Pilot Kakuno Fine-Nib Fountain Pen, White Body Soft Blue Cap Body (FKA-1SR-SLF)

gailfus United States

Great Beginner or Knock-around Pen!

I've had a Pilot Metropolitan for 4 1/2 years, and have always really liked it. It was my re-entry into fountain pen use after many years on hiatus. I have purchased many pens since that fateful June, but none have surprised me as much as my new Pilot Kakuno. First of all, I knew exactly what I was buying--a schoolchild's pen designed for children's hands and appealing to their simple sense of aesthetics. I got the white pen with a light blue cap. As a nursing student (retraining for a new career in my 50s) I have been trying to figure out how to carry a fountain pen on the job. Most of my pens aren't suitable for sticking in a pocket with scissors and penlights or hanging around the neck, much less using them in a clinical environment. I most certainly wouldn't want to have to wipe down the vast majority of them with alcohol or another antimicrobial cleaner. I was hoping the Kakuno would be a workable option. Out of the plastic bubble packaging, it's actually kind of cute. Very blocky and quite simply designed. The pen doesn't come with a converter, but I had a couple of Pilot CON-50s lying around so I opted to ink up with Sailor Oku-Yama rather than using the black cartridge that came with the pen. Please note that I'm generally a fan of Pilot inks, including their cartridges, but I prefer just about any color over black and would rather use a converter where available. The converter fits very satisfyingly tightly into the section of the pen, and after inking up I was pleasantly surprised that the pen started immediately. I didn't flush the pen before inking up, either! This is rare, even for much pricier pens. I have to say that writing with the Kakuno is a a very nice experience. I expected to like the nib--after all, it's the same nib that comes on the Metropolitan, Prera, and Plumix--but this feels nothing like writing with my Metropolitan. It's SO SMOOTH, especially for a fine nib. The grip is shaped to encourage an appropriate pen holding habit, which is quite comfortable for me, and the overall circumference of the pen is similar to that of the Lamy Safari/Al Star line (also comfortable). The shape is blocky, as mentioned before, but the edges are rounded and the plastic is flawless so there are no places where the hand might find it difficult or unpleasant to hold. Pilot is known for pretty consistent quality, and this pen ticks all the boxes for a solid fountain pen experience. I can't imagine introducing a child to writing with this pen and having them not want to continue using fountain pens for the rest of their lives. I haven't tried disinfecting my new pen yet to see how the plastic holds up, but I believe it will clean well without ruining the nice, shiny finish. I think I've found the solution to my nursing pen problem.

RT United States

My favorite pen of all time!

I've bought variants of the Kakuno so many times over the years - not due to any fault of their own, but because I have ADHD and tend to forget to use them for weeks to months before getting back into it, after which they dry up and sometimes fail to start again. Entirely my bad. I've also lost a couple while lugging them around for notetaking, again entirely my bad. I love this little pen so much I'm happy to buy it over and over. When I have been in the habit of using them regularly, the ink lasts quite long! The color is a really cute pastel blue (the one benefit to losing so many is you get to buy different colors!) that doesn't show well in the pics. Getting started is very easy, and if you don't read Japanese the instructions include pictures to follow along. Writing with this feels smooth and pleasant. The nib is fine and I think perfect for writing. I haven't used many fountain pens, partially because they intimidate me, and this is a very beginner friendly model. It is designed for children and would be great for them, but fits fine in my (average sized) adult human female hands lol. The shape helps keep it from rolling, and though it doesn't have a clip - which is probably part of why I lose it - I love the simplicity of the shapes on this pen. It's comfortable to hold and fun to write and sketch with. Hoping I don't lose this pen as well, but if I do I will buy a new one with pleasure. The Kakuno is just such a joy to write with.

An ordinary consumer United States

This is the line to use for sketching!

Love it! Love the design! Love the colors of the plastic! Love the shapes! Love the quality! Everything! NOTE: in these photos the cap may appear as soft and some vendors do use the phrase "soft cap." However, that is NOT true. The cap is made out of hard plastic, the same as the barrel. That plastic feels to be similar to plastic used in LEGO parts. Great news: the feed and the nib of this pen and the Plumix (with 1 mm stub) ARE interchangeable! Just take a paper napkin (to prevent leaving skin oil on the nib and the feed), grab around the nib and the feed, and pull them out carefully. The swapping between two pens take seconds! Also, it is extremely important and useful for cleaning. If you will forget one of your Pilot Kakuno pens with ink for a while or worse, with permanent ink, then you don't need to panic. Just disassemble and clean! I use mine for testing permanent inks where I cannot risk pens from other brands that are not as easy to disassemble. The size of the pen is just right for sketching. I have family big hands, but I love this design! By the way, there is a small knob on the cap to make it easier for removing the cap. Also, it is great that it does NOT have a clip on the cap! I love it! Those clips always get in my way. I own Lamy and Pelican, but after trying my friend's Pilot Kakuno, I was hooked and purchased four of these in various colors and nibs along with four of Plumix (for their 1 mm stubs).

elizabeth garcia United States

Beginner’s pen gets a ten outta ten (great in many aspects)!

I really like this pen! I bought it as a starter fountain pen because I found calligraphy and heard that writing with fountain pens is so easy! Turns out this pen makes it so much easier. It has a smiley face on the top side of the nib which helped me to correctly do my strokes. I think the hold was a little bit hard to hold since I’m not used to holding my pen “the right way” and that is the only way I could hold it. It was probably just me but that seemed kind of a challenge for me. All fountain pens are held like that so it’s was more of a me problem. After a while I got used to it and the ink seems to last for a long time. I think people should buy this because it is very useful and quite cheap for a beginner fountain pen that works wonderfully (no struggles with ink)! In comparison to the 100 dollar pens I think this one looks quite professional and can be used to write better than any pen. The ink didn’t seem to smudge and the product arrived on time. I used this pen for writing letters to my friends (old fashioned, I know) but it worked really well and this pen made me feel like a movie character from the 80s. Totally worth the money and I recommend this for beginners or to collect pens.