Pilot Kakuno vs Pilot G2

I asked for suggestions from fellow users of the product, but before the answers came, I tried pulling the cartridge back off and putting it on again. This caused a large spraying of ink onto me and the various kitchen tools in the vicinity. Fortunately it didn’t ruin any clothing, and my hands will be clean after a week or so most likely. However, even though the pen now does work, it still smears ink on my fingers whenever I grasp it to write

My perfect ink/cartridge is Pilot G2 0.38mm. I’ve tried tons of others, fountain pens, space pens, but always come back to the G2.

For some reason, fountain pens are really expensive. This one, for beginners, was fairly priced. So, I figured that I could try out a fountain pen without spending alot. The pen is fairly nice, and was easy to install the ink cartridge, even if the instuctions are in Japanese

Apparently there was no consistency from my 1st purchase to the 2nd purchase, and 3 out of 12 is terrible to invest in considering the price.

For me, though, a daily pen needs to be durable but cheap, because I spend a lot of time around machines, taking notes on them. For me, Lamy Safaris or the Pilot Kakuno are my daily drivers. Reliable, cheap, durable, and work well with Noodler's bulletproof inks (so if a random machine blows a hose, or I spill my morning coffee, my notes don't get ruined).

Completely disappointed. The pen is great and long lasting, I was just really upset by the pricing and shipping quality. Will not be buying from this seller again.