Limited Edition Esterbrook x Bungubox Kachofugetsu Flower Fountain Pen Now Available

Today, Esterbrook unveiled its newest Estie: a collaboration with Bungubox to create a beautiful, translucent pen called Kachofugetsu Flower Fountain Pen ($195, available in EF, F, M, B, BB, 1.1). This pen is limited edition and are only available through the Esterbrook website in the US. If you live in Japan, some units will be available for purchase directly in the store from Bungubox.

This is Esterbrook’s first collaboration with the legendary Japanese stationery shop, Bungubox which means this limited edition design is going to sell out fast.

The literal translation of “Kachofugetsu” is “flower, bird, wind, moon” but the meaning is more akin to “the beauty of nature”.

Details about the Pen

The pen ships is a specially printed slide-up tray box with custom graphics. Besides the custom converter, the pen ships with a cartridge, just in case.

The design of the pen was inspired by the Someiyoshino cherry tree in full bloom. The translucent color and crystalline, cracked pink acrylic reminiscent of the delicate cherry blooms.

The converter, which can be seen through the clear material, is printed with cherry blossom petals. It looks great when filled with a bright, cherrful ink.

The gold-tone #6 JOWO nib is etched with the Japanese character for “flower”. The pen I received features the standard F nib which is smooth with just a little bounce.

We have reviewed Estie fountain pens in the past so if you need more details about overall size, performance and nibs, check out these reviews:

• Estie Tortoise
• Estie Cobalt Blueberry
• Estie Honetcomb
• Estie Maraschino

Matching Inks and Pen Tests

I went through my ink collection searching for a color to match or coordinate with the Kochofugetsu Estie. I found a few possible options:

• J. Herbin Bouquet D’Antan
• Robert Oster Australian Opal Pink
• Colorverse #44 Miss Baker
• iPaper Pleione Formosa
• Robert Oster Cherry Blossom

I decided to go with the iPaper Pleione Formosa. It’s a little brighter but with the fine nib i think the hint of purple in the color is the best match to the pen.

I think the Pleione Formosa ink color ended up being a good match. With the theme of “the beauty of nature” any color you think is inspired by nature would work as well, I just love matching my inks to my pens.

My Final Comments

This is one of the most interesting material I’ve seen used on an Estie to date and the collaboration with Bungubox is basically printing money because Kaoru and Bungubox are the absolute arbiters of taste in the pen community. This pen is probably not going to last through the end of the day which I am sue will make some folks happy and others very sad.

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DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Esterbrook/Kenro Industries for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.