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Kaweco Chess Sport Black FP Review History (reproduced from the Kaweco web-site) Kaweco - In 1883 the manufacturer of high-quality writing instruments was founded in Heidelberg Germany. Kaweco has been producing a wide range of fine writing pens and has been setting a great value on classy design and high standard manufacturing. The first Kaweco Sport was founded in 1912 as a pocket fountain pen for ladies, officers and sportsmen. In 1930 the brands and models of Kaweco and Aurumia fused and the Ka We Co three part circle emerged. This circle is still used today on nearly all of it’s pens. Even Sepp Herberger already appreciated these characteristics. It was with a Kaweco Sport that the former coach of the German national soccer team wrote on a piece of paper his winning tactics which brought the Germans to the world cup in 1954. In 1993 H & M Gutberlet GmbH made it’s first prototypes for a relaunch of the Kaweco Sport under the name Trekking, but gained and registered the rights to rename as Kaweco in 1994. The Kaweco Sport was newly produced as a cartridge holder in 1995, but the design remained the same as the 1935 model. In 2000 the first Limited Sport edition was produced in green celluloid, and the AL Sport as well as the Art Sport were launched in 2003. Kaweco's product range is perfectly described by the keywords "tradition" and “innovation" Appearance and Design The Kaweco Classic Sport starts off as a small and compact pen until you remove it’s cap, and replace it on the end of the barrel to make a decent sized fountain pen in your hand. The Classic Sport range differs from the Skyline range in having gold plated accents. The Chess Sport additionally has a chess board design on the faceted cap. I like this very attractive feature on the pen. I also like the very attractive milled edge on the end of the barrel. Kaweco supply a standard 23kt gold plated steel nib unit with this pen, that matches it’s Kaweco gold plated metal cap emblem as well as the gold coloured ‘Kaweco Sport’ script on the barrel. It comes in black or blue plastic finishes. Construction and quality Although this pen is made from plastic, it feels well made and quite substantial in your hand and performs as well as many full sized pens. It’s lightweight, but not at all flimsy, and it has a nice size, well shaped grip. The cap is intended to be posted on the barrel for Sport pens and the pen feels nicely balanced in your hand when the cap is posted on the barrel. As always with Kaweco Sport pens, the cap and the barrel screw together very well for a close fit, on smoothly machined screw threads. Weight and Dimensions Weight: 10grams. Measurements: Closed; 107mm, Posted; 135mm, Nib; 17mm. Nib and Performance The 23kt gold plated steel nib units for this pen come as a complete section, as opposed to the screw in nib and feed units that Kaweco make for metal Sport pens. So you can swap any complete nib unit into this pen. I found this nib wrote straight out of the box as soon as I fitted a cartridge. I was really impressed with the smoothness of the nib, that needed no adjustment at all. It gave me a smooth writing experience that rivalled that of some gold nibs in more expensive pens.There is no flex with these steel nibs, but I don’t mind that. Filling system and Maintenance As I’m reviewing some Kaweco pens and inks, I selected a Pearl Black cartridge for the Chess Sport. The cartridges are International Short cartridge size. I also tried a Kaweco Sport press type converter that I filled with Pearl Black bottled ink If you’re looking for a pen with a sophisticated piston filling system, or even a classic type of twist converter, then you might be disappointed with this pocket-sized pen. The compact converter that Kaweco make for this pen is just like a cartridge except that you squeeze it to draw up ink out of the bottle. It’s less easy, and contains less ink, than using a twist action converter, but the Kaweco twist converter doesn’t fit this pen. It isn’t a difficult pen to clean out. I just used an ear bulb and pushed some lukewarm water through it to clean out the ink after I had used it. Cost and Value I found this pen for sale at Hamilton Pen Company for £19.95 in the UK including free delivery. I think thats a reasonable price to pay for this pen. It’s not much more than the standard Classic Sport, and the chess pattern lifts it from the ordinary especially if you have more than one black Sport pen. Overall Opinion Kaweco Sport pens have a really good screw cap that prevents their cartridges from drying out, and I have always liked that in these pens. I also like the way they are compact pocket sized pens that extend into good size pens that are easy to write with. If you want a clip or a converter they are available separately, but I find it as easy to refill cartridges from bottled ink with a syringe, as using the squeezy converter that is made to fit this pen. All in all, I really like this pen and I would recommend it. Kaweco loaned me this pen to review, and I really appreciate that. Thank you Kaweco.