Picked up a Jinhao X450. Really a great pen!

[Formulansx]

What a cool pen! I mean really! This is an awesome pen and it was only 10 bucks! I tried to buy one of these on eBay back in September but the seller, from China, never sent the pens. That was an order for two pens. One green and one red. I realized the guy never sent the pens a couple months later so that was a $10 loss. Won't make that mistake again. For those of you that watched Top Gear on the BBC, this pen is my Dacia Sandero. Both super cheap to buy from China but I have an irrational fascination with it just as James May had with the Sandero. I got this one from Goulet this time. It's in perfect condition and runs like a top. No mods needed. I ordered a Goulet two tone nib as well assuming the stock nib would be sub-par. I would say this particular Jinhao nib is a slight bit better than the Schmidt nib on my retro 51 tornado. It puts down a nice line with zero pressure. I have not looked at it under magnification yet but I'm guessing there's nothing catastrophically wrong with it. It has a nice feedback to it. A little stronger than modern Omas nibs but not scratchy at all. It's hard to describe but it definitely has a nice personality to it. I like a feedbacky nib. I'm not sure if Goulet screens these for quality but it's nice buying from a US seller considering my eBay transaction. I wanted this pen not because of the low price but the deep red color with gold splotches on the body. There's some distant black splotches under the gold also. It looked spectacular in pictures and I have not seen another pen like it. It looks just as good in person if not better! I would guess painting the body of this pen was at least a 4 step process. The finish is super smooth and the gold plated hardware is spot on for the design. The section is a sort of rubberized finish over metal. This process always bothers me since I've found it to peel after a while in other applications. I didn't see any reviews noting this on the Jinhao so it may not be an issue here. Worst case, just toss the section and get a second pen a couple years from now. The pen also has an nice weight to it. A little lighter than my Monteverde pens at 42g. I'm really happy with the pen! Really, I'm ecstatic. It's all I've been talking about all night!

[Formulansx]

Close up of the finish. Don't mind the ink on my fingers. Got into a street fight with some Monteverde nibs tonight.

[jmiicustomz]

Nice! And cheap! That's awesome.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

[1William]

Nice pen.

[blue16613]

I have a few Jinhao pens and have been very pleased with them. And, you can't beat the price.

Purchasing them from China via e-bay is a guarantee of frustration and disappointment. There are a couple of sellers in the USA that are reliable and price them very fairly. At least of one them does a thorough nib inspection and adjustment before shipping the pen.

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by blue16613

I have a few Jinhao pens and have been very pleased with them. And, you can't beat the price.

Purchasing them from China via e-bay is a guarantee of frustration and disappointment. There are a couple of sellers in the USA that are reliable and price them very fairly. At least of one them does a thorough nib inspection and adjustment before shipping the pen.

Have you come across a dark green model with gold hardware from a US seller? This was one of the pens I got screwed over through eBay. I really would love to get a hold of that pen but have not seen one in the US for sale.

[Formulansx]

Couple notes about this pen from today. I used it all day at work. Full disclosure, I brought my entire Monteverde collection with me but I used just the Jinhao short of doing a re grind on a Nemosine re-entry nib (what a pos OEM grind that nib has but looks cool). The X450 is fascinating to look at in this dark red finish. The feel is also very satisfying. The pen body is super smooth but just a little grippy, not sticky at all. The clear coat on the body always feels warm to the touch. I can't really explain it exactly. Maybe like a high quality enamel? Probably some substance that works great as a coating that's been banned in the US for the past 10 years because it made a single bird cross eyed or something. May well be slightly radioactive. None of my other pens feel like this. It's very unique. I have a few dozen pens or so and this one has a certain feel that I love. Really can't explain it other than just get one and you'll see what I mean. I'm sourcing about 5 other Jinhao's right now to order in finishes from cast dragons to porcelain. I'm really impressed by the brand at the moment. You also can't beat it at the price point (due to certain economic policies in the country of origin). It's comforting to know that even if I go completely bankrupt and lose it all, there are still amazing pens for the price of a cup of coffee!

[blue16613]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

Have you come across a dark green model with gold hardware from a US seller? This was one of the pens I got screwed over through eBay. I really would love to get a hold of that pen but have not seen one in the US for sale.

Do you know Norman Haase? HisNibs.com
If you don't see what you want, e-mail him and ask.
Good luck and let me know if it works!

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by blue16613

Do you know Norman Haase? HisNibs.com
If you don't see what you want, e-mail him and ask.
Good luck and let me know if it works!

I've heard of him before. I took a look last night and he has the green Jinhao I'm looking for. The prices are a little steep. I don't really need the nib tuning service he offers. The price I'm sure is worth the extra cost if I could benefit from it though. I'm going to look around more tonight and see if I can find the pen in the US a little cheaper. Thanks for the link though. If I can't find a better price I'll just bite the bullet and order from him

[blue16613]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

I've heard of him before. I took a look last night and he has the green Jinhao I'm looking for. The prices are a little steep. I don't really need the nib tuning service he offers. The price I'm sure is worth the extra cost if I could benefit from it though. I'm going to look around more tonight and see if I can find the pen in the US a little cheaper. Thanks for the link though. If I can't find a better price I'll just bite the bullet and order from him

Thanks for the follow-up. I've done some business with him before and have been pleased. (No relationship or conflict of interest)

His being in the US is a real plus for US buyers.

I don't mean to sound like a wise ass, and apologize if it comes across that way.......but it may be better to pay a little extra and actually receive what you've paid for!

Hope you get what you want! Let us know.

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by blue16613

Thanks for the follow-up. I've done some business with him before and have been pleased. (No relationship or conflict of interest)

His being in the US is a real plus for US buyers.

I don't mean to sound like a wise ass, and apologize if it comes across that way.......but it may be better to pay a little extra and actually receive what you've paid for!

Hope you get what you want! Let us know.

Yeah I've definitely made the mistake of trying to save a buck before and gotten hosed The problem is there's like $200 worth of Jinhao's on his website I want!

[blue16613]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

Yeah I've definitely made the mistake of trying to save a buck before and gotten hosed The problem is there's like $200 worth of Jinhao's on his website I want!

Ha, ha!
"Been there, done that........"

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by blue16613

Ha, ha!
"Been there, done that........"

One down! Found a guy on eBay in the US with a porcelain dragon in stock. I'm more interested in the bamboo 950 but I'll give the dragon model a shot. The price was under 10 bucks. Continuing my search for the others

[Formulansx]

Two down! Found a different guy on eBay in the US. Got the price down to a hair under $15 This one is the 5000 model with a machined gold plated overlay on the body of the pen. It will definitely be unique in my collection. Very ornate.

[blue16613]

Way to go!
Half the fun is in the hunt!

[Formulansx]

Ordered the 3rd pen on my list. Another one from eBay but still a US seller. This one is the Abalone panel 650. I still can't find anyone else in the US that sells that green X450 that I was originally after though

[blue16613]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

Ordered the 3rd pen on my list. Another one from eBay but still a US seller. This one is the Abalone panel 650. I still can't find anyone else in the US that sells that green X450 that I was originally after though

Beautiful pen. Have thought of picking one up for myself. Let us know what you think of it.

[Formulansx]

I finally found the green and black marbled X450 on Amazon from a US seller. It appears a company called Lanxivi is an importer and has many of these Chinese pens in the US. Consequently, I ended up ordering 4 additional pens I picked up another Jinhao 650 abalone but with silver colored hardware this time. Picked up an X450 for my dad in red ice. Also a huge departure for me, a red dragon with cast hardware around the pen. It's like my own personal montegrappa chaos pen without spending 5k

[blue16613]

Wow, what a day!
Congrats!
Expect a report on each pen after arrival!

[Formulansx]

166 pens on Jinhao's website........I'm afraid to go through all of them. I've got 7 of them on order already

http://www.jinhaopen.com/en/product.asp?page=1