It’s finally time to share the Pentel Brush Pens vs Tombow Fudenosuke Pens showdown! I have wanted to do this comparison for so long now that Pentel even came out with a new set of brush pens in the meantime. I was able to snag a set and now I am sharing the comparison result. I did a pen test on a number of different planner papers and then, of course, the swatching!
The video can be found here.
Pentel Brush Pens
These go by many names: Pentel Touch Sign Pens, Pentel Sign Pens, Pentel Brush Up Sign Pens – basically, they are all the same thing.
These are brush pens with a water-based dye ink, with a flexible tip allowing you to easily create thick and thin strokes. There are 24 colours in total – 2 12 packs: The Original Colours and the 2020 Colours. Both retail for $23.99 per pack. The colour variety is fantastic and the colours, especially the newer 2020 jewel and pastel colours are beautiful.
They are fairly easy to find at a variety of stores but the 2020 Colours recently released, so they are a bit harder to find.
To go back to the ink. The dye ink is more likely to ghost and bleed through your planner/journal paper. It does need a bit more time to dry since it is very juicy and the ink flows very easily. The smoother your paper, the more likely it is to smudge but it does dry very quickly. Do note that the thinner your paper, the more likely it is to bleed through.
My BIGGEST issue with these pens maybe isn’t the most reasonable but, here it goes. The barrel of the pen is shiny with sparkles so I really, really, want the ink to be shiny with sparkles, but that’s not the case. They’re still pretty at least.
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens
For me personally, these are my original learning calligraphy pens. When I first started, they only came in black. Since then, they have released a primary colours set and a neon set. The primary colours set is a 10 pack of pens for $25.99 and the neon colours set is a 6 pack for $16.99. This makes them more expensive than the Pentel’s and with less variety.
They too are a water-based ink but with a pigment base. This means that the ink is less likely to ghost or bleed through your planner/journal page. Also note that the smoother your paper, the worse your smudging. But it doesn’t take to long to dry.
Paper Test Results
| Pentel Brush Pen | Tombow Fudenosuke | |
| 160 GSM Bullet Journal | No ghosting No bleeding Some smudging | No ghosting No bleeding No smudging |
| Moleskin (thin paper) | Ghosting Lots of bleeding Lots of smudging | Lots of ghosting A little bleeding Lots of smudging |
| Leuchtturm Bullet Journal | Some ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging | Some ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging |
| Erin Condren Life Planner | Some ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging | No ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging |
| Michaels’ Recollections Planner | No ghosting No bleeding Some smudging | No ghosting No bleeding No smudging |
| The Happy Planner | No ghosting No bleeding Some smudging | No ghosting No bleeding Some smudging |
| Yellow Paper House Planner (smooth) | No ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging | No ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging |
| Plum Paper Planner (smooth) | Some ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging | Some ghosting No bleeding Lots of smudging |
Overall Impressions
This is a tough one for me. I prefer the look and feel (lettering-wise) of the Tombow Fudenosukes. The lines are more crisp and it’s easier to control. But, from a money standpoint, the Pentel’s win for variety, which is fantastic and the colours, which are so vivid.
I don’t have much else to say. I hope you found this review helpful. If you would like more information on these pens, or pen tests on other paper, let me know and I can take a look. For any other pen reviews you would like to see, reach out as well and I would love to take a look! You can check out my latest pen review here – Dollar Store Brush Pens – where I included a comparison chart of the different brush pens.
Thank you for your time today! Take care!
