Search the Community

Dear FPN Members, I'm interested in hearing about your experiences with the Kuretake Fountain Brush Pens Model No. 40 and 50. I'm particularly curious about how you store them when they are inked and not inked, and whether you've experimented with using pigment inks such as Platinum Carbon Black in these brush pens. Specifically, I'm wondering: How do the Kuretake Fountain Brush Pens Model No. 40 and 50 perform in terms of ink flow and line variation? What methods do you use for storing these pens when they are inked and not in use? Do you encounter any issues with drying or leakage? Have any of you used pigment inks like Platinum Carbon Black in these pens? If so, have you noticed any adverse effects on the pens over time, such as clogging or damage to the brush tip? I greatly appreciate any insights or experiences you can share regarding these fountain brush pens. Thank you for your time and assistance! Warm regards, 2ouvenir

Hello All, My first inclination would have been to put this in Pens from the Land of the Rising Sun but, I think a commercial artist or illustrator from the general membership will likely have the answer. A couple of months ago, I purchased the basic synthetic tipped Kuretake brush pen, because it is compatible with all the cartridges and converters that I already have for my beloved Nakayas and Platinums. I have thoroughly enjoyed using it for gesture drawing and little impromptu sketches. So much so, that I just had to try the 'weasel' hair model; which I ordered from Taizo (engeika). Can anyone tell me what the clear liquid is in the cartridge that comes inside the pen? I assume that it is some kind of conditioner for the natural bristles. Do I keep the cartridge and put it back in the pen when it is out of rotation? Do I need to rinse the bristles with mild soap and water before loading the pen with ink? No doubt the instructions that came with the pen explain all.... but I do not read Japanese. TIA for any guidance you can give me. Suzanne P.S. Moderators of this forum, please feel free to whisk this post away to a different forum that you may deem more appropriate. I really did not know where to put it.

I want to put Noddler 'Year of the Pig' (it's just Bulletproof Noodler's Firefly really) in a Noodler's Bush Pen or into a Refillable Preppy to use as a highlighter.... what's my best move? OR is there a better idea? I already love the ink in a Kaweco Sport Stub, but I'm ready to have something to use in my bible. Helpneeded, because I've watched Goulet's video on trimming the brush or replacement brushes to alter the line and wetness, but I've seen all sorts of people complaining about drying problems in the preppy when filling the body instead of using converter or eyedeopper converter... Thoughts?

I'm sorry if this is old hat for most, but I just spent the past day looking for some more concrete information on this and came up short. So, I'm posting this in the hope that it'll help others who search online for the same info. I love the Pentel Pocket Brush, but sadly they don't sell them in local shops in my area. Which means they don't sell the cartridges, either. When the brush hairs start to get iffy, I can wait the 2-3 days to get another one in the mail, but I don't want to wait around every time I run out of ink. ...Which is often, because of course brush pens just spit ink onto the page. On a good run I can empty a cartridge in 3-4 days. So, what to do? Yes, you could refill the cartridges with an ink syringe, and that works fine, but I like converters because if you have flow issues, you can use the piston to your advantage. If you use this brush pen regularly and you want to use a converter with it, the following steps should get you all set up. DISCLAIMER: You're going to marry your cartridge converter to working with Pentel Pocket Brushes only. I can't stress that enough. This is now going to be your Pentel Pocket Brush converter, and while it should work mighty fine, it likely won't work with your Platinums after you do this. I can't take responsibility for what you do with this information. Anyway, onward. 1) Pop off the metal ring. This should be fairly straightforward. I tried twisting the thing off using pliers (and some leather lace to cushion the ring), but after that didn't work I just used the pliers to push the metal off the plastic barrel. Worked fine. http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q213/aletifer/IMG_3046.jpg 2) If you try to slip on the converter at this point, it's probably going to work, but just barely. I wanted a better fit, so I took out some 600 grit sandpaper—I got mine at an auto parts store—and slid the converter's plastic step across it a few times to shrink it down some. It didn't take long; just a few passes. http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q213/aletifer/IMG_3047.jpg 3) If you're lazy like me and just use your hands for sanding, the end of the converter might not be perfectly round. That's fine, but just make sure it fits snugly into the back of the pen. For an added precaution, and to get a better fit, I added a thin layer of silicone grease onto the converter before placing it onto the pen. http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q213/aletifer/IMG_3048.jpg There you have it; you're good to go now. Can I draw ink up from the bottle just like I would a fountain pen? Yep, sure can. No reason you can't. ...Just be sure that brush tip is clean, though, or you might contaminate your colored ink. What kind of ink can I use? I use Noodler's Black, which is a pretty near identical in terms of ink properties. In my experience, Noodler's Black is slightly darker, and the drying time is a little longer, but that's it. It doesn't feather nearly as much as I thought it would with a brush pen, and I've had no issues with leaking or my brushes going stiff. (I DID have a problem with India Ink, however. It gummed up my bristles something awful, so if it were me, I'd steer clear of that stuff when using this pen.) Follow these steps and you'll be drawing silly trees in no time. Drawn with a Pentel Pocket Brush, Noodler's Black and cheap copy paper from the office: http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q213/aletifer/IMG_3050.jpg

