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Hey folks! I recently picked up a Kaweco Student. I love the pen very much, and it could easily be a workhorse EDC for me if I could get a bit more ink into it. Which leads us to my question: has anybody out there ACTUALLY converted their Student to an eyedropper fill, and if so what was the experience? Here's why I ask. 1) The old leaking issues with eyedropper conversion on the Sport (model-specific, or Kaweco problem?); and 2) The metal threads on the Student grip section vs. ink/erosion/conversion/etc. Since this will be an EDC if it works out, I don't want a gusher knocking around inside my bag. (And yes, I know it's plastic and it could crack etc etc, but what I'm asking is if it will hold up for reasonably gentle everyday urban school-and-home type stuff) The only thread I found on FPN that mentioned conversion at all was this old one, but it never seemed to come to any consensus, just the OP saying it worked for him for three days (I've messaged him as well). Digging up info on non-Sport Kawecos is not easy! I'm hoping somebody out there has DONE it and can...wait for it..."fill" me in? Thanks! -Steve (The Idle Expatter)

Pen Pit Stop : Kaweco Special Red Welcome to the Pen Pit Stop. Here you will find reviews of pens that already have some mileage on them. More specifically, these reviews are of pens that are in my personal collection, and that have been in use for at least a year. I thought it would be fun to do it this way – no new & shiny pens here, but battered vehicles that have been put to work for at least a year. Let’s find out how they have withstood the ravages of time. The fountain pen that enters the pit stop today is the “Kaweco Special Red”. Kaweco is a well-known German pen company, whose history dates back to 1883 with the foundation of the Heidelberger Federhalterfabrik (Heidelberg dip pen company). Circa 1899, Heinrich Koch and Rudolph Weber took over the firm and set up a production facility just outside Heidelberg. Soon after, they introduced the Kaweco brand name, which is derived from “Koch, Weber and Compagnie”. The brand is best known for its pocket pens of the Sport and Liliput range. I couldn’t find any information about exactly when the Kaweco Special Series saw the light of day. I know that the Liliput was first released in 2012, and from what I could find online the Special series launched at a more recent date. If you have more exact history info, please add it in the comments. Anyway, the Special series inherits the trademark octagonal barrel design, this time in a full-sized pen with a very slender profile inspired by the office pencils of the 1930’s. You also get the traditional tin box that forms the typical Kaweco packaging, but now in an elongated version that fits the size of this pen. I like the re-usability factor of this packaging: these tin boxes are excellent storage for cartridges and nib units of different sizes. The Red was a 2021 special edition. I bought this pen in February 2022, and it has been in regular rotation since that time. My Special Red has been in use for over two years now, so the honeymoon period is over. Below I give you an honest review, flaws and all. Pen Look & Feel The Special Series are metal pens with most models using aluminium (there is also a brass version). They are excellent everyday-use pens, with a minimalist and vintage feel to them. Too big to be pocket pens, but sturdy enough to throw them in your bag or backpack without having to worry about them. On the dome of the pen’s cap you can find the KaWeCo logo with a knurled ring connecting the dome to the octagonal section of the cap. The cap is screwed onto the body, and takes about three rotations to remove. Once removed you can screw it onto the back of the barrel for posting – a similar mechanism as the one used with the Liliput pens. Edged on the side of the barrel is the pen’s designation – in case of this Red Edition it specifies “Kaweco Collection FP Germany”, on other pens of the Special series it simply states “Kaweco Special FP Germany”. The steel nib on this pen is the same as that of the Sport and Liliput models – a small nib that looks right at home on this slender pen. The octagonal body concept is simply genius… it functions as a built-in roll-stop, that’s automatically incorporated into the design. Very Bauhaus ! No need for a clip, that would spoil the minimalist elegance of this pen. But this is also the point where the first flaw of the Special design shows up: when you take the brand-new pen out of the box, the flat areas on both cap and barrel line up nicely, creating an aesthetically pleasing continuity over the complete length of the pen. But that’s not how it works in practice! When screwing on the cap, or when posting the pen, it’s quite easy to get that alignment out of whack – see picture below. It’s just a matter of the amount of torque you used. It doesn’t bother me, but if you are susceptible to such imperfections, it will definitely irritate you immensely. And once you’ve seen it, I can guarantee you that it’s quite impossible to unsee it. Posting your pen is a must for the Liliput (to give it some decent size to write with), but is completely optional for the Special series. These pens are large enough to comfortably use unposted – about 12 cm, a little bit shorter than an unposted Safari. And although the Special is a slender pen, it is wide enough to allow for a comfortable grip. Personally, I consider the Special series of pens the most comfortable Kaweco writers. These pens can certainly be used for long writing sessions. The Special is a cartridge convertor pen that can take both small and regular-sized standard international cartridges. Personally I prefer cartridge convertor pens because they are low maintenance and easy to clean. I’ve never understood the real (instead of imagined) value of piston fillers. When I want to use bottled ink, I simply syringe-fill a cartridge. Very easy, and a lot simpler and less messy than dumping the nib sufficiently deep into the ink bottle for the piston-filling to work. Yup… give me a cartridge convertor pen any time 😉 But… this is also where the second flaw of this pen makes its appearance. Both cap and barrel screw onto the center nib unit block, with a rubber O-ring separating them. When unscrewing the cap, it sometimes happens that you accidentally unscrew the barrel. It all depends on the amount of torque you used when screwing on barrel and cap. Sometimes the cap gives first, sometimes it’s the barrel. Not a big issue, but it’s sure to happen on a regular basis. There are a number of members in the Special family, and I like them all. The Special Red is definitely the most refined pen of the series: the dark burgundy red works really well with the otherwise gold-coloured accents, giving the whole a truly distinguished look. A superb desk pen for personal journaling. The brass pen is the all-terrain version of the Special – a pen that can take some beating, and that you’ll often find in my backpack. The pictures above illustrate the size of the Special Red compared to a standard Lamy Safari. As you can see, the Special is a decent-sized pen, that can be used both uncapped or posted. The pen is certainly large enough to use comfortably, sparing you the hassle of screwing the cap onto the back of the pen. And the octagonal shape ensures that the cap won’t roll away. For me, the unposted pen has the ideal proportions for a comfortable writer. Of all the Kaweco models, I find the Special the one I will reach for at the start of a longer writing session. Pen Characteristics Build Quality : a well-machined pen that is very maintenance friendly. Build quality is excellent. Just be aware of the few flaws I mentioned above. The O-ring on the nib unit may wear down with time, but that hasn’t happened yet (and in that case, it’s a piece that’s easy to replace – you can probably find a replacement in a DIY shop). These pens get regular use, and after more than 2 years, they still look great. The Special pens with brass parts will patina of course, but that adds to their character. If you don’t like that weathered look, simply use a polishing cloth from time to time. Weight & Dimensions : decent-sized pens (comparable in size to a Lamy Safari), that can easily be used unposted. They are slender, but not excessively so – overall really comfortable in the hand, and well suited for long writing sessions. The aluminium pens are definitely light-weight, whereas the brass version is a lot heavier. You might prefer that one if you like some heft to your pen. Filling System : this is a cartridge convertor pen, that fits both small-size and standard international cartridges. I’ve never used a convertor with my pens, finding it much more convenient to just syringe-fill small cartridges. Nib & Performance : I find the steel nib perfectly sized for this slender pen. Kaweco sells nib units in multiple sizes. I really appreciate that you can easily swap nib units. You don’t have to fear damaging your nib, since you can easily replace it. You can also experiment with different nib sizes. Steel nib units cost about 13 EUR – not expensive. The F nib on my Special Red wrote superbly out-of-the-box – really smooth and with good ink flow. Price : about 79 EUR, including taxes. That’s a bargain for such a nice pen – great value for money. Conclusion The Kaweco Special Red is the perfect everyday-use pen, with a Bauhaus-style look that is both minimalist and elegant. It’s the type of pen design I really appreciate, and continue to enjoy after more than 2 years of use. I’m even seriously considering to add the black version to the family.

Hi everyone, recently I bought a pen lot and inside there was this pen. On the barrel there is Helios and a number 21. I can't find any information regarding this so it would be nice if someone can broaden my horizon of knowledge and also tell me what should I do to take care of it, in case it is a prewar Kaweco.

Kaweco Paradise Blue (cartridge) This a happy turquoise/light teal. It doesn’t like copy paper, it's difficult to scan, dry times are on the longer side and the ink is water resistant. I enjoyed it most with F European nibs upwards. I tried to emulate an UEF nib by reverse writing, to give you an idea of the finest line. Kaweco nibs are not made for reverse writing. Chroma: Writing Samples: I tried to emulate an UEF nib by reverse writing, to give you an idea of the finest line. The combination of Kaweco nib/ ink wasn't suitable for reverse writing This is Tomoe River Paper, I wrote Midori by mistake. Photo: This is closest to the colour I see Tomoe River Paper Midori Comparison: Water test: Quite good, (after 10s under running water) Artwork: It took me sometime to figure this one out, Paradise Kaweco Paradise Blue, Noodler's Lexington Grey and a touch of bleach (for the halo) You know an ink is water resistant when you using the water brush the ink doesn't budge. Granted this is a Fabriano sketching paper not suited for ink work (absorbent, hence the crinkles in the paper) · Pens used: Kaweco (EF/F - Reverse) /M/B, BB), Kanwrite Desire with an Ahab semi-flex nib. · What I liked: Colour. It made me happy. The price · What I did not like: Nothing much. · What some might not like: It doesn’t like copy paper. · Shading: There is some. · Ghosting: Yes, on cheap paper from European fine above. · Bleed through: Yes, on cheap paper. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Nice. Though with European Ef it was slightly below average. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Ok · Saturation: Pastel · Shading Potential: It’s there. · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Easy · Water resistance: surprisingly good. · Availability: 50 ml bottles, 30 ml (discontinued), cartridges. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

I have a Kaweco Elite with tool holes for a wrench for nib removal. I haven't had occasion to need this type of tool yet so I don't have any to try. Is anyone familiar with which wrench may fit. I know there are a few available out there for other pens

