I'm a serious fountain pen user and I normally use much higher end gold nib pens, but I can heartily recommend the Jinhao x450 and x750 for beginners. People often assume that a product from China, especially if it's inexpensive, will be low quality. That isn't the case with Jinhao, especially the x450, x750, and 159 models. They are solidly built, most of them look quite good (there are a few ugly patterns, but you're not forced to buy them), and most importantly, the nibs are good. The most important aspect of a fountain pen is the nib and the Jinhao nib is surprisingly good for such a low price. Firstly, it's a #6 nib. For those who don't know nib sizes, #6 is about as big as you can go before being considered oversize. Many very expensive pens have smaller nibs than this. A large nibs keeps your hand farther from the paper, giving you more range of movement. One important thing is that it's possible to buy replacement #6 nibs from very reputable manufacturers. For example, both JoWo and Boch -- the main third party German nib manufacturers -- sell #6 steel nibs for around $15USD, or about $20CAD at the time of this writing. These are the same nibs that you find on many $200 pens. So for About $35CAD, you can have roughly the equivalent of a $200 pen, less the glamorous label. Another advantage is that these replacement nibs come in different sizes and grinds (for example, stubs), so you can easily customize your Jinhao. But the Jinhao nib itself writes well and consistently, and is nicely smooth. Most people won't need an upgrade, unless its European medium stroke is too broad or narrow for them. There must be a catch, right? Yes, but it's a small one. Jinhao pens aren't hermetically sealed, so they dry out fairly quickly if you leave them unused for an extended period. You can help a bit with o-rings and some silicon grease, or with Teflon tape inside the cap. But that shouldn't be necessary if you use the pen regularly. You'll use the ink faster than it can dry. If you do set it aside for some time, I recommend emptying and cleaning it. This is good advice for any fountain pen. The good alternatives in the $10-$20 range are: (1) the Pilot Metropolitan -- excellent starter pen, excellent nibs, but small for some people (2) the Platinum Preppy or Prefounte -- also an excellent starter pen, great quality, but looks and feels cheaper than the Jinhao; great for students; best seal in the industry (3) the Faber-Castell Grip -- not well known, good quality, but small and feels cheaper than the Jinhao
