Review: BlueDew Pen with Wet Noodle EF nib

Review sample provided by BlueDew Pens

A flex nib pen good for sketching

BlueDew Pens is a company based in Singapore that sells predominantly flex nib fountain pens. The first pen they released back in 2020 was a fountain pen that works just like the Zebra G nib except there's no need for dipping because there's an ink convertor.

Jeffrey Lim, founder of the company, has just released the second generation of pen nibs he has created, together with more body designs. The highlight is the new Wet Noodle steel nib (above) he has designed to be extra soft, or as the company says is "the softest steel flex nib available today", which is almost 25% softer compared to Leonardt Principal Extra Fine (LPEF) nibs. This nib has been designed not just for calligraphy but also for drawing.

In case you don't know, Leonardt Principal Extra Fine is a highly regarded, professional-grade dip pen nib known for its flexibility and ability to produce very fine lines . It's a top choice for pointed pen calligraphy styles like Copperplate and Spencerian.

Here are the first and second generation pens. Jeffrey has sent me a pen with the Crystal - Aquamarine Mist body fitted with a Wet Noodle EF nib. The first gen pen is no longer available for sale.

The price of the pen with standard nibs is USD 130 and specialty or flex nibs cost extra, in this case the Wet Noodle EF is USD 45. Shipping in Singapore is free, but shipping overseas is around USD 18-30 depending on the country.

Design

The demonstrator body design looks beautiful, more beautiful in my opinion compared to the opaque bodies. Build quality is good. The pen weighs 26g, measures 15cm with the cap, and 13cm without the cap. I would consider this to be a medium+ size pen. The pen feels great in hand.

Trade-off of the demonstrator body is the cap can get dirty with ink and will look dirty. If you're someone who doesn't want the hassle of cleaning the cap, it's probably better to get the opaque bodies.

These are the parts that can be dismantled easily. I did not dismantle the pen completely though -- I did not pull out the nib or removed the piston.

The engineering of this pen looks precise.

The built-in ink reservoir can hold a lot of ink. This is convenient if you need to bring the pen overseas for several days and don't want to bring an ink bottle.

These are the various nib options available and the prices in USD:

• Fine
• Medium
• Broad
• CalligraFlex
• SoftFlex (Fine) +$20
• SuperSoftFlex (Fine) +$30
• Wet Noodle (Fine) +$45
• SoftFlex (Extra Fine) +$20
• SuperSoftFlex (Extra Fine) +$30
• Wet Noodle (Extra Fine) +$45

The nib sections are interchangeable so you can buy other types of nibs to test.

Here's how the Wet Noodle EF (top) compares to the nib from the previous pen. There are five slits, a heart-shape breather hole, the BlueDew logo and EF on it.

The tip is bigger so this nib is not as sharp as the first pen. The upside here is the nib is smoother on paper and works better for sketching if you want to sketch fast.

Nothing much to say about the feed.

Performance

The steel nib is indeed quite soft and can produce good line variation.

The previous pen nib is able to produce ultra fine lines, just like a Zebra G nib. This new Wet Noodle EF nib produces thicker lines by comparison.

You don't have to press that hard for the flex and the flex produces much thicker lines. By the way, the Pelikan M200 above has a Fine nib, so the Wet Noodle EF nib is between EF and F.

I'm not sure what's the best type of ink to use in flex pens. The ink I have in the pen is Diamine Forever Ink, Raven (waterproof), and it works okay with the occasional railroading so I have to be more careful when drawing thick lines.

You will have to go slower to prevent the railroading effect as the ink flow may not catch up. I don't think it's about the ink flow but how the ink holds itself before it breaks, e.g. how water holds before a bead breaks away. So you may have to test some inks with this pen.

The amount of flex is easy to control and the drawing experience with this pen is good, quite satisfying.

Thanks to the extra tipping, the nib is smoother on paper and can go in any direction easily. The previous nib was sharp and has a tendency to dig into the paper, so that nib has to be pulled in certain directions.

The other flex nib pen I have is the Pilot Namiki with Spencerian modification and I rarely use that for sketching because the nib is also too sharp.

This Wet Noodle EF nib is great for sketching. The normal line width is just what I prefer and the thicker line is noticeably thicker for effect. This is definitely my favourite flex nib of all the flex nibs I've tested in years. I can see myself sketching with this often.

The pricing is seems reasonable for such a lovely pen with wonderful pen performance. The line variation it can produce is fantastic. If you're someone who likes to draw with a flex nib, this is definitely the pen and nib to consider.

To get this pen, just visit the BlueDew online store.