While I’ve now been writing for the Desk for a while, one thing I have completely stayed away from is fancy nibs. I stick with my EF, F, M and occasionally a broad or a stub. I’ve never had a nib ground for me (I’ve had a few smoothed and tuned, but that’s it!) and I typically don’t play with anything beyond the standard.
So a few weeks ago when I was browsing through Yoseka Stationery, the Sailor Fude De Mannen caught my eye. ($16).
The pen comes in acrylic bodies in pearlized colors (featuring just a hint of sparkle), and feature stainless steel gold plated nibs. Some of the colors have different nibs:
The Green (-55 degrees) version is best for those who write upright, while the Dark Blue, Pearl White, Pearl Pink, and Pearl Brown (-40 degrees).
I opted for the Pearl Pink, so mine came with a -40 degree Fude nib. The fun of a Fude nib, besides it’s interesting shape, is the ability to create varying line thicknesses. As you can see, I can get anything from a thinner fine line to a thicker broad line. I find it most comfortable to hold and write somewhere in between, but it’s fun to play with the angle and see where it lands.
I used the pen as a dip nib while I was playing with it, but it is a full pen. It takes either Sailor cartridges or a Sailor Converter. This pen is long! 6.625″/17cm capped, and 5.875″/15cm uncapped. The cap posts (although not very tightly), but that would make the length and balance ridiculous. It’s a lightweight pen though coming in at 15g.
Overall this was a fun experiment and I think I’ll continue to use it for nib/ink testing and maybe even just to play with calligraphy and varying my line thickness. If you’re interested in branching out from traditional nibs this seems like a fun, cost-effective way to do so!
- Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Sailor Fude De Mannen ($16)
- Ink: Birmingham Pen Co. Grant Street Weathered Brick (60mL, $9)
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items in this review were purchased with my own funds and some may have been sent to us for review. Please see the About page for more details.
