Chinese 'curved Nib' Fountain Pens - Worth Looking At Or Not?

May 21, 2014

I am an amateur at Chinese calligraphy (both brush pen and "stiff" pen) so take this with a grain of salt. I think these fude nibs are gimmicky, they do not give a writing experience similar to either type of pens, and they are finicky to use. I mean, who would want to constantly change their angle of writing, when a brush pen could achieve much better line variation without the hassle? From what I read on Chinese calligraphy websites, I don't think many (if any) practitioners use fude nibs.
With that said however I believe that masters of brush pen calligraphy might be able to use such nibs and produce beautiful handwriting, but then again they can probably use any pen to good effect.

I collect fps with fude nibs. Why?

Well, as a southpaw, I get an almost-flex nib look to my writing with certain fude. Some are better than others, and if you can find an inexpensive one it's worth trying. My two favorites were five bucks each: a Kaigelu and a Guanleming. I have to pry the GLM out of my own hands sometimes to give it a rest.

For 'normal' writers, it's like having a quadruple-B nib, which is excellent for showing off light, shading inks. You have to adjust your letter size just as you would with any Western calligraphy nib above 1.1.

May 21, 2014

For a cheaper version you have the Sailor Zoom nib which is a "downgraded" version of the Naginata nib or so I think that's the one

Not all that cheap...it's a standard nib and included with any 1911 or ProGear. Mine acts again like a quad-B. But I suppose cheaper than a specialty Sailor nib!

Which reminds me that I have a Sailor Young Profit Special Script at about $30 with a fude that's even more of a fave than the Kaigelu.

May 23, 2014

This is how I use fude, for the most part...horrible handwriting and all....

May 26, 2014

Masters seem to be able to do wonderful work with a household broom or an uprooted weed. I guess the question is would they want to work with a Fude nib?
ron

There could be some advantages to Fude nibs that amateurs like me might be missing. But if I ever get any good at brush pen calligraphy, I would use a brush all the time because I'd feel like I had earned the right. Some masters only swear by the best stick inks and sable hair brushes, but perhaps others would not mind working with a good Japanese pocket brush pen.

I bought a Sailor calligraphy nib as a gift to my father.
This is some writing sample:

Very nice! How does your father like the nib? I would guess that he is quite proficient at brush pen work?

I collect fps with fude nibs. Why?

Well, as a southpaw, I get an almost-flex nib look to my writing with certain fude. Some are better than others, and if you can find an inexpensive one it's worth trying. My two favorites were five bucks each: a Kaigelu and a Guanleming. I have to pry the GLM out of my own hands sometimes to give it a rest.

For 'normal' writers, it's like having a quadruple-B nib, which is excellent for showing off light, shading inks. You have to adjust your letter size just as you would with any Western calligraphy nib above 1.1.

Well it is quite personal I suppose. I find that to get anything close to what a brush pen/dip pen would give me, I would have to practice a lot more with turning the pen mid-stroke. I'd just rather spend the time learning to use the "proper" tool correctly. But if you can make the Fude nibs work for you, it's great - after all what matters is the skill of the person wielding the pen.

My Jinhao x750 with Fude nib (I had ordered the normal nib but seller sent me the wrong one) is relegated for use as a felt tip marker with lighter inks. I still had fun playing with it though, so it wasn't an entirely fruitless purchase.

August 21, 2014

I just posted a thread trying to track down a Sailor pen with the "fude de mannen" nib but a step up in quality from the plastic "DE" and "Profit" that I have (both were very inexpensive). Personally I LOVE this nib -- but for sketching, not for writing. It's definitely not a gimmick. It's especially expressive for sketching organic subject matter like trees and skeletons. Here are a couple of examples on my blog:

http://tina-koyama.blogspot.com/2013/09/product-review-getting-loose-with-sailor.html

http://tina-koyama.blogspot.com/2014/03/elasmosaur-revisited.html

August 21, 2014

Oooooo. Niiiiice.

August 22, 2014

Mine came on a Jinhao x450. It was ugly, white and brown swirl that nobody wanted. Free shipping to

me for $3.50 . After FPN input, I grabbed one of the crochet needles from wife's kit and ironed out the nib .

Writes okay now.

August 22, 2014

What's the point of buying a specialty nib pen if you're not going to use the specialty nib?

August 22, 2014

THIS IS NOT A GIMMICK NIB !!!

This is actually my favorite nib for sketching.

The only pen I always carry is a Franklin-Christoph 40 Pocket with just such a nib.

I can make notes with it, because it writes in F, if held in a normal-higher angle & it`s fantastic for drawing!!

I never post the pen when sketching (9,5 cm with nib & without cap).

I`m curious if the identically formed "Fude de Mannen" Sailor 14K nib could be better then my 5 $ nib???

Anyone in Europe happens to have one to sell?

Edited August 22, 2014 by Polanova

September 8, 2014

I am an amateur at Chinese calligraphy (both brush pen and "stiff" pen) so take this with a grain of salt. I think these fude nibs are gimmicky, they do not give a writing experience similar to either type of pens, and they are finicky to use. I mean, who would want to constantly change their angle of writing, when a brush pen could achieve much better line variation without the hassle? From what I read on Chinese calligraphy websites, I don't think many (if any) practitioners use fude nibs.
With that said however I believe that masters of brush pen calligraphy might be able to use such nibs and produce beautiful handwriting, but then again they can probably use any pen to good effect.

I don't think you need to consciously keep changing the angle. See this video: