Newbie Thoughts On Pilot Kakuno (Medium Japanese Nib)

[XYZZY]

I hope it's not horribly inappropriate to revive old threads here on FPN, but this seems mostly on topic with the subject.

 

I've had a Pilot Kakuno with EF nib and CON-70 converter for close to two months now. It is my first fountain pen. I was leaning toward getting a Metropolitan as my first pen, but in reading about converters it seemed like the ability put a CON-70 into the Kakuno would be much better. At the time I made the choice I was under the impression that the Metropolitan and Kakuno shared the same nib (other than the face on the Kakuno nibs). I'm not sure that's really the case, though.

 

I really like the smiley on the nib. I didn't know there was one with a tongue sticking out, but that's what I received. Everybody who knows me thinks it is highly appropriate.

 

I don't mind the grip, but since it forces an orientation in your hand it's possible for the nib to not have the correct angle to the paper. Fortunately it is easy to rotate the nib a few degrees in order to better match my grip. The body doesn't have an indent or anything the keys the nib and feed to a certain alignment. Just pull the nib and fee and reinsert. There are markings on the front of the section that can be used as a reference to how you had it inserted, all that's needed is to pay attention.

 

+1 for the cap within the cap, which does a great job of keeping the nib from drying. My current ink dries and hard starts if I let the pen sit uncapped for just five minutes. But capped I can let it sit for three days and when I pick it up to write it goes as if I had never stopped.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

XYZZY, the Kakuno is a great choice for your first fountain pen. Terrific value for the price.

 

The Pilot Kakuno, Metropolitan/MR/Cocoon, Penmanship, Plumix, Pluminix, 78G, 78G+, Prera all share the same nib. You can swap them easily.

 

As for the ink drying up, unfortunately, very few inks won't dry up if they're left to the open air for 5 minutes. Some of our reviewers specify this trait in their ink reviews, if you want to check them out.

[Denver]

Modify the Kakuno for Adult/Professional Use:  I convert the clear/transparent Kakuno pens with a medium nib to nice adult/professional pens by doing the following. First, I use a buffing wheel with green chromium oxide to remove the silly face on the nib. I polish from the middle to the sides taking care to avoid the tip, and the waxy residue is removed with dish soap, hot water and a toothbrush. Second, I close up the three little holes on the cap (child protection for a child's pen) using clear 5 minute epoxy applied with a toothpick. Before completely dry, I clean the outside of the cap with a napkin and 91% isopropyl alcohol. I find that the nib will stay wet when capped longer if this is done. Third, I add a Wing Sung converter purchased on ebay for about $2.50 each. The cap threads are often squeaky, so I also put a little silicone lubricant on them. Many find Kakuno nibs to be good out of the box, but I routinely adjust the tines and smooth the tip with 3, 2 and 1 micron abrasive. 

[Sk33t3r]

I just got a Kakuno in medium as well and I love that thing. Sooooooo smooth. I like a little bit more weight in my pen, but dang, that thing writes nice!!!

[lehi53]

Thanks