Jinhao X750

[lectraplayer]

This is for the Jinhao X750 Silver pen I recently ordered off of Goulet. This is my current carry pen for the time being.

 

About: Jinhao seems to be one of these Chinese makers who can create pens that look intended for a cushy desk job without having to sell off your first born for a power pen. In fact, another Jinhao pen was featured in Goulet's Top Power Pen picks.

 

https://blog.gouletpens.com/2015/03/top-7-power-pens

 

Although this pen looks like one I would want to use in a courtroom, my environment is far from it. Instead my role is more blue collar with even my paper presenting challenges that will sort lesser pens out. That's to say little of my work environment itself which has already claimed quite a few victims. That said, I believe this pen has gotten a trial by fire. Here are my results.

 

Construction: This pen is all stainless steel. The barrel itself appears to have fine milling marks going around its circumference, giving it a definite but softened sheen, with chrome looking end caps, clip, and reinforcing rings at the joint. The ring on the cap side has Jinhao at the end of the clip, X750 on the opposite side, and decorative ivy vines going around between. These accents are filled with black paint. The bushing the nib screws into is also visible and forms one of the border rings to this ring with the accents, and another ring is on the cap. Where the cap snaps on leaves a slight seam one would have to look for to find. Overall, everything looks intentional and feels tight. The grip is smooth black plastic with a rounded reinforcing ring at the end where the nib inserts into the grip. The nib is also stainless steel and is etched, which makes it my only pen that has anything other than the brand and some basic information on the nib. Front and center is the Jinhao logo which is above the Jinhao logotype. 18Kgp is at the base, so I'm guessing Jinhao uses the same nib blank in other pens that have gold plated nibs. A Greek Pillar border surrounds the outer perimeter of the nib. Overall, it is fairly elegant for a pen that cost me a pair of Abraham Lincolns.

 

Inking: This pen takes standard international cartridges, but it also comes with a twist converter. The nib unscrews This style seems to be one of the harder ones to get ink moving on for me, but doing so isn't overly difficult. A few cap on strikes on the paper and it's ready. The nib unscrews from the barrel where a cartridge can be stuck on the nipple and another cartridge can be placed loose in the barrel, however the design of which is vulnerable to a certain, highly annoying problem. More on that later. I inked with my Manuscript Black carts that I gathered from my local craft store. This is my most cloggy ink so if I'll have flow problems, it will be with this ink.

 

Writing: Writing is fairly smooth and consistent on everything I have tried, including Hammermill paper with edible oil product on it, my Pacon sketch book, sticky notes, and the like, and feels a little better than the Nib Creaper on all. It leans slightly wet out of what I've used so far as well. Many have mentioned that on continuous writing sessions, it will begin to skip, but so far I have yet to experience that one, although I rarely write for more than a couple minutes at a time. Being mostly metal, it has some heft to it, but nothing that would make it tiring to use. It is well balanced unposted, which is how I typically use pens, but posting is still an option. However, doing so makes the pen a little top heavy. The only problem I have run into is the annoying problem hinted at previously.

 

Carry (durability): My workplace is tough on pens. No matter what I do, I wind up fumbling them from pockets or oil soaked hands, dropping them in water and oil, having them in my pocket as I go through many different positions, and the like with the expectation that I can just wipe it off, uncap, and fill out paperwork, so it has to be tough to hold up. The pen shows a few minor scratches in the steel body from my keys, but one would have to look for them despite how much I have bounced it around. So far, this pen delivers well except for one problem. The cartridge is prone to become dislodged from all the bouncing around. This isn't a problem with the other, cheaper pens I have tried, though the nib usually has a sleeve that partially covers the cartridge and the pen is sized to help hold it in place on my cheaper pens. ...so if it doesn't fit, one must equip. I wound up taking a straw from Burger King, which is a slightly larger diameter than the common fast food drink straw, and it wound up being the perfect diameter to slip a cartridge into. This straw was cut into three pieces, and a cartridge was inserted into each end. With the pen assembled, I still had a small gap in between the carts so I took the wrapper of a hard candy and placed between the carts. Although it's a hack, it works well at holding the cartridges in place and it is invisible when in use. I would have preferred a built in cartridge retaining system though.

