Goodies on the way!

So years ago I gave my wife a gift of a silver parker sonnet fountain pen. She hadn't used it and saw that I was getting into fountain pens, so she gave it to me! I cleaned it up and realized it needed a new converter and that my pen collection is now big enough to warrant a proper desk stand. I have a converter and bottle of ink on the way, and purchased a really cool pen stand from etsy. I've got that excited feel of anticipation as I wait for the goodies! It makes me want to buy more stuff but I feel like I should hold off for a bit.

I'm thinking of getting a couple jinhao 450s but am not quite sure whether they are worth it. They look nice, but are they okay quality?

I don't know anything about Jinhao's, but I would suggest getting a Pilot Metropolitan or Lamy Safari if you are wanting to expand your horizons. If you want to spend more let us know...I (and the rest of us) can help you out with that

I actually have a pilot metro and love it. I also have a hero 60, a waterman laureat, and now a parker sonnet. I'm torn on the next pen. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I still want something decent. I'm not big on brand, I look to writing feel and appearance. Most of my pens are really classic looking silver pen. I like the simple appearance kind of pens, which leads me away from lamy safaris and the like. I want something a little different, but still old school appearance. That's why I was thinking about a jinhao, but want to hear all points of view.

I have a jinhao x750 in silver and I really like it the only thing is out of the 3 jinhaos I have (jinhao x750, jinhao 500 and jinhao 599) the 750 wrote smooth but the other two needed the nib aligned just a little they are kind of a gamble because of QC but they are all solid looking pens and if you get the 750 or 450 they come with number 6 nibs and can be swapped out with most other number 6 nibs

Nice!

I have three Jinhoa x750s, all write fine now, but two required a bit of tinkering. Replaced one of the nibs just because that is what I bought them for, to sample various #6 nibs. The X750 is a bit fat for my tastes, but otherwise I would say go for it.

> I'm thinking of getting a couple jinhao 450s but am not quite sure whether they are worth it. They look nice, but are they okay quality?

Yes. Especially for the price they're going for on eBay. Just don't expect the nib to perform any finer than a Western Medium.

The Jinhoas are a great inexpensive pen but some people report them as a hit or miss. I have several x450s and like them.

If you are looking for very classic looks on a pen and are willing to up the price point a little, the Sheaffer Sagaris is just a great pen and very classic looking in the black or silver finish. They run ~$50.

Jinhao is nice and good value for the money, especially if you get a good nib. The nibs are a hit or miss.

As for better pens, in terms of buying new, I'm partial to Montblanc, Waterman and Pelikan in terms of brands although I have a soft spot for the Lamy 2000.

So I went for it and sprung for 2 Jinhaos. A 450 and 750. A whopping 6 bucks on ebay. Now the crazy wait while it is shipped from China. This is the toughest part!

I look forward to your comparison of the 450 vs the 750, particularly in pen size and weight.

So the two pens just arrived and it looks like it wasn't a 450 after all. Its about the same size as the 750, but the nib is a #5 and is noticeably smaller. I havent inked either yet, but already noticed that you were all correct with the lousy quality control.

The #5 nib's slit isn't straight. Not even close. It is cut at a 45 degree angle to the tip. I had to go online and buy a new nib (a cheap one on amazon) but the replacement nib now costs 3 times what the pen is.

Thanks to the folks at Goulet Pens. I called today about the nib and they guided me through measuring it to make sure I got the right size. Good folks there!

Once I get the new nib and ink these pens, I'll follow up.

oso_borovsky said:

So the two pens just arrived and it looks like it wasn't a 450 after all. Its about the same size as the 750, but the nib is a #5 and is noticeably smaller. I havent inked either yet, but already noticed that you were all correct with the lousy quality control.

The #5 nib's slit isn't straight. Not even close. It is cut at a 45 degree angle to the tip. I had to go online and buy a new nib (a cheap one on amazon) but the replacement nib now costs 3 times what the pen is.

Thanks to the folks at Goulet Pens. I called today about the nib and they guided me through measuring it to make sure I got the right size. Good folks there!

Once I get the new nib and ink these pens, I'll follow up.

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Normally those pens come with a number 6 nib but the buy one get one free deal goulets was running was because jinhao made a mistake and sent them the pens with number 5 nibs good luck with your new pens and let us know what happens. What kind of nib did you order?

kcore said:

Normally those pens come with a number 6 nib but the buy one get one free deal goulets was running was because jinhao made a mistake and sent them the pens with number 5 nibs good luck with your new pens and let us know what happens. What kind of nib did you order?

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I got it off amazon. It is a knox nib. It was the cheapest one I could find. The pen cost $3 the new nib is $10. Ugh

You should check out xfountainpens they sell number 5 nibs and their chesterfield ink is rebranded diamine. I have a medium nemosine nib and it writes very well

Knox nibs are very good for the money as are Nemosine.

kcore said:

You should check out xfountainpens they sell number 5 nibs and their chesterfield ink is rebranded diamine. I have a medium nemosine nib and it writes very well

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Thanks so much! I just checked out their site and the chesterfield ink is on sale! Picked up 3 bottles of fun colors. With shipping included, it was less than 17 bucks!

Very cool what colors did you get?

kcore said:

Very cool what colors did you get?

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I got emerald, siam, and zircon

Well, i got over my GAS addictions regarding the shaving products, but no worries, i don't plan on leaving B&B too soon, so i ended up here. Ordered few pens off ebay, mostly out of curiosity. I mean, most of them are 1-2 bucks. If they are as good as people are saying, i would be very happy. Got Jinhao X450, X750 and Baoer 051, 801, 388.

I actually have previous experiences with cheap Chinese fountain pens. I used Parker 51 Chinese knockoffs in all my school and high school. They could be hit and miss, but, once i got an good one, i sticked with it and i liked it much more than more expensive ones. If those Jinhao and Baoer are close to how they look in the pictures, they should be good. The ones that i used in childhood had very bad quality control, and, some of them were simply defective, broken reservoirs, broken plastic around the joints, broken caps. But we're talking about 20 years ago Chinese pens. I guess that their technology might have gotten better over the time.