Hi FPN, A little while ago, I managed a great deal on a vintage Kaweco V12 and 619 set from around 1965. It was a bit of a risk, bought it on eBay with only one picture so didn't really know what condition it was in. Fortunately, it arrived and when I started to clean it and take it apart it turned out to be in VERY good condition and needing nothing other than a cleaning and some silicon grease. I've done a review of the pens here. However, between winning the auction and getting the pen, I was looking online on how to restore them, I was worried it had a cork piston seal, I couldn't find much. When I couldn't find one, I thought I would take some pictures of the steps as I did it to my new pen, so here's a quite guide on how to take apart a Kaweco V12 and what the parts look like. To start things off, here's a picture of the pens and the case as they arrived. The first thing I did was soak the pen in some deionized water for a few hours, pulling it out of the water to let the water inside the pen drain out and then refill the pen. This washed out virtually all of the ink, which turned the water blue likely meaning it was a washable blue ink that was in it. After the water coming out of the pen stayed clear, I used some nylon pliers to pull out the nib and feed from the pen, which come out as shown below. They just pull straight out, if they don't come out easily, I'd suggest soaking in some soapy water maybe then applying a little dry heat (not too much, the pen is celluloid). The nib may come out by itself without the feed, if that happens just pull the feed out with some rubber tipped pliers. Once removed, this is what the nib and feed look like. They can/should be soaked by themselves in clean water just to make sure everything comes off them, could even give them a gentle brush with a toothbrush to make sure. While I was soaking the nib unit, I started on the piston. On the pen, the seal and piston had come loose from the nob and twisting the nob at the back didn't do anything to the piston, which had me a little worried. When I was looking at the threads, i thought they looked a lot like the threads on a Parker Vacuumatic, which I have the tools to remove. So I grabbed that and it was a match. However, as soon as the unit started to unscrew, I realized that using section pliers are a better option. You can see from the photo below, that the piston unscrews from the barrel of the pen at the metal o-ring rather than at the nob. This means that the piston forms part of the barrel at the top of the pen. This makes using section pliers on the back end of the pen the best option for removing it. My pen didn't have any shellac, but I can see some pens might, so not a bad idea to apply a little dry heat, again, not too much. (this photo is actually from putting the pen back together, that's why the piston isn't sitting in the ink window). Once out, I could see why the piston had come loose from the nob. It's different from the TWSBI piston units as there's a screw that's attached to the nob which fits into a threaded hole inside the piston. There is a square hole in the nob piece which the piston fits into to stop it from rotating and the nob turns a screw which extends or retracts the piston. The below shows the pen fully disassembled. To reassemble the pen, I started with the piston. I put silicon grease on the seal to fill the notch and all along the sides of the seal. I also put grease into the hole in the nob unit, on the outside of the piston shaft, and on the threads that screw into the barrel. I then put the piston into the nob unit and fully retracted the piston. I then screwed the piston unit into the barrel of the pen. I only finger tightened the piston unit as I didn't want to crack the barrel of the pen and was confident it wasn't going to come loose. I wouldn't recommend using section pliers to screw it in as you might over tighten and crack the barrel. You could apply some shellac to the threads to keep it in place, but I didn't want to and the fit is good enough on my pen that I wasn't too worried. The pen is much easier to thoroughly clean if I can remove the piston. It was then just a matter of putting the nib back onto the feed and sliding it into the pen. It goes in smoothly and there is a final little bump you can feel it go over telling you it's in there securely. Because of how the nib fits onto the section, it's very difficult for it to be misaligned, but always worth a check as once on the pen it's difficult. After putting it all back together I tested the piston with some water and it worked great, so inked it up and gave it a test and been very happy ever since. For the 619 ballpoint, the pen came with a refill in it, fortunately, but it had long dried out. I was able to find out that the Schneider 75M refills fit the pen and ordered one black and one blue. To remove the refill, the front of the pen simply unscrews. As you might be able to tell in that photo, the Schneider refills are a little too long for the pen and need to be cut down slightly. I used the refill that came in the pen to get the correct size, unfortunately I don't know the length of what I cut off, but it's around a half inch I think. There was a bit of foam in the piece of the refill that I had to cut off, so I pushed it out and put it back into the back end of the refill to stop it from drying out. I then rounded off the corners a bit and put it into the pen. Worked great and writes very well. The click mechanism is a bit unique. To extend the pen, you push the button down halfway and it will stay there with the pen extended for use. To retract it, push the button the rest of the way and it will go back in. This means if you push the button all the way down in one go, it will extend then retract the pen in one push. This took me a couple of tries to figure out and I think would catch your typical ballpoint user off guard, they are likely to think it broken so if you let someone borrow the pen, best to explain. You can see in the below, the pen extended and the button half pushed. Hope that was useful to someone and if you get a chance to get one of these pens, I'd highly recommend it, they look to be very low maintenance and rather easy to restore if there aren't any broken pieces. Again, you can read my review of the two pens here.

I thought Kaweco is one of the oldest pen brands from Germany and it needs the thread where people can show of their Kaweco instruments. So hereby I request all to show us their Kawecos. Would love to know a lot about vintage ones too.

Ever since I was (very kindly) given a Kaweco Sport I've had nothing but problems: the pen regurgitates big blobs of inks out of the blue, the gold plating was gone after the first swiping with tissue paper, but mostly the converters have been terrible: tried Kaweco's original, sad squeeze type, Monteverde's alternative, finally got Kaweco's new mini converter, and... You get ink bubbles outside the converter and ink on the stalk as you turn or pull it up to suck ink in. The whole thing is so tiny you need to almost put your fingers inside the ink bottle. I give up, I've learned to have patience with fountain pens but this is officially my nightmare pen. I hope everyone that likes Kaweco keeps enjoying them, anyone else looking for a pen... Caveat emptor.

Quick comparison of two similar inks I happened to have. Both write and behave really well, although similarly not great on cheap paper. The swabs are pretty shabby because I only have Summer Purple in cartridge form, so I couldn't get much ink on the cotton swab. I made the Poussiere de Lune swab the same way by getting it from the converter instead of dipping in the bottle. Both are great inks, I might prefer the color of the Herbin slightly more. Hard to tell on such wet fine nibs but the color differences are noticeable when they shade to their lighter tones. School notebook paper, the color difference is a bit more noticeable. Both spread and bleed through almost exactly the same way (56g/cm³)