 

Cleaning: Since I have mostly used cartridge pens, I have developed a few techniques to properly clean them, including to fill the cartridges with water while in the shower and sling the water through the feed, rinsing the rest of the pen as I go. As expected, the pen seems to wash out with no real issues or surprises.

 

Overall, this pen seems to feel a little heavy and is well built. It looks at home in an office environment while still being able to take on the blue collar world. The price point is also hard to beat. However if they would put a sleeve on the nib to help retain the cartridges while in use, they would have the perfect pen without having to change the price point.

[ENewton]

I received a re-branded one free with an order of ink and have been using it for the past few days.

 

The pen has some heft but is comfortable to hold. It has not leaked, and the tines seem to be properly aligned. However, the flow is strangely inconsistent, even on the same paper. Sometimes it is very wet, sometimes drier, and once today it stopped so that even water on the nib had no effect. I used the piston on the converter to force some ink into the nib, and since that time it is writing very wet again.

 

I am using the pen exclusively for notes, so dramatic variation in the flow doesn't matter very much, but I look forward to discovering patterns.

[Brandywine]

Me too!

I got a set of four x750 from Amazon and have two of them in use (the stainless one is still idle, though).

I like them, they are good, solid pens with a traditional design and worth more than they cost me.

For me the cartridges sit fast enough, but my pens are kept in a less tough environment,

although they ride in my pockets, too.

 

For the loose cartridges I found another solution for my Kaweco Sport:

I put the spring out of an old ballpoint pen behind the cartridge that will push it towards the feed.

Until I got the Kaweco, I was used only to pens that would fit perfectly with two small or one big cartridge,

so you could just put two carts into the section and scew it home to open the cart in front.

It never ocurred to me that there might be pens that lack this feature ...

[lectraplayer]

I was thinking the same until I looked at the Retro 51. It looks to have the same defect best I can tell.

 

Either way, a shroud around the nipple where the cart plugs in would help even if we let the other cartridge rattle or omit it.

[minddance]

Jinhao flow is real inconsistent. And many Jinhaos do not seal the inks properly, and at what cost? These pens are real cheap, but they 'destroy' my inks that are many times more expensive. In the long run, is this a cheap route? Not to me.

 

I hope Jinhao wakes up to this if they want to make a 'proper' fountain pen.

Edited December 20, 2017 by minddance

[lectraplayer]

I have heard about the flow issue, but after this latest wash out and cartridge replacement, my luck hasn't been quite like that. This is shaping up to be a decent pen and is currently my daily scribble.

 

As expected, the black ink soon clogged (though it does on every pen I have tried so far), the blue is a bit better behaved. I also had this blue cartridge in the pen by itself, and it's staying much better. Still really needs the hack. Although the same handling also has dislodged the cartridge from my Platinum Preppy, which now also has an O-ring inside to help retain the cartridge. I am rough on my pens.

[Bookman]

I have both the x450 and the x750.

 

I'm not sure why, but I like the x450 more. Quite a bit more. And that accounts for the fact that when

I post the caps, the x750's cap stays posted but the x450's, annoyingly, doesn't. Maybe it's the

finger-guide on the x450's grip, which I doubt, because I generally don't like such grips;

maybe it's that red lacquer finish; maybe it's the FPR "flex" nib I've got on the

x450, which I doubt, because I'm using the x450's stock nib on my

Nemosine Singularity and I like it well enough. Whatever it is,

I actually dislike the x750. And I like the x450 a lot.

[Honeybadgers]

jinhao nibs are great, the flow tends to be kind of inconsistent though, starting hyper wet and then getting dryer and dryer. The nibs are always very reliable medium nibs, and I actually buy them by the 10 pack for modification into italic and architect grinds.

 

The grip section is also very prone to pitting. 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. And I LOVE the size and shape of the 750. Give me a 750 in that color, made by wing sung or penbbs, and I will be happy, happy, happy.

 

The 450's grip doesn't pit like the 750, but the flow is the same issue. And it doesn't post very securely. I also dislike the shape of it compared to the 750, but the grip is better. The caps are not interchangable.

