Posts filed under Pilot

Pilot Cocoon 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Pilot Cocoon mechanical pencil is a familiar design that was born from the popular Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. I've long been a fan of the Metropolitan, and the Cocoon hits a similar price point and comfort level that makes it easy to love.

Apart from sharing the general shape and feel of the Metropolitan, that's where the similarities stop. This is a pencil after all! Pilot also makes gel pen and other versions of the Metropolitan and Cocoon line, but those all feature a cap system. For the pencil, there is no cap; instead, it looks like a posted Metropolitan or Cocoon all the time.

To advance the lead, just click the cap down a couple of times. The build quality of the pencil is good, which is to be expected for the name. There's a shirt protector built into the tip of the pencil, which prevents the lead from snagging anything when retracted. For my taste, I wish the tip retracted fully into the pencil body, but that's a bit much to ask for the price range. As it works today, I have no real complaints.

0.5mm is the only lead size available in this line of pencils. Pilot could probably sell a few more units if they offered a couple other sizes, but 0.5mm is a good middle ground.

If you remove the cap from the pencil, there's a tiny eraser that closes the lead tube. To refill the lead, just remove the eraser to drop the lead into the tube. Of course, Pilot sell replacement erasers in a set of 5, but I'd recommend picking up a dedicated eraser to use with your pencils.

There's a nice range of colors available for this pencil, from silver, black, white, and several in between. In all, there are eight colors available.

When using the pencil, the Cocoon feels great in the hand. It's not too heavy, but it also offers a great deal of control and stability. I've used it quite a bit and haven't had any complaints on the way the pencil feels. It isn't fair to say that it feels just like the Metropolitan or Cocoon since the overall design and construction is much different. It looks very similar, but feels entirely unique.

All in all, the Cocoon mechanical pencil is a fantastic iteration of a beloved pen lineup from Pilot. It's a solid pencil with a great aesthetic, and also available in a wide variety of fun colors. Students and professionals alike can enjoy this pen, and the price is low enough to make it an easy decision.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 27, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pilot, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Pilot Kakuno Clear Fountain Pen Review

When I talk about the best fountain pens for beginners, the list goes something like this:

Pilot Metropolitan

TWSBI ECO

Lamy Safari

And every time I rattle off that list, I want to add the Pilot Kakuno to it. In all honesty, I think the three above are the best choices going into it blind. But if you want to add the caveat of “fun” into the mix, then the Kakuno may be the best choice.

Not only is this pen fun, it functions extremely well. I expect nothing less from Pilot in the fountain pen market, even in the entry level realm.

The Kakuno is designed purposefully for beginners. The grip section is triangular in shape to teach you the proper way to hold a fountain pen. The smiley face on the nib teaches you to always keep the nib facing up at the correct angle. Even the hex barrel and cap indention are designed to make the pen easy to handle.

From that description, the Kakuno sounds like a kid’s pen. It’s certainly designed with kids in mind, but in reality it is so much more. It’s a well designed, highly functional fountain pen that anyone can use and enjoy. I know I enjoy the heck out of it.

My first Kakuno was the grey barrel with lime green cap. I backed that up pretty quickly with the orange cap model, because orange. At the time, the Kakuno only came in fine or medium nib widths. In the second round of pens - white barrel with pastel caps - Pilot added extra fine into the mix. This is important because many first time fountain pen buyers that read this site what to know if there is an inexpensive fountain pen with a line to match their favorite micro gel ink pen. Pilot extra fine has always been the answer, but there was never an easy way to get the nib. There is now.

I’ve seen the clear barrel Kakuno making the rounds in Japan, and as a demonstrator pen fan, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. The build is identical to all of the Kakuno’s before it, but now you can see the insides better. I’m a big fan of pen guts and ink blood. :D

It’s as great as expected, and the extra fine nib is an added bonus. On my Rhodia Ice Pad, the line width is comparable to the Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3 mm gel ink pen. That’s impressive for a fountain pen.

The only question remaining is if you can eyedropper the Kakuno. You will need to fill the two holes on the back end of the barrel with epoxy for starters, then add silicone grease to the barrel threads. My only concern is that the feed is friction fit and there is not an extra spot to silicone the nib unit threads, because there aren’t any. Cartridges and converters obviously work fine, but they seal off around the feed post. I’m not sure how ink would handle just floating around that area.

Speaking of converters, I used the Pilot Con-70 in mine. This is Pilot’s largest capacity converter, and most expensive as well. You don’t need this one for the Kakuno, but I have a couple not in use so I put it into action. All of Pilot’s other converters will work, as will all of their cartridges. For the clear barrel Kakuno I’d look at using more fun colors, like the Pilot Mixable cartridges.

The Pilot Kakuno is a great pen for any level of experience. The most beginning fountain pen user will enjoy its cool looks and ease of use, and the most experienced user will love the great nib and build quality. It’s an all-around great pen.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 11, 2017 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Pilot, Kakuno, Fountain Pens.

Pilot Juice Paint Marker 8-color Set Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

With the Pilot Juice Paint Marker, Pilot brings their Juice brand to arts-and-crafts time. The versatile ink works on light or dark paper, or on nonporous surfaces such as glass or metal. It is water- and pigment-based, odorless, waterproof, and bleed-resistant. It is also meant to be opaque, though I had issues with that feature on all but white paper. The colors included in the 8-color set are black, red, blue, light blue, green, yellow, white, and pink. There are a number of other fun colors available as open stock or in other sets, including pastels and metallics.

On dark paper, some colors performed very well while others seemed watery. I tried shaking them and refreshing the ink in the tip, but they just didn't get to the level I was hoping for. They were really fun to use on glass. Again, some lacked saturation, but most worked well. They aren't permanent on glass, alas, so my now-lovely water glass will lose its luster when I wash it. But it does mean I can go crazy painting designs on my windows if I want (I do want).

The tip is bullet-shaped felt. It's firm, though I did get some fraying when I used them briefly on watercolor paper, which makes me question whether the tip will survive the lifespan of the ink supply. Only many hours of arts and crafts will tell.

The body of the pen is a wide hexagonal barrel in white plastic. The cap and grip section are the color of the paint inside. The grip is a little awkward in that it has four levels--the nose near the tip steps up to a narrow collar, which steps up again to the actual section (which is a bit short), which steps up again to the body. There's not an easy way to hold these without putting your fingers on an edge. None of the edges are sharp, however, and it's not the sort of pen you'd be gripping for very long periods of time, so an uncomfortable grip isn't a huge issue for these.

The cap slides in place, but doesn't click. It took me a minute to be reassured that it was securely closed. The cap does post, though not deeply.

They run a little pricier than other paint markers, but not by much. The sets are a little cheaper than buying open stock.

I'd say my biggest issue with the pens is their designation as a fine point. They're certainly fine if compared to a chisel tip, but they're among the broadest paint pens I've tried. I wouldn't recommend them for very fine detail work, but they're still fun for broader sketches. Especially on windows.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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