Kuretake Fude Brush Pen NIHON-DATE KABURA (No.55), hard and soft dual tip marker, for Calligraphy, Manga, Drawing, Professional, Artist, Made in Japan

Ideal brush pen because it does not overflow or spill when drawing. You can apply pressure for different thicknesses of lines without mess

I absolutely LOVE this. The ink is fluid and smooth without causing spillage or bleeding (on a 60-80 lbs budget sketchbook)If you're new to brush pens, I recommend giving it a go. Kuretake also has Zig illustration sets or inktober collections that are really reasonably priced and the quality does not disappoint. I've had these for a few months and they're still going strong.

(For cartooning) This is a really interesting brush style pen from Kuretake. Comparable in length to the no. 8 (which is quite long), the two tips on this pen are significantly different in size and handling. The fine end is very fine and quite rigid. I would say it is more comparable to a Pigma Micron in line weight than the Kuretake Bimoji fine brush pens. However, if you draw with a heavy hand or push too hard, the tip may bend or warp. The larger brush end is a fat, flexible brush tip that is useful for black fills and shading, but I would not recommend it for actual line work.This might be a nice pen to pack if you're drawing away from your home/workspace, or if you're looking for more versatile tools.

I purchased this item because 1) of the two excellent reviews that had posted before mine, and 2) of the product's uniqueness for creating calligraphy style letters without all that fuss and mess of mixing and managing inks. Traditional folks probably enjoy preparing the ink and paper as part of their ritual. However, when I write, I am ready to get down to it and write. :) I am new to learning the Chinese language, and this item really helps me practice without creating frustration. The first Chinese character that I attempted to write was the one for water. I was pleased with the pen's smooth, rich ink on the rice paper. For the first time, my effort actually looked liked a real Chinese character rather than some scratch with an ordinary pen or pencil. It looked brush painted! Now, I am not perfect with the character, but I could feel and see the difference with this product. The possibility of beautiful (well-practiced) strokes and proper characters is here within my grasp. I liked it so much that I am going to buy another one to have around. It's worth giving a try if you want to try an Asian language and / or art project.

I purchased two of these pens to use with practicing my kanji and handwriting. I would alternate between the two pens everyday to try and preserve the longevity of them. After roughly 4 straight months of minimal daily use (about 15 minutes of writing a day) the ink from both pens has become noticeably more gray and translucent. The pen ends are both still going strong, but the brush ends are about 65% as potent as they used to be. I predict they'll both last another 3 or 4 months before I'll have to toss them.Seeing as how two pens will only last me 8 months, that means that one pen should only last about 4, much lower than the 12 month lifespan that several of the other comments and reviews stated. These pens are incredibly inexpensive though, so I can't complain too much. Besides that, the pens are otherwise fantastic. Both ends, the brush and the pen, are easy to write with and have minimal smearing or page bleed-through. Would definitely recommend.-----Edit: I severely overestimated the lifespans of these things. A week after I submitted my initial review, and now the two brushes have both gone a translucent gray color, and are completely useless for drawing or writing. The pen ends are still working fine and are comparable to that of a Sharpie fine-tip.The two pens have been perpetually sitting on my desk away from any water, sunlight, extreme temperatures, etc, so I don't see any possibility of it being user error. Going by my math, the pens actually have a lifespan closer to 2-3 months each (the brush ends, at least). I've already placed an order for a replacement. I legitimately doubt that either pen will still be alive by the time the new one arrives.

This is a great pen to travel with, especially if you are looking for a good sketching pen. As others have mentioned, one end of the pen is a good brush, and the other end is extremely fine and you can obtain a wonderfully fine line with it. Yet the ink is a very dark black. The ink does dry quickly; and you can easily reactivate it with water (using a waterbrush pen or just a brush with water) to obtain interesting effects.I love the pen for all of the above qualities, including the general versatility you can get with just this one tool.