General
Jinhao’ s company from Shanghai in China, visibility and profile has been on increase for a long time. After initial questions over their ultra-low-price strategy for their popular designs, their range and cost/value/performance ratios have won them many new customers. The company was established in 1988 in Jiangxi Province, but relocated to Shanghai in 2003 with an initial staff of c300 which has grown expotentially.
Features
Our own multiple copies of X159 arrived well over six months ago and we used them usually filled with Parker Quink Blue. Their affordable low-cost pens are reviewed everywhere and their clever marketing is achieving a high degree of desired effects. All X159 pens received, worked properly without any problems out of the box. Comparing these pens with the MB149 is what all reviewer communities always starts with, but we will concentrate on two key areas: nib size/material and filling systems. Nib of X159 is made of gold-plated non-magnetic steel, where 149 is made of 18K solid gold. Physical visible size of both nibs is effectively identical with corresponding feeders which have some differences in fins design. Filling systems, X159 comes with its own converter, whilst 149 is a piston filler well known for its acknowledged historic reliability and high efficiency.
Comment
The X159 is a large fountain pen with a design heavily influenced by the iconic Montblanc Meisterstück 149. Its affordability for what it is known is a fact. The semantics of “influenced” vs “clone” are also of a philosophical nature and are widely discussed on the corresponding Pen channels.
Ink used: Parker Quink Blue, France/UK