First of all: My passion for fountain pens has been with me for more than 25 years now and has therefore changed many times: from classics from Germany to the pretty colorful divas from Italy to the noble Japanese fountain pens and back again and back again. In the meantime, a small core collection has emerged, but there have been no constants throughout this time - with one exception: No matter in which collecting phase I was and where my preferred collecting area was, different models of the Kaweco Sport have been added again and again over the years. It started when I first saw such a fountain pen at Manufactum in Hamburg a good 20 years ago (black in checkerboard pattern or diagonally striped). Since then, this concept of a pocket fountain pen has not let me go and I personally still feel the Kaweco Sport as one of the greats in this segment - literally, because unlike the vast majority of other real pocket fountain pens, the mini-converter fits inside and that is simply ingeniously solved for me. Since I first came into contact with vintage fountain pens in Vienna in 2007, the desire for a Kaweco Sport in ebonite has been germinating, which I have also included here in some reviews from time to time over the years. And now suddenly - to my really big surprise - it is actually so far. When I came across the topic of Sport Ebonit the other day at in Münster while talking shop with Mr. Hille and Mr. Thoben, and there was actually news on the topic, I was very happy. And to let you share in my joy in this regard, I have made you below quite a few pictures J Actual Review: Packaging: The 140th company anniversary set comes in a cardboard box with gold embossing of the company logo and name. Wrapped in black wrapping paper, it contains the usual booklet with care instructions, a sticker, a booklet with the company history, a 10 cardboard box with cartridges in all current Kaweco ink colors, the actual fountain pen and separately the gold logo clip (personally I would have wished for an additional converter and a leather pouch). Body: This lovely piece is light... very light... my scale reads 9 grams. For comparison, the plastic version is also 9 grams, the aluminum version is 19 grams, and the brass version is 45 grams.... The other dimensions are identical to those of the other Kaweco Sports, though subjectively I have the impression that the Ebonite feels narrower in the hand and even lighter than the plastic Sport; my calipers and scales prove me wrong in this regard, though: identical weight, identical dimensions.... Material: Eboniiiiite! Wonderful! I like the material very much - generally ebonite, but also specifically this (brownish)red-black version. (I'm always tempted to say 'red ripple', but it's not a 'ripple' pattern at all, rather simply striped). It feels wonderfully warm in the hand, is excellently polished and yet not slippery, not even at 30° outside temperatures with sweaty fingers, which is why it was used for so long especially for sections (and is still sorely missed by me there today). By the way, a polite inquiry to Mr. Wunschel (Head of Marketing at Kaweco) brought to light a small overview of the material history of ebonite at Kaweco: The last Kaweco made entirely of ebonite was the Colleg #603 in 1937-45, and the Sport still had an ebonite cap in 1952-58 (the barrel was celluloid at the time ). Possibly more importantly, however, the first Kaweco Sport was also made of ebonite - in this color scheme. By the way, both the material and the production of the fountain pen are based in Germany. They are old stocks that senior boss Michael Gutberlet had stored for a suitable opportunity. In February of this year, the opportunity then apparently seemed appropriate, because there the idea of an Ebonit Sport for the 140th anniversary was born (- at this point my thanks for the effort of research to Mr. Wunschel) Nib & Feed: Standard gold plated Kaweco steel nib unit. Opinions will differ here. Those who don't like the rather dry ink flow and the comparatively small nib per se will also be bothered by this. Others would certainly have liked a gold nib for this version. Personally, I find the gold nibs from Kaweco in no way superior to the steel nibs in their writing characteristics and am therefore rather pleased with the steel version, especially since there are various hand-ground stubs here that are easily replaceable and fit the fountain pen well. I actually wouldn't have liked the surcharge for a gold nib here. In addition, the company remains pleasantly true to itself in this regard: the other special editions, such as the recent Bronze, also have the steel nib ex works. Fit & Finish: Impeccable. There's really nothing to complain about: Threads perfect, polish flawless, company and series names pin sharp, cap logo picobello. The cap - in contrast to my Sport brass - does not have an internal ring that ensures that the shaft is centered in the cap, yet the shaft has symmetrically the same amount of distance to the cap all around when the cap is screwed on. And don't worry, nothing will dry out: an inner cap to seal the nib at the top of the cap is also available in ebonite. The areas around the internal thread of the grip to the body are not polished, which provides a little more grip when screwing. I can't say if it's suitable as an eyedropper like the plastic Sport models, but if you want to try it out: be careful with Vaseline! If I remember correctly, petrolatum is not compatible with ebonite. But overall, this eyedropper thing at Kaweco is fun, especially with the transparent plastic versions, because you can keep an eye on the fill level. Price: Prices vary greatly on the web: among European suppliers, everything between roughly 280€ and 350€ is in there. As with all other fountain pens from all other manufacturers, the same applies here: One can argue about it. If I look at the current models in ebonite from other manufacturers, we are usually similar in price or above. In this respect, everyone can form their own opinion. Overall impression: I said at the beginning that I was very excited about the announcement. And the overall package fully lives up to my expectations. I especially like the details: I like the simple, contemporary and environmentally friendly paper packaging. I like that it doesn't have one blue cartridge in it, but a whole package. I especially like that it's a test pack with all the colors. I find it extremely convenient to be able to easily test through the ink assortment within the scope of delivery, without having to buy a pack of cartridges each time, only to find out that the color on the paper is quite different than the pack suggests. I like the enclosed clip, and that it's not pre-attached because it would involve scratching, which some would probably want to avoid. And most of all, I like the fountain pen: this classic and pleasant material just fits this classic fountain pen design perfectly. I would actually like to see more Ebonite special editions in the future; for example, a black version with the diagonal stripes that have still been available at Manufactum for over 20 years – but now in ebonite. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the new materials in the next few years with the Kaweco Sport series, which hasn't gotten boring for me one bit since its introduction. And now for the long-awaited pictures: (No affiliation - just a happy customer)

