Fude Pen Review: Kuretake Fudegokochi Super Fine and Gray
I dare say you guys probably know by now that my fude pen of choice is Kuretake's Fudogokochi, in regular, but until recently, I didn't realize that Kuretake has two other offerings in their Fudegokochi line- Super Fine and a Gray ink with a Regular tip. Any of these three pens retails for $3.50 each on Jetpens, and I recently decided to splurge and give the gray and Super Fine Fudegokochis a shot.
The packaging on both pens is written entirely in Japanese, but it's fairly easy to tell which package belongs to which pen- on the front of each package is a little graphic demonstrating the pen inside. I'm going to examine the Super Fine first, and compare it to the Regular Black Fudeogokochi.
The Super Fine Fudegokochi looks a bit like it'd be an extra light gray pen given the body color.
The nib of the Super Fine Fudegokochi looks like it'd produce a thicker line than the Regular, given that there's a larger nib and no plastic sleeve, but the material the nib is made of is stiffer than the Regular, and requires some pressure to achieve line weight variation.
Unlike the Super Fine Fudegokochi, the pen body of the Gray Fudegokochi does denote ink color, which would make it stand out from a penstand full of black pens, if Kuretake had a consistent color scheme for their pens.
The Gray Fudegokochi handles just like the Black Fudegokochi- there's no learning curb here.
Field Test- Gray Ink
The Gray Regular Fudegokochi handles pretty much just like the Black Regular Fudegokochi- the nib has a lot of bounce and flex, and is capable of pulling both fine lines and juicy lines. The gray ink has a tendency to reactivate the black ink and cause some smearing, and when inked over itself, will create a darker gray tone. I do not recommend this as a toning pen.
Field Test- Super Fine
The Super Fine nib, despite looking like a larger nib than the Regular, is actually very stiff and a little difficult to ink with. It's the sort of pen that benefits from a little breaking in before inking, but it may become mushy with regular use. Because the nib is so stiff, the Kuretake Super Fine Fudegokochi may be best suited to heavy handed inkers who prefer delicate linework that does not feature much line variation.
Overall, the Gray Fudegokochi handles well, but I don't necessarily see the point of purchasing two fude pends when many brands carry 2-in-1 pens (I'll be reviewing some soon!), especially if you have limited space in your everyday carry.
The packaging on both pens is written entirely in Japanese, but it's fairly easy to tell which package belongs to which pen- on the front of each package is a little graphic demonstrating the pen inside. I'm going to examine the Super Fine first, and compare it to the Regular Black Fudeogokochi.
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| On the left is a regular black Fudegokochi, on the right is a Super Fine Fudegokochi |
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| On the top is the nib of the Super Fine Fudegokochi, on the bottom is the regular nib. |
Unlike the Super Fine Fudegokochi, the pen body of the Gray Fudegokochi does denote ink color, which would make it stand out from a penstand full of black pens, if Kuretake had a consistent color scheme for their pens.
The Gray Fudegokochi handles just like the Black Fudegokochi- there's no learning curb here.
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| From Left to Right- Super Fine Fudegokochi, Regular Fudegokochi in Black, Regular Fudegokochi in Gray |
Field Test- Gray Ink
The Gray Regular Fudegokochi handles pretty much just like the Black Regular Fudegokochi- the nib has a lot of bounce and flex, and is capable of pulling both fine lines and juicy lines. The gray ink has a tendency to reactivate the black ink and cause some smearing, and when inked over itself, will create a darker gray tone. I do not recommend this as a toning pen.
Field Test- Super Fine
The Super Fine nib, despite looking like a larger nib than the Regular, is actually very stiff and a little difficult to ink with. It's the sort of pen that benefits from a little breaking in before inking, but it may become mushy with regular use. Because the nib is so stiff, the Kuretake Super Fine Fudegokochi may be best suited to heavy handed inkers who prefer delicate linework that does not feature much line variation.
Overall, the Gray Fudegokochi handles well, but I don't necessarily see the point of purchasing two fude pends when many brands carry 2-in-1 pens (I'll be reviewing some soon!), especially if you have limited space in your everyday carry.
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