Trying to convince people to use fountain pens in the year 2022

After scribbling over 50k words by hand with my beloved Kaküno, I'm back in the saddle to push fountain pens like some terrible street dealer. I'm also really annoyed with the constant push by stationary influencers (they are a thing) towards the likes of Pilot Metropolitan, Platinum Preppy or the Sailor Compass. Which are all perfectly fine pens, sure, but I feel like there are definitely better starter pens out there that deserve more attention. And so, I'm here to fix the gap.

Kaküno is the GOAT of pens

Pilot steel nibs are some of the best nibs in the industry. Period. And that makes Pilot fountain pens are some of the best starter pens. But the Kaküno takes the cake for various reasons.

One, the nibs are very smooth. Most fountain pen first timers prefer an experience that's closer to a rollerball/gel pen. This nib achieves that while still writing under minimal pressure.

Two, the pen accepts the CON-70 converter, which means being able to carry up to 1.1mL of ink in the pen at a time, making it great for anyone who's a prolific writer. For those that want to switch ink more frequently, there's also the CON-40, which carries 0.4mL of ink.

Three, the Pilot cartridge has a wonderfully large mouth, which means you can refill it with an eye dropper easily instead of investing in an ink syringe. I like the precision of the syringe, but some people don't like having needles around the house. The flute in the Pilot cartridge also means that every last drop of ink will get into the feed as you write without worrying about surface tension.

Four, the Kaküno, in 2022, has so, so many colorways that you can definitely find something that fits whatever your taste. Previously, the Kaküno got flak for being too "childish" with its colors. But with the all slate grey colorway, the pen easily fits into any more "serious" or "adult" setting. Y'know, for those of you who hate fun.

Five, the pen has a very long grip, a snap cap, and weighs basically nothing. It more or less disappears in your hand. You can hold the pen however you want. You can quickly slip the cap on and off for quick notes. It holds enough ink for extended writing sessions. It offers three different line widths (EF, F, M) to fit whatever size you write at. You can swap out the nib with those on the Pilot Parallel for fancy calligraphy writing. What I'm getting at is that you can have a lot of fun with this pen.

Six, it costs $12. Yes, it's a little more if you throw in a converter, but that still comes out to around $19. It's one of the cheapest fountain pen options available and it will last a long, long time. As long as you're not stress testing the pen, it'll hold up under regular use for decades. I won't say a lifetime, because it is still just a $12 pen, but it'll last long enough to justify its $12 existence.

Seven, you can always wrap the barrels in washi tape to give it some extra oomph and customization. Or get it customized with some cool figurines embedded into the barrel.

The only thing that I'll give you is that the Kaküno tends to dry out a little faster than the other pens for some reason. I don't understand why, since it has an inner cap and everything, but I've noticed that ink has a tendency to dry out when I leave the pen alone for a week. Anything under a week, however, is fine.

So, if you are like me and write by hand a lot, consider trading in that rollerball for a fountain pen.

And if I still can't get you to consider using fountain pens for your writing, then how about a refillable rollerball that uses fountain pen ink?

Because the best reason to use a fountain pen is the absolutely batshit nuts amount of ink colors available to use for everyday writing. Just imagine filling a form that requires boring blue or black, and you pull out a subtle Iroshizuku Shin Kai to spice things up.

I can attest that being able to use all sorts of colors when drafting is one of the few things pushing me through the most difficult parts of NaNoWriMo.

Argentina makes it through!

After Argentina's shock loss to Saudi Arabia, I've been super stressed by the thought that Argentina would be knocked out in groups. This is completely possible given that the World Cup is an extremely short tournament and susceptible to swing and Argentina, while they have the GOAT of ⚽, is an inexperienced team both in terms of players and managers.

And after a decade and a half of heartache with Messi trying and failing to get close to winning this thing, I think everyone just kind of watches on with the desperate hope that someone pulls through for him this time. Man's 35 years old. Get him this goddamn trophy so he can retire without regrets already!

Very rarely would I say anyone "deserves" winning the World Cup, but for Messi, I think everyone is ready to make that exception. Messi deserves it. And it's just a matter of seeing if this Argentina can make it happen for him.

So, to see Argentina make it through the group stage, and at the top no less to face off against a much weaker Australia in the round of 16, is a great thing. I can only hope that Argentina doesn't suffer another upset. At this point, Argentina has what it takes to get to the end. They just need the luck to be on their side.

¡Vamos!