Tachikawa's Manga Fountain Pen

[Quiller-Bee]

I'm always looking for new tools to add to my inking arsenal. One item that caught my eye awhile back is Tachikawa's Manga Fountain Pen, which can be seen here:

http://www.bluelinepro.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BL&Product_Code=AR-NP30EF

I'm curious to know if anyone here has already tried this pen. If so, what's your opinion of its performance in comparison to traditional quills and/or fountain pens? How would you rank the quality of the ink, and how greatly can you vary your line? Will it truly "revolutionize inking as we know it" as Blueline has advertised, or is this statement merely an exaggeration?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

[Dash Martin]

I have one...it's totally awesome when it wants to work. Sometimes the ink just refuses to flow. However, I have yet to try it on EON boards, so it'll probably work great there. I'm able to get the same quality lines with it as I do with a standard Hunt 102.

[Quiller-Bee]

Hey, Methane, thanks for the info.

How would you rate the skipping of the Tachikawa in comparison to the skipping of a tech pen? Also, how would you rate the durability and resilience of the nib in comparison to the 102?

Any input is appreciated. In the meantime, take care.

[Dash Martin]

Depends on the techpen. If you're talking a good techpen like a Rapidograph, the manga pen can't compete since my lines with the Rapidograph only skip when it needs to be refilled. the manga pen does better than say a Micron though. As far as being tough, that manga pen is pretty sturdy. I could put half my body weight on the tip and it'll spread, but go right back to normal when I lift it back up. The ink is of pretty good quality, too. Nice n black.

[Quiller-Bee]

Thanks again, Methane.

At the risk of being annoying--and just ignore me if I am--I have one more question. By any chance, have you tried refilling the ink yourself? I've never been crazy about being forced to rely on pre-filled cartridges. I was wondering if I could use a piston-fill ink converter* on these, such as the one that's used for Rotring Art Pens.

(*BTW . . . For anyone who cares, Rotring explicitly states that you should not fill the piston-fill ink converters for the Art Pen with India ink. I've been filling them with just that for some time now, and as long as you carefully disassemble your Art Pens and clean them thoroughly, you can use all the India ink in them that you want. ;dvl; )

[Dash Martin]

No, I haven't and I strongly recommend against using anything but their ink carts. The ink they use is formulated for the design of that pen and any other type of ink would most likely cause it to permanantly clog or just not flow at all. Their ink is good though, so you shouldn't need to use any other type.

[Quiller-Bee]

Thanks for all your help, Methane. It's much appreciated. Based on your input, I went ahead and ordered a couple yesterday afternoon.

[Quiller-Bee]

Okay, I got 'em.

For anyone who might be curious, Methane was dead-on when he said that these pens are awesome. Thus far, I've even been fortunate enough not to have any problems at all in terms of the line skipping with the pen that I've been using. (Bear in mind that Methane's used them a lot longer than me, so I'd advise that you take his word above mine. I may simply have been lucky only up to this point.)

The line is very fine when no pressure is applied. I'd probably liken the stiffness of the nib more to that of a Hunt's #107 than I would a #102, but I might not have finished fully breaking in the nib. This looks as though it could become a contender for the position of my "tool of preference" for inking details. If nothing else, I definitely have a new favorite sketch pen. :D

[Super Rats]

Yeah, it's definitely a great pen for inking details.