Back in the 1990s I used Waterman pens with #2 nibs for drawing, which seemed to be the most perfect tool — but they frequently leaked and had problems. I didn't get back into fountain pens until recently when I started to hunt for flexible nibs again on a modern, more reliable pen. First I discovered Fountain Pen Revolution flexible nibs, which are great, but then I found that I could also insert vintage Waterman nibs on some modern pens, which was a revelation. The problem was that the FPR pens are so leaky and unreliable, and both nibs always seemed to be starving for ink in various pens I found. Enter Kaweco Liliput. I discovered that their #5 nib/feed was a perfect size for the FPR and Waterman nibs, but I needed to improve ink flow. I also found that the pens are too short for quick sketching (without having to cap them). So I: • Bought a second set of each pen so I can use the cap as an extender • Drilled a hole through the back of the body so a standard ink converter will fit the pen • Altered the feeds so the ink channel/gap was wide enough to accommodate steady ink flow. (I melted the channel with paperclip attached to a soldering iron so the gap was about 2mm.) • Used a flame to "blue" the stainless steel pen, which made it kind of yellowish and colorful • Patina'd the copper pens by soaking in an ammonia bath, which has now mostly faded • Used a cap from a brass "Space Pen" to extend one of the copper pens, instead of another Kaweco cap (and each extra set is not cheap at ~$65, and I am only using the extra cap). Soaked that in ammonia as well, and it's stayed blue-black for a while now I now feel that these are perfect drawing pens (other than the fact that you cannot cap them on the end, which is a minor issue for me). I love using ink converters with flexible nibs since if it the pens stalls you can just shoot a bit of ink with a turn of the dial on the converter. I also find that converters are the best way to experiment easily with different inks. The feel of the copper is really nice and the color keeps changing. A gold Waterman nib in a copper pen is just sublime! Has anyone else hacked their Kaweco pens?

When you think about pocket pens chances are the first name that comes to your mind will be Kaweco Sport. The size ant the shape of this pens is almost iconic and the Sport series is rather popular in the community. I think that it's second most popular fountain pen on polish fountain pen boards (the other one being Lamy Al-Star). Personally I have five Sports that I use mostly for ink reviews / tests. I don't think they're particularly well made but I enjoy compact sice and possibility to use them as eyedroppers and the ease with which I can clean the pen and change the ink. Also, they're quite handy. So far I've managed to accumulate five modern Sports: one demo Classic, two Skylines (burgundy and white), one AL and Seitz-Kreuznach special edition called Kognac. I find the color of the barrel very nice and it's quite possible others will find it interesting as well. The main thing to remember before buying new Kaweco Sport is the fact that you get what you pay for. It's cheap pen and it's cheaply made. It doesn't ooze quality. Once you don't expect miracles you'll be able to enjoy what this pen has to offer. Packaging The packaging is nothing special, really. The pen comes in a simple cardboard box and it's protected by a plastic sleeve. Once you take the pen out you'll find one blue cartridge inside the body. Kaweco doesn't add converter or a clip to their budget pens - you have to pay for them some extra dollars. Overall impressions The design is rather simple and rather unique. Personally I find older Sport much nicer and shapely. There's not a lot of adornments on a plastic transparent body except for engraved Kaweco Sport logo and metal medallion on top of the cap. While I don't really like gold trim I think in this case it fits the barrel very well and looks pleasant to the eye. The barrel is transparent and for me it's a plus. The cap is screw cap and can be puszed to post on the pen. Some people may find it comfortable to write with the Sport uncapped but I'm not one of them. Actually it's the only fountain pen that I use posted. The pen is really tiny when uncapped. The cap stays on the end of the barrel securely and it requires applying some force to pull it straight off. Sadly as the plastic used to make the pen is of low quality some scratches on the barrel appear fast with time and use of the pen - after two or three weeks of writing with the pen little and medium lines became visible on the barrel in the place where the threads touch when the pen is posted. I can live with them as Sport is for me mostly utilatarian pen and I don't find much aesthetic value in it. Nib Ink: J. Herbin Eclat de Saphire, quote from great book that I highly recommend: Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft As I've mentioned I have five Sports - three with broad nib, one with double broad and one with medium. My first Sport had stunning buttery smooth nib that I find amazing after three years of abuse. Sadly the other three nibs were dry and / or scratchy out of the box and each of them needed some micromesh treatment in order to write the way I like it. People say Kaweco improved their quality control but in my experience nothing changed. One month ago I've bought another Skyline and the nib was very dry and unpleasant to use. I needed to work on it to make it tolerable. That's a shame, really. Medium nib in this particular SE fountain pen was too dry to my taste and needed some tuning as well. At the moment it writes well, but in my opinion Kaweco should really check their nibs more often. Filling system I hope one day we'll be able to see modern and reasonably priced Kaweco Sport piston-filler. At the moment though once you get the pen you can choose three options of filling it: Cartridge - international cartridge can always be filled with syringe with the ink of your choice. Personally I rarely use cartridged. Kaweco converter - you have to pay for it and, frankly, it sucks. Eye-dropper - this is the way I fill my Sports (except fot AL Sport that's made of metal and that I use it with cartridge). Just put some silicone grease on the threads and fill the barrel of your pen with ink. During three years of using Kaweco Classic Sport as eye-dropper I have never experienced ink leaking. Dimensions Capped: 105 mm Uncapped: 100 mm Posted: 132 mm Summary After reaing this review some of you may think I'm not thrilled with the pen but it's not the case. I'm huge Kaweco Sport fan but I don't think it's a great pen. It has quite few drawbacks and it's good to mention them and know about them before actually buying one. The pen is cheaply made, there are quality issues with the nibs that as I see it weren't adressed by producer. On the other hand when someone asks me for cheap fountain pen recommendation I have three recommendations and Sport is one of those. It's perfect for every day use, it's comfortable, handy and light. If you're lucky and there's no baby-bottom on the nib it writes very well. Also metal version that I may review in the future if, for me, perfect every day pen. As fot Seitz-Kreuznach special edition I really enjoy it's color and I'm glad to have it among other Sports. It's not high-end pen and the materials aren't most durable or special. On the other hand it's a convenient and comfortable workhorse pen taht, when tuned, writes very well. I plan to acquire another Sport soon - it'll be orange AC Sport with broad nib. It looks simply stunning.

