And I think it's ironic that these pens are mainly known by their Japanese name; I don't know of any Japanese company that makes them other than Sailor, while many Chinese companies make them.
For some reason other Japanese pen makers have not jumped on the fude nib bandwagon.
Of course, Chinese pen sellers don't call these pens by their Japanese name, but instead call them calligraphy or bent nib pens.
I had seen some very good reviews of Chinese bent nib pens, so I decided to try one.
I knew from past experience that if you order something from Chinese vendors via websites such as AliExpress or even Etsy, the shipping can be notoriously slow; your item may get stuck for up to two months in various places along the way before it ever leaves China.
But I decided to bite the bullet and order one and endure the long wait.
Duke 209
I settled on the Duke 209 which is often mentioned by artists on YouTube. This pen is slim and fits in the pocket nicely.
The bend in the nib is more curved than the Sailor which has a pretty abrupt bend, and I found I could get a smoother transition between thin and thick lines with this pen.
Below is an on-the-spot sketch done with the Duke 209 fude nib pen.
I love how I can get thick expressive lines and tight thin hatch lines with the same pen even on a very quick sketch where there is no time to think, let alone switch pens as you would have to do with Microns.
Duke 551
I also got the huge Duke 551 Confucius bent nib pen. This is a fairly well known fude nib pen which stands out from the rest. It often appeared in YouTube videos of Urban Sketchers in Asia and subsequently became popular with artists around the world.
It's a big, heavy pen that can get very wide lines as well as fine lines. It's a bit harder to handle than the Duke 209, especially when standing on a moving train.
If you are familiar with this model, then you will notice that the black lacquer finish with image of Confucius and kanji script are missing from the cap. I sanded them off and polished the underlying brass surface.
Below is a quick sketch I made with the Duke 551. It can get some very expressive lines.
As wonderful as this pen is, I don't carry it around in my pocket because of the size and weight.
Duke Uranus 962
Several months later I ordered another Duke fountain pen. This was the Duke Uranus 962 with bent nib. What attracted me to this model is its size; it is very slim and light-weight.
This pen has a nib cover like the Duke 551 which possibly lets more ink get to the nib quicker, or maybe it keeps the ink wet longer. Or it could just be for decoration since a nib cover makes more sense on a dip pen. The line it makes is identical to the Duke 209 -- it is probably the same nib -- but the slim barrel feels so much better in my hand.
On the end of the cap there is a pearl-like jewel which might possibly represent the planet Uranus.
But you may want to refrain from blurting out, "I can see Uranus."
I loved this slim pen so much that I turned around and ordered another.
Jinhao X750
After a little more time browsing YouTube and the web, I bought two more bent nib pens. This time I chose the Jinhao X750. They were being sold on Amazon Japan as a pair, probably because they are so cheap at 940 yen each (around nine dollars at the time).
The main reason I chose this model was that several YouTubers said you could easily take these pens apart, and you could even swap in a super flexible Zebra G pen nib which is intended for dip pens only. I already had a super flex vintage fountain pen, but I was curious.
As soon as the pens arrived, I tried to take one apart to insert a G pen nib. In the process I broke two G nibs (probably because they were not Zebra brand) and snapped off part of the plastic nib feed (it's the part marked by the red arrow on an unbroken feed). So I had to order a new plastic nib feed which took over a month to arrive.
The Jinhao X750 is supposed to be very easy to disassemble, so I was surprised that mine broke in the process. Apparently, after wiggling and jiggling and trying to force the nib and feed to come out, and using a lot of force, the whole thing suddenly gave way, but I didn't pull it out straight. It was most likely the mouth of the piston cartridge converter that snapped off the plastic piece.
After the new plastic feed arrived, I attempted this experiment again. This time I removed the converter before attempting to extract the nib and feed, and tried to be a little more gentle. The nib and feed finally did come out with no damage, and I rubbed a little silicone grease inside the nib section with a cotton swab so the process would be easier next time.
The reason I was so insistent on learning how to disassemble this pen was because I wanted to use water-proof Platinum carbon ink in it so I could color my sketches with watercolors. Technically you can use carbon ink in any fountain pen if you flush it out with water occasionally, but it's a hassle and maybe a gamble because carbon ink can leave a dry crust or film on surfaces that are out of sight and out of reach. I like the idea of using a pen until it stops working, and then pulling it apart to give it a good cleaning with an old tooth brush.
Since these pens are so easy to take apart, they have become my care-free "work horse" pens for drawing with carbon ink. I also use carbon ink in my Duke pens, but there's not much I will be able to do if they clog up on me. Maybe an ultrasonic cleaner would do the trick.
Added later: I eventually discovered that the Duke pens also come apart easily. In the case of the Duke Uranus 962 pens, I first had to pull out the nib cover.
The Jinhao X750 is a wonderful sketching pen with its bent nib, and makes a great line just like my other Chinese bent nib pens.
Above is a quick sketch done with the Jinhao X750 bent nib. This was actually done at a desk rather than on a moving train, and is a copy of an earlier sketch, so the lines are fairly stable and neat.
The bend in the Chinese nibs is more curved than the Japanese Fude DE Mannen, but I personally can't tell the difference when I'm using them.
The top pen in the photo is the Sailor Fude DE Mannen 40 degree nib pen, followed by the Duke 209, Jinhao X750 and Duke 551.
All of my Chinese fude nib pens have nibs bent at a fairly high angle, somewhere between 45 and 55 degrees. That means you will have to hold the pen at a high angle to get a thin or even medium line because the nib angle naturally makes a broader line.
The Sailor comes in two versions, the lower 40 degree angle bend (shown in the photo) and a higher 55 degree angle bend. The 40 degree angle will get thin or medium lines when held at a natural angle, and broad lines when held at a lower angle.
Some Chinese fude nib pens have an amazingly low price, but the quality control can also be lower, possibly requiring a nib smoothing.
Here is a secret which might be useful to some readers: I was able to swap the nib of my Duke 209 with the nib of my Traveler's Company brass fountain pen.
It was surprisingly easy, and both fit perfectly. The result was a brass fountain pen with a fude nib that matches the color of the barrel. I'm sure the Duke Uranus 962 nibs will also fit because they seem to be identical to the Duke 209 nib except the color.
Bent nibs, flex nibs and brush pens
Bent nib pens can magically turn your scribbles into interesting sketches, and the results are often unpredictable. There is more freedom to make expressive lines without thinking too much about it.
A flexible nib pen can only get wide lines on the down stroke which results in less line variation than you might have wanted, but a bent nib pen can get wide lines in any direction.
A brush pen is capable of getting line variation in any direction, but it is hard to control especially if you are standing and holding a sketchbook.
A bent nib pen has a solid nib which can rest on the surface of paper as you draw. This gives you tactile feedback; you can feel what you are drawing.
These pens can get a series of hatch strokes with a consistent uniform length and width, as well as the width of the gap between the strokes. This is difficult to do with a flex pen or brush pen when you are out sketching.
For most artists who sketch in ink, the bent nib pen could become the ultimate sketching tool.
The illustration at the top of this page of the dragon and pen was rendered by AI (Microsoft Bing's Copilot) and modified by me.
AI might take over illustration jobs in the future, but it will never take away sketching as a gratifying hobby.
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