Customer Reviews

This is a follow-up to my review on August 12th. I have used this pen daily for weeks now, and it's become my favorite inking pen. However, it did act up on me once. The ink flow stuttered when I drew fine horizontal lines or when beginning a stroke. I fidgeted a bit and I found that there is a pad of some sort of fiber directly under the steel nib. If that fiber pad gets a little dried out, you'll have ink flow problems. I think this is why they recommend you not leave the pen unused for more than two weeks. (The ink dries very quickly, which is good when you're drawing, but problematic for pen storage.)

If you're getting spotty ink flow, another reviewer suggested that you give the nib a quick rinse in warm water, which works well to rehydrate the ink pad. However, it does dilute the ink, so you need to scribble a bit to get full strength ink flowing again. What I do instead is put a drop of black ink (I use black technical pen ink, but you could use a drop of any black fountain pen ink) onto the little air hole on the nib, and let it soak in for a few seconds. This restores the ink flow perfectly without dilution, and the pen is ready to draw. No skips or stutters.

And a final note about the ink: this stuff is as black as anything I've ever used, including black India ink in dip pens. It dries very quickly, even on shiny surfaces like bristol board. And it is -very- waterproof. I use watercolors with my pen drawing, and I don't have any problems with ink running or smearing.

I have been using this pen for about three weeks now, and I am really enjoying it. The ink flow is wonderful, and the slight flexibility of the nib brings subtle expressiveness on the lines. I have used it on a variety of papers, and it's been particularly nice on smooth Bristol and hot press watercolor. I draw with a light hand and rarely notice any scratchiness.

I love this pen. I have bought Copic fountain pens, Multiliners, Multiliner SPs, Sailor ink-bars, Lamy fp and more.. (yes i am addicted to pens. and yes there are worse things to be addicted to.)

This pen was bought for me by a dear freind. He also bought himself 1 to try. He has had some problems with his pen, and warned me that it takes some time to get flowing nicely. As soon as i put pen to paper, it flowed beautifully in controlled, even lines. No problems at all. NOT ONE! why? Because i hold my hand at a 30 degree writing angle and he doesnt. When he tries to use my fountain pens they become scratchy for him due to his angle of the pen. If this pen doesnt write for you, try angling your pen differently. I love this pen, and would hate for anyone to get the wrong impression about it.

I am a social worker and have found that the only way i can get clients to stop stealing my pens is to write with a fp! This one is my all around fav go to pen.

Well, at first I was quite disappointed with this pen, it was very sketchy and often skipped whenever I would draw faster than a slug's speed, but then I found a very strange solution. I finally got so fed up with the pen, that I washed all of the internals completely out with water, including the ink cartridge. Well this made me discover the base of the pen still holds quite a bit of ink after the cartridge has been out of it for a while. So I filled the ink cartridge with water with a little bit of diluted ink into it and let the main ink come from the base of the pen. The results were AMAZING to say the least. Lines flow smoothly and there has been no skipping whatsoever, even when I intentionally try to make it do so. Plus it still doesn't take long for the ink to dry (just a bit longer than normal). If you've purchased more than one ink cartridge, I'd say give it a try . You won't be disappointed.

This is yet another follow-up to my August 2011 review. I have been using this pen for a year now, and it is still performing beautifully. I left it unused for about four months during the winter, but it started up almost immediately when I took it out, and has been writing smoothly ever since. It's the best $6 pen purchase I've ever made.

And I don't know what ink Tachikawa puts into the cartridges, but I sure wish I could get a bottle of it for my other pens!

I just received this pen earlier today. When installing the ink cartridge, the part on which the cartridge is inserted snapped off completely, and stayed wedged into the cartridge. I can't tell if this is a part that can be replaced, but my attempts at a temporary solution - super glue - didn't do anything.

That said, I did manage to get some ink flowing through the pen, and I'm fairly pleased with the quality of both the ink and the nib. I suppose that I will include another of these in my next order, but I'm disappointed in both the quality of parts and in Jetpens' return policy (they "stand behind" their products, but will only accept unopened, unused returns - how are we supposed to know the quality of an item if we don't open it and use it?).