Which converter fits the Kaweco Dia2 pen (with the standard Bock 060 nib unit)? Kaweco have 3 types on their site - mini for the Sport, squeeze and standard. I bought a standard Kaweco converter but it doesn't remotely fit the pen - it won't even fit in the metal base of the section. Other converters in my possession don't fit either. I've seen this asked a few times but couldn't find it answered.

Some people can wield a big, fat stub and get amazing results. Not me. I'm a sloppy writer and still learning basic penmanship. I rotate my pens and stubs don't like that. I write fast, and stubs don't always forgive me for it. Just for fun, I made a quick comparison of the stubs that I have in my collection at the moment. ^---normal writing speed at left, slow in the middle, fast at right The TWSBI 1.1 stub I've personally got three of those, in two pens: the Eco and the Go. One is nice (in the Eco), one is okay (in the Go), one is sharp, scratchy, dry, unusable and out of rotation. They're the only ones in this comparison that have a small amount of bounce and they're not very sensitive to rotation (which is good news for me). They're dry-ish when writing at speed, as can be seen in the writing sample. In terms of line thickness, both their vertical and their horizontal strokes are the widest of the 1.1 nibs in this comparison. Crispness is OK but not exceptional. No hard starts (good). No railroads (good). Pens: TWSBI Eco with 1:1 mixture of J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier and Diamine Sunshine Yellow and TWSBI Go with Noodler's Burgundy. Verdict: a nice, all-round, rather forgiving stub. The Lamy 1.1 italic Lamy offers cheap 1.1, 1.5 and 1.9 replacement nibs that you can slide on to your Safaris and such. I can't even wield a 1.5 (see below under Kaweco) and therefore a 1.9 is way out of my league, so I bought the 1.1. This nib, which is an italic, offers you a hard deal: absolutely wonderful crispness at the cost of rotation sensitivity and scratchiness. I love the look of the text on paper, it's so nice, so crisp, so disctinctive... But with my unsteady hand, I can only use it with pleasure when writing slow. At normal writing speeds, I can tolerate it. When writing fast, it feels like an abomination. This nib could be a true gift to people who have a steady hand and good penmanship. No hard starts (good). No railroads (good). Pen: Lamy ABC with Lamy Blue ink, but it will also fit the Safari and some other Lamy pens (and supposedly even a Platinum Preppy!) Verdict: amazing crispness at the cost of forgiveness... Choose, because you can't have your cake and eat it too. Kaweco #2 1.1 stub One of the many charms of the Kaweco family is that the Liliput, the Sport, the Dia2 and the Special all sport the same #2 screw-in nib/feed collar, so instead of buying a dedicated pen for each nib size you can buy one nice pen and swab nibs in under 60 seconds. I'm not exaggerating: pull out the converter, unscrew the nib/feed collar, screw in the new one, pop in the converter, prime the feed and you're off to the races. Among other models I have a Dia2, which in my opinion is one of the best modern pens being sold today around its price point, and I've got several nibs to use with it, including the 1.1 stub. Its line width is slightly less than that of the TWSBI 1.1, in both directions. It's also slightly more crisp than the TWSBI, which I like, especially since this crispness does not come at the expense of smoothness or rotation sensitivity. Compared to the Lamy, the downstroke is slightly wider and the sidestroke slightly more thin. This is a nib that offers both smoothness and good crispness (though nothing near the exceptional crispness of the Lamy). In fact, it's smoothness is incredible and needs to be felt to be believed. Performance is flawless: it always starts, it doesn't railroad. The TWSBI stub seems to offer more shading, though. Pen: Kaweco Dia2 GT with Iroshizuku Shin-Kai. Verdict: an amazingly smooth and forgiving stub without sacrificing too much crispness, solid performance, a good mix of qualities and clearly a notch above the TWSBI. Kaweco #2 1.5 stub This stub matches the smoothness of its smaller cousin, but that's where the similarities end. Perhaps it's me; perhaps I'm not ready to play with the grown-ups yet. After all, I also couldn't really befriend the Pineider La Grande Bellezo stub, nor the Leonardo 1.5 stub. To me, 1.5 feels as wide as the Grand Canyon and I really struggle to get something nice out of it. This Kaweco 1.5 is no exception to that, despite its amazing smoothness. Personal shortcomings aside, I do notice less crispness in the lines (the worst of this sample) and it's a severe hard-starter. To be specific, after capping the pen and putting it away, it doesn't write when you want to continue, especially on smooth paper. Not just on downstrokes either, it just doesn't write at all after a pauze and takes quite some effort to get going again. In terms of line width, this stub is wide enough to make standard line spacing in a notebook too small (in this case an Oxford 90 g/m^2 notebook with 8 mm line spacing). This is one big nib and it requires lots of space - that's how it was designed, so no criticism there. Pen: Kaweco Dia2 GT with Iroshizuku Shin-Kai. Verdict: very smooth and forgiving stub, but at the expense of crispness (at least when writing at normal and fast speeds). Obnoxious hard-starter, prefers rough paper. Should not be confined to the limitations of ordinary notebooks - this nib really wants to do calligraphy. The outsider: 1948 Onoto 5601 with #3 ST nib I added this Onoto for the sake of reference and comparison, not as a contender. This is a wonderful, narrow stub and they just don't seem to make 'em like that anymore. This is one of the few stubs that make me forget about the pen so that i can just focus on writing. Ink: J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage, Summary: Those who can handle the Lamy 1.1 italic will be highly rewarded by its amazing crispness. As an all-round, forgiving, wonderfully smooth steel stub that does not sacrifice much in terms of crispness, Kaweco's 1.1 is a thing of beauty and as such is the overall "winner". The TWSBI 1.1 is a solid all-round stub that lacks some of the finesse and smoothness of the Kaweco 1.1. The Kaweco 1.5 might be the ticket for those who require a really smooth nib for calligraphy purposes. (When I find the ultimate stub for me, I'll let you know. At the moment the chase seems to be even better than the catch.) EDIT: corrected the text about the Lamy 1.1, which is an italic.

