By biggest criticism of this pen--and the one that keeps it from being considered a great entry level pen on par with the Metropolitan and even the Safari, is the cap. The cap on my pen is a friction fit, snap-on/off cap that opens and closes with a nice, satisfying "pop," but rotates and rattles terribly when closed. It gives one the impression that the cap will fall off at any moment, though this has not happened yet. The photo above shows that the cap is held on by a plastic internal cap that does not inspire confidence as to its durability. Despite the nice torpedo shape of the pen, the cap does not post firmly. The good news is that the pen allows for posting and is very light. The pen puts down a nice amount of ink onto the paper and allows for a good upside-down flow.

Smooth writer- this really surprised me. I was expecting a pen this cheap to write…cheap. But it's smooth, and though there's some starting and skipping issues here and there, it exceeded my expectations.Jinhao markets itself as the best starting point for beginners who are looking to dip their toes into fountain pens. Despite its ups and downs, we highly recommend the X450. It comes in a variety of colors and has a very premium design. Pros

It seems all nibs of the design used on this pen are the same, only some are plated and some are not. The nib has "18KGP" stamped in it, which I suspect is to describe the versions of this nib that are plated with 18 carat gold, and Jinhao does not mind the inaccurate description on the unplated ones. I much prefer the unplated steel nib on this pen, but I find it unnecessary to indicate that a nib is plated on the nib. It would be better not to say anything about plating on the nib like most other manufacturers. While not unexpected for a steel pen, this pen is relatively heavy. At 20 grams without the cap, and 38 grams total, some might find this pen too heavy. However, the weight of a pen has never had any significant effect on me. I find that the center of balance has a much greater effect. The center of balance on this pen is about 2cm above the section. The cap snaps onto the body and can be posted, but that moves the center of balance to about 5cm above the section, making it practically unusable for me. Most people can use this pen without posting the cap. If you can't, your hands are bigger than Rachmaninoff's and the center of gravity when posted should suit you. The length is 141mm capped, 128mm uncapped. The largest diameter is 14mm. The diameter at the middle of the section is 11mm.

Jinhao No. X750, Black

The Jinhao 999 is themed after a traditional Chinese dragon with a bright red soul stone in the center. Ours was a bright blue but it’s also available in red and grey. I do agree that the fine gold nib writer pens you can get from other companies that come in starting at 75€ and upwards will write much more nicely than any Jinhao-FPR frankenpen you can cobble together. But those aren't bargain writers, they're investments. If you only want to experiment with questions like "do I like writing with a stub nib or an italic nib?" or "do I prefer a medium or a fine nib?" the FPR nibs are a great way to do that. Weight: 35 grams. Weight of body: 22 grams. Weight of cap: 13 grams. Length: 14 cm. Length uncapped: 12.2 cm. Length posted: 15.7 cm. Cap length: 6.2 cm. The grip section is aluminium and features a concave taper from 0.9 cm to 1.5 cm. The body has a convex taper from 1.5 cm to 0.9 cm. The cap is roughly cylindrical, with a 1.6 cm diameter and a rounded tip. If there were a brushed steel X450, then it would be closer. Furthermore, there is selective gold plating on the nib of the X450, but it is inaccurate. I would rather have no plating or total plating rather than inaccurate selective plating. For more information, see my review of two X450's.