Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen of Biginners, Fine Nib, Orange Body (FKA-1SR-OF)

another 5 star review, at least upon opening up and inking within hours of receiving and writing out the alphabet on the back of an envelope, so I guess things could go sour, but I don't expect so: Pilot makes a solid, solid, pen line-up and this pen, aimed at the Japanese school kids learning to write with a proper pen, is just that: a workhorse that can take some abuse but will write as well as pens costing TONS more. Here's why: it's made of plastic, for one thing, so light as a feather. In the right hands, that is perfect (I adore lightning quick pens), but it will never have the heft of an oversized pen made of substantial material. (The latter, however, can be heavy in long writing sessions.) You will also not get a flexy 14k nib, but it is only a nail when you keep your touch light, at which point it remains a FINE point you could write the Declaration of Independence with on a 3x5 card, and only use a drop of ink--for that matter, a wetter ink is best, and the fantastic standard Pilot ink is just that--I recommend you hunt down a converter and try the bottled Japanese stuff among others, but the cartridges offered by Pilot are really second to none. Anyway, yes it might be a stingy dryish pen on crappy paper with the wrong ink I would guess, but with the included ink it puts down a nice wet line that will fatten if you put a little pressure on the nib, and even has a little spring to it that you don't so much have to worry about busting--it's a school pen, right? anyway, at the 11 buck price point, these are a steal, and an absolute best buy for those who want to dip into fountain pens. other thoughts: most of my pens are screw tops, which can unwind at times if carried about. this little guy without a clip of any kind (so not a dress or work shirt pen at all) would slip easily into a pants pocket. I think I will really like the quick pop on/off of this cap, and really the pen writes great unposted. I didn't try posting it and might not do so often for fear of cracking the cap, though it may just click on lightly. nothing would surprise me that the engineers of this pen would not cover. makes me wish I had bought more of the 78g pens when they were cheap. I did not get a fine nib then because I had to write fast and furious and the fines don't always keep up, but it is true that these Japanese fine points with that bit of flex are something special, and you should own at least one version of it (I think this may be the same nib as the 78g without the gold plating and in one other Pilot series as well) if you are into pens and a great starter if you are just interested. It really writes as well as pens double or triple the price, easily, as long as you know what a fine point brings to the table (i.e. don't complain that it's scratchy if it's really just the tiny footprint of the nib, of course it's sharper than a Bold or medium point). It's gonna be hard for me not to start price watching the other colors (chose orange for low price/quick ship and visibility). final word of advice, but before I inked the pen up, I wrote somewhat aggressively on some decent paper to give a little polish to the nib. If you happen to get a rough example, do the same on progressively coarser papers (brown paper bag is final resort) until you rub out any imperfections. A cheapo loupe (little magnifier) is great to see if your tines are aligned on the nib and it does not take too much persuasion to make them even, if you do get a crappy one, but my experience with Pilot has been the same as with Japanese cars from the 80's: high quality, super high performance to price ratio. I covet their higher end models, like the vanishing point. Now that's a pen for a dress shirt!

I love finding great pens that are both functionally top-notch and very affordable. The Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen of Beginners, Fine Nib, is just such a pen. BUT it's not just for beginners. I have several fountain pens and I typically use them every day in my journal. This pen has been used more than the others lately because it writes so well. It's size fits my hand (med/lg man's hand), the nib is not scratchy, the "fine" designation is accurate, and the ink flow is strong but not too much. I also love the look, which is playful and I assume plays into the "for beginners" designation. I plan on get at least one or two more in different colors.

This is my favorite fountain pen. I received one as a gift from someone who visited Japan and brought it back as a gift. I loved it, then I misplaced it and was super bummed to be missing my favorite pen. I found a replacement on Amazon and ordered it right away. What I like about the pen: It is lightweight The barrel shape is comfortable. I also have another Pilot fountain pen in metal with a tapered barrel but prefer this one for its straight barrel. Nib writes well, the replacement nib is in fine although I prefer the medium (which I had in my original pen) Posted -- I like that the cap fits snugly onto the pen when writing Refills are easy to find Price is great What I don't like: Pen cap clip - I wish it had a pen clip to put onto a notebook (which is how I lost my first pen, it must have fallen off a pile of papers). I created a have with a rubber band and paperclip. Converter -- I wish it came with a converter to make it more environmentally friendly, I can get around this by using a syringe and refilling but having a true converter would make it better. But for the price I can't complain too much.

Got the wrong color sent, papa blue, but I’ll keep it. I love the Pilot Kakuno no matter the color. I now have three with red, black, and blue inks. The con 70 converter fits these amazingly well.

Excellent pen at an incredible price!