Hi everyone, It's great to be part of this fountain pen community. I rediscovered my love and passion for fountain pens recently. Coincidentally, I got my first pocket pen (Kaweco Sport, Bordeaux, medium nib) with Kaweco Caramel Brown ink cartridges and a mini piston converter today. And I must say that I am loving the experience of writing with it. It has an old world charm to it, which is accentuated by the colour, golden nib and clip, not to mention the unique design and utility. I am sure this is not my last Kaweco Sport. I may consider getting a Brass Sport later. But, I guess a Sailor Pro Gear Slim isn't very far in the future. I tend to gravitate towards retro and vintage stuff. Looking forward to some great conversations here.😊 Cheers! Ajay

I have been collecting writing instruments for a few decades and currently have about 300 of them in my collection. They are mostly vintage, and a few new ones. I try to follow technical evolution as themes of my collection such as filling mechanisms, nib characteristics, materials, etc. I recently became interested in pocket fountain pens and I really don`t have much knowledge about them, so I propose to start with what I know and perhaps members of the community can contribute. There are examples of writing instruments of the Victorian Era, that were meant to carry in pockets or pouches, such as telescopic mechanical pencils, dip pens or combination instruments. At the turn of the Century Safety fountain pens came about, in an attempt to prevent ink spillage when carried in a pocket or pouch. For the most part, these pens were of large size for a pocket. For the purpose of this discussion, I would like to propose the following definition. A pocket fountain pen is one that is short enough to fit in a pocket comfortably and by some means it is enlarged to become comfortable for writing. To my knowledge, there are to methods to achieve this purpose. 1 - Pens with a short barrel and long cap and long section. The threads of clutch ring where the cap engages with the barrel is at the end of the long section, so when capped they are short enough to pocket and when posted they become long enough to fit in the hand. 2 - Telescoping fountain pens. The first example of short barrel and long cap that I am aware of is the Kaweco Sport, that appeared in this format in the 1930's as a piston filled fountain pen with a matching mechanical pencil. Since the pencil doesn't require a cap, the concept doesn't apply to it and it ends up being just a short pencil. This pen is 4" capped and 5.5" posted. In the 1960's in Japan Sailor Pilot and Platinum started offering beautiful renditions of short / long fountain pens. The Japanese development of these pens is covered in depth in Richard Binder's e-book Japanese Pocket Pens. Below I show a Pilot Elite and a Pilot MYU from my collection. While telescopic dip pens where common in the late 19th Century, the first telescopic I am aware of is the Pilot telescopic fountain pen in the 1960's. There are probably earlier ones. In the mid 2000's, rOtring came out with telescoping fountain pens, mechanical pencils and ballpoints, the model Esprit Mini, which is currently produced by Parker. I am sure there is much more to this story than what I was able to present here.

Here I present to you all a vintage mid 1950's MAHAG piston filler by Kaweco FOA , thanks to all the vintage Volkswagen fan over at multiple automotive online groups and forums who answer my questions and give info For a bit of History , MAHAG is a major automotive dealer in Germany starting out in 1930's and still around today, after the war they center all theirs on Volkswagen and added Porsche. Just as any other of such they give company branded merchandise to customers and also employees. This pen as far as info and speculation goes ( according to the Volkswagen fans ) was only given to priced customers who purchase up market model like the Karmann Ghia, Porsche or the full option Beetle or the famed 23 windows bus and also likely to distinguished employees. It's actually a rare item accordingly. A fascinating and interesting piece of automotive and fountain pen memorabilia. This pen was OEM manufactured by Kaweco and everything tells , the piston mechanism had the distinctive pin through the knob construction and the whole pen exhibit a variety of the Sport model's character. It had the model 12's piston mechanism but it's got the early post war 112 construction of mix celluloid + ebonite BHR. It had a Bock 14C gold nib that is fine and surprisingly soft and almost full flex. With an all round cap with the MAHAG logo Technicals and restoration info on coming post

As mentioned in another thread -- -- the parcel my brother'd sent me from the States arrived after a little more than a month in transit yesterday. At around 11:20. I put away the notebooks and checked out the two gel pens and gel-pen refills and finally came to the Kaweco M nib. I pulled out my Kaweco Special, took out its EF nib, and installed the M nib. Inked up the pen. Noodler's Black, duh. Wow. What a wet nib! Much more like a B line, or maybe M lines have always been so fat. Set the pen aside, cos I had changed the ink in a Pilot 823 (PO), from Pilot Blue-Black to KWZi Niebieski galusowy #3, tra la la... la la la... picked up the Kaweco Special, and... fumble-fingers dropped it straight down onto the floor. It was 14:42. I couldn't help but laugh. Here, it'd taken this nib over a month to reach me (and I could have ordered one more cheaply from one of my favorite "local" (in Kraków) pen shops) and not even two-and-a-half hours later, I'd turned it into...hey, that looks like a PO nib! Hahahahaha. I wasn't crazy about the M nib and had been thinking of modifying it (by a professional), and I feel sooooo lucky that it was the Kaweco that I'd fumbled and not the Pilot 823. Or the Nakaya Piccolo (also on the table at the time). I took the nib out of the Special and bent it back about halfway before sticking it into an AL Sport, for further testing. It still looks like a PO nib and writes with a tiny bit of scratching, nothing a little more tweaking couldn't fix. Probably. So... what have y'all dropped lately?

