Mini Review: Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Fude Pens

From left: Faber-Castell Pitt Fude Hard, Fude Medium, Uni Pin
brush

When I bought some new mixed packs of Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens recently, I was surprised to see one with a tip called FM for “Fude Nib Medium.” I thought I was on top of all things fude, and yet here was one new to me! I then learned that the Pitt line also includes a tip called FH – “Fude Nib Hard.” Just what I needed – two more fude pens! (That may have sounded sarcastic, but it was actually genuine – I always need more fude pens to try.)

(Aside: I find it amusing that these particular nibs are called fude, which means nothing more than “brush” in Japanese – why aren’t all Pitt brush tips (including B and SB) called fude? What makes a brush pen more fude than brush? Is it just cooler to have a product with fude in the name? Another thing to keep me up at night.)

My everyday-carry, on-location brush pen the past few years has been the Uni Pin because it is both flexy yet firm enough not to mush down quickly. Taking the two new Pitt FH and FM pens on location, I noticed that the FM and the Uni Pin brush are very close in size, shape, flexiness and line-width range. (I haven’t been using the Pitt long enough to know how well the tip holds up to my heavy handedness, but I’ll update this post later if needed.)

The FH tip, however, is noticeably stiffer and pointier. As you can see from the scribbles below and in my sketches, held at its most upright angle, the FH can make surprisingly fine lines (most noticeable in my palm tree fronds). In fact, I find it a bit too thin overall; when making quick urban sketches in the way I typically use brush pens, I prefer a broader brush (see notes in sketch captions).

From top: Pitt FM, Pitt FH, Uni Pin brush

As expected from initial scribbles, the FM tip and the Uni Pin are nearly identical.

12/12/22 Pitt Fude Medium, white Gelly Roll in Uglybook

12/14/22 Pitt Fude Medium, Gelly Roll, white colored pencil

12/19/22 Pitt Fude Hard, Gelly Roll. The FH tip can impart very find marks,
as seen in the palm fronds.

12/21/22 I started this sketch with the Fude Hard, but it was 25 F degrees,
so I switched to the Fude Medium to put the darker areas in quickly.

Like all Pitt Artist Pens, FH and FM pens contain waterproof, India ink-based black ink (Uni Pin pens, also waterproof, are pigment-based).

I’m not sure there’s enough distinction among these pens to recommend one over the other, but the two Pitt options offer different line widths and degrees of flexibility. I couldn’t compare costs directly because neither the FH nor the FM seems to be available individually, at least at Blick or other typical sources. Shown below are the two packages that include FH and FM. Although it might seem wasteful to buy whole sets to get one desired pen, I use Pitt pens of various tip sizes for many purposes, not just drawing, so it wasn’t a problem for me. (Bonus: Both new packages display art by Don Colley, which made this fan girl happy.)

This pack containing black Pitt pens of various sizes includes a Fude Nib Hard (FH) pen.

The Pitt Fude Medium nib is included in this pack of brush pens in shades of black and gray.

One more buying tip: I’ve seen these packs at Blick and on Amazon, but check eBay before you buy. If you can wait a bit longer for shipping, some sellers are offering excellent prices on these and other Pitt packs.