Whenever I find something to hyper-fixate on, it doesn’t end until I have something tangible to hold in my hands. So when my interest in fountain pens reached its peak, I knew buying one was the only way to satisfy my curiosity. That’s how I ended up with a Pilot Kakuno.
I’ve been collecting dot-grid notebooks for a while now. And down this rabbit-hole, I discovered the wonderful world of Japanese stationery. Tomoe River Paper was the most prominent name, but I became familiar with other brands like Midori, Nolty, and Kokuyo.
One important feature they always highlight is the paper quality when it comes to fountain pens. Having only written with ballpoints, I never took notice of this. All I cared about was that the paper gets as thin as possible without the ink bleeding through.
But being exposed to the words “fountain pen” on a regular basis altered my brain chemistry. Eventually, an itch started. An itch that can only be scratched by firsthand experience. I needed to know what all this fuss was about.
After the interest phase comes the research phase. I went to my usual research sites, YouTube and Reddit.
r/fountainpens was the best resource for “pen for beginners”. After hours of reading comments and watching videos, I had two candidates in mind: the Lamy Safari or the Pilot Kakuno.
Both were regarded as perfect for beginners, but there was another big factor that influenced my decision. The Safari costs P1,649 while the Kakuno is going for only P699.
With the same amount of (online) praise at less than half the price, it was a no-brainer.
I ordered mine from everythingcalligraphy.com. They offer same-day deliveries and, most importantly, they have the bright pink Kakuno that captured my heart. The specific model I got was the Pilot Kakuno Family Series in Girl Pink color and with a Fine nib.
After a quick and smooth transaction, I finally had my hands on my first fountain pen. I also purchased a pack of ink cartridges in Pink. Because of course I did.
After a quick unboxing and examining of the parts, I pushed the Pink cartridge in and watched the ink flow into the nib. Then, I wrote my first word.
Wow! I finally got the appeal. I immediately understood the things people were saying about “romanticizing the mundane.”
Could I write in my journal with a pen that costs less than 10% of this Kakuno? Yes. My previous journaling pen cost P150 for a box of 10. But life’s too short to not treat yourself with something that elevates your experience once in a while.
Ever since I’ve had this pen, I’ve been itching to write something, anything in my journal. I’ve never had this strong a desire to put things into writing since I opened up my journal for the first time at the start of the year.
Long story short, I’m having a blast with the Kakuno. It has a steel nib that’s very durable (I bent it accidentally and just bent it back and it still works), and the Fine nib works perfectly for my writing style. The hit of dopamine I get when the bright Pink ink fills the page is hard to find anywhere else.
Having entered the world of fountain pens, I’m already looking for ways to improve my Kakuno experience. I’m planning to get a converter so I can venture into the world of bottled inks. I want to try all the different Pinks there are!
I can’t wait to see where this new fascination goes. But for now, I’ll just focus on writing and emptying this first cartridge I have.
Thanks for reading and may your nibs be always wet.
-jgzn