As a pen (and ink) afficinado that lives in Austria, it amazes me, that so many inks are made locally here, even though there is basically no high quality fountain pen and ink production by Austrian brands. There are cheap (and somewhat ugly in my opinion) "Jolly" branded school pens, and the quite nifty Jolly branded ink cartridges (they fit international standard on one end, Lamy on the other), but really nothing worth mentioning on this forum. And then there ist the "mysterious Austrian OEM producer" that does at least ink for: Montblanc Kaweco Monteverde (i am almost sure, I have thrown away the packaging though) Online and probably others. I suspect that this manufacturer ist basically the one company that in the last 30 years has consolidated all Austrian stationery producers(with brands JOLLY, SAX, Cretacolor and BIBA). Again the ink/fountain pen production was never worth mentioning, but the predecessors to that corporation had a centuries long tradition in producing pencils, and their pencils are still very good today (Jolly is a brand aimed at the school market, but their coloured pencils are very good, as are the "Cretacolor" branded artist pencils). I have no evidence to confirm that this is the producer of above OEM inks, would love to hear from anybody who knows more In my much too large collection of inks there are several of these Austrian inks mentioned above, today I swabbed three reds, because I've just bought Kaweco Ruby Red (mainly because of the nice new bottle). Another, probably less known German brand is "Online", their red is called Ruby too, and I was wondering if it is the same, as I suspected could be the case with "Monteverde Valentine Red". As you can see, Kaweco and Online/Monteverde are actually quite a bit different. Monteverde *might* be just a bit watered down Online ink or batch variation, or just an ever so slight variation. I am actually surprised by Online Ruby being such a strong true red, without any hint of blueish or yellowish cast. Is Montblanc red still "Made in Austria", has anybody made comparisons to one of the inks mentioned above? None of these inks is very cheap (don't know about Monteverde, it was expensive to me mainly because of shipping), most of them are quite saturated (as is e.g. Montblanc royal blue). Somehow I am phantasizing about sneaking into the Sachs&Brevillier factory building, discovering lots of ink secrets Does anybody here have more information about that mysterious producer? Should I buy Montblanc Modena red to compare I think the new Kaweco bottle (it is basically a jam or marmalade bottle with its twist off cap) is great BTW, it brings ink price somewhat down too. It is 50ml now, instead of 30ml before at the same price. a nice weekend to all ink-afficionados, Ralph

This is a review for Kaweco Caramel Brown ink. This is the latest shade of brown from Kaweco. The previous brown was called Earth Brown and it's darker. You might still find some older bottles of Kaweco Earth Brown ink and the older ink boxes are a darker brown colour. You can tell if you have one of the newest bottles because the name of the ink is now printed on the box. It's also on the cartridge packs and Kaweco branding is now on each cartridge. This is a pretty shade of brown ink. It's not too dark, or almost black and I like it for that. However, I found it quite dry in the Kaweco Dia2 pen that I tested it with, despite the fact that I left the cartridge in the pen for a few days to ensure that the feed was saturated enough. It felt dryer to write with than the Midnight Blue and Ruby Red inks that I have already reviewed from Kaweco. You might still find some older bottles of Kaweco Earth brown ink. The inks are a fairly similar colour. This ink isn't waterproof, and it doesn't stain fingers. Kaweco ink is made in Germany. It is available in 30ml bottles or packs containing 6 standard international sized cartridges.

Hi, Is anyone able to get the pen mentioned in the title? If so, I would greatly appreciate it and I will pay for the cost and shipping, and any extra cost towards the effort made to find it. I live in New York. Regards. Note 1: Kaweco now makes this AL sport fountain pen in a "stonewashed" blue color, which is not as distinctive as their matte blue version. Note 2: A used one in very good condition is also an alternative if finding a new one is impossible. Note 3: An example of what it looks like: https://www.jetpens.com/Kaweco-AL-Sport-Fountain-Pen-Matte-Blue-Extra-Fine-Nib/pd/9493

Hi, I am a new member of the forum, I joined because I thought I could find some help regarding my post below. The link should take you to my original post. Basically, I have been looking for a specific Kaweco AL Sport that is no longer produced, with no success. I am hoping there is still a possibility of finding it. Many thanks... https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/358638-looking-for-kaweco-al-sport-fountain-pen-in-matte-blue/

I was wondering if I could see your kaweco double broad nibs? I’m a little worried that I got a fake one 😕 my double broad has deeper etching and slightly wider design than that of my EF (which came from germany). Also, the etching it slight bronzed. Doesnt show in picture but noticeable when observed keenly in person. Also, it took me 30 mins for it to write. Then I have to squeeze the catridge everytime I want to use it. Never had a problem with my other kawecos.

How long does it take for the Kaweco fountain pens to ink the first time? I inserted the cartridge that goes with it but its not writing The ink in the cartridge is not dry. I have shaken the pen and everything and no ink is coming out. Im leaving it pointed down waiting for the ink. I'm using a double broad nib.

InkShift - Kaweco Ruby Red to Sunrise Orange Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a project exploring what happens when you move progressively from one ink colour to another. For now, I'm restricting myself to inks from the same manufacturer - mainly to avoid nasty chemical surprises. My hope is that some of these "inkshifts" result in interesting colours that I can use to write/draw with. And besides... it's just fun to watch one ink colour morph into another one. Ruby Red and Sunrise Orange are regular Kaweco inks, but not especially interesting. The Ruby Red is definitely not to my taste, and the Sunrise Orange is just plain orange... I don't see the soft beauty of a sunrise in this colour. But maybe there might be some interesting combinations in the mix, maybe even a fairly decent red-orange. Who knows... only one way to find out, and that is to do the inkshift experiment. In the span between the two starting inks more interesting colours appear, that beat the original versions (my personal opinion). The ones that I liked the most are the following two: The first one is a soft orange-red, the other a decent sunset orange. I prefer these mixes to the original Kaweco inks, and will use them instead. I continue to enjoy these ink morphing experiments. Fun adventures in ink-land, and more often than not you are rewarded with a mix that beats the original inks. Fun guaranteed!