I love this pen. I know it's not as expensive as other pens, and yes, it is plastic, but there are major pros. One, because it is plastic, though it appears cheap it is not heavy and my hand is far less fatigued when I use it for my 3-hour long meetings. Two, the ink flows flawlessly--well, almost. I did leave it uncapped once for an hour and had a small bit of difficulty coaxing the ink back down the pen, but that's my own fault. Three, this actually qualifies as a fine line. Most fountain pens I've used advertise a fine line, but really you get a 0.7 gel-ink line. This pen really does lay down a fine line, not super fine like a 0.3 Pilot roller-ball, but slightly thinner than 0.5 roller-ball. The ink does feather on cheap standard-issue legal notepads, but it holds up well in Poppin or Black and Reds. Moleskines also don't like this ink and there is some bleed-through and feathering there, too. I think the paper is just too thirsty. When posted this pen is plenty tall, but it is shorter than most ball-points and fits easily in my medium wallet. It is also a fat pen, comparable to one of those pretty marble MontBlancs, so it's not a pen for people who like slim things. I personally think fat pens improve my handwriting, so I like this just fine. The cap seats very well and I have no problems with leakages. Refills are also very cheap (not from Amazon), as low as $2 per box, so it is economical as well. Overall, a great buy!

This pen, in my own opinion, is great for everyone. From just starting out beginners and children all the way to the highest collectors or even the one that use fountain pens solely in there daily lives. Much like me. I highly recommend. Please buy to know more.

Newly purchased. Wrote for several hours last night and found this pen to be easy on my hand and a smooth writer. There is also a charm to this pen,, a toy that is also a tool, looking like a child while doing an adult function. It is light, but in a floating way. And what a low price for such a quality fountain pen. (I hope all of you are enjoying your writing.)

It is a very smooth writer. It really flows over the paper. Its size is comparable to that of Kaweco Perkeo, which is an almost equally smooth writer. However, I prefer the latter! The Kakuno is feather light and its particular size and form together with the extreme smoothness in writing makes it non comfortable to hold in my hand. If it had a bit of feedback to give you the feeling of the pen on paper or if it had some more weight, it would be better I think, at least for me. The Perkeo is not a heavy pen either but its form makes it sit in my hand much more comfortably and be lees tiresome for long writing sessions. In any case, if you have small hands and like extreme smoothness, then Kakuno may be a good choi.

Die Spitze ist sehr fein. Its a very lightweight pen but the cap can be posted on the pen to give it a little bit more weight and makes it a comfortable length for just about any hand size.

This is a very good pen. Like all Pilot products it's very reliable. It's made out of plastic completely except the nib obviously. I bought it with a F (fine) nib and I'm happy with it. Bear in mind, though, that a japanese-F tends to be more like an European Extra Fine (EF). It writes smoothly but it can be a bit scratchy depending on the kind of paper you use. If you habitually write in cheap paper you definitely have to use a F or a M, otherwise there will be a lot of feathering and bleedthrough. Definitely a good purchase. Una pluma excelente. Como todos los productos Pilot es muy fiable. Hecha totalmente de plástico excepto el plumín, como es de esperar. La compré con punto fino y me gusta, aunque es importante recordar que los puntos finos japoneses tienden a ser como un extrafino europeo. Escribe con suavidad aunque puede rascar un poco dependiendo del papel que uses. Si escribes habitualmente en papel barato es mejor usar un Fino o Medio para evitar que la tinta ramifique o cale hacia la otra cara. Una buena compra sin duda.

This is a light and comfortable pen to use. The nib is very fine, yet writes smoothly. An excellent pen for people with small handwriting

Che dire......appena arrivata!....dopo 37 giorni.... Vabbeh, dai, sarà che l'ho ordinata il 2 Dicembre e in mezzo c'erano le feste di Natale....mi è arrivata il 10 Gennaio... Comunque come tempi di spedizione se non sbaglio erano indicati dai 10 ai 30 giorni.....poi anche altre recensioni dicevano di aver aspettato tanto tempo.......... A parte questo...........sono molto soddisfatto!! L'ho appena aperta e tenuta in mano per 20 minuti, il tempo di capire come funziona una stilo (è la prima stilo che tengo in mano in vita mia, mai usate prima) e il mio dubbio principale era capire se un mancino come me avesse trovato problemi; leggendo infatti varie recensioni ero indeciso se comprare una stilo con pennino LH oppure bastava uno qualsiasi...poi ho optato per la Kakuno, anche se ha il pennino F, perchè tutti ne parlavano bene....e devo dire che non si sbagliavano!! Non trovo nessun problema a scrivere nonostante sia "left-hand", tutte le paure sfumate in pochi secondi....anche la posizione della mano e l'impugnatura, mi sembra di averne già trovata una comoda, addirittura senza strisciare il mignolo su ciò che scrivo (problema comune per mancini), ma anche se lo faccio ho visto che non mi sbava, sarà perchè il tratto è veramente fino...chissà quando scriverò di più....adesso si tratterà di provarla davanti al prof. che parla veloce come un treno! per capire se mi si stanca la mano e se regge la velocità !! L'ho tenuta aperta ferma sul tavolo per 10 minuti, l'ho ripresa in mano ed è ripartita all'istante !! uau ! Attento quando la stappi, di tirarla fuori in posizione diritta, è una sottigliezza, non è la fine del mondo, ma ho visto che se la tiro storta il pennino tocca sul bordo interno del tappo e perde un pò d'inchiostro ma soprattutto urta, e non vorrei che con tanti urti si possa danneggiare... Aggiornerò questa recensione....voglio parlare delle ricariche e di come mi sono trovato dopo un uso massiccio....