New Pen Day: Kakimori Frost Violet

I can't remember where I saw the information about a new Kakimori pen product, probably on Instagram. I checked out the product page and ended up ordering the Frost in Violet (of course) with a M nib, and the rollerball and F nib add-ons. The pen also came with a choice of tiny sample of pigment ink. I ended up choosing a dark brown called Mukuri.

There was a promo code for free shipping (yay, -$27!), and the items shipped really fast. I made the purchase late Tuesday night my time, and got the package from DHL today, Friday afternoon. Amazing!

I appreciate that Kakimori's packaging is so simple and minimal.

The Toblerone-shaped pen box has an interesting coating that reminds me of rubberized parts of an electronic device, like a gaming controller. Its violet color is more vivid than the pen is in reality. The other writing tips came in strategically folded and minimally glued paper.

I've only had the pen for a few hours, but I do have some writing samples and first impressions. I tried the rollerball attachment first since it is the feature I'm most curious about. I filled the converter with Robert Oster Mysterium because I thought it'd be a good match for the pen, and I'd seen a recommendation to use more vivid inks with a rollerball, otherwise the ink might appear too light. I'll have to experiment with that more later.

Writing Samples

Transcription:

Kakimori Frost Violet - rollerball
Robert Oster Mysterium
(figure-8 doodles, horizontal and vertical lines in alternating groups of 4)
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

This seems to be working pretty well. The rollerball tip feels pretty smooth & I can see shading from the ink. Nice!

I decided to try the F and M nibs also.

Transcript:

Kakimori Frost Violet, F
Robert Oster Mysterium
(figure-8 doodles, horizontal and vertical lines in alternating groups of 4) reverse writing X (meaning it doesn't work well)
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

This F nib writes wetter & broader than I'd expect. I kind of like writing with the rollerball better.

Transcription:

Kakimori Frost Violet, F
Robert Oster Mysterium
(figure-8 doodles, horizontal and vertical lines in alternating groups of 4) reverse writing (scratchy)
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Oof, this M nib is like a Pilot M gold nib, shockingly broad. I wouldn't writed with this regularly. I wonder how well this nib would take a custom grind?

Ultimately since the rollerball was the finest writing tip, I put that back on and cleaned off the other 2 nibs for later.

First Impressions

Transcription of text beneath another writing test:

The construction of this pen reminds me of a Kaweco Sport. The plastic is very light with visible seams. The lightness of the pen somewhat makes me feel as if it's getting away from me when I'm writing quickly, so I feel like I have to be more deliberate in how I hold it. At first when I held & looked at the pen, I was disappointed, as it kind of felt more cheaply constructed than something like a TWSBI ECO, but making the comparison to a Kaweco Sport sort of lessened my disappointment, although they are ~half the cost of the Kakimori Frost. 😕

I do like the feel of this rollerball, though. It may perform better than the other fountain pen ink-refillable rollerballs out there? I'll have to compare & contrast.

More Thoughts

My initial impression is that this pen seems expensive for what you get. Seeing the design, I was reminded and kind of expecting a similar build quality and heft as the Namisu Horizon Petrol I bought a while ago. The Namisu has a hefty metal section and accents on the top and bottom, in addition to rainbow anodization. But the Kakimori pen is smaller, lighter, and feels like it might be more fragile, although I am not sure whether it really is more fragile or not. It's a nicely designed pen, especially compared to the other refillable rollerball pens out there, but I'm not sure if its value proposition aligns with the price (pen + 2 other writing tips = $100 USD). I will report back after using it for a while, though. At the very least, I'm happy to have a nice-looking rollerball pen that I can fill with seemingly whatever fountain pen ink I'd like.

Kakimori Ink

Speaking of fountain pen inks, the sample that came with the pen is curious.

I've never used Kakimori pigment inks (or many pigment inks in general) before. I swatched Mukuri and was pretty surprised at its viscosity. I'm unsure if this ink would flow well through the rollerball attachment because of its pigments. It might overwhelm the rollerball mechanism. I'm not sure how well I'd be able to clean out the rollerball feed, so I think I'll stick to standard inks, though I'd be curious to see how a shimmer ink would work. Maybe I'll experiment later, after I've been able to use the pen for a while.

Mukuri is quite a dark, muddy, cool brown, reminding me of rich soil which sort of relates to the story behind the ink's name: "Mukuri describes the state of awakening, like a bear emerging from hibernation to the warm red earth. The colour signals the arrival of a new season." (from Kakimori's site) I'll write more about it after I've tried it out in a pen.

So, what do you all think of the Frost convertible pen? Are you tempted to get one? Have you played around with refillable rollerball pens? Let me know if you have any questions about the Frost. I'll be happy to help.