Reviews Written by foxinthestars

  Obviously these fit some..., March 23, 2011

Obviously these fit some people's writing style, but for me, they're too broad and wet---so wet that I have trouble with feathering and bleed-through on some papers where drier pens work fine. As one other minor nit, the inkview window is almost useless; there's only a window on one side, and with no way for light to come through, you can hardly see anything (not that I would mind this if I liked the ink flow, but it's just one more thing). I will give them that they're fast and smooth and don't tend to skip or dry out, but for the same price I would recommend the Platinum Preppy instead.

  ADDENDUM: I've been using..., August 23, 2010

ADDENDUM: I've been using this since my previous review and wanted to update. The hair brush side is still just the same, but the hard felt-tip side has lost some of its shine---given I've been using it pretty abusively (note-taking rather than careful artistic strokes). It's gotten a bit fuzzy and won't give its finest lines or best line variation anymore, and it's developed some flow problems. Now I can only write with it for short periods before it gets dry, but it would probably still be suitable for slower, more deliberate strokes. I'd have to say it doesn't hold up well as a writing pen, but as felt-tip brush pens go, it's still above-average.

  Addendum: For those who..., August 9, 2010

Addendum: For those who want waterproof ink, I'm currently trying a Platinum Carbon cartridge in one of these, it fits perfectly and flows perfectly. I don't want to try letting that lay around for two years, though...

(BTW, as with most fountain pens, I also recommend getting a syringe so you can refill the cartridges yourself with any bottled ink you want.)

  These pens are excellent...., August 3, 2010

These pens are excellent. For the same price as the Pilot Varsity/V-pen, they're easier to refill, finer, and less wet. But here's my amazing story: I moved two years ago, and just in the last few days turned up one of these pens that had gotten lost in a box somewhere, with a cartridge installed; in other words, a live fountain pen sat around in a box for two years. When I found it, the ink hadn't dried up, so I tried it---it immediately wrote perfectly. Color me impressed!

  I love brush pens for..., July 16, 2010

I love brush pens for art, but I got this one in particular for studying the Kanji---using the Heisig system, so I'm switching back and forth from writing kanji to writing mnemonic stories about them in English. So far I'm really enjoying it!

The "hard" tip doesn't seem all that hard to me; it's still a little squishier than ideal for jotting notes, but serviceable. As a brush-pen, it has a strange but pleasant rubbery feel, and although I haven't been using it for long, it also seems more resilient against fuzzing out and losing its shape than other felt "brush pens" I've tried (like the Faber-Castell Pitt); it's good enough to pleasantly surprise me, and while it doesn't have the dramatic responsiveness of a hair brush, it is more controllable, so I'm sure it would be a good complement to the hair brush for doing art.

The hair brush is of good quality with good flow, spring, and response; I do love hair brushes, and writing kanji with this is fun; with slight changes in pressure I can write fine enough for dense strokes and give dramatic treatment to simpler ones. Its tip is a bit larger than that of Kuretake's Fragrant and Sutra Writing hair brush pens (also available here at JetPens; see my reviews there). Although a lot of fineness with a hair brush is more about the lightness of your touch than the size of the brush itself, I would rate this one just a little lower for fine and delicate strokes. Still, it has the greatness I expect in a hair brush pen.

My one warning: unlike the Fragrant and Sutra Writing pens, this one is not waterproof. After it dried for a few minutes, I gave the ink a thirty-second soak; it didn't feather and it faded very little, but it did give off grey clouds and streaks of fugitive ink, so if you're an artist and want to do overwashes, I'd recommend one of those others (or the Pentel Pocket brush pen) instead.

  I received this today,..., July 15, 2010

I received this today, and my first impression is great. It has good ink flow so far, plus the spring and dramatic responsive line variation that I love in hair brush pens---felt "brush" tips just can't compare---and for a very reasonable price. It's also waterproof; after its ink had dried for just a few minutes, a thirty-second soak in water didn't budge it at all. As for the scent, it's kind of soapy-spicy; if you sniff the brush head it's pretty sharp, but once it dries on paper it becomes quite subtle. I would definitely recommend this pen, and I look forward to trying the Kyara (Aloeswood) and Musk scents!

PS: I bought the Sutra-Writing pen at the same time, and it isn't actually any finer than this one; it's exactly the same shape and unscented. Both are finer than the hair brush end of the Kuretake #30.

  I received this today,..., July 15, 2010

I received this today, and it's a good pen, but not what I expected. I ordered it together with the Borneol Fragrant Brush Pen, and this pen is not any finer---they're shaped exactly the same. The barrel of the Sutra Writing pen is a different color (a handsome brown with glitter), and it has NO SCENT. Otherwise the two seem to be just alike. Their brush-tips are the same size (finer than the Kuretake #30 I also got), both write very well, with the spring and dramatic very-fine-to-very-broad responsiveness I love in hair-brush pens, and both are waterproof---after their ink had dried for just a few minutes, a thirty-second soak didn't budge it at all. My first impression is that it's a great pen---I would recommend hair brush pens to anyone, artists especially, and this is a good example of the breed for a very reasonable price---just don't buy it expecting it to have a scent or be finer than the fragrant pens.

  This pen is absolutely..., June 29, 2010

This pen is absolutely wonderful! A sythetic hair brush tip with good spring, it gives graceful, dramatic line variation from tiny hair strokes to bold flourishes. I've never had problems with the ink overflowing or drying out; I've even left the pen unused for weeks at a time and it's still ready to go the instant I pick it up again. All this, and the ink, a nice rich black, is waterproof. I still want to explore other brush pens too, but this is my favorite drawing tool.

  I've used the Pentel..., June 29, 2010

I've used the Pentel Arts "Stylo" JM20, which appears to be a non-refillable version of the Tradio for the American market; the unique tip looks exactly the same, except on the Stylo the plastic part containing the felt nib is ivory-colored. I'm not excited by it myself. The line variation it gives, while not dramatic, is an advantage over other felt-tip pens, and the plastic nib does seem more durable than many felt brush pens. I haven't noticed bleeding, but I have had the problem of the plastic flicking little hair-lines of ink. For me, it can't compare to a flexible metal nib or a hair brush.

  I've used the Pentel..., June 29, 2010

I've used the Pentel Arts "Stylo" JM20, which appears to be a non-refillable version of the Tradio for the American market; the unique tip looks exactly the same, except on the Stylo the plastic part containing the felt nib is ivory-colored. I'm not excited by it myself. The line variation it gives, while not dramatic, is an advantage over other felt-tip pens, and the plastic nib does seem more durable than many felt brush pens. I haven't noticed bleeding, but I have had the problem of the plastic flicking little hair-lines of ink. For me, it can't compare to a flexible metal nib or a hair brush.