This is not a review of Pilot Kakuno fountain pens by any means. I’ve compiled a list of links at the bottom of this post, if detailed reviews are what you’re looking for.
I really like Kakuno fountain pens. I like their whimsical and colorful design, and they’re lightweight, which is perfect for my sensitive wrist. I actually have three of them: one is always inked with J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil (my current top favorite ink), the second with Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-guri, and the last with… actually, I don’t know. The main point is that recently I noticed that two of my Kakunos are now sporting cracks in their caps, and I have no idea how that happened! I don’t remember dropping them or stuffing them at the bottom of my backpack, or anything else that could have put pressure on them. Seeing that the cracks are limited to the cap and the tip of the main barrel, the only explanation I can come up with is that maybe I posted the caps too hard. Yeah, that must be it…
Not wanting to throw out otherwise perfectly good pens, I applied a quick fix, with my trusty washi tapes. Of course, I tried to color-match them. :)
The white/blue pen is still in “perfect” condition! Which is strange because it is the second oldest one out of these three.
The curves on Kakuno made the patching-up a bit challenging. I first used some clear Scotch tape on the areas with funky angles, so that my messy application of the tape is less noticeable, and then added a piece of decorative washi tape over the majority of the cap.
Clear tape for the top tip of the pen body...
The yellow tape is a design from mt ex Kanazawa.
We’ll see how long this fix lasts, but I assume it’ll be good for awhile. I don’t carry fountain pens outside too often or travel with them, so leakage won’t be an issue, I hope. I might replace the washi tape once in awhile, just to change the visuals, or if it becomes too dirty.
The dark gray washi tape is “Work & Fika” design from mt × OlleEksell.
Has this ever happened to your Kakunos? Did you stop using them or try to patch them up like I did? I planned on buying another one (the gray/red one is very tempting) but I’ll have to reconsider now.
Links to Kakuno reviews
- Pilot Kakuno Review — The Finer Point
- Gourmet Pens: Review: Pilot Kaküno Fountain Pen - Medium @PilotPenUSA @JetPens
- Don’t Worry, Be Happy: The Pilot Kaküno | From the Pen Cup
- Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen Review — The Pen Addict