Of all my Jinhao pens, the only ones that absolutely needed work and not just some minor tuning were an x450 and x750. My Jinhao 80 has an uncharacteristically good nib and is the smoothest nib I own even including my "real" pens of Japanese and European manufacture. My Jinhao 777s (the safari clones, they really need better naming) all write well and have been given to the children in the family, I no longer hear complaints of hand cramps at school, doing homework or drawing and at ~$1 a piece who cares if they get lost, break or if there's a few duds in an order? The Jinhao ink cartridges are dirt cheap and don't stain which is another benefit for the younger children not to be trusted with bottles quite yet, but the included converters are there when they are ready. In my personal experience the Jinhao Lamy style nibs are fairly reliable, can't wait for my next order with an x159 to try the #8 nib.

Dammit, Doug! I think you are the best Fountain Pen reviewer on KZfaq. The past week my youtube feed brought up some other reviewers and I am sorry to admit, I cheated on you and watched. Many are excellent as well. I think your humour and editing add a fun element to your analysis. I guess growing up on Monty-Python helps me understand your bent.

5:34 82 starts. 992 seems to be the predecessor to 82. The 992 in racing green reminds me some antique Conway Stewart pens. I also got the 992 transparent version, the collar is transparent, which is very unique for jinhao.

Thank you for the great reviews! I was planning to learn Hanzi writing for better character memorization, and decided that I might as well do it with proper ink and fountain pen. I've grabbed few dirt cheap 1$ NOS vintage Wing Sun models from Taobao just for nostalgic reasons, but for writing I'll probably buy Jinhao x159 and 82 because they all look decent. And if anything, I'm amazed by the variety of colors on Jinhao 82 - I counted at least 24 variants, most of which are bright and interesting.

I love that Jim Croce song!! Searched this up and landed on this vid bc I was like whoa what’s that pen that looks like a PG :)

A) How do you know my coffee order? and B) They released this pen in translucent orange and no one told me? Thanks once again for a thoughtful, informative review.

Thank you for your comparison. After watching one of your videos, I decided to purchase a "4-pack" of the Jinhao x159. I have a love/hate relationship with Jinhao pens. My daughter used to live in China and when I would visit her, I purchased dozens of Jinhaos, Baoers, Dukes, Picassos, etc. Very few wrote very well, but a few did o. k (excepting, of course my giant Duke with a huge fude nib). These new Jinhao x159s were disappointing. Should I have expected more? All of the nibs were very, very dry. I finally got 3 of them to write adequately, but the 4th . . . well there's no hope. I believe the feed is damaged. Thankfully, I didn't pay much for them, so they will be nice "give away" pens.

I love my X159s, but if they ever come out with piston filler I will buy that as well. The #8 nib is sure good looking.

The x159--at least my two because they seem to be a little inconsistent --are awesome. Every time I use mine I'm surprised how wet, smooth, and comfortable they are, plus they write right out of the gate even if they've been sitting for a week or two. Plus they rip through ink, which might help get my ridiculous collection a little under control!

Bought 3 Jinhao 82 and 2 Jinhao 80 because of your video sir 😂 all 5 write like a dream, biggest bang for the buck!

I bought my 82 with a medium nib. It is a true Western medium (0.6/0.7 mm) and writes very smooth. I like it more than my Prera and my Kaweco Sport Ice. In

The Starbucks bit at the end had me dying! Great video!

That coffee of yours is longer than my mortgage!!!!! LOL Great video. Love the Jinhao's but that E95 looks amazing.

Most entertaining and informative jinhao review!!!

that's the coolest intro i've ever seen🔥🔥🔥

Excellent video and review. And who knew we had the same coffee order? Lol

Late to the comments, but I've really enjoyed your reviews of all these Jinhao pens in your videos! I think I came about your channel after watching some videos on using a Zebra G nib on the Jinhao x450 & x750, and other pens to create a flex nib fountain frankenpen, and watched your take on it. I love the way the Zebra G nib as a dip pen, but it is obviously a bit more cumbersome to take for location sketching...hence, my interest in the conversion. I'm new to fountain pen use, and bought my first one - a Scrivi EF - from Amazon a couple of months ago to use for pen and ink drawing and sketching. I really like it; it's a great addition to my drawing tools, but would love to add some additional pens to my drawing and sketching tools for versatility, maybe with some F and M nibs. So, based on your video here, I just bought a cream colored Jinhao 82 with a fine nib for less than $4 that I found on Amazon. I like that it's easy to swap out nibs on it like the other Jinhao pens. Hopefully, it's not a dud, but the fact it can be tinkered with and get #5 nibs to replace it is great. And, since I have small hands and don't like gripping large drawing tools, its size is what made me choose it over the X159, which I'll definitely skip because of the size. I can see an X750 or two in my future, though 😂, and at least one of them converted with the Zebra G...

