Fude Nib

August 31, 2017

Can anyone comment if a Asian fude nib has iridium on it or not? Kind of hard to tell in some pictures............ Does anyone have any experience with a fude nib and out of the manufacturers which would you recommend? Looking to get a number 6 of even purchasing a pen with a fude nib?

August 31, 2017

Depends. I have a Jinhao with a #5 fude that definitely has iridium. I think the jinhao #6 fude nibs on amazon have iridium.

The sailor fude de mannen pens do not.

I really think most fude nibs are too steep for western hands. Most people write at angles less than 35 degrees, and most fude nibs are in the 50+ range. The one I found most usable was sailor's 40 degree nib.

Definitely try a fude nib first, some can write reverse normally, some do not. They REALLY put down a paintbrush stroke, and can be quite broad down and then a 1.1-1.3 stub across.They also don't put down a crisp stroke. The back of the nib edge often leaves a neat paintbrush like feathered line.

September 1, 2017

man, I had a nice post for you but fpn trashed it when they sent the "you're logged out now" message. I'll do my best to re-create.

Sailor offers fude in a couple different angles. I've used a few of their steel fude nibs and they're my favorite - great at reverse-writing in EF and keeps up well at full-width, plus nice feedback
fpnibs.com has #5 and #6 fude nibs. I have their #6 and really like it as well
The largest variation I've seen is the Duke Confucius - it's got 3 tines and a long bent section, but despite the over-feed it doesn't keep ink flowing well at full width and I get a broken-edge pattern. This may be intentionally mimicking a brush, but it's not the effect I wanted. I have tried but haven't been able to get the nib out of the section, so I don't know if a wetter feed will help.
Hero and Duke makes several fude pens for fairly cheap that aren't bad
Jinhao #5 was not bad, but I found their #6 to start too broad for me.

They're a lot of fun, but not all reverse-write reliably, so you may not be able to get an EF out of it.

September 1, 2017

Ah, forgot the comparison shot - I don't have many of my fude pens inked or with me, but here's a couple

September 3, 2017

Fpnibs does not offer a real fude. They say on their site they will just grind the nib into something that will write like one.

Any gold fude nib will have tipping. Gold wears too quickly without it.

Edited September 3, 2017 by Honeybadgers

September 7, 2017

Fpnibs does not offer a real fude. They say on their site they will just grind the nib into something that will write like one.

Any gold fude nib will have tipping. Gold wears too quickly without it.

I'm not really clear on what a "real" fude is... This is the one I got from fpnibs -- here's a writing sample and nib photo. It's definitely got the up-bend, which is more angular and substantial than their WA nib.

How does a gold fude work? It seems like the bend in the tines would mean you're writing on the tines rather than the tipping when using it flatter. But I know nothing of eastern calligraphy, so I'm probably using it drastically different than intended. I know Sailor offers gold fudes, and I think my Jumbo fountain pen was intended to be fude (I'm considering having a nibmeister straighten it, as I don't want to wear that nib)

September 8, 2017

To me, "Fude" means "bent". I get no benefit from such a nib. However, check Ebay for " Jinhao x450 Calligraphy nib " . I know nothing of Chinese calligraphy. I don't know if the "bent" nib is actually "Fude". Three or four dollars USD,

Edited September 8, 2017 by Sasha Royale