 

If you want a durable, sturdy pen, the delike alpha brass pen is as tough as a fountain pen gets, on par with karas kustoms.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[hinky]

My first X750 also had issues with inconsistent ink flow. I've found that you have to take out the feed and scrub it with a slim-bristled toothbrush and some soapy water making sure you get in between the slit of the ink channel. You also have to rinse thoroughly with water to get rid of the soap. This gets rid of any residue that might affect ink flow. I do this to every Jinhao I acquire and it seems to solve the problem. YMMV

 

Hope the suggestion helps. 😊

[sub_bluesy]

I’ve picked up a couple x750’s and both have been great. I don’t think I have had a “bad” Jinhao. Didn’t even need to work on them! That’s a rare occurrence.

[Ian the Jock]

Not really.

I've never had any issues whatsoever with any of my Jinhaos.

People that are happy with them tend not to come on and say so, unlike others who tend to come on and moan like hell about every little thing they can find on a pen that costs a couple of dollars.

 

Have a look at the Visconti threads.... Jinhaos aren't all that bad.

 

Ian

[Chmara]

I must be a heretic. HOW a pen writes and flows, to me, is more important than how it looks, details like its clip and rings. I wish the Jinhaos I have had a better converter and a way to get them into a finer nib then their medium. The mediums I received are more of a mini-broad and require much larger lettering than I am capable of. Re-nibbing to a fine will, most -laces, cost more for the nib than the rest of the pen.

[MG66]

My x750 is hands-down my best, most reliable, and most comfortable writer. I get the feeling some folks are almost embarrassed to praise it for some silly reason. Not me. Like a previous poster, I think it's the only pen I've needed to do no adjustments to ever. It just writes.

 

Glad to see this thread.

[lectraplayer]

I must be a heretic. HOW a pen writes and flows, to me, is more important than how it looks, details like its clip and rings. I wish the Jinhaos I have had a better converter and a way to get them into a finer nib then their medium. The mediums I received are more of a mini-broad and require much larger lettering than I am capable of. Re-nibbing to a fine will, most -laces, cost more for the nib than the rest of the pen.

 

If you're a heretic for saying that, call me a heretic as well.

 

Although in my case, the first thing I did was throw the converter in "the jar" with my inks and grab a couple cartridges, albeit my least favorite ones for the initial test. Although it looks neat, and that is certainly nice, mine flows fairly well with cartridges, which is what I was really looking for. It has also survived my daily grind, which is saying something.

 

Still, it isn't my favorite pen.

Edited December 24, 2017 by lectraplayer

[Mary P]

None of my Jinhao pens have had flow issues. Before first use I clean with a mix of Dawn, ammonia and water. Of my 8, only one (a 450) needed nib adjustment. They are not my favorite pens for use at home but I often carry one because I wouldn't mourn the loss since they can be so easily and inexpensively replaced.

 

I never use novelty inks in my vintage pens but I have been willing to try them in a Jinhao or two. I do not use cartridges in anything but one cartridge only Lady Sheaffer from the 1950s.

[BillPorter]

I've had several X750s and found them to be generally acceptable writers but mine were prone to inconsistent ink flow. My writing is mostly journaling and I don't like looking at a completed page and seeing easily noticeable variation in ink flow. As I recall (I no longer have any X750s), flushing did not solve this problem. X450s also showed inconsistent ink flow. I think the 159s I have had were better regarding ink flow.

[Chmara]

For the holidays friends kicked in and got me 10 Jinhao X750s.....and they were so impressive I sent several out for gifts to relatives who use fountain pens.

 

With seven left, I have tried on with a Zebra G Titanium nib -- with mixed results on ink feed. As a fine, it is great. FLexed it looks like the Long Island Railroad Tracks out of Manhattan on a snowy day. (And, I have lived in no-snow Tucson for about 50 years)

 

I have started searching for some affordable Fine nibs that will fit maybe three of the gifts -- as the "fine-medium" nibs supplied with the pen make my imperfect almost illegible script look like a series of blobs done by an uncoordinated dislectic. I have another flex nib from FPR and can clearly read my bad handwriting if I do not flex it and use the fine nib.

 

In my search, I see that Goulet Nibs cost 3 times as much as the complete pen -- and on Social Security I cannot spend that much without giving up a meal a day for five days.

 

In the nibs forum I was touted onto an Arkansas Stone and some micro-screen reshaping -- and will try that IF I cannot afford to fine 3 nibs that work as well as a Japanese fine in the X750, or a flex nib that flows properly on the feed.

 

Otherwise -- it has been a great gift to get and give - proudly.