Jinhao X450 Fountain Pen Green Marble Medium Nib Size with Ink Refill Converter for Bottle Ink,Business Signature & Smooth handwriting pens

This is a long, detailed review*. If you just want a quick summation skip to the bottom. If you want an in-depth account of my observations of this product read on ... I have both the green marble and the red marble (or whatever Jinhao calls the color, it's the same as the green only it's dark red). The colors are dark and rich, you have to see them in good light to see the "marble" feature of the colors. These are basically copies of, or if you prefer "homages" to the Sailor 1911 Basic pen. If you don't own one go look at pictures of the Sailor 1911 and you'll see what I mean. Both the Jinhaos I own are excellent pens and very good writers. The green Jinhao is filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku (a bluish jade colored ink) and the red pen is filled with Noodler's Red Black. Those are the inks I use in these pens and this review is of those pens with those inks in them. If I had a complaint about them at all it would be the tank capacity of the converter. Among other reasons, I use fountain pens so I can select my own inks. So I never use cartridges and have quite a few laying around that came with other pens. You CAN use a cartridge as a converter but it's kind of a rinky-dink way of doing things. If you put an exhausted cartridge open end into a bottle of ink and squeeze the cartridge a few times you can refill the cartridge. Eventually the cartridge will no longer seal well on the section and it will leak ink. These converters have a fairly small capacity so be prepared to re-ink the pen often if you write a lot. For what I use these pens for the capacity is less of an issue because these are not my first string pens. The converters are also not as nice or robust as a more expensive pen, they're made entirely of plastic without any metal so you have to be gentle with them if you want them to last. There is no little agitator ball in the converters to break surface tension of the ink, more on surface tension further down. One of the two Jinhaos had a minor problem with the converter, the threaded cap that the plunger shaft goes through came off when I screwed the plunger shaft too far down towards the nib. It went back on easily enough and there was no ink spillage, all's well that ends well. So "heads up" about that and be careful that you're not twisting the converter plunger past it's correct stop. These pens write wonderfully so far. The medium nib is a subjective designation, there is no real industry standard that applies across the board on nib WRITING sizes. There are only nib width sizes but nib width doesn't always exactly correlate to line width. These are a #6 nib so you can replace them with any other #6 nib. Bearing in mind that you probably don't want to buy a pen to use for nib swapping that costs less than nibs do. The nibs that come in these pens are just fine but I can't speak to swapping them out and how long the feed will stand up to repeated removal and insertion. If you want to swap nibs often use a different pen. If you have a favorite #6 nib you want to put back in action this might be a pen you'd consider for that. Mine write with a fairly heavy, wet, bold line from the nibs that came with them. So it's what some might consider a wide nib but not an italic or calligraphy nib. A lot of how your line lays down has to do with your writing style, the pressure you put on the nib, right vs. left handed writer, etc. What one person sees as a medium another might think of as a wide and still another who writes with very light pressure might think is closer to fine. I have other much more expensive pens with medium nibs and I can't see a significant difference in the line these Jinhaos lay down in comparison to them. Your mileage may vary and that's one of the really fun things about fountain pens. I don't usually clean a pen before inking it and putting it into service. I usually just flush the pen with the ink it's going to use by running the converter plunger up and down a few times with the nib in the ink bottle. I know some purists will gasp at that for various reasons. Don't bother to tell me why I shouldn't do that, I already know. The reason I bring this up is it did take a few more fillings to get these pens to write smoothly without skipping than it has with more expensive pens. One of the big things that causes skipping is a lack of uniform distribution of ink in the feed, the feed groove, and the nib tines. This is a function of the surface tension of the ink, it needs to have sufficiently low surface tension to flow by capillary action. The ink needs to slightly adhere to these surfaces in order to get a proper capillary flow. These pens seem to have more problem than higher end pens in getting to that sufficiently low surface tension state to write at their best. This is likely due to a combination of the materials used in manufacture and a residue or film left on the materials during manufacturing. The slightest silicone or petroleum vapor condensation from lubrication of the manufacturing machinery is a common source for such things. That's about all there is to the "science" involved with fountain pens. If your pen is skipping it may be a defect in the feed train of the pen but with a new pen not otherwise defective this is what will cause 85% of skipping problems. Use a cup of warm tap water with ONE drop of Dawn dish-washing soap (because it's a great emulsifier) and flush the pen by drawing up the water like you would ink and expelling it into a sink. Do this a half dozen times or more, more is better, and then switch to clear warm tap water with no soap and flush it with that as many times as needed. Finish by flushing it with room temperature distilled water to remove any minerals left by your hard tap water. Or dry the pen with cotton swabs getting all the water that you can off/out of the pen. Some say to let it dry overnight but that would only be optimal if you have no minerals in your tap water or you've flushed them out with distilled water. Depending on how hard your water is it may be more advantageous to get as much water out as you possibly can and then dilute the remaining minerals left by the water with ink before they can be deposited inside vital ink flow areas. If you get the pen dried out manually and fill the converter with ink there will be a minimum of water diluting that ink. Your first converter load might be a little thin but it's a small price to pay to get your pen writing correctly. My problem is I get too anxious to try out a new pen and either don't clean them or end up having to go back and clean them if they don't write correctly. Most of the time I get away with that but ... If and when I buy more Jinhao pens I'll clean them with warm water and a drop of soap. Lesson learned and if you're having this problem then this might also be the solution to that problem. The pens are heavy for their size. I like that, some might not. I find a heavy pen damps down my stroke and helps my penmanship, which isn't all that great to begin with so every little bit helps. While I have not destructively autopsied one of these pens nor had the metal in them analyzed- the pens appear to be largely formed of brass with plastic covering the brass. The barrel body and cap body are (to my eyes) extruded brass. The end caps are machined brass as is the cap retainer and threaded piece where the section screws into the barrel. The cap is lined with a white plastic inside and appears to be held firmly in place by the construction of the cap plug and clip band. The bands and clip appear to be stamped brass. The cap is friction fitted to the barrel and the pen cap closes with a definite and unmistakeable "click". You know you have the cap on properly when you hear/feel that snap/click. The exterior plastic that covers the barrel and cap is semi-translucent and with the bright brass under those plastic sleeves the barrel and cap have a pleasant, deep sheen where the brass reflects through the plastic. I've looked at all parts of these pens I can get to with a magnifying glass and loupe and do not see any manufacturing or assembly flaws. The