Jinhao X450

For my first fountain pen review we’ll take a look at one of the first pens I purchased: the Jinhao X450. A pleasant writer with decent weight at a very reasonable price.

Stats:

Diameter – Body 13mm

Diameter – Grip 10mm

Length – Body 124mm

Length - Overall (Closed) 141mm

Length - Overall (Posted) 160mm

Weight – Overall 42g

Looks:

The Jinhao X450 is a medium sized metal bodied cigar shaped fountain pen that comes in three colors; Blue Twist, Frosted Black, and Red/Gold.

The red/gold finish is a base color of red, with patches of gold and black over the pen, which gives it a vintage look. The finial is nothing special; just a rounded off black dome. A gold colored clip with a raised pattern in relief is tight and will securely hold onto a dress shirt or coat pocket. The gold colored center band reads “Bullow” (the sister company of Jinhao) and is nothing special. After the center band the pen continues to a smaller gold colored band followed by an end just like the finial.

Popping off the cap reveals a small plastic section, which tapers to the nib, but flaring out with a gold colored ring followed by the nib. The section has three grooved divots which are a tad too small for my hands. A very wet-writing two-toned steel nib is what the Jinhao X450 comes with, I swapped mine out for a Noodler’s Flex Nib. However the factory nib is smooth to use and offers a good deal of line variation.

Unscrewing the barrel from the section reveals a nondescript brand converter that is exactly what you’d expect from a Chinese made pen. This pen cannot be converted to an eyedropper, as the entire body is made of metal, which would have adverse effects with whatever ink you’d use in the pen.

Writing Experience and Writing Sample:

In hand this pen is well balanced, however posting makes the pen back heavy and difficult to write with. The grip section, although too small for me, is smooth and would fit well in smaller hands. The feed keeps up with ink, even while using a flex nib. Here is a writing sample of this pen.

Final Thoughts:

For $8.50 you get a great pen. A smooth writer that gives just enough feedback to let you know that you’re using a fountain pen. Nice finish that could stand beside vintage pens. Decent weight, but top heavy while posted. The ability to swap the nib with other #6 size nibs is great. Overall the Jinhao X450 is a staple in any beginning fountain pen user’s collection and I do recommend it.