Just for kicks and giggles, I decided to purchase this inexpensive fountain pen that is marketable for children and those new to the world of fountain pens. Through Jetpens, I purchased mine at $13.50. In addition to the pen, I also purchased a few converters. I now have three different styles that work in several of my pens and wanted to do a comparison.
The pen I purchased is the Pilot Kakuno with a FINE nib. It has a cap with three air holes...a safety feature with regards to children and choking. The nib has an actual smiley face engraved or stamped on it. Shape of barrel is hexagon which helps keep it from rolling and the cap has a little raised point (notch.....whatever one might call that) to help keep it and the pen from rolling. It does not have a clip. Size of pen capped is approximately 5 inches and approximately 6.25 inches with cap posted. Cap is a snap on type rather than screw-on type. Nibs are interchangeable with a few other Pilot pens to include the Metropolitan and the Pilot Prera.
Note: With the cap having three air holes, I question how quickly the pen might dry out with ink loaded. I guess time will tell. I've considered finding a way to close those holes but for now will leave things as is.
Another thing I question is if the packaging was marked incorrectly having a FINE nib rather than an EXTRA FINE nib. I may have to purchase another just to compare even though I know nibs are not created equal.......they can vary within the same manufacturer and size.
I loaded the Kakuno and my Metropolitan with Noodler's #41 Brown ink as I wanted to compare the nibs and how they fed ink. The Kakuno I received with the Fine nib feels and flows like an Extra Fine rather than a Fine...scratchy (similar to the Lamy Safari Extra Fine) and dry ink flow. The results with the #41 Brown is lighter with the Kakuno than the Metropolitan with Fine nib as seen in the illustration below.
The converters I am comparing are the Con-40 Piston, Con-B Squeeze, and Con-70 Push Button. I do
Con-40 Piston:
I do not care for the Con-40. Not only does it hold very little ink, I find I have to twist the end of the converter to push the ink towards the feed in order for it to write or sketch with. That is a hassle while working on something! I would much rather just use an old cartridge and fill it with ink using a syringe.
Con-B Squeeze:
Not bad although only holds the same amount of ink as the Con-40. I have not found myself having to open the barrel to squeeze the ink towards the feed while working.
Con-70 Push Button:
My favorite of the three! Holds more ink and I haven't had to do anything as I work to get the ink flowing to the feed and nib. Just wish it was compatible with my other Pilot Pens....especially the Metropolitan.
After playing a bit with the Kakuno, I decided to try a little trick suggestion to help with the dry ink flow. It entails GENTLY pressing the tip/tines down on a thumbnail or other surface to help spread the tines just a hair. One has to be really careful and work slow so not to ruin the nib. After doing so, I repeated the flower illustration I worked the day before and it appears to have helped. Ink flow is a little wetter resulting in a darker line mark. It also felt less scratchy as the nib moved across the paper surface.
Overall feeling with this little inexpensive pen - Not bad :-)
2 comments:
Hi Susan,
The three holes are a compromise of a snap cap. Lamy pens suffer the same problem. It does seem that Pilot is better at providing an internal seal around the nib than Lamy but still..
Pilot Fine nibs are typically much finer than even an X-fine Lamy nib. As you mention, they are variable,but in my experience a Pilot Medium is closer to German fine/xfine nibs.
Agree completely on the Con-40. The Con-50 worked fine and had a larger ink capacity. Why they changed it is hard to fathom.\
Hi Larry!
I so appreciate your feedback. YOU were the one who pointed me in the direction of my first fountain pen. I follow your write-ups all the time on various materials and supplies you use or try out :-) Your experience and knowledge is most definitely valued!
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