Review: Sailor Fude De mannnen Calligraphy Fountain Pen ( Brush Stroke Style) - Navy Blue - Nib Angle 40 Degrees

When I got the pen from a local art supplier, my response was, this is a really long pen. Comparing with my usual drawing tool, a Hero 9018 fountain pen (fude nib), the Sailor calligraphy fountain pen measures 3cm longer. But now I know why. The long barrel allows you to hold an extra ink cartridge just in case you run out of ink while you are out drawing. The package comes with 4 ink cartridges but no ink convertor. I would recommend user to purchase an additional ink converter so he could use the pen with a different ink. For now, I remove the ink cartridge when it runs out of ink, and using a pipette to refill with a different type of ink. For the above drawing I was using deAtramentis fountain pen ink from Germany. The ink has good flow and looks really black and is archival quality.


Here's a sketch I drew on location using the Sailor Fude de Mannnen calligraphy fountain pen.


Look at how easy it is to have a variety of line weights within a single drawing. Unless you are the type of artist who prefer to have less change in the line weights, this pen is for you. Comparing with the Hero fountain pen (shown above), the Sailor fountain pen weighs lesser, due to its light weight plastic pen body and casing. I love the weight of my Hero, so I have to get use to drawing with a light pen. The sketch was done on a Stillman and Birn Delta sketchbook. The Sailor nib does feel a little toothy but I like to draw with some resistance. Some others artists may prefer their pens to glide smoothly on the surface of the paper. I prefer a little bit of "roughness".


Here's the finished page on my sketchbook.

Line weights can bring a certain depth to a drawing. You can see that I have thinner and finer lines on the ForeGround (Virginia Hein from LA, USA), and slightly thicker lines for the background, thus bringing the subject forward, or vice versa. Line weights add character to your lines, and inject some drama to your drawings. Accents of thick lines (as marks) or fine mark create visual interest.

Different line weights are created by putting more pressure when you draw on the nib while you are using a dip pen or a flex fountain pen. For a pen with fude nib, different line weights can be obtained by changing the angles of the pen as you draw. When I draw, the pen is constantly changing angle. This can be achieved by holding the pen loosely. A tight grip may result in a stiffer line.

Here's a drawing I did of the same subject, but using a brush pen (black ink). This is a lot more flexible than a fountain pen because I am able to fill in large areas of black quickly as I draw, at the same time, still maintaining a different line weights to my drawing.

Which do I prefer? I interchange these pens, whether it is a fountain pen or a brush pen, when I go out sketching. I like brush pen more these days as it can give a lot more than a fountain pen. For a change I may use a different coloured ink in the future.