I first saw this pen here.
Hmmm…buttery smooth nib. That phrase will get my attention EVERY time.
I did a little more stalking, and watched this review. (Same pen, just in the Croco style.) More confirmation of an ultra-smooth nib.
With both Dan and Stephen on board, how could I go wrong? So I shopped around, but waited until I had some Christmas money to make my purchase. After Christmas, I spent a few days re-reading and re-watching the reviews (as is my MO), then pondered the eternal fountain pen question…which size nib? As I mulled this over, I chatted with a pen friend on Twitter and casually mentioned that the e-motion was going to be my next pen purchase. Then another tweet popped up, this one from Dan Smith (one of the FPGeeks himself!). Turns out he had an e-motion for sale, brand new, medium nib, great price. Sold! Talk about good timing.
The pen arrived on Saturday, and looked like this…
then this…
then, finally, this…
I filled the pen with my go-to black ink…Montblanc’s Mystery Black, then wrote and wrote and wrote. Mostly nonsense, but still.
The Faber-Castell is exactly as I hoped it would be…heavy, well-balanced, great looking, and yes…very smooth. The nib is stainless steel and lovely. Of the pens I own, I’d rank it as my 3rd smoothest, JUST behind the Sensa Meridian and the Tiger Stripey by Ken Cavers. High praise, indeed.
The black resin body is laser-etched with a parquet pattern that looks a little like braided leather. The pen is HEFTY, but not at all cumbersome, unless you post the cap. The chrome cap is quite substantial and adds just a bit too much weight to the back end. It’s not impossible to write with the cap posted (and I do, sometimes), but I generally prefer to use the pen unposted.
The chrome cap, grip, and end cap SHINE. I love the shine, but because I’m a little OCD, I feel the need to polish it up with a microfiber cloth to get rid of the inevitable fingerprints. (My husband’s like this with cars. I’m like this with pens. Two peas. One pod.)
The spring loaded clip is wonderfully curved (a bit like a ski jump, as Stephen notes in his video). I haven’t carried it in a pocket, so I can’t comment on how well the clip keeps the pen in place, but it FEELS like it’d do the job just fine.
Though I lean toward fine and extra-fine nibs, I’m glad that this medium nibbed pen serendipitously came my way. It’s a joy to use, to look at, and to polish. The line is bold and, as has been stated (and stated) super smooth.
I had a feeling that Dan and Stephen wouldn’t steer me wrong, and at least as far as the Faber-Castell e-motion fountain pen goes, I was right to follow the leaders.
Thanks, guys!
That is a pretty cool looking pen! I am a huge fan of Faber-Castell fountain pens though so I might be a bit biased. Can’t go wrong with those nibs 😀 Great review, thanks!
I already have another Faber-Castell on order…Basic Black Carbon. The quality is obvious!
Mary, I really enjoyed your take on this pen. Well done.
Thanks, Dan! Loving the pen. Big fan of the podcast and reviews, too. So good, especially for someone fairly new to the fountain pen world. No looking back now!
I got this pen as well and dont like it at all. The line is too wet and broad for me and takes ages to dry.
But I am glad you like it 🙂
You’re right…it IS a wet line, but I haven’t had issues with drying time with my current ink. And because I researched it to death (as I’m prone to do), I knew what to expect. I use finer pens most of the time, but my medium nibbed/bolder line pens are definitely growing on me!
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Could you tell me if the nibs could be exchanged between the e-motion and the Basic?
I’m not 100% sure, but from what I’ve searched for and read this morning, it appears that the nibs are interchangeable. Will have to investigate further.
Thanks for the quick answer. If you discover something new please tell me.
The official answer from Faber-Castell is as follows: The nibs are NOT interchangeable. BASIC, Ambition and emotion are all different nibs and will not fit if changed. The sizes are available in Fine, Medium and Broad for each of them, however the design is completely different for each of them.
Thanks again. I don’t know the official position from Faber-Castell but the Ambition and E-motion nibs are interchangeable. Look at http://estilograficas.mforos.com/1186169/8407961-cambio-de-plumin-e-motion/
I wondered if the same was possible between the e-motion and the basic. My interest is because I have an e-motion with F nib (it was a gift) and wanted to change it to an M nib. It occurred to me that the cheapest option was to buy a BASIC M and change the nibs. Bad luck.
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I have this one in the wood version. And I had to stop using it :(. The threads inside the cap are from plastic, but the threads on the pen are from metal. This resulted in breaking of the threads in the cap, changing the caps three times, stopping using this pen as it was expensive to buy new cap every few months :((.
The pen is great, the nib is also great and I loved writing with it 😦
I had the exact same problem, and was very disappointed; otherwise I love this pen. I was bothered not to find any report of this obvious flaw anywhere – very glad to read your comment, thank you!
Where did you manage to buy caps from?
My one just did it today 😦 and i really love this pen to bits so i’d be devastated if i had to stop using it
How do you fill the pen?
A converter was included with the pen.
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I agree with you entirely. I also did a reiew of this pen (https://manuscriptorum.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/faber-castell-emotion/), and it is one of the best pens I own. I like it so much that I bought another one should I lose mine or have it stolen,,, Really, a wonderful and a beautiful, very stylish pen. And the M nib (more like a German F nib to me) is a dream to write with.
I enjoyed your review! Thanks for sending along the link. Faber-Castell pens really do have wonderful nibs. Every single one of them.
Hello I have two pens for sale one is M nib other F my email mirpsp3@yandex.com