Pilot Kakuno Review Fine Nib
The Pilot Kakuno is a lovely beginner fountain pen that comes in many different colored caps to encourage choosing your favorite color to compliment the black or white body. I love the transparent section, where you can see the feed working to supply the nib with ink as you write. This also makes it extremely easy to see when you’re almost out of ink.
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My Short Video:
Pilot Kakuno White Body Design and Instructions
Well the instructions all appear in Japanese, so unless you speak both languages you’ll find them a useless enclosure, like much of the packaging.
Thankfully, the pen is made for children and super easy to assemble and use, so you don’t need instructions anyway!
Specs:
Steel Nib, who can resist the winking face?
Nib Width: 4mm
Nib Length: 14mm
Cartridge/Converter Fill
Pull Cap
Capped Length: 127mm
Posted Length: 156mm
Uncapped Length: 123mm
Mid-Grip Width: 8mm
Cap Band Width: 10mm
Country Manufactured: Japan
Total Weight: 13g
Cap Weight: 3g
I don’t care for the grade-school design of white body, oddly tapered cap and soft blue color I chose on a whim, but hey, I decided to try it anyway because beauty is ALWAYS in the eye of the beholder. You may behold its looks differently. But, it’s a GREAT gifting pen. This is one to gift grandchildren to pass along your hobby.
There’s an odd taper in on the cap that I’ve decided is for grip for children. There’s also a small tab around where a cap band would be on a more expensive pen that seems to act as a kickstand to keep the pen from rolling off of an inclined surface.
The brand name is printed on the cap in white letters along with the model name: kakuno in lowercase lettering.
The transparent section is a great addition for kids and adults as it allows you to see ink levels and I’m fascinated with watching the ink flood inside around the nib as it feeds the nib more ink.
What makes my day is the nib.
I mean who can deny that happy, winking face? That just makes me smile with every letter.
Pilot Kakuno Fine Nib Performance
Well, this winky-faced nib also performs like a champ.
It is nail hard, as to be expected from cheap, steel nibs, but it’s SMOOTH. I really appreciate that the F on the nib for fine, actually lays down a fine line. So many pens say fine but really read as a medium line width.
This pen stacks up so well vs. the Metropolitan, Preppy and Safari in nib construction, value and smoothness.
I really enjoy writing with it, and that says a lot as I usually enjoy medium or broad nibs, but it’s great to have a truly fine nib in your collection for smaller lettering and fitting more words on your journal page.
It’s not a wet or dry writer, but a normal one.
In the writing sample I used Platinum black ink on notebook paper since it’s a cheap pen, you should be able to see how it writes on cheap paper.
This nib lays down a flawless line and the fine nib is just what the doctor ordered for people who actually want a fine line from their fine nibs.
Pilot Kakuno Cap and Colors
There’s that ugly sticker on the cap, great news: it just peels off
The cool part of the Pilot Kakuno is the cap. It comes in several different colors against the white or black body: blue, orange, violet, red, pink and yellow.
These colors are readily available even though this model has been discontinued.
There’s no clip on the cap, this pen is made for beginners and kids, so the clip would probably be an annoyance anyway.
Its hexagon shaped body keeps it from rolling off the table, cap posted or not, which is great.
The cap posts securely, no chattering or other annoyances, and since it’s plastic, it’s lightweight and easy to handle.
Ink Cartridge and Converter Options
You can use the Pilot Con 50 converter with this pen, it’s only .5 inch longer than the cartridge that comes with the pen. The Con 70 converter is longer, at roughly 3 inches, it’s a push-button plunger-vac style piston converter that won’t fit in this pen because the body is only 2 3/4″ from the treads back.
You could also use the CON-20 Squeeze Converter, it came free with my Pilot Metropolitan, but I hate squeeze converters… they’re messy, inefficient and it’s just easier to syringe refill a cartridge.
The cartridge that came with the pen is a standard pilot cartridge, available in many colors here.
Pilot Kakuno Eyedropper?
Eyedropper Conversion Disappointment
The cap and body have holes in each end from the manufacturing process, three on the cap and two on the body. The inner cap keeps the nib from drying out.
The holes on the back of the body are there for some unknown reason and keep the Kakuno from being turned into an eyedropper with an O-ring gasket and some silicon grease. BOO! It seems it might have been a perfect candidate except for those holes.
Pilot Kakuno vs Lamy Safari, Platinum Preppy & Metropolitan size comparison
Lamy Safari, Platinum Preppy & Metropolitan vs. Pilot Kakuno
Who is the Fountain Pen Good For? Is It a Good Overall Value?
Clearly, this is a fantastic fountain pen to use as a gift to a newbie or anyone that likes beefy, yet lightweight pens. It’s wide grip, transparent section and great winking nib make it an awesome and fun fountain pen for anyone that is new to fountain pens.
It won’t draw the attention of the seasoned traditionalist, but then again none of those people would read this much of a review on it after seeing the photos. They’re looking for a more traditional black and gold delight.
I love the Pilot Kakuno for it’s fierce winking nib performance, fine line and the fact that it just makes me happy writing with it. There’s not a whole lot more I can say except that it’s at a cheap price point for gifts, to others or yourself. 
Get the price of the Pilot Kakuno fountain pen now on Amazon.
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