Nice video

Doug, nice review. As someone with large hands i share your predilictions........I wonder if any of your pen club friends has an ASC or new Wahl pen with a #8 magiflex nib they might lend you? The ebonet feed has a slit parallel to the nib to increase it's flex so the ink flow is better when flexed. This would be in total contrast to the Jinhao 82! Just a thought. Kind regards

oh my.. always love the guitar intro !!

Hi! I love your gapping tool! I love this video. Makes me want a bunch of new Jinhaos❤. When i bought my 159's they had #6 nibs and i swapped in Goulet 1.1 nibs. Your Starbucks order made me dizzy. 😍🤩

Thank you, Sir.

Dog, I love your sense of humour. Great reviews also.

It’s pretty sweet they’re so cheap and they look expensive😮

Well, like @sunnycharacter, I have three of the 82's. Black, pale blue, and ivory (they don't call it ivory, but I have it in my hands and it's ivory; I think they call it light yellow or some such). All with silver (colored) furniture). I also happen to have a Sailor Pen that is almost a duplicate of the Jinhao 82, except a VERY slight difference in the placement of the cap band. This is the inexpensive ($30 roughly) Sailor Lecoule, with a steel nib. There is also a trim ring on the 82 at the top of the section where it meets the barrel that the Lecoule doesn't have. I don't have a Pro Gear Slim to compare these with. Think of the Lecoule as the beggar's version of the Pro Gear Slim, and the Sailor Compass as the beggar's version of the 1911S. Both are in the $30 neighborhood and offer a limited range of steel nibs. In fact, medium-fine may be the only nib size offered on these models. I also happen to have three of the Jinhao 80 pens. I'm not in love with the shape and feel of the 80, although it's comfortable enough, but what I am in love with is the 03 nib option! It is great! I'd rather swap a couple of these Jinhao 03 nibs onto Lamy pens than swap any Lamy nib onto the Jinhao 80! I've got a Jinhao X159 in wine red with silver (colored) trim and an EF nib on the way, too. When you think of Nightowl, think of "Extra-fine!" :)

Jinhao 82s are like potato chips. I am up to 14, I think. I love them. Great review!

Top review!

I've ordered a JinHao 599-A, which is JinHao's homage to the Lamy Safari. I already have a Lamy Safari so I got the 599-A in fine just to see, but to be honest I'm enjoying the medium nib on the Safari. I'm looking forward to comparing the build quality of the two pens. The JinHao of course will come with a standard international converter, whereas I had to buy the Lamy converter as an extra. For good measure I also got a JinHao 86 with extra fine nib but after working with the Lamy medium nib for a while I'm thinking that may be my sweet spot. We'll see I guess. I'm enjoying the way the medium nib shows the character of the Diamine inks that I'm using. This stuff is so affordable It's turning into a bit of adventure isn't it? ...Also got some glass pens, which didn't write at all until I took to them with some 600 and 1200 grit paper. It's like they expect you to do the final finishing on them, but they don't come with any instructions or even a hint that this is required. Weird. I signed some legal documents with one, with Platinum Carbon Black. It's actually a 3 dimensional solid black signature and as far away from writing with a ball point pen as you can get.

Mutters to self: I do NOT need another Jinhao... Might make a decent pen for "penabling."

The Jinhao 80 is a clone of the.. get this.. the Lamy 80! It wasn't made since the 80's I believe, but it was made my the same designer. Mostly a cost reduced 2000, or non-flagship

Nice looking little pen. I'd like to see Jinhao bite the bullet and make a proper pocket pen. Other than the briefly available Pocket Missile, they don't seem to have explored that area.

This review of the Jinhao 82 corresponds to my experience with it. For longer writing sessions the No. 5 nib and feed won't keep up as well as would the Sailor nib and feed.

You mentioned that it has a lot of feedback. How does it compare to a Sailor nib in terms of feedback? I haven't tried a Sailor pen yet, sadly.

