Pilot Kakuno EF fountain pen and unbranded pen comparisons

I have been collecting some nice art supplies. I was on youtube watching reviews of fountain pens and heard many times that a Chinese fine is about the same as a Japanese medium when it comes to nib sizes. I had to see it for myself. I got a pen on ebay for $1.25 with an extra fine nib. I then purchased a Pilot Kakuno with an extra fine nib. The pen and converter was about $19.50, so I threw in a little watercolor pad to get the free shipping on Jet Pens. So nice. Who doesn't love free shipping? What's the difference in the pens?

The unbranded pen looks like a Wing Sung but the logo is not on the clip as it normally is. 

Kakuno is heavy plastic that doesn't seem too fragile and so is the unbranded. The line quality and thickness is so similar I wrote a few pages with them both and really don't think I can figure out which one I used. So that mystery is solved for me. I did have trouble posting unbranded pen. When I did post it, I accidentally squirted some ink out of the feed and dripped it on my clothes. 

The Kakuno has the converter inside and has holes in the barrel that would prevent making it an eyedropper pen. This is perfectly fine for me. I have learned the hard way with Moonman eyedropper pens, which can get warm in my hand, then the air inside the pen expands. What did that do? The ink had no where to go and was pushed out through the nib and "burped" like a baby an ink blob onto my art that I had spent hours drawing. So eyedroppers are cool if I keep them full. The weird thing is everyone goes on and on about all the ink it holds, and it is really no different if you have to constantly fill it. Just my opinion. Plus I put my Noodler's sample in it and only have 2 milliliters. So I can't keep it full unless I buy some more or waste some sample trying to clean it. 

Kakuno has a very nice connector inside the barrel that connects the converter. It is nice and deep and will not allow my ink converter or cartridge to come off by accident. It looks like it wouldn't be easy to break like a cheap plastic piece either. I would not be afraid to put a Kakuno in my luggage or bag while traveling. I would not worry about it burping on my art. I would not worry about it accidentally spilling ink onto my clothes or other people's belongings on a trip. Also I don't feel I will get ink on me in public when I don't have any place to clean up and get the ink off me. The unbranded pen is still great for doing art around the house. 

One other thing some people might care about is the Kakuno don't have a clip. Not a big thing for me but it might matter to someone who loves clipping their pen to a pocket or shirt. I like to slide mine in a phone case or a plastic box just in case a leak ever happened. 

Truthfully, I love the cheap pens just because I can put any ink I want in them as long as it can wash out (not acrylic). And it protects the environment. 

 Also I noticed the little watercolor pad is sold as Fluid 100 and inside it says it is a Speedball product. And it says it is in Statesville, NC. How cool is that? Everyone really likes the demonstrator pens with the showy inks inside. Both my pens are loaded with Noodler's Blue Nose Bear ink. I am a huge fan of Noodler's pens and inks.

 I haven't taken the sticker off the Kakuno yet. It is also a bit smaller than the other pen. I favor small pens over the larger ones. They fit my hands just perfect.

Plus I got out my oversized art journal yesterday. I want to get back to filling the pages. It has all handmade pages. The book itself is hand stamped leather made in India. The book has so many pages I called it my art journal for life. It will take my whole entire life to fill this thing but it has a lot of art in it so far. 

 I took these photos just to see how well the gel pens with glitter would show in photographs. I used so many gel pens on this book I filled a recycle bin with the empties. I really couldn't find refills for those things you find in places like Sam's Club or dollar stores. But I did find some refills for gel pens online and ordered a few. My favorite gel pens are Energel but the refills are a bit pricey for a disposable cartridge. Still good pens that last a long time. Fountain pens help ease my anxiety about environmental waste and they are good on the budget too.