Refillable Brush Pens

[antleredguy]

Hey!

I love brush pens. They're so fun to write with! Does anyone use the refillable ones from Pilot and others? If so: how do they work?

Thanks,

Nick

[TheHOINK]

Aloha...

 

I use them daily and since 9 years. All brands, except Kaimei (just because I have not bought them yet).

From Pentel over Kuretake and Akashiyasai.

 

Since i have an important meeting in a short time, I will return soon to fill this post with more information.

Until then, how about this... for a start (I am always exxaggerating, I love details to death.) ^_^

 

 

In short, though... there is a feed and hairs instead of a steel nib, like with a fountain pen.

You refill with proprietary cartridges, which I have been refilling since years with my own bottled chinese inks and watercolours or fountain pen inks through a syringe.

I mostly never clean them, just wipe them of anss straigten the hairs after use on a tissue.

That is pretty much all....

So...

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Hello, and a wonderful (whatever daytime you might be reading this...)

 

 

I am one of the crazy illustrators and freelance-artists mentioned here, who eagerly requested these pens, nib refills AND Pens...

 

This pen is proof that even the best synthetics can not mess with mother natures gifts.

 

The Kuretake DV140-40/50 is THE best Brushpen I have ever had the pleasure to handle.

 

 

TIP:-----------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------

 

It's natural sable bristles offer a higher flexibility than any other pen with a brush-like tip you might find on this page, better than the Pentel GFKP FP10 or the Kuretake DV140-13C or or or... I have them all, but THIS one is the best.

 

In the beginning there is a cartridge inserted in the tip with oil and water, so the bristles do not dry out, a very clever idea by the company.

 

The Bristles spring back to a sharp point, offer a very high resiliency and very good controll of pressure and line width.

 

After 9 months of being in use and 27 used cartridges, the tip looks quite like new, so the possibility to buy spare/replacement tips/nibs is great and counts as a plus, but it is not necessary too often, a second plus.

 

Sometimes you should clean the tip, just use some cold to mid-temperated water and wipe the pen out on a clean tissue.

For larger areas, you should, after all, stick to synthetic bristles, since natural hair is more about control and detail, and not for fast colouring of large areas, which would (di)stress the hairs a lot.

 

 

BARREL AND CAP:---------------------------------------------------------

----------------------

 

The Pen closes with a wonderfull clicking sound, and you can feel the "resistance" of the pen while closing the cap, so you know it is "closed" and tight. It gives you a good feeling about the bristles not getting too much air and drying out.

 

The Barrel and Cap are made out of Aluminium or resin, it seems, it seems more durable in feel and more elegant in look than the Pentel GFKP. Maybe thus the price is so much higher, but invested this pen it is more than worth the money.

 

For some people this pen might seem heavy, it is around 18 to 20 gramms, somewhere very close to the Pilot Décimo which has 20gr. So it might be too heavy for some, but it is perfect for me.

 

The Price is very moderate for a pen of this quality.

 

 

INK:-----------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------

 

The Ink is a very dark and saturated black, watersoluble and even after drying not waterproof. If you want to make washes or use aquarellistic colours on your paintings, do it before using the Kuretake-ink, and you will be fine.

 

And you can use any "noodlers" (have not tried the eel-inks) to refill empty cartridges with a syringe.

 

 

IN THE END:---------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------

 

Kuretake DV140-40 AND DV140-50 are all getting five stars, since they are very close one to antoher in weight, and since they share the same tip their performance equals one another very closely, too.

 

And they are highly better than the synthetic counterparts of the DV140-13C.

 

Forget about all the other brush-pens which use synthetic bristles, when you use this kind of pens a lot, buy one with natural bristles, especially if you are up to detailed, evry controlled work.

 

 

TheHOINK..

[txomsy]

On 3/27/2010 at 10:38 AM, TheHOINK said:

The Kuretake DV140-40/50 is THE best Brushpen I have ever had the pleasure to handle.

 

I agree. This is a very nice brush pen. And with the natural hair bristles it is a treat to use. may require some mastering and steady hands, but it is great.

 

ADDED:

As for the ink, I disagree, kuretake ink is waterproof once dried. I have a notebook I forgot n my jeans and that underwent laundry. Kuretake ink went through it unscathed. See these doodles

 

 

 

Plus, you can use bottled India ink, Noodler's of course, but also Iron Gall inks (which, oddly, are easier to clean off the pen bristles as they will not react with natural hair as they do with paper) and other permanent inks.

 

 

[dipper]

Judgements of "best" or "good" can depend on your personal criteria of choice. If you change your criteria then a different brush may become "best".

 

One common example is to describe a brush as being "good" if it forms a fine point, has some flexibility with little downwards force, and generally behaves like an expensive "pure Kolinsky Sable" watercolour brush.

For some purposes, perhaps a particular style and size of script, that specific type of brush may well be "best". (It may even be impossible to form the script strokes without using that specific brush type.)

 

I use many different types of brushes though. Each one of them has their own character and value, even the cheap ones, the synthetics, and the worn-out ones.

Five are brush-pens, the other dozens are traditional brushes. (A stick with a ferrule and bristles on one end 😃.)

 

Unlike fountain pens, they always work! No brush ever suffers from baby's bottom, hard starts, air locks, etc. To me they are all "good".

 

On favourite is an old Pentel GFKP pocket pen.....

It has fuzzed out synthetic bristles, it cannot form a clean point, is slightly "dry" in ink delivery - making a broken line if moved rapidly over the paper. Used at an angle, lightly touching the paper, it can make a scratchy mark.

To me, none of those characteristics are "bad".

The pen encourages a free and relaxed approach to sketching. To me, that makes the pen actually rather good!

[amberleadavis]

WOW cool

[benrobert]

Refillable brush pens, including those from Pilot and other brands, are quite popular among artists and writers who enjoy using brush pens. These pens work similarly to disposable brush pens but offer the advantage of being more environmentally friendly and cost-effective in the long run since you can refill them with ink when they run out.