My Kakimori nib review

This is the Kakimori nib.

I love discovering tools that produce interesting lines. So I had to check it out when sketchers from the Urban Sketchers Singapore group were talking about a new kind of nib. I eventually bought one for myself. I've been using it for a few months now and I really enjoy it.

I had two choices- Stainless steel nib or bronze nib. Speaking to my sketcher friends, they said that the stainless steel could produce a thinner line and was smoother. A thinner line means more line variation from thin to thick, so I chose stainless steel.

The nib was a little pricy at around US$53, just for the nib without a holder. Add on shipping and you could be spending a little more. I shared the shipping with a friend to cut the shipping cost down by half.

The nib was small and surprisingly hefty. It felt and looked like a metal bullet. It seems to be inspired by a glass nib with groves to hold ink. But it is shaped differently from a glass pen. This shape allows me to create lots of line variation. 

It doesn't fit into any kind of dip pen holder because of the diameter of the nib. But I found that it fits in this Tachikawa comic pen nib holder well. Buying a Kakimori nib holder from their website is also an option. As for me, I made my own holder.

When I first used the nib, I drew with black ink (Talent drawing ink or Winsor & Newton Drawing Ink.) They give me waterproof lines which I can then do watercolour washes over.

Check out the line variation.

When drawing, the nib felt smooth and gave pleasant feedback on the more toothy paper. It made me want to just draw and draw, even after I'd run of out ideas on what to draw!

Then I discovered another great thing about it. Instead of doing black lines with coloured washes, why not COLOURED LINES with coloured washes? 

There are a few ways to go about this. I will demonstrate one fun way that I like. Here are the tools I will use. Watercolours in a tin, an Escoda Perla watercolour travel brush, water spray, Kakimori nib in a homemade holder, and rag.

Spray water to mix some paint

Draw the coloured shapes first. Yep, I'm doing it in reverse. I do the watercolour wash first. 

I want to draw a guy holding a cat.

Then, I mix darker paint and use my brush to fill the Kakimori nib.

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I mix a dark blue from my watercolours to draw in the lines with the Kakimori nib. It can hold lots of ink, so it can fill in areas pretty well too. It can function as both a pen and brush.

Drawing lines after doing the shapes gives my drawings a much looser look.

Then if I want another colour for the lines, I just fill the nib with another colour. A vermillion this time!

The nib can switch between drawing and writing words easily.

Using coloured lines gives the drawing a whole different look from black lines, doesn't it?

Now here are some sketches I've done with this same technique:

Line variation comparison

You get line variation from the Kakimori nib by tilting the pen at different angles. It works like a fude nib pen. You get variation from a G-nib by variating the pressure. So they are very different nibs.

 The closest comparison is a glass nib. But a glass nib (at least this one) doesn't give me much variation at all. 

How much ink or paint can the Kakimori nib hold compared with a G-nib or a glass nib?

Kakimori nib

Drawing lines at an angle. It can fill this much with one fill of the nib.

Drawing the thinnest lines. It can fill pretty much a whole page with one fill.

Let's try the G-nib

This is as far as a G-nib can go with one fill.

Not let's try the glass nib (since the Kakimori resembles a glass nib)

This glass nib produces only thin lines for me. With one fill, it can go pretty far. Not bad. But it doesn't have line variation, so it isn't as exciting for me. That's due to its shape.

Conclusion for the Kakimori nib

Material quality- 10/10

Line variation - 8/10

Enjoyment- 10/10

Final thoughts. I'm impressed with this new nib invention. Yes, it is a little pricy but it feels well-made and durable, it is versatile, and it is enjoyable drawing with it. I've been carrying it around a lot these few months. It's a worthy investment for me. Highly recommended! 

The nib can be purchased directly from Kakimori itself.

And here is a short video I shot of me drawing with the Kakimori nib.