Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen Review

What is the best fountain pen for beginners?

I get this question all the time. My stock answers are the Lamy Safari and the Pilot Metropolitan but of course the real answer is "it depends."

The Pilot Kakuno will be joining - and maybe even replacing - the pens mentioned above as one of my favorite fountain pens for beginners.

Instagram has been a great resource to see what pens are hitting the Japanese market before makng their way to the US market, and pictures of the Kakuno have been popping up in my feed for months. I was in love with the simplicity of this pen before even getting my hands on it, and now that it is here I love it even more.

Let's be clear about one thing up front: The Kakuno is marketed towards school children in an effort to learn how to hold the pen properly and help improve their penmanship. Lamy did the same thing in the ABC fountain pen with their now commonplace grip design.

Marketing aside, this pen is for anyone who can appreciate great design and excellent performance. The plastic barrel and cap feature a hexagonal shape to keep the pen from rolling off the desk, with an added bump on the cap if the pen starts to get away from you. There is also a groove in the cap to help with removal.

The nib is standard Pilot quality. For those not playing the home game, standard Pilot quality is code for awesome. The F nib in my pen performs identically to other Pilot nibs found in the Prera and the like. It's fine, firm, and consistent. I'm assuming it is also swappable with other sizes (like the EF in the Pilot Penmanship or italic in the Plumix) but I haven't tried yet. I'm having too much fun writing with it as-is!

If there is any "gotcha" with this pen it is that there is a smiley face on the nib. It is there so kids know when they see the face they are holding the nib in the right direction. I thought it might detract from my use of the Kakuno but it is barely noticeable from a normal writing distance. Besides, what is more fun than a smiley face nib?

I see the Kakuno becoming a staple in Pilot's lineup, even moreso than the Metropolitan. The barrel is a blank slate, calling out for a huge range of colors and designs, and likely even some Japanese marketing tie-ins which are popular. Pilot could take this anywhere, especially with such a strong price point and the ability to use Pilot's ink converters.

For me, I'm taking it everywhere. It is highly portable, fun to look at, comfortable to hold, great to write with and downright cool. There is no doubt I will be adding more to my collection.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Pilot Lettering Pen Review

One of the fondest memories of my penmanship transformation took place when I was an assistant golf professional in the early 90's. It's not as glamorous as it sounds - low pay, long hours - but the perks were incredible. I was able to play golf at some of the best courses in the Southeast, among other things.

My daily duties were standard golf shop fare, but one of the things I enjoyed the most was writing the scoreboards for the tournaments held at our course. I was recruited for that task as soon as the other employees saw my daily handwriting, and I cherished the hours I was able to sit in the office and create 100-plus name scoreboards. I have a sickness.

Why bring this up now? The pens I used back then, albeit larger, remind me of the Pilot Lettering Pen. The chisel tip allows for calligraphy-style lettering, which even if you have no skills gives your writing a bit of fancy that can be appreciated.

I used the size 10 tip in my writing sample above, which is the smallest available. The size 20 and size 30 look approximately double the width as the size below them, giving you a wide range of lines if you pick up all three. In using the 10, my block style print looks nice and sharp, although the left-to-right lines are not as fine as would be found in a fountain pen stub nib for example. There is variance, just not extreme.

The pigment ink in the Pilot Lettering pen is water-resistant and lightfast, making these pens good for everything from addressing envelopes to artwork. The barrel is comfortable in the hand and the lime green color is sharp looking.

I love keeping one of these pens handy at all times. The only thing I would like to see is a wider range of colors than black and red. Hopefully those will appear in the future.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Pilot 78G Fountain Pen Review

I'm continually surprised by the fountain pens that can be had for less than twenty dollars. I have a few, and they've mostly been delightful to use and share with others who are interested in fountain pens. Today I'll be focusing on the Pilot 78G.

I first learned about the 78G after reading a couple of reviews from PenFan and The Daily Acquisition. To be honest, I've had many Pilot fountain pens on my wish list for quite some time, but most of them are a little expensive. After reading these reviews, I quickly found a reputable eBay dealer and bought a pen to try. The pen shipped from Hong Kong, so it took a week and a half to arrive. For a "cheap" pen, it has not let me down. I think I paid $12 for the pen with shipping, which is a few bucks cheaper than the Metropolitan.

The nib is a very smooth writer, which I expected from a Pilot. The fine nib is on par for the Japanese nibs – nice and small. I used the black ink cartridges that came with the pen, though it also came with a converter. The converter is the type that is included with the Metropolitan. The black ink from Pilot is dark and quick to dry.

The ergonomics of the pen are comfortable, but they detract from the aesthetics. It's light, which makes it ideal for long sessions, but it also looks like brittle plastic and attracts scratches from minor use. I'm not a fan of the gold trim, but that's included on all the color options. In general, I don't expect it to look amazing because of the cost. The aesthetic concerns vanish once I start writing or drawing.

This pen is similar in price to the Sailor High-Ace Neo, and I sometimes favor that pen over the 78G. It's a tough call, but the Sailor puts down a finer line. The pens feel similar in my hand, so maybe I'm just partial to the Sailor because of the silver trim.

Overall, I don't think you can find many pens with such good value and solid performance. It can be slightly difficult to find one, but I had very good luck with eBay. There are several colors (black, red, teal, and green) and nib options (F, M, and B) to choose from. Some sellers even sell packs of several colors. If you are looking for a cost-effective Pilot for yourself or a fountain pen beginner, the Pilot 78G is a good place to start.