stampings, machined parts and extrusions are bright and clean with no obvious machine marks visible on the exterior of the pen. Under high magnification (20x) I can see some discoloration and stippling in the wide cap band that indicates a cheap grade of brass. The brass might be recycled; I don't know if it is but re-used brass often looks like this. This is NOT something you can see with the naked eye no matter how good your naked eyes are. The fit is as much or more than anyone has a right to expect from a sub-$10 pen. The amount of brass used in the pen's construction no doubt accounts for the heft of these writing instruments. Fully inked they are about twice as heavy as my Great Grandma's Parker Vacumatic Junior, if that helps anyone. I don't have a scale that will weigh something like this. I love that Parker Vacumatic and use it all the time but the difference in heft is quite noticeable. The nib is about twice the size of the Parker Vacumatic nib. The nib is well polished and on good high-rag paper or a Rhodia tablet writes very smooth and fast. I would have to say that while these pens are not on a par with a more expensive tier of fountain pens they're very good pens for the money, they're a good value. The low cost is a plus not a liability for these pens. You're not going to pay $10 for a $100 pen so don't expect that. Don't compare them to any high end pens you might own, compare them to their price point peers. I would love to have a stable of dozens of $100 pens but I can't afford that, using these pens for what I use them for is a very attractive alternative to putting a lot of money into a few pens. I have nice pens that I use where nice pens are called for. I use these Jinhaos as much as I use my nicer pens except maybe a Nemosine filled with J.Herbin 1670 Anniversary Bleu Ocean. That Nemosine costs twice as much as these Jinhaos and I happen to like that ink for writing in my radio log (I'm a Ham radio operator)so that pen gets used quite a bit. Had I filled a Jinhao with Bleu Ocean before I filled the Nemosine I'd be using a Jinhao for my log book. These pens being so cheap means I can buy a green pen and fill it with green ink, a red pen with red ink, etc. I can have a pen for all my favorite inks without flushing and re-inking the pens I use on a daily basis just to load a different ink. I consider this a major plus because flushing and re-inking pens with different inks is a pain in the patoot. I write a line with each pen I own every day or every other day to keep the ink from drying out, which is another fun thing about using fountain pens- if you want them to write well and reliably you have to actually use them so the ink doesn't dry out. I can keep these pens inked and use them without all that ink/flush/re-ink rigamarole so I'll very likely be buying more Jinhao pens. These pens write so well that I can use a wide variety of medium to top end inks and a bottle of ink costs more than a pen. Some inks are more for a bottle than 5 of these pens. That I would use that kind of ink in these pens should be telling you how well they write, I wouldn't be wasting expensive inks in pens that are no good. I have cheap inks for that. I like having a wide selection of inked pens so that I can grab what suits and if I leave my desk I take a cheap one that won't upset me if it's lost, stolen or destroyed. Far better to have disaster happen to one of these Jinhaos than to my Great-Grandma's Parker Vac, my Waterman 52, my Dad's Parker 45 etc. If the loss of the ink in the pen is more than the loss of the pen itself, even accidental catastrophe isn't such a big deal. I'd be sick if I lost one of my expensive or heirloom pens, the chief discomfit from losing one of these Jinhaos is the time it takes to replace it. So far these pens have not in any way been a disappointment and if that changes I'll come back and edit my review. As of now I can think of reasons to buy more of them and no reasons not to. (Edit 05 Jan. 2014--- I like the quality of these pens enough after using them for a few months to order more Jinhao products. I just put in an order for a 5 pack of X750's, the next step up from the X450 ... I think. Their model designation numbering scheme is a bit indecipherable. I'll review those after I've had time to put them through their paces.) These pens are made in Red China. I've left politics out of this review but be advised regarding their origin. Over time I've noticed a quirkiness regarding Chinese marketing. Sometimes the Chinese will put a decent quality item on the market, evaluate the feedback on that product and improve it without significantly raising the price. This is a good marketing strategy. It shows they're committed to their product and their market, it keeps people coming back to that brand. However, sometimes they'll flood a market with a decent quality product at a very low price and when they've built up a reputation for acceptable quality they'll begin raising the price. This is not a good marketing strategy because while the product may be very attractive and a good value in a lower price tier it loses that advantage completely when raised in price to compete with better quality goods. If these pens cost a lot more than the sub-$10 tier they would no longer be an outstanding value. Then they'd be competing with Nemosines, lower-end Parkers, Pilots and Lamys etc. These pens write as well as those but they're too chunky and clunky and do not have good enough converters to compete in that tier. When reading reviews keep in mind that price is as much a function of value as is quality. If the price goes up too much the review you're reading may no longer be as valid as when it was written. That is why I've mentioned the price tier of these pens more than once. In summary I'm giving these pens 5 stars because- 1. I find no serious fault with them. They appear to be made well. 2. They write nicely taking into consideration what I've said above about getting ink to flow. 3. They're heavy for a pen, whether that is a plus or a minus is a matter of individual preference. For me with these pens it's a plus. 4. They're very solidly constructed so they're heavy because they're built like a tank not a Ferrari. 5. After an initial breaking in period (that would have been accelerated by cleaning before inking) they lay down a heavy, wet line. 6. After getting the pens inked properly and the ink flowing as it should they don't skip or feather. 7. For a sub-$10 pen they're an excellent value and well worth their cost. IF they were two or three times as expensive they would not be such a good value. 8. I put good quality ink in these pens and they write well. If you use cheap ink you may not get the same results. The fault then would not be the pen. 9. I like these pens, five stars does not mean they're as good as a $100+ pen, it means I can't find anything seriously enough lacking to take stars OFF for. * When I review something I start with 5 stars and begin dinging stars off for faults, failures, lacks, deficiencies, quality control issues, design and engineering mistakes, improper or misleading product descriptions, etc. 5 stars does NOT mean these pens are as good as a Mont Blanc, Sailor, high-end Pilot, TWSBI or an antique collectable Parker in mint condition. If people look down their noses at these pens because they don't measure up to those pens they're just being silly and not at all serious about how they review something. Shopping online can be a crapshoot because you can't actually handle the item before you buy it- so I try to relate as much as I can of my own experience and observations to help others make good buying choices. I'm not trying to brag about my pen collection or make people feel like if they can't afford hundreds of dollars for a fountain pen they just can't enjoy fountain pens at all. You can get this pen and you can enjoy it plenty if you don't think you should be getting something you're not paying for. These pens are great pens for a first fountain pen or for uses not on the scale of signing international peace treaties. If you're thinking about buying one of these you're not risking much money. Hopefully I've helped you make a good choice to buy or not, and to get a good value for what you spend.