I love the Float I get with this Pen.
Well I've bought it quite long ago but only use it for two Days because it says you should draw at least 'once in a week' with it. So I waited for a creative phase to begin ;)
I'm not used to Fountain Pens. But I really like the Experience I get with this one. It feels very amazing to draw and writh with it! Smooth yet still not slippy so you get 1:1 what you actually do. Amazing feeling after not using a Fountain Pen for so long.
I draw with it on boring standard 80g/m2 (switzerland lol) Printing Paper. I was afraid the Nib would eat up all the Paper fibres again like my Copic F01 does, but somehow this one works better. Glad I don't need to care about this clogging problem anymore.
As a Beginner, I am happy with this Pen. It really isn't that flexible, true story, but I never had a Flex Nib anyway so I don't mind.
Also I appreciate it's refillable with Cartridges. I daren't to use this piston-filling method yet. So this is a great alternative for now, until I feel good enough to use one of those Noodler's Konrad Flex Fountain Pens jetpens.com has to offer.

Yup, this Pen gives me a lot of Fun while drawing and even writing. I Probably gonna write a second review once the Pen is more worn. I can't say anything about its durability.

this pen is the best pen i have drawn with for a while. im 14 and i want to become a mangaka, and i heard about this pen did some research and decided to buy it. at first i was skeptical but once i got it it was amazing! you may need to break it in a little by practicing drawing eyes or something but let me tell you it is defiantly worth your money! if u have any questions about it email me: maxwell4208@rocketmail.com

Not so happy with this pen.
I like to use (model G) dip nibs at the desk at home, and was looking for something to take around with me that would give me similar feel on the go. The nib on this just isn't flexible enough, and when you put down the pressure for a thick line the ink supply falters.

The line is really fine (I can't even imagine the super fine), and it's pretty scratchy even on bristol.
I'd say if you want a super fine line it's best to get a .03 copic, or if you're looking for a fine line with width ariation go with a fine brush pen like the zebra. The ink flows not even consistent enough for me to use it for fine cross hatching.

Will still try to think of a way to use it- maybe for some distant background sketchy/fine line stuff.
I'm hoping it breaks in a bit, but if it doesn't I don't think I'll pick one of these up again.

This pen almost gets a perfect score and I will tell you why. The flow is great and I have not had any problems with clogging but alas it does have one flaw worth telling people about well actually it had two things. First is minor and that is that the pen cap barely is large enough to keep posted on the end and the other is ink splatter. When I say ink splatter I am talking about using the pen on paper with a little rougher then a medium tooth the nib will skip and sometimes splatter small ink droplets onto your work. This happens when applying more pressure to get a broader line. This is however not a deal breaker as I love this pen when i'm on the go where using a bottle of ink is not practical. I use this pen in combination with my brush pen for comic drawing in my sketchbook on the fly. Thank you jet pens I will be ordering again soon.

I received this pen and was just amazed. At first, there was stuttering ink flow, but it stopped as the pad of fiber moistened up to the ink. I recommend this pen for anyone who wants to draw manga or anime, or even just beginner artists.

Terrible pen altogether. Very scratchy, poor ink flow and after a while it just stopped working.

Very bad quality from a so called "world famous pen."

Frustrating,

Avoid...

This is a good beginner comic manga pen for me right now its ok but when my true gpen comes in ill probably not use it anymore but for right now it is great

Great pen. I can't really complain, writes smoothly and very portable. Great for beginners (I expect). It can get a little stiff, but not often. Though I recommend actual g pen, this works very well and is very portable.

The \"G\" designation is somewhat misleading; this pen really doesn\'t write like a G Pen. The nib is very stiff with just a bit of flex, and is fairly scratchy. It also seems to pick up bits of paper quite a bit, regardless of whether it\'s bristol or sketch paper. That all said it works fairly well save one thing, which I will return to. The pen is great for fine line work as it has a very fine tip, and can produce excellent hatching, and produce fairly good linework, if fine even at the widest it will produce. If it wrote smoother it would be far better, but for the $, it\'s not bad.

The ink it comes with, however, sucks. I had ink flow issues starting right from the beginning, and continued to write with it for some time, until I became fed up and switching over to FW India Ink made for technical pens, and it has had for fewer flow issues since. I can only guess the ink that comes with it is too viscous to flow well, and would strongly recommend anyone buying this pen to find some other ink to use.

I've been searching for a relatively inexpensive fountain pen to use in place of a dip pen for drawing when away from my drawing table. I decided to try out this pen based on the great reviews but the pen I received just didn't measure up. I installed the ink cartridge as recommended but the ink would not flow very well. I found the nib to be very inflexible and broke after just a few uses.

The nib on this pen is somewhat flexible, which allows you to vary the width of the line depending on the amount of pressure you use. I've been using it to sketch for the past few days, and I'm impressed with the inkflow (quite fluid) and the smooth feel on paper. It is worth noting that it does better on "hard" papers like Bristol board and layout/marker bond. I also tried it on softer finish papers, like sketch and drawing pads, and it felt a bit dry and scratchy. Definitely with the price.

