BotP: Jinhao 159 vs Faber Castell E-Motion

Battle of the Pens: A Comparison Between A Chinese 7€ And A German 70€ Fountain Pen

No, I'm not very happy with this video. And the writing sample is out of focus. I'm just happy I finally got it done after having tried and been interrupted so many times.
It's gotten pretty long because it kinda turned into a full review of both pens.

Let me add that Faber-Castell makes pretty awesome pens. But the Jinhao 159 simply is, in my opinion, one of the best fountain pen bargains ever with a cost-to-benefit ratio that's almost impossible to top.

[stimpunk]

I have a feeling the Faber Castell steel nibs aren't very consistent in the springiness. I purchased a parquet brown E-motion fountain pen with a M nib recently, knowing that it might not write as well as my Jin Hao 159 because of your review. But I was pleasantly surprised that it wrote with similar springiness. The Jin Hao 159 nib yielded slightly thicker lines with a bit of pressure, but the Faber Castell nib wrote expressively with its limited line variation as well. Under the same pressure. After 3 months of using the E-motion, I'm happy to report that it's my daily idea catcher alongside my Jin Hao 159. The noise that the Faber Castell nib made, when writing is actually quite pleasant to me, it's also a quality that the Jin Hao's nib is lacking.

[JohnAceti]

I have the jinhao 159 and like it but prefer a finer nib.  You can easily replace the nib with a standard #6 nib.  I removed a nib, feed and converter from a Nemosine fountain pen with an extra-fine nib. I think each part is of a high quality than the Jinhao.  Now the 159 not only writes well but with a thinner line.  Thanks for the comparison.

[jamesjacocks]

Timo, you are wonderfully objective and fair. For my part, the style of a pen matters a lot and, since I can tune (or regrind) any nib, I tend to go for style. Of course even the Montblanc Meisterstuck was influenced by the successful cigar pens made in the US. So as to originality, the Jinhao is not comparable. For someone with a less hands on approach, no doubt the Jinhao is the better choice. I am admittedly an extravigant artistic soul but were I given a choice between a Camry and a Corvette I would take the Corvette. The Camry clearly is the more practical car but who cares? Not me. Great comparison!

[irishguy]

Interesting review, like comparing a BMW to a skateboard.

[mariopellegrino]

Jinhao, like most Chinese brands, are fantastic if you want to have a fountain pen but don't want to spend a lot and don't need it to be reliable or consistent. European and Japanese pens are meant to be everyday writers that should last you a lifetime in most circumstances reasonable for fountain pens.

If someone is starting off in the fountain pen world, it can't hurt to get some Chinese knock off pens, but to make the fountain pen your work pen or your everyday writer that will not likely fail, I'd put my money into a high quality Japanese or European pen.

[lucharvey]

Problem with Jinhao (all models i have so far) is the paint.  This is a brass pen painted in black.   I just ordered a F-C from eBay ( at 45 Euro ;-) ), can't wait to see it.

[muskndusk]

Very interesting video. I may buy the Jinhao pen as a result; it's definitely more affordable than the Faber Castell e-motion. Thanks.

[bireswardas]

How long does the ink last in your Jinhao 159? How many pages can you write after a fresh refill? My Jinhao 159 writes about 10-12 pages which is less.

[neilpiper]

The Jinhao X750 is my favourite with a Bock 1.1 nib which I swapped in myself. A bit lighter than a 159

[neilpiper]

The Chinese pens are great. German nibs are great too and make good partners with Chinese pens.
Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy nibs
Jinhao pens with Bock and Jowo nibs.
German companies should team up with Chinese companies as China is on the way up

[dinasaur]

Lol. The Jinhao 159 is about $5. And its luscious. Good for drawing!

[muskndusk]

Oh and I wish the people who've disliked this vid would explain why.

[PiXXLdesign]

The important part of this video is out of focus! Thumbs down.