Much more expensive pens still eschew a converter and it really makes me question why those companies can't be bothered to include one. I like that this makes the pen easier to grip, and it’s a plus for those who prefer not to use pens with tripod grips like the x450. Now, to get to the pen itself, one of the features I immediately like about the pen is it is fairly heavy. The cap band is also wide and is imprinted with "Jinhao" to the front and the model number "X750" to the rear. It depends on the filling mechanism, but it mostly comes down to flushing it out with water, and sometimes a little bit of Pen Flush if the ink is really stuck.

This was an unplanned purchase but while I was browsing the web a few months ago I came upon these Chinese pens and noticed that brands like Jinhao and Hero have a huge variety of designs. Instead my role is more blue collar with even my paper presenting challenges that will sort lesser pens out. I glued it back on and shaved down the ridge inside of the cap to reduce the pull needed to remove the cap.

Obviously, it's too early to comment on quality control and longevity but, on this example, and having used it a lot over the past week or so, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't hold up to normal usage. I can’t say I’m itching to try more as the let down if I get a bad is just not worth the gamble for me. First thoughts - it is comfortingly solid and weighty, and looks properly classic in its black metal barrel and 'chrome' trim. I don’t know about everyone else in the FP community, but I like to keep the boxes the pens come in. At first blush, the two types of instruments seem to have opposing needs: Pencils want at least a bit of tooth, while fountain pens love to skate across smoothness.

We always recommend you give your pen a good cleaning first, using our Goulet Pen Flush, or a drop of dish soap in some water. Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. I have 3 other Chinese pens that I haven't got around to reviewing but am rather excited to see how they perform (low expectations though). I'm also tempted to try a medium or fine nib but I'm not sure I want to sink more money in these pens, no matter how cheap they are. A few mentioned that Jinhao steals designs from other brands and then sells them at a much lower cost due to government subsidies on materials.There are many imperfections in the checkerboard pattern: some of the squares seem faded, others overlap awkwardly, some of them are smudged and so on.

The best indicator that the Eight Horses medium nib qualifies for a recommendation is that it has seen regular use in my journal. I'm still not convinced about their quality control, especially after hearing many people on FPN having various issues with Chinese pens. While close inspection will reveal a certain roughness to its construction, it feels very solid nonetheless. The nibs that come with the "out of the box" Jinhaos have always worked OK for me, but I find them a little characterless.

Laura and I have managed to convince our knitting compatriots that Hobonichis are cool and Laura has…. I read a review dating from 2011 if I remember the date correctly and the checkered pattern looked dull, faded, and had the corners rounded right out of the box. Overall, the pen is let down by build quality, but I will say that the dark red with black and what look like gold water spots is genuinely one of my favorite finishes on any fountain pen. But the nib is smooth and I found that if you stick it in a Noodler's Ahab it makes for a very wet, smooth writing nib.