The pen is amazing. XD
It has great flow and if you have experience with dip pens I totally recommend it .
If you are more of a ballpoint fellow then don't go for this as it gives you a different style and holding feel.
It works great with 70 or 80 lb sketchbook paper and dries super fast. I recommended that if you plan on leaving it out for a long time to TAKE OUT THE INK CARTRIDGE and put it in a safe place AND CLEAN THE NIB WITH WARM WATER AND A CLEAN CLOTH. It really really makes a difference in keeping it from being damages so that when you pick it up again its just like new.
I'ts also great for sketching compared to dip pens because it gives you all the comfortable holding of a regular pen or multilner but the capablites of a dip pen !
All in all very awesome pen just make sure to clean it regularly and remove the cartridge before leaving it for a few weeks and I'm sure you will love it too !

when i felt like getting this... the reviews gave me mixed feelings so hopefully i can clear that up for anyone else. Yes, this is intended to be used at least once a week. It does skip a little sometimes but only when i first started using it. If it is still skipping, then you are just writing with it wrong, because holding it at the wrong angle, putting too much pressure, and not putting enough pressure can make it skip.

the tip is a little scratchy but i got over it easily. Something i noticed is that it's really hard to push a cartaridge in there, granted im really weak but it still felt a little hard. Sometimes the ink dries at the tip and gives people the skipping problem they may be talking about but for me i just have to wipe it off.

In honest opinion, i like it. And although it will never be as good as, or be able to replace my dip pen nibs, it is good for on the go when i am at school or somewhere else and i really enjoy it.

Super good! I'm impressed! The ink dry really fast. I recommend this pen to user who have already experience with a dip pen or a fountain pen.

For know, "how to install the cartridge": don't remove the cap of the cartridge and push very strong to pierce it when installing.

This pen ROCKS in a hardcore way, perhaps a little too hardcore for some folks, since you must give it a workout regularly. One of my favorite drawing pens, the line character is nice and the ink dries waaaay faster than a dip pen. If you work in pen and ink or manga styles this pen is the bomb I have a fine and an extra-fine and plan on getting spares. Don't try to write on newsprint with these. They sharp.

It was unfortunate that I added this pen to my cart my first time ordering from JetPens... as it left a VERY bad taste in my mouth. I read all the reviews, and they seemd good, so I decided to give it a try. When I recieved it, I was VERY eager to use it, and got doen to business right away. My enthusiasm came to a screeching halt. It seems that drawing on any other surface other than maybe glass (and even then I'd be willing bet it wonb't be smooth) feels like drawing on sandpaper, and as a result there was some ink spatter. Oh, and as if that wasn't enough, it ripped the paper within 30 senconds of drawing. I then lightened my pressure (I'm used to drawing with ballpoint), and that helped the ripping paper (more of a scratch now), reduced the ink spatter to barely noticeable, but now my line consistency was that of an emppty pen. This was all done on generic copy paper, then in my sketchbook, and they on marker paper. I was MUCH happier and had far better results with the Copic Drawing pen (and all the other pens) I also ordered. What really kills me is, that as a result of using it for no more than 5 minutes, I now have a $6.00 pen that is rendered useless, and JetPens can't (or won't) do anything about it, since it is now considered "used". Thanks Tachikawa! Thanks JetPens!

I've tried out so many different types of pens, including this one and the Fine point one as well. The Fine point crapped out on me in no time. However, the G model Nib is still holding on, and I've been sketching with it for a while now.

Yes, it does clog or dry out, but a little tip: When the pen stops writing or starts skipping, dip the tip of it in some water and scribble on a sheet of paper, it starts writing/drawing Smoothly again.

Overall, it's a great pen to use when you're on the go, and can't take your dip pens with you.

I use dipping nibs for inking pretty extensively and wanted to try using one of these for finer detail work to use with rulers. Since I usually have to use microns, which have a lighter less permanent ink then I prefer.
I was pretty pleased with my buy, it has a bit of flex for getting a little line variation.
It does tend to get clogged and skip occasionally and can still not take the place of my good old nibs but it is convenient and has a decent line quality.

Purchased both the fine and extra fine back in September so that I didn't have to carry a pot of ink and dip pen with me when I went out; worked fine for about a week or two before the extra fine stopped writing. The tip is not bent and changing the cartridge did nothing for it. I've just had a similar incident with the fine pen after nearly completing a sketch. Both do not write at all and have new cartridges with no damage to either one of them. I do not recommend these pens for the frustration they've caused.