A while ago I asked here if anyone had any experience with the brush pen model of the Noodler's Konrad. There weren't any replies, so I finally decided to get one and see how it works and I'll report that here (I hope this is an appropriate forum for this topic--I'm interested in this mainly for sketching, but one could write with it in some scripts I'm sure, and since it shares a body with a familiar pen, I thought it might be of interest). One caveat: brush pen has multiple meanings to manufacturers, unfortunately. Some use it for what are essentially high-quality conical felt tips, but I am only considering implements with an actual paintbrush-style tip (synthetic in the examples I've used, though there are some with natural fibers). I've previously used two Pentel brand brush pens, the Pentel Pocket brush pen and the larger Pentel pigment ink brush pen. These both have behaved extremely well for me so they are my baseline for comparison. Both refill via cartridges (in the larger pen, the "cartridge" is actually the entire barrel!). The Konrad interested me since it was a piston filler, so I would be able to use different inks without fussing with syringing a cartridge. But I remain a bit wary about how various fountain pen inks will behave in a brush tip, and also the mess of trying to clean it (fortunately I'm mainly interested in sketching in blacks or greys, so I don't expect to need to get every bit of ink out ever). Here is the pen pre-inking: And here a size comparison after putting a little Noodler's Black in it (top to bottom: Pentel pigment brushpen, Pentel Pocket brushpen, and Noodler's Konrad): Finally some comparisons of how they work, on Fabriano Ecoqua dotpad: (Excuse my hand being shaky and out of practice.) So far I'd say they are pretty even in performance, the Konrad tip being slightly less supple at first in going around curves. I'm really interested to see if the tip dries or stiffens up over the days, so I plan to do a little doodling with them and post updates, if there's any interest. (The Pentels are excellent about not drying out--I hadn't used the large one in months before this probably.)

Hi all, Hopefully this is the right place to ask… I've recently acquired a Kuretake no. 8, and the first cartridge is almost gone, so I'm about to purchase more ink. The Kuretake comes with cartridges of a black ink which seems fine to me (I know nothing about ink and only started ink work). However I'd rather buy a bottle of ink and refill the cartridges than buy cartridges. There are some ink comparisons on the web, but they focus on waterproof alternatives, since ink from Kuretake cartridges is not, while actually I'd prefer non-waterproof ink. Any advice from other Kuretake brush pen users ? I've read some inks wouldn't flow well or could even ruin the pen, which obviously I don't want to. Thanks. Edit : Added "Black" in title.

Just noticed there's a Konrad brush pen available at Goldspot. I have a Pentel pocket brush pen that I use for sketching and I'd be interested if anyone can compare them. How well does the piston fill work through the brush feed? Are there inks that work better or worse? The description says the brush tips are replaceable--any idea where replacements can be found? Thanks for any info!

Hello, Has anyone ever used a brush pen? What do you use it for? Thanks

Not strictly a FP question, but I hope someone can help me In a moment of (in)sanity last night, I ordered myself a Platinum brush pen and a converter. I was wondering if anyone knows how you'd fill one? Immersing the bristles? Filling the converter then putting it in the pen? Thanks in advance