Fude De Mannen - Stroke Style Calligraphy Fountain Pen - Bamboo Green - Nib Angle 55 Degrees (11-0127-767) - Navy Blue - Nib Angle 40 Degrees (11-0127-740) 　VALUE SET!!

If you're looking for a reliable fountain pen for calligraphy and drawing, why not get two for the price of one? I've heard of the Sailor Fude De Mannan as a "budget" option, but after writing just one sentence with each pen in this set, I was convinced they are worth 10x more. I'm glad the set was offered because it solved my dilemma of which nib angle to choose. The 40 degree nib seems more suited for everyday journaling, but I've found the 55 degree nib more expressive, with more pronounced thick and thin lines. That's the appeal of these pens - how you hold and write/draw with them affects their appearance. The pens come with two ink cartridges and you can easily reorder more on Amazion, or buy the separate ink reservoir and a bottle of ink. Whichever you choose, you'll be rewarded with a great pair of fountain pens.

Now If you're shopping for this kind of odd pen, or just unwrapping it for the first time, you are probably not going to be impressed in any way. They honestly feel kind of cheap and plasticky. Also I don't know why anyone would buy this pen for handwriting or note taking, though I guess you could use one for that. However the fude nib is really quite incredible for art and inking and sketching. I have literally dozens and dozens of fountain pens and other pens and this is absolutely at or near the top of the list for ink sketching. I had the green version first with the 55° nib. It's wonderful but I always felt to get a thin line you had to hold a pen at too high of an upright angle. Lost that one, had to replace it, and noticed this set of two, the dark blue model has the lower 40° angle. Well I can already tell that it's the better nib. I think the higher nib angle is more for something like Asian language calligraphy styles where you would hold a brush almost vertically. Now I'm not sure I would get this pen if you're doing very precise ink work needing consistent line widths. However for more rough sketchy style nothing can equal this. Also there is no iPad or computer drawing setting or brush setting that can equal this kind of a real nib on real paper either. So the way I use this is to vary the angle I'm holding the pen at which will vary the width of the stroke and then when I want to do some fine hatching I just flip the pen over so just the very tip of the point of the nib is making contact and then you get a very fine hairline. The fude nib can lay down a very thin layer of ink on a broad stroke, instead of a fat juicy line, of ink so this dries much faster than say a flex near like a zebra g. The weird long handle also makes complete sense if you are using it more like a paintbrush. You can keep a spare ink cartridge in the handle which most pens cannot do. The Sailor black ink is really pretty good but you can also refill these disposable cartridges with any ink you want using a little cheap syringe which is what I've been doing for years. Some people gripe that there's no converter included but converters hold only about half as much ink as a cartridge so I tend to avoid them anyway. So know these pens aren't for everyone and on the face of it they're very strange, but for the right artist they are unequaled.

Absolutely great pens. I see a lot of people sketching on insta with the green one, but turns out I much prefer the navy one. Basically the green ones nib is tilted more towards the end that gives you fat line, and the navy one is tilted more towards the fine line end, which is what I like because I want to mostly sketch with finer lines and then exaggerate my tilt to get a fat inky line. But if you want to sketch with a lot of fat lines and have to kind of exaggerate your motion to get a fine line the green one is for you. Since I tend to do a lot of light wispy lines and then go over with fatter lines to emphasize a few hard lines and shadowed areas, I prefer the navy one that is just much more naturally geared to the fine line size. Just to be clear you can get the same RANGE of lines with both these pens, it's just which end of the spectrum the pen feels like it's sort of default on with a regular sort of writing angle. For instance to make a very fine line with the green one you almost have to be vertical or use the back of the nib. whereas to make a very fat line with the navy one you have to be almost flat against the paper. where the vice versa of each of those pens (green+fat or navy+thin) is the more natural writing angle that you'd write a letter with. NOTE If you just do ink, I really like the sailor ink, its beautiful ink and performs nicely. If you plan to paint over it I recommend platinum carbon ink because it is a little bit more waterproof. Note2 You need an ink converter if you plan to use this with bottled ink. they arent too $$

Love the green pen so much that I have yet to try the black one. It writes smoothly on smooth paper. Had a little issue getting crisp lines in my sketchbook that has a more construction paper feel to it. But that’s on me not the manufacturer. I love that I can get different line weights in one pen without having to tote a bunch of different pens. Now I have to check to see if there’s a refillable convertor and I’ll be set.

Absolutely versatile pens and reliable flow with supplied ink cartridges! I can get a great variation of line weights with each pen. So versatile and I can count on good ink flow even after days of not using. Great price/value!

I love these pens - really lovely line changes.

I was recommended these from a friend who does comics, but I don't like them very much. They screw open and have refillable cartridges which is cool, but because they screw open and close, they can get loose! They have gotten loose in my pencil case and it's a hassle to have to tighten them every time I use them. They also get dry very fast and I have to "wake them up" before I get to draw with them. I would rather use any of my actual proper fountain pens like the TWSBI ECO or a dip pen than have to fiddle with this everytime.