Brushing Up

[BrianTung]

Alternative to Kuretake is attractive, convenient, and fun to use

 

• List price about $35 U.S.
• Street price $25 to $30 U.S.
• "Nib" is soft synthetic nylon bristles

Likes

• Brush line variation with the convenience of bottled ink filling
• Price is right

Dislikes

• Drinks like a fish when it comes to ink
• Brush has a tendency to spread as pen empties

When I was a kid, like all good Chinese kids, I was forced to learn some Chinese calligraphy. The concept of forcing someone to improve their writing might seem foreign to many of you, but those of you who remember being kids sometime in the past will understand.

 

Still, it wasn't all bad. We got to make ink by filling a flat mortar with a pool of water, and then grinding a pitch black inkstick in circles until the water became a nice, saturated black. It was then time to get down to the chore of carefully applying the ink with slow, methodical brush strokes until finally, if we had paid attention to our lessons and were halfway coordinated, we succeeded in creating something that almost resembled a reverse-video version of the Montblanc logo, rather than the "eternity" character we were supposed to write. Ahh, those days!

 

These days, of course, I want to improve my writing, but not being a kid anymore, I'm not blessed with extraordinary amounts of spare time, so grinding out ink from a stick is generally speaking an extravagant luxury. So when someone on FPN pointed out that there were brush pens that operated like fountain pens, my virtual ears perked up and I took notice. I was concerned that they might cost too much, but I needn't have worried. Although I'm sure there are brush pens with premium prices, one can purchase a quite respectable one for a very reasonable amount of money.

 

I had heard many good things about the Kuretake brush pen, but there were problems finding converters to go with it, and cartridges are a real cost concern for a pen that uses ink as quickly as these do. There were claims that Lamy converters would sort of go with the Kuretake, but they were either too tight or too loose. Fortunately, Sailor makes a brush pen version of the Profit that emulates the Kuretake, but the Sailor comes with its own converter. I bought the Sailor on-line on a Friday, and by Tuesday, I was already brushing away.

 

 

The Profit brush pen is roughly the length of the Montblanc Classique 144, at 13.5 cm capped and 14.5 cm posted, and is vaguely inspired by that worthy's cigar shape and black resin. The Profit is considerably wider, though, but weighs a little less: 15 g with a full converter. The resin cap screws on to close, but simply slips on to post, so thread wear on the barrel is a concern. The pen balances relatively low to the ground, with the balance point about 9 cm from the brush tip with the fairly lightweight cap not posted, or 9.5 cm posted.

 

The brush pen certainly takes some getting used to, even for those accustomed to flex nibs. Rather than letting a nib glide across the paper, the user must suspend the brush and modulate its height and pressure with care in order to control the line width. The reward, though, is a kind of expressiveness that really can't be obtained with any other kind of pen. After an initial training period, this pen is an excellent instrument for writing Chinese characters (kanji in Japanese, hanja in Korean), and is also suited for certain styles of brush art, including the bamboo art that all good Chinese kids were also seemingly legally obligated to execute.

 

 

The great advantage of the Sailor Profit and the Kuretake brush pens over their non-fountain counterparts is, of course, the convenience. Not only can you get started a lot faster, without having to grind out any ink, but you can now take the pen with you on the road and still be able to brush without having to carry the ink. It ought to be pointed out that Chinese ink as used by traditional brushes are particulate suspensions, and should not be used with the Profit or Kuretake pens, since they could eventually clog the feed. Also, I don't want to give the impression that this pen is only good for Chinese calligraphy; it would be equally at home with impressionist watercolor stylings (again, with fountain pen ink, of course).

 

One liability of the pen, with respect to ordinary nibbed fountain pens, is that, as you might expect, they drink ink like mad. A half hour of intense calligraphy practice can use up an entire converter full of ink. That's more than you could write with a traditional brush without redipping and possibly regrinding, but it's still something you'll need to keep in mind if you expect to use this pen extensively away from your inkpots. The Profit does come with three small ink cartridges to tide you over in these emergencies, but I'm trying not to use them. Also, as the ink is used up and the brush gradually dries, the brush will begin to spread and flare, leading to double or triple lines. This is easily taken care of, but it does mean that the usable ink capacity is somewhat less than the converter can hold.

 

Despite these isses, the Profit brush pen gives you brush pen texture with fountain pen convenience, and does it at an economical price. It's not as easy to learn how to use as a nibbed fountain pen, but in my opinion, the rewards of expressiveness and rare grace are worth it, even if you're not refreshing your Chinese calligraphy from lo these many years ago.

Edited June 15, 2007 by BrianTung

[inkysmudges]

Another good pen of this kind is the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen (model #GFKP). It costs about 1/2 of the Sailor pen.

 

I have both the Sailor and the Pentel and I hate to say it (really! I love Sailor pens!) but I like the Pentel better. It's brush is a little longer and more "pointy" than the Sailor which makes it easier (for me) to get a controlled range of line weights out of it. This matters if you're using this style of pen for sketching, as I do. Also the Pentel doesn't seem to suck ink quite as fast.