Please keep in mind that this is an extremely inexpensive fountain pen and not a high-end "writing instrument." That said, I really enjoy using this pen! It's large enough to feel good in my (often sore) hand without being too bulky, and the smooth barrel gives me a good grip without feeling like it's either glued itself to my hand or is going to slip out from between my fingers. Writing is nearly effortless, and the ink (I'm using black Parker Quink) flows freely without blotches or droplets regardless of whether I'm using the pen for 20 minutes at a time or make a couple of quick scribbles 48 hours apart. Every now and then I wish it made a slightly finer line, but (even on Kraft paper) I've had no problems with bleedthrough or "catching" on the paper surface. Even though it's listed as green marble in color, you need pretty strong light at just the right angle to clearly see the color -- but it's a handsome pen in any case, and I'm a lot more interested in how it writes than how brightly the barrel is colored! I've only filled it three times to date, but so far the supplied adapter has worked smoothly and holds enough ink for me to comfortably write multiple pages of (sloppy!) text. The only negatives that come to mind are that the balance isn't quite right when the cap is "posted" on the back end of the barrel (it makes the pen noticeably tail-heavy, at least for my medium-sized hand) and my previously mentioned occasional wish for a finer line... neither of which is in any way a show-stopper. I bought this pen partly because of pleasant memories of using fountain pens years ago, and it's definitely brought back the joy of near-frictionless writing.

