Let Me Explain...
Allow me to introduce the “Little Fat Man”, also known as the Majohn (or Moonman) Q1 fountain pen. It’s a pen I saw reviewed back when I was researching the Duke 600 pen—another fude nib fountain pen. It sounded interesting, so when I saw it on sale a while ago, I thought it was worth getting.
Yes, “Little Fat Man” is an actual name given to the pen by its makers. I think you can see why they chose it:
It’s a short, fat pen that you fill with an eyedropper (included with the pen). I don’t have tons of experience with different fountain pens, so this is my first time using one with an eyedropper. First impressions are that it’s very foolproof to fill—and though apparently some eyedropper-filled pens are prone to something called “burping”, it’s not a problem with this particular pen.
As mentioned before, this is another fude nib (or bent nib) pen. Here it is with the cap off:
The cap posts (fits on the end of the pen), but a lot of people prefer to draw with the cap off, so the pen fits into the palm of your hand. That’s how I’ve used it, so far.
I was also trying a new (to me) type of ink—Platinum Pigment Ink in “Sepia”. (Pigment inks can evidently be bad about clogging fountain pens, but some experienced artists use this particular brand with success, so I’m giving it a try.)
I doodled on a scrap of regular paper just to see if the ink was flowing and to test the water resistance. The color of the ink is definitely brown, and not one of those browns that are so dark you might as well just use black ink. I’m happy that it’s not too dark—but you can also mix your own preferred darkness by blending a custom ratio of black and brown ink. (Easily done with the eyedropper!)
Painting over the doodles with light washes of watercolor (after the ink had plenty of time to thoroughly dry) revealed that it does seem to be completely waterproof. Didn’t budge a bit! Reviews from others suggest that some find it less waterproof than that, so… I don’t know what that’s all about.
For scale, I included the Duke 600 pen in this photo.
I’m still in the “getting to know you” phase with this pen. The first day I tried using it, my right shoulder ached after a while. I think I was probably holding it in a strange way without realizing. It felt a little dry, when I tried to achieve a thinner line.
Some people love this pen, nib and all, while others suggest that the pen body is great, but the nib is a dud and should be replaced with a different one—but that may be partly just that some people dislike bent nibs. A fude nib wouldn’t be my first choice for writing, certainly. I think I’ll get it to work better with practice, but it might be that it’s not as good at making thin lines… Or possibly the different ink is playing a role in how it performs. Nothing to do but keep using it and see what happens.
Incidentally, the pen came with a second nib—a non-fude fine nib—so if you prefer that, you can switch it out.
Testing the New Pen & Ink
I wanted to give the Little Fat Man (or should I call it “the Q1”?) and the sepia ink a whirl on some watercolor paper. This is just everyday cellulose paper—nothing fancy.
I didn’t want to put too much trouble into the test—partly because I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t bleed and partly because I wanted to get into the painting quickly. Just a quick drawing of trees and houses.
As you can see, the ink stayed put. It does feel different to paint over a less opaque ink doodle. It’s more visible if/when you paint over the edges of the inked lines, which isn’t a problem. Just something to keep in mind, if it does matter to you.
I like having the option of something less stark than black ink. Brown is nice for nature themes, autumn sketches, warmer tones, and that kind of thing.
The Key to Everything
I mentioned in an earlier blog post that I’d made a list of subjects I thought would lend themselves well to simple doodling and painting. One idea was keys, so I thought I’d try it two ways. In the first, I’d start with the paint, and on the facing page, I’d start with ink.
Paint only:
With loose ink doodles on top:
It was while doodling on this page that I noticed my shoulder was beginning to hurt. It was very noticeable, once it started, and that shoulder ached off and on for the rest of the evening.
I also felt that the ink flow when I tried to get a thin line (turning the nib “upside-down”) was very poor.
I started the next page a day or two later, and as planned, started with the ink doodles:
If I remember correctly, I don’t think my shoulder seemed to bother me, this time—or at least not nearly so much. Maybe I’ve already adjusted and learned how to hold the pen properly to avoid that. (I hope so!) Maybe it was the ink flow. When the ink flows more smoothly, I think you’re less likely to try odd positions and strain yourself.
Whatever the reason, I preferred this experience.
After the page was dry, I painted in the keys:
I had more fun with the vessels and bottles, though the keys were ok. There just felt like less scope for creativity here—but there’s no reason for that. I could try again, sometime. I might enjoy it more with the other pen, simply because I’m more comfortable with it. And of course, I don’t have much experience doodling keys, so it might take a little practice to loosen up and get more creative with it. (Though there may be only so much you can do with keys!)
Still Working on the Selvage Quilt
I’m not in any hurry, but I usually work on it for an hour or so every evening. I joined everything that was on the wall before into two long strips, then arranged the remaining blocks on the design wall. (It didn’t all fit, so the bottom row is pinned into place on top of the previous row—and I’ve moved a few of them around since taking this photo, because the giant polka dots felt too clumped together in a spot or two.)
Now I just have six more of the “3×2” units to put together, and it will be time to make more strips—then the strips will come together, and it will be ready for quilting.
More pictures when there’s more to show!
