(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)
Marvy Le Pen, purveyors of the world's most okay-est fineliner, have released a new Flex Brush Pen that allows for brushstroke-like lines for drawing or writing. And they are, as one might expect, pretty okay!
The body of the brush pen is identical to the marker pen version, with the same colorful plastic and minimalist design. They aren't the most comfortable to hold or write with and the clips are a bit flimsy. It's very helpful that the color of the body matches the ink. The cap snaps in place, but doesn't post very securely.
The only difference between these pens and the old, familiar fine markers is the tip. These brush pens have a rubberized felt tip that offers a good deal of line variation. They are quite soft and flexible, and very smooth to write with. The tips are petite, so you can get a very fine line with a light touch, and only a little pressure adds the variation. It feels very much like writing with a springy paint brush--more so than some other brush pens I've used that are either too firm or have too much feedback.
So far the pen is available in magenta, burgundy, red, green, teal, oriental blue, navy, blue, amethyst, brown, dark grey, and black. They may eventually come in the wide variety of other colors Marvy LePen offers, but these are good for starters. The ink colors are vibrant and saturated and show up nicely. The ink does bleed a little, even on coated paper. There are also cautions out there about Marvy LePen ink that it may not age well, with fading and yellowing occurring over time. I don't know if these pens use the same ink formula, but I would guess that they do. If that's the case, I'd suggest that these are fun hobby tools, but not good for artists or scrapbookers who want their work to stand the test of time.
So, are these the world's most okay-est brush pens? I think it's too soon to tell, but the good brush tip on these may edge them into better-than-okay territory. I think the body design and ink formula are holding these back. At $1.95, they're also more expensive than their Marker Pen twins, and also 15c more expensive than the Kuretake Fudebiyori Brush Pen, which is a better quality pen. Still, it's exciting to see an old reliable brand branching out into something new and cool, and I enjoyed these more than I thought I would.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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