Writes beautifully. Reviewers noted that the medium nib on this pen is "wet" so I ordered a reportedly drier medium replacement nib expecting to swap out the original. However, I've not been inclined to replace the original nib so far, though I do reverse the pen on occasion if I want a finer line, and it writes well this way. The pen puts down ink immediately. This may be in part because of the three flat spots on the grip which tend to steer the pen into position on the paper. They're very well done, and if this is the case, it works for me. This is a heavy pen. I have big hands so it doesn't bother me, but if you like a light pen, this is not for you. That said, I do have one minor quibble - the cap does will not stay posted. With the cap unposted, the pen is just barely long enough for my large hands. This shouldn't trouble those with small (normal?) hands. Though I no longer travel with a pen in my pocket, the cap snaps shut with authority and I can't imagine it leaking. One final note; delivery time was to be one month - it arrived in several days. Good looking, great pen, and a real bargain.

Ich habe den Füller gekauft, damit ich meinen Vorrat an Standard Pelikanpatronen aufbrauchen kann. Damit hat das Schreibgerät auch kein Problem. Er schreibt sich angenehm mit mittlerer Strichstärke. Das Gewicht ist auf der schwereren Seite (jedoch nicht unangenehm). Ich gehe nicht weiter ins Detail, da hier viele schon eine umfassende Rezension geschrieben haben. Jedoch sei an dieser Stelle noch gesagt, dass der Füllfederhalter von der Schreibqualität mit deutlich teureren Markenfüllern mithalten kann (ohne auf die Spezialpatronen angewiesen zu sein *hüstel*Parker*hüstel*). Weshalb ich diese Rezension überhaupt verfasse: Ich glaubte nicht, dass an der Feder für den Preis auch nur ein wenig Gold klebt. Weit gefehlt. Das Elektronenmikroskop bestätigte mir einen beträchtlichen Goldanteil auf der oberen Schicht. Der Eisenanteil ist ebenfalls groß. Die Spitze ist allerdings eher eine Chrom-Gold-Legierung (sicher für die Festigkeit). Ich lege meine Hand für die Ergebnisse nicht ins Feuer (habe die Feder nicht vor der Messung gereinigt), aber ich bin mir recht sicher, dass die Größenordnungen stimmen. Ferner sollten Menschen mit Nickelallergie aufpassen, da gewisse Mengen in der Feder vorhanden sind (allerdings fasst man die Feder eher selten an). Kurzes Fazit: Wahnsinn, was für diesen Preis alles geboten wird!

Puntualità nella consegna. Stilografica ottima con pennino grande per un tratto grande e generoso. La marmorizzazione verde e nera s'intona bene con le guarnizione metalliche color oro. Il peso è tipico delle Jinhao che sono comunque tutte non stancanti per la mano. Impugnatira zigrinata ed ergonomica. Mi piace molto. La consiglio a tutti quelli che amano le stilografiche economiche e non inseguono i brand di lusso.

Very good quality. Good for daily use.

Scrittura fluida con tratto medio/broad. Peso medio, ma confortevole. Utilizzata con inchiostro verde ha un appeal irresistibile. Potrebbe essere disagevole per una mano piccola. Consigliata.

La plume est belle et fonctionnait dès le début