(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
Color me shocked when the Bossman sent me a pen for review and it was orange! It was the Kilk Orient - I had never heard of the brand Kilk, so I was eager to check it out and see how it performed.
Kilk is a pen company that was founded in 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. They have several models of fountain pens in addition to the Orient.
The pen comes with a steel “V2 nib” (per Goldspot, it is a #6 Bock) engraved with the Kilk logo and nib size. The pen also comes with a screw-in standard international converter as well as a polishing cloth for cleaning the silver band and instructions on how to care for the pen. The pen comes with a 2 year warranty against manufacturing defects.
The first thing I noticed was how distinctive the shape is. It has its own look and doesn’t really look like other pens out in the market. The second thing I noticed was the silver band and trim, as in 925 silver, not just silver colored. You don’t see actual silver accents on a pen in this (or any) price point very often. The band design is classy and detailed without being overly intricate or busy.
The cap is quite large and has an almost bulbous shape to it. The clip band sits a little lower down from the tip of the cap (reminds me a little of vintage Pelikan caps) and the clip point is very pointy, maybe a little too pointy. The clip works well and easily slides over my binder’s elastic straps as well as over shirt pockets. The metal band is not on the cap, as is often the case with other pens, but on the barrel of the pen. To me, it looks a little odd but this is definitely personal preference and does not affect writing performance since the band sits between one’s fingers and the crook of the hand. The barrel of the pen is also a bit curvy, with a slight flare at the nib which prevents fingers from sliding down. The taper on the other end also allows you to post the cap fairly deeply without making it too back-weighted.
Pen still feels fairly balanced when posted, though it does extend a ways back. Of course, I would prefer this one (and all pens) unposted.
The Orange Orient is made from a beautiful bright orange acrylic that has swirls of chatoyance and is slightly translucent. You can just barely see the converter if you look carefully. The material is highly polished and can feel a bit slick, especially if you live/work in a more humid environment. The Kilk Orient is well-made and doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy in any way even though it isn’t a heavy pen.
Slightly translucency of the material.
Comparison to similarly sized pens (L to R): Opus 88 Halo, Leonardo Momento Zero, Kilk Orient, Pelikan M800, Pilot Custom 823, Visconti Homo Sapiens.
You can really see how much girthier the Kilk Orient grip and body are compared to the others.
Despite it’s girth, it is the shortest pen when posted.
As I’ve mentioned in past reviews, I know it’s good advice to rinse/clean pens prior to first use but honestly, I’m lazy and too eager to try out new pens, so I went ahead and inked it up with Visconti Cafe Terrace at Night without any cleaning. The Fine nib was smooth but the writing experience felt a bit dry. Hard to tell if it was the nib or the ink so I flushed out the converter and nib and put in good ol’ Waterman Serenity Blue.
The nib didn’t perform much better with Serenity Blue. It wasn’t hard starting or anything like that but the ink just didn’t seem to flow very well. I used my loupe to check for any misalignment or baby’s bottom and there wasn’t any but since I wasn’t sure my loupe handling skills should be trusted, I took it to the Philly Pen Show to have it looked at by a professional. I asked Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio to take a quick peek (without making any nib modifications) and they agreed that it was a bit on the dry side, so phew, it wasn’t just me. The nib is usable as-is but I think it would be so much better with a little bit of tuning. According to Goldspot, the nibs are tested and tuned in the Kilk workshop before being exported so maybe they don’t tune them as much for a wetter flow.
The Kilk Orient fountain pen costs $260 USD with a steel nib and is available from EF to BB. A gold nib option is available from the Kilk website for $380. The aesthetics of the Kilk Orient fountain pen aren’t really my jam, but I appreciate that it is a different design that doesn’t look like every other pen out there. I also like that it has real silver accents, which does add to the price, though it is still in the range of many custom pens. Given its unique styling, the Kilk Orient pen may not be for everyone, but if you like how it looks and appreciate the addition of real silver trim, this might be a good addition to your collection.
(Goldspot provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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