 

The Pentel only comes with cartridges (4 in a pack, #FP10); the ink is quite water resistant.

[HDoug]

These plastic "brush nibs" are very interesting -- I think I'm going to try one out. One reason I'm interested is that I've wondered how difficult it would be to make an italic nib out of some material more similar to quill than the gold or steel of a fountain pen nib. If an italic nib is cut like a quill to emulate the letterforms created by a quill, one would think that a plastic material would be more quill-like.

 

Are these nibs soft and brush-like, or more Sharpie-like?

 

Doug

[Taki]

These plastic "brush nibs" are very interesting -- I think I'm going to try one out. One reason I'm interested is that I've wondered how difficult it would be to make an italic nib out of some material more similar to quill than the gold or steel of a fountain pen nib. If an italic nib is cut like a quill to emulate the letterforms created by a quill, one would think that a plastic material would be more quill-like.

 

Are these nibs soft and brush-like, or more Sharpie-like?

 

Doug

I would say in-between. Also some companies (like Kuretake) make pen tips in different sizes. Thinner ones tend to be firmer or more like Sharpie.

[inkysmudges]

Both are synthetic brush tips with bristles not a solid tip material. I'd say the Sailor is a little more densely packed than the Pentel but neither is at all like a Sharpie.

 

There's a "Brush" Pen by Platinum that is somewhat more like a Sharpie in that it's tip is kind of a flexible felty material, not too different from the famous Faber-Castell PITT Artist "brush" Pens.

 

But none of the above have a tip material that you'd want to take a knife to. For the Sailor and Pentel you'd just be carving away the bristles, and the Platinum and PITT pens don't have material that could stand up to much use at all if they were trimmed down.

Edited June 15, 2007 by inkysmudges

[lalindsay225]

Hmmm ... bet that Sailor would make a great highlighter. I could finally use my Noodler's Firefly instead of just taking it out of the box to admire! Thanks, Brian, for this review!

 

Lisa

[Univer]

Hi All,

 

Fascinating thread - thanks for the review!

 

These posts reminded me of a pen I've had an on-and-off interest in: the Uranus "multifunction" pen - brush tip at one end, rollerball at the other. Has anyone had any experience with that one?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

[BrianTung]

I have both the Sailor and the Pentel and I hate to say it (really! I love Sailor pens!) but I like the Pentel better. It's brush is a little longer and more "pointy" than the Sailor which makes it easier (for me) to get a controlled range of line weights out of it. This matters if you're using this style of pen for sketching, as I do. Also the Pentel doesn't seem to suck ink quite as fast.

 

Interesting. This might be a case of different strokes, etc., since I don't think I'd want longer and pointier. However, to be sure, I'd actually have to try it out first. As far as sucking ink quickly, I guess it's somewhat misleading for me to have called it a "dislike"; it's more a necessary evil, since I like the big, fat, wet line this pen lays down. Besides, I picked this pen instead of the Kuretake specifically because of the converter option, so that's one more strike (personally) against the Pentel.

 

Nonetheless, I'll see if I can't hunt down one of the Pentels to try out.

Edited June 15, 2007 by BrianTung

[Penache]

I also have the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and enjoy using it for sketching. I remember seeing the Sailor Profit at one of the pen stores but since I already had the Pentel, didn't purchase it. I love the convenience of these fountain brush pens.

[Morse]

Hi Brian;

 

Great review! By coincidence, I ordered one up a few days before your review, and reading this made the wait even harder!

 

My Sailor brush pen showed up this afternoon and so far I'm having a blast with it.

 

If you do get the Pentel, by all means post a review. I'm thinking that a brush pen may have to be part of my permanent stable of 'fun' pens!

 

All the best,

Morse

 

P.S. Can you recommend a good book or website on Asian brush calligraphy techniques? I have plenty of good books listing the characters, but no real tutorial on good technique.

[His Nibs]

Hi All,

 

Fascinating thread - thanks for the review!

 

These posts reminded me of a pen I've had an on-and-off interest in: the Uranus "multifunction" pen - brush tip at one end, rollerball at the other. Has anyone had any experience with that one?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

 

Jon,

 

I'll let others comment on the Multifunction, but here's a photo:

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/Uranus2018BothHN_small.jpg

 

[BrianTung]

P.S. Can you recommend a good book or website on Asian brush calligraphy techniques? I have plenty of good books listing the characters, but no real tutorial on good technique.

 

I'm afraid not. The last time I was in contact with such a workbook, it was (a) twenty years ago, and ( in Chinese. I don't know if the latter presents a problem for you, but the former does, as far as a recommendation from me goes.

 

I'll keep a lookout for one, though; if I see a good one, I'll let you know. I did recommend a good book on Chinese calligraphy, but it was for ordinary nibbed fountain pens, not brushes.