Go Flames! (perhaps next season though)

More Operator... Good review. The Jinhao 82 is closer to the Sailor Lecoule which also has a steel nib.

This guy is good! 😉

The Jinhao x159 really is amazing. I feel for what you get the pen should be a lot more expensive. I have a few and the nibs wrote perfectly on arrival. I also love the size of the section and prefer a c/c pen over other filling mechanisms. I feel like it shouldn't even be called the x159 as it is so different from the 159. The 159 was too heavy and had the extremely ugly, in my opinion, clip.

The Starbucks comparison got me laughing 🤣

I've been pleased with my Jinhaos despite the "controversies". I liked the 80 so much I now own 3, started with a black with black trim, now also have a red and a blue with gold trim. Picked up a black Jinhao 35 to swap the nib to my black 80 and found the 35 in black is nice and not slippery like the silver seemed to be. I also have a Y5 which was on Amazon as a Sipliv but clearly marked on the pen as Jinhao, the hooded nib tends to dry and the section is slippery. Then there's the 100 Centennial Mini (thank you Doug) a very nice writing pen, I'm waiting on a couple of nibs from Goulet Pens to try in it. Of all those, the 100 Mini and the black 80 are my favourites. Jinhao makes very good pens for the price and in my experience their quality has been decent. My Jinhao 80s are an example though of how their quality can vary, The black works great and may dry out if left for 24 hours or more of no use, then there's the blue one which seems to dry out if you look at it wrong, and the red one is somewhere in between. I know I can keyboard warrior all day, but am too chicken to do videos. :) Keep up the great work.

A vantagem que eu tenho descoberto com as canetas pequenas é que a gente tem onde colocar a tampa quando tiramos da caneta...."zero" perigo de esquecer a tampa e nunca mais encontrá-la ou de cair no chão...:)

Hello Sir. Very informative video. May is ask what's the ink used in the intro of this video if you may remember? Very pretty color.

Great video, lots of information for me to digest as I am new to Jinhao. By the way, I recently got a Jinhao 159 and try as I might, I could not pop out the nib. I pulled and pulled to no avail, do you have any tips or tricks? What am I doing wrong?

Thumbs up for the Kirk meme alone

I own the Jinhao 80 and Jinhao X159 (and your reviews are one of the main inspiration :)... Thanks). The Jinhao 80 is a great writer out of the box, lightweight , great to hold, does not dry out. One of my best pens and i would consider/recommend it as a great starter pens. The Jinhao X159 (1 week old for me) is gorgeous , great to hold but it had starting problems right out of the box (the ink flow is not that great). I washed it and it became better but even now after 1/2 pages of writing it dries out. I have to push the piston down to resume the ink flow. Can you please suggest on how to make the X159's performance better?

would have never thought that giving 100 times ghe price for a fountain pen would not give me 100 times the performance.

Trying an x159...thanks!!!

Wow! My experience is different. I got mine (Jinhao 82) some time ago, and I am very pleased with it. Working out of the box. Maybe because of ink? I put Pilot Tsuwario Black in. Nice juicy F line (juicier than Pilot M nib) and excellent reverse writing (thinner than Pilot G tec C4!). And it never ever skipped. I'm starting to like Jinhao. I also had my Jinhao 75 washed in dishwasher and stripped most of it coating... but it still writes like first day. Even with some problematic inks like Diamine Peacock flare and Sailor Haha.

I have the X159, 100 and 80. I haven't gone for the X450, X850 or 82, yet. But I can agree that they are wonderful pens. And, yes, a piston filler version of the X159 would be a godsend, even without an ink window. Why Jinhao will not do such a version that is crying to be made is a shame. My guess is there is no piston wide enough to fit the barrel that is made. I will have to look at the 850. It is such an interesting pen. I know there is a company from India that makes #8 nibs for a reasonable price. I wonder if it will fit on the X159. Great overview and review, Doug.

I have most Chinese fountain pens and only a few of them are bad but most of them are very good, even with several expensive ones I still like the Chinese pen design! Thanks, Doug.

Have you seen the Moonman x1? It's an interesting copy of a Montblanc

Anecdotally, the JinBuHao 82 is listed alongside a sailor converter, more to your point... ;)

Douglas Rathburn's reviews of fountain pens are as enjoyable (well, almost) for me to watch in the morning with a cup of coffee as are the highlights of the hockey game won by the Boston Bruins the night before posted on the NHL website. The Inkquiring Minds review is twice as long, so I can enjoy a larger cup. It's almost a toss up. ⛸

lol great video!

