A random Goulet Pens video popped up recently on YouTube, prompting me to take out my old Noodler’s Creeper fountain pen to play. Lately I’ve mostly been using a Duke 209 Fude pen filled with De Atramentis Document brown ink, and my Pilot Falcon filled with Document black ink.
Just for fun, I mixed a dark gray ink (Document black plus De Atramentis thinner) with the brown ink, trying for a color that is neither gray nor brown. Sort of a dark taupe? I may add a bit more thinner to this to lighten it up. That’s something I love about this brand of inks — the ability to mix or thin out colors without changing the viscosity.
My Pilot Falcon has a soft extra-fine nib, which is a bit scratchy. A soft fine nib would’ve been a better choice for smoother lines, but I read reviews saying the extra-fine nib had the highest amount of flex. Maybe the problem I’m running into is more about the paper? The paper in this journal is Fabriano Artistico soft-press; this pen usually glides smoothly on hot-press papers but I prefer paper with a bit of texture in my journals.
Anyway, the black cast-iron Scottie was drawn with the Falcon, the wheaten iron Scottie was drawn with the Creeper, and the text was written with the Fude. I first drew a continuous contour line, then added lots of hatching lines. And a bit of red watercolor just because a spot of color was needed.
All three pens are favorites that I’ll keep using; just different in character.
Your comments about these pens and inks resonate with me. Love those DeAtramentis inks for the reasons you've demonstrated. Also agree about the Falcon. I love mine but NOT on quality cold press paper, or even S&B Beta paper. I have an S&B Zeta book that this pen should be 'right' for but I'm not keen on watercolors on a super-smooth paper.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried any of the Duke fude pens besides the 209? I ask because I see Alvin Marks using a fatter Duke and I'm forever curious :-)
The crazy thing is that with all the pens I own, when I want to do fine line work, I grab either a Wing Sung 3008 or 3009. They're nearly identical and they're wonderful location sketch pens for a couple of reasons. First is that they are a piston filler and they must hold 10 times the ink of a typical cartridge pen. Mine never run out of ink, or at least it seems that way. The other reason is that they cost $3-4 via eBay.
I love my Falcon but I also love heavier cold-press paper — watercolor just works better for me on paper that is not super smooth! The Falcon is probably my best choice for working in really tiny sketchbooks, but how often is that going to happen?
ReplyDeleteThe 209 is the only Duke I’ve used. The metal barrel is “slippery” in my fingers but I prefer it to other fudes I’ve tried. I have your recommendation to thank for having one! 😁
My current favorite pens for general sketching are the Kaweco Liliput pens, but I’ve never found a converter that works well in them. Thankfully, De Atramentis is now making Document ink cartridges that fit them. Before them, Lamy Safaris were my #1 choice but my extra-fine nibs wore out and haven’t been replaced; hard to get fine lines now.
Now I’m curious about the Wing Sung pens. The price is right and it seems like my favorite non-Lamy pens never hold enough ink!
I agree about the Falcon/smallbook relationship. I've become less concerned about "flex" when using fine nib pens. Instead, I sort of like a more stable nib that works well when inverted. That's another feature of the WingSung pens. They'll write forever inverted.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried some sandpaper on your 209? It doesn't do much for the looks but it does improve the grip :-)
I've never become comfortable with my Liliput. I love the notion of the pen but it just feels too small. Maybe my hands are just too big :-)
As lovely as a good flex pen may be, in my personal style of sketching it just doesn’t matter all that much. Fude pens as well — they are fun to use but I still sketch in the same way whether using a fude, a flex, or a regular fountain pen.
ReplyDeleteSandpaper sounds scary! But maybe I’ll try it — as soon as I work up the courage.
I’ve always loved tiny things and Liliputs are engineered so nicely! They do seem to fit my hand, and even being metal, they don’t “slide” as much as the 209. It helps to have the clip added.