Edited June 19, 2007 by BrianTung

[Renzhe]

Good to see another review of one of these. You said you didn't use the Sailor convertors so I don't know which ink you have in there. From your picture it looks like the ink isn't very dark. Is it because of the ink or the brush? Pelikan Brilliant Black in my brush pen looks dark grey.

 

Morse, I'm assuming you mean to learn Chinese calligraphy. For the basics, I think this website is quite nice. I haven't read it carefully though. Can you read Chinese? I looked around on Amazon and most of the books in English that I could preview seemed pretty...casual. The only book I have is 柳公權楷書寫法 by æ–‡è–樓 (which is in Chinese). Its models are based off of 柳公權's kaishu, but I find his technique and style to be quite universal. There isn't much prose. I'll give you a scan of a page, just so you can see if this is what you're looking for.

http://i19.tinypic.com/6comz9f.png

Basically, the book shows various strokes, and gives examples of them in use. It also gives some writing of 柳公權 for you to follow.

Edited June 19, 2007 by Renzhe

[BrianTung]

Good to see another review of one of these. You said you didn't use the Sailor convertors so I don't know which ink you have in there. From your picture it looks like the ink isn't very dark. Is it because of the ink or the brush? Pelikan Brilliant Black in my brush pen looks dark grey.

 

I assume you mean that I didn't use the cartridges. I believe that was the Montblanc Black in the convertor at that time, and that is indeed a fairly light-toned ink. The pen currently drinks Parker Quink. Some of the light tone might be the lighting in the shot, though.

 

Morse, I'm assuming you mean to learn Chinese calligraphy. For the basics, I think this website is quite nice. I haven't read it carefully though. Can you read Chinese? I looked around on Amazon and most of the books in English that I could preview seemed pretty...casual. The only book I have is 柳公權楷書寫法 by æ–‡è–æ¨" (whic is in Chinese). Its models are based off of 柳公權's kaishu, but I find his technique and style to be quite universal. There isn't much prose. I'll give you a scan of a page, just so you can see if this is what you're looking for.

http://i19.tinypic.com/6comz9f.png

 

The book title seems to have gotten munged in cut and paste; it didn't display properly in my browser for a variety of different charset encodings.

[Renzhe]

How about now? (UTF-8)

[BillTheEditor]

Hi All,

 

Fascinating thread - thanks for the review!

 

These posts reminded me of a pen I've had an on-and-off interest in: the Uranus "multifunction" pen - brush tip at one end, rollerball at the other. Has anyone had any experience with that one?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

 

Jon,

 

I'll let others comment on the Multifunction, but here's a photo:

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/Uranus2018BothHN_small.jpg

 

Nice calligraphy! Is that your wife's work?

 

 

 

[BrianTung]

How about now? (UTF-8)

 

Yup--works fine for me.

[BrianTung]

If you do get the Pentel, by all means post a review. I'm thinking that a brush pen may have to be part of my permanent stable of 'fun' pens!

 

I recently bought the Pentel. I will be posting a review, but my first impressions are that it's a bit on the thin side, especially when compared to the Sailor, and it writes a bit dry for my tastes. But more detail to be forthcoming...

[His Nibs]

Hi All,

 

Fascinating thread - thanks for the review!

 

These posts reminded me of a pen I've had an on-and-off interest in: the Uranus "multifunction" pen - brush tip at one end, rollerball at the other. Has anyone had any experience with that one?

 

Cheers,

 

Jon

 

Jon,

 

I'll let others comment on the Multifunction, but here's a photo:

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/Uranus2018BothHN_small.jpg

 

Nice calligraphy! Is that your wife's work?

 

Somehow I missed this post until now. Yes, it is indeed her calligraphy.

 

[nimrod]

I have both the Sailor and the Pentel and I hate to say it (really! I love Sailor pens!) but I like the Pentel better.

 

...

Besides, I picked this pen instead of the Kuretake specifically because of the converter option, so that's one more strike (personally) against the Pentel.

 

Nonetheless, I'll see if I can't hunt down one of the Pentels to try out.

 

For those looking for a Pentel Pocket Brush in the US, John Neil Bookseller has them:

http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/7/4

 

I ordered one but canceled the order and ordered a Sailor Profit specifically because the Sailor did have a converter available.

 

Another Pentel pen that I have is the Pentel Color Brush in black. I'm not sure that I'd consider this a real brush fountain pen since you have to squeeze it to dispense ink into the brush (which is a good thing if you're going for a dry brush effect since you can control ink flow) but it does use its own proprietary fountain-pen-style cartridges (which as the name would suggest actually come in a range of colors).

 

Besides the ink flow control ability, the Color Brush also has a significantly larger brush which is too pointy if you're trying to write small characters. The Color Brush is about half the price of a Pocket Brush (comes with one cartridge) and is readily available in the US. (A local art store actually had a bunch of the black ones for sale, though they didn't have any cartridges in colors other than black.)

 

One place that sells them online:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz228/90/