Pulaman MJ20, Black Ink (JM20-AD)

I was not sure what to expect with this pen given the new type of tip and that it was described as a brush pen by some. The tip is actually a hard plastic, which retains its shape regardless of pressure or speed of drawing. It takes a little time to get used to the placement of the tip, but this pen draws and writes very smoothly. The tip is a bit scratchy, like a felt tip, but not in a bad way. The line weight can vary slightly based on the angle of the pen to paper, speed and pressure, and the ink can be smudged for values if you wet your finger. Great for sketching, I just wish it was refillable. The barrel is smooth plastic, and not uncomfortable, but also nothing special in terms of grip. I think this type of pen falls somewhere between a gel ballpoint pen and a fine felt tip pen in terms of performance.

A unique pen that has some of the characteristics of a fountain pen. Some might consider it too scratchy, but I like it. I do wish you could get refills, but that's not a real problem. Very satisfied.

Love it!

I’m not blown away or anything by the writing or the actual overall use seems like a basic pen marker with a fancy tip

Incredibly smooth ink flow and solid writing experience. I also love the feel and the fact there is a removable cap instead of a spring.

I didn't have super high expectations, but it's a lot more like a fountain pen than you'd expect. It's got some bounce and pseudo-flexibility the way they developed the nib, like an old 1970's parker 180, and the same trick of one side being softer than the other - you can see which is which by the side of the nib with more plastic than the other. It really does teach the importance of light touch, because with pressure you can get a LOT of expressive line variation, so if you're trying to write consistently fine in the margins of pages or you just write small, it requires a very sensitive touch, much like a vintage semi flex or full flex nib pen. Similarly, I really love how you can hold it at the appropriate angle of a fountain pen and it writes. No need to hold it more vertical like a rollerball or ballpoint, you can have the gentle, relaxed low angle. line width varies between a japanese F-EF (a little finer than a western extra fine fountain pen) to probably a western medium, and the variation is very responsive and with a blue color that's pretty amazingly close to pelikan 4001 royal blue, just a HAIR of violet in it. It's not a "flexible" pen, it's an expressive one. There's surprisingly little pressure required to get that EF-M variation. Water resistance for the blue is mild but there. About as good as pelikan 4001 based on licking my thumb and smearing the page. The nib feel is like a good ultra fine felt tip. But comparing it to a fountain pen, I'd say it's very close to Sailor's "perfectly sharpened #2 pencil" sensation. So not glassy smooth, quite draggy by most fountain pens, but not scratchy at all and personally, I hate super glassy smooth pens, I like the feedback. I do like that the ink has very very little/next to no bleed. Again, just like the famously well behaved pelikan 4001 (I have like 250 bottles of fountain pen ink. 4001 is the best behaved ink out there in terms of balancing dry time, bleed and ease of cleaning) Dry time of the ink is super fast. About one second and it's not smearing. Can't speak to the durability or longevity of the nib width and ink supply, but if it's junk, I will update this review. If no edit, assume it's great (I'm very consistent about updating things like that) So honestly, if you're curious about fountain pens but want something cheap to try? Get a platinum preppy with an F nib. They're platonically perfect. If you want something disposable that will never dry out either (the preppy is also perfect for that but there's one even better, though it's not quite as lovely and the ink a little more bland and flat) the pilot varsity. But if you want something specifically not a fountain pen but will give you some expressive line variation, or something to teach you to just write more lightly and hold the pen better (you can press down way too hard with the preppy's steel nib as well so it won't necessarily break that habit) I wholeheartedly recommend. The cap and bottom has the ink color marked on it, it's a nice thin and good size, cap posts well, the clip is good, I do wish you could remove the silkscreen printed barcode on the cap. Price wise, the preppy is a hair cheaper, but on par. as long as the ink lasts as long as a preppy cartridge, I'd call it fair (though bear in mind the preppy can use replacement cartridges in a wide variety of colors, and with a converter, use any ink your heart desires)

I found the pen difficult to adapt to due to the tip. I’ve been using it for more than a month and still struggle. When properly aligned, it writes smoothly with a nice line. I really like the length and weight of it. Not sure I’ll buy it again but I will use it until it runs out of ink.

Writes like a fountain pen but with a felt tip. It’s a great pen