The Sailor nib is absolutely a difference, but I can't tell the difference in the hand. It reminds me more of a Sailor Lecoule. Btw, if you're looking for a new Chinese piston-filler under $30, i highly recommend the Lemon M1 on Ali Express.

Good Morning Mr. Doug You put me in the mood for Starbucks but I'll save my $$ for a pen! LOL

I am looking at the 82 as a first fountain pen. Does it only work with cartridges or can I fill it up with actual ink? I need it to write red. Which ink/ cartridge is recommended?

Great video with an impressive coffee order! 😂

How'd you learn that Starbuck's order? I know I show my age every time I walk in and order a tall coffee! Took me a while at that to learn "tall" was regular (still makes no sense).

I was gifted a pair of Jinhao 250 pens (maybe...re gifted) but there was no ink for them. (I believe it was lost before re gifted to me) I finally bought a bottle of ink and sorta figured out how to fill the pens. difficult to make them write. Set 'em aside overnight, and they do not write again. I must take them apart and screw the plunger down until I see ink in the nib. What am I doing wrong, or do I now own a faulty writing instrument? Today, 5 years later, I was given Jinhao ink cartridges, that don't seem to fit the 250s. Or am I missing something else in this 2 pen package.

Aren't these Jinhaos amazing? I have far, far more expensive pens, which had better last as heirlooms for my House in centuries to come (grandiose, aren't we?), but for writes well / looks good, Jinhao! I appreciate how you redeem not so great nibs, but, I must say, I've never had a Jinhao that required tuning. Conklin, yes. Schmidt (on a BENU), yes. Never Jinhao. Your milage has varied. Most recently, my 95 with a #5 M nib has performed magnificently. After a few weeks' use, with admirable line variation for a steel nib. Would I get the 82? I have more EDCs than I can use, and have been seeding them with receptive fountain pen novices. BTW, that said, if Jinhao put the chariot in "gold" on the finial, I'd get it in a heartbeat.

I think the takeaway is with Jinhao based on this and other reviews is not to expect perfection out of the box as you would the pens some of these have been inspired by. I've not had any writing issues with my x159 and 80. However, I did have to get a full refund (required haggling) to get my initial x159 replaced as it arrived with the finial snapped. My Jinhao 82 I don't think has left China, although it has passed through customs & ordered getting onto a month ago now. For the price there's really little to dislike and I feel all write well. I do like their fine nibs, albeit their not smooth (I quite like some feedback) & perhaps feel rather generic, so maybe not inspirational writers for some. The x159, although it writes, well I don't especially like the clunkiness & just like yourself I'd say I'd have 'medium' hands. So, that's a personal preference, rather than design or flaw with the pen itself. Cheers.

Essa ferramenta que você usou para melhorar o fluxo de tinta nas penas (nibs), onde você comprou? E qual é o nome dela? Tenho uma ferramenta mais simples, com uma única lâmina e uma única espessura, que eu comprei no Aliexpress....Não achei essa ferramenta que você apresenta nesse vídeo. Ficarei muito agradecido se você me passar maiores informações sobre ela.

I have a question for anyone more experienced with Jinhaos: is a #6 nib suitable for the Jinhao 82?... I would love bold nibs for it from ebay :)

Does Jinhao make any pens that are piston or vacuum fillers?

BOOM

What you call "feedback" I call "scratchiness." Is there a difference, and if so, how do I tell them apart? My inclination would be to continue Figure-8's until it was smooth, probably starting on coarser grit, until it stopped "feeding back." Are my smoothness expectations skewed? Or am I just skewed?? Thanks, Doug.

LOLOL! That Starbucks drink is a heart attack and lactose event waiting to happen. 🥴

Better worse or the same as 992?

A lot healthier than the Starbucks, too. 🤣

I would rather buy from Japan than China.

I know we benefit from Chinese companies freely copying other brand’s pens but it is still a crooked and dishonest practice when someone’s patented products are being ripped off.

Jinhao has a slew of pens, all are below par in quality. My 100's have had various bits fall apart. The adage of "you get what you pay for" certainly holds true with Chinese pens. My opinion and I'm sticking to it!