Kuretake - What Is The Clear Liquid That Comes With The Weasel Hair Brush Pen?

[Lady Spencerian]

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.

[BlacksmithTim]

Found your message today as I just got a Kuretake No. 40 and was wondering the same thing. I dusted off my rusty Japanese and made good use of Google Translate (the new feature that let's you use your camera to translate what it sees is very helpful). The translations of Japanese are not always the best, but it helped me understand what I was reading. And, yes, I took the trouble because no one seems to know for sure in the English speaking world. 

So, the little booklet refers to the "cartridge of clear ink" in a fairly literal translation that the brush pen will be shipped with. It advises simply removing this and replacing with one of the supplied ink cartridges, then use the pen normally until the ink flows with dark black color. 

(Playing a hunch I think I sped this up by using a platinum converter and running distilled water through it several times before installing one of the cartridges.)

My interpretation of what I was reading suggests to me that it's simply an oil or, essentially, hair conditioner to maintain the natural bristles of the pen in the package. 

The other pages of the manual seem to be concerned with not letting the pen dry out. The translations started to fail and my Japanese is not the best. Again my interpretation is that it should be OK if stored with the cap on and ink in the cartridge or converter. The problem might be with an empty cartridge and a long period of disuse things could dry out. My best understanding is that the instructions encourage using it every so often and to keep a full ink cartridge in the pen to keep the bristles moist when not using for extended periods. 

Hope that helps. 

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting thread.  I have a few of the Kuratake brush pens, but they came packed with 4-1/2 oz. bottles of Noodler's Kung Te Cheng (this was pre-Charlie model Noodler's eyedroppers, so I have no idea what the "fluid" is) along with some P 

Don't know what model the Kuratakes are (assuming low-end, because they were effectively packaged as freebies with the ink, along with Platinum Preppies).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[BlacksmithTim]

I'm curious what brush pen you wound up with. I have a couple of Kuretake No. 8. Very inexpensive but have been a staple in my drawing kit for at least 4 years now. Their performance prompted me to try the No. 40 with natural bristles. There's a big difference. 

The inexpensive No. 8 with synthetic bristles came with no particular liquid, just a couple of cartridges of water based sumi ink. Between what I translated and my own limited knowledge of chemistry, I suspect the difference is the material of the bristles: the natural bristles need something to keep them "fresh".