Black Brush Pen Review

Honestly, I’m the type of person who picks one thing that I love and then sticks with it FOREVER.

In my art, this is manifest in my brush tip pen of choice: The Tombow Fudenosuke Pen. In an attempt to branch out, I bought some new black brush tip pens and decided to put them to the test against my reigning favorite. To make things more interesting, I also pulled out a few pens that I had previously purchased but then ditched in favor of the Tombow Fudenosuke.

Pens I put to the test:

1. Pentel Sign Pen
2. Zig Fudebiyori Pen
3. Pitt Artist Pen
4. Pigma FB Pen
5. Tombow Fudenosuke Pen [hard tip]
6. Tombow Fudenosuke Pen  [soft tip]
7. Tombow Dual Brush Tip Pen

Here’s my honest, non-sponsored opinion. Just thoughts from little ol’ me! I even included handy little links in case I peak your interest. You’re welcome, world.

The Pentel Sign Pen
Pros: Nice variation in thickness, easy control, thin upstrokes, nice dark black color. Comes in a variety of colors, not just black.
Cons: ? ! ? Honestly, I loved this pen!
Best for: Brush lettering, small detail work

The Zig Fudebiyori Pen
Pros: Nice dark black pigment, the pen is a nice size in my hand. Comes in a variety of colors.
Cons: Need to write bigger to utilize the brush tip feature
Best for: Larger hand lettering work

The Pitt Artist Pen
Pros: Dark black color. But this is honestly all I’ve got. Sorry, Pitt! You just didn’t cut it! It does come in other sizes, so perhaps if I tried a finer point? Something to test in the future.
Cons: Not enough variation in thick/thin lines, in my opinion
Best for: Poster work, lettering without thick/thin work

The Pigma FB Pen
Pros: Smooth writing experience, nice variation
Cons: The brush tip is a lot softer than what I prefer and am used to. For me, this got a little frustrating after a while, but perhaps with practice this would get less annoying? Also, it only comes in black.
Best for: Brush lettering, small detail work

The Tombow Fudenosuke Pen [hard tip]
Pros: Easy to get an extremely thin upstroke. Easy variation between up/down strokes. Comes in a two-pack with its soft tip counterpart.
Cons: Hard brush tip. This is not really a problem for me, but it could be a possible con for some who prefer more flexibility. Also, this pen only comes in black.
Best for: Hand lettering, small detail work

The Tombow Fudenosuke Pen [soft tip]
Pros: Like its hard-tip counterpart, it is easy to get a thin upstroke. Because the brush tip pen is a bit softer than its counterpart, I find the flexibility easy to work with. Comes in a two pack with the hard tip brush pen.
Cons: ? ! ?  Only comes in black. But that’s about it!
Best for: Everything. [Oh yeah, I’m supposed to be unbiased. Whoopsies!]

The Tombow Dual Brush Tip Pen
Pros: Easy flow, flexible brush tip. Comes in lots of colors. Two sided, so it’s like a 2-for-1 deal. An expensive 2-for-1 deal.
Cons: Like the Zig Pen, the size of the tip really only works for larger work. Small detail work is near impossible.
Best for: larger hand-lettering pieces.

The clear winners:
The Pentel Touch Sign Pen & The Tombow Fudenosuke [soft tip]

I’m glad I took this creative exercise and decided to branch out. Although my trusty Tombow performed well against the others, I found another new favorite I am sure to use in the future. And, due to an unfortunate scanner vs. computer situation, I had to redo the artwork for this post. As I redrew, I confirmed my selections.

Go out and try a few different pens and figure out what works best for you. Do you agree with me on my favorites or do you have a new favorite I should try? I’m interested to hear your thoughts!