JINHAO X450 Fountain Pen M Nib (Red Ice)

I’m a fountain pen enthusiast and most of my small collection consists of far more expensive items than this “cheapie,” but few write as well or smoothly. From reviews, I expected to replace the nib, but the unit arrived in perfect adjustment and I don’t see the need. I haven’t used the supplied filler yet (I may keep this pen for travel and stay with cartridges- especially as it will take full international standards as well as the more common short size), but reviewers say it works well. The only downsides, it’s a finger print and dust magnet, and the clip mounting cap is very tough to open, though I suspect this will ease with use. I’m using it with Schneider cartridges and the resultant ink flow is generous, but not overly wet. As a “leftie,” I like Schneider because the ink is very fast drying and water resistant, leaving my hand unstained by ink. In this pen, it works very well, making for a smooth writing experience even one cheap copy paper. On stationary, it’s superb. I especially like it with the. Mnemosyne top bound M180A notebook. For lefties, it allows the wire binding to be used on the “wrong” side, and out of the way.I know that not everyone has received their Jinhao in perfect adjustment, but at this price point, I suppose that’s the risk you take. If your’s isn’t perfect out of the box, there are many YouTube flics on adjusting or replacing the nib. It’s easy to do. Being a klutz, I’ve had to do it many times to many pens I’ve dropped over the years. The nib is a standard #6, so replacements are easy to find, though the better ones can cost far more than this pen! The nib supplied is a true “medium,” which is a bit unusual, as East Asian pens tend toward a finer line than European or American models. It has just enough “bite” so that there’s a good tactile sense of the paper surface with none of the squirmy feel of a rollerball.All in all, a first class pen for the price of a third class ticket.

Great pen for the price! I was genuinely surprised with the quality and workmanship. It looks and writes better than most of my more expensive pens; writes smoothly, doesn't scratch or skip and truly exceeded my expectations. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. You won't regret this purchase!

So far so good. I have always had a penchant for fountain pens. I had tried another brand that looked good, but was a total fail. They would clog easily, like every day and actually had 1/2 nib on two different of these pens just break off with little use. The Jinhao pen seems to be better, but we will see.It seems to write much smoother than my original pen. I ordered the medium tib, but then ordered a second pen with a regular (fine?) nib. The only gripe is that I am using cartridges and that I had a great deal of difficulty getting the initial ink to prime and start flowing. An instruction booklet would have been handy but didn't come with anything. I had to go to YouTube to figure it out. It's simple, but one doesn't want ink all over from a priming mistake. . The cartridges came with the 2nd (and first) pen were stiff so squeezing with my fingers did nothing to prime the tip. I resorted to GENTLY squeezing with a small pliars. That worked, but not without of fear that I would have an ink mess.The construction of the pen(s) seems quite good. The medium nib is a bit smoother than the regular/fine on. I think these pens will demand me to change my writing technique which is a good thing. I think I would definitely recommend this brand and model. The price was cheap enough that I could order two with different nib thicknesses, which I did, even though I wasn't sure which one I would like better- and still don't know. I think these are great values.

This a well made pen that is easy to hold and write with. The converter works well and holds enough ink for several days of writing. The medium nib writes well and is smooth enough.There are two issues with this pen, however: the cap does not post and the pocket clip is so tight as to be almost unusable. Fortunately, both are easily fixed.A 1/4" section of 1/2" heat shrink tubing placed on the barrel approximately where the cap should be when posted then carefully heated with a heat gun (or hair dryer) on low will create a bushing that can then be inserted in the cap above the trim ring but below the plastic insert. Voila! A cap that can be posted. This may not be an issue for some, but I do need the cap to post.The clip issue is even easier to take care of. Simply remove the finial by pushing against the clip counterclockwise (when view from above) then the clip and bushing will come off. The pen came with the bushing under the clip; when reassembled with the bushing above the clip will result in less tension on the clip making it much more usable.Perhaps these issues should result in a lower rating but this pen is so well made and a fantastic value for $8 that a 5 star rating is well deserved.