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Greetings from Canada. This is my first FPN post (other than my introduction). I recently added the brass Kaweco Sport and Lilliput pens to my collection. For some years my fountain pens have tended to be of German manufacture, such as Lamy, Pelikan and Montblanc, with Fisher Space pen "bullet" ball point pens meeting my "in the field" and EDC requirements. I am a public safety worker, and reserve officer in the military, and have a wide range of writing needs (I am hoping to transition into a more gentle, fountain pen - friendly legal practice when I retire in the next few years). For the most part, my German made pens have fulfilled a dignified and professional "boardroom" and "meeting" need, while the Fisher space pens have met my "note-taking", "fieldcraft" and "training exercise" requirements (especially in the winter when the unfreezable fisher inks are really the only option - other than pencil - FYI only - my favorite "space pen" is the brass "bullet" which I keep in a Kaweco Lilliput leather pouch). The Kaweco brass pens are both quite beautiful, and seemingly indestructable. I can write with the Sport unposted, but I much prefer the length of the posted pen. The Lilliput cannot really be used unposted given that the body is miniscule, but the cap threads very securely onto the body, and is quite an adequate size once posted. In terms of finish, expect the brass to tarnish quickly. I find the patina effect very attractive, but some of my peers much prefer the bright, shiny finish they first arrived in. The finish can be quickly restored with the proper cleaning solution and cloth, but I personally like the "antique" look. I obtained Kaweco leather pouches for each pen from "Jetpens", and purchased gold plated steel nibs for them separately. The "stock" steel nibs were pretty much identical in performance, and both the steel, and gold plated steel nibs (I switched out medium steel nibs for broad gold plated nibs) wrote smoothly with no skipping. I also obtained the Kaweco squeeze converter for each pen, but found them to hold so little ink that I switched back to Kaweco short "Royal Blue" cartridges. I further "upgraded" the brass Sport with a gold coloured clip. The "Sport" is therefore never outside my waist coat, or suit jacket front pocket when I leave for work. In temparate weather, I can now take both the Sport and Lilliput into the field with me for "light" outdoor activities. I used them both last week end during a nearby training exercise, and they each functioned well, with little worry of damage or failure. Of course during the winter, I will have to switch back to the "freeze proof" Fisher space pen for my outdoor activities. As an aside, I have done a lot of research on the new 14K gold Kaweco nib that is available in Europe. If it is ever available in North America at a reasonable price I will certainly beg my both my wife and daughter to purchase it for me (failing that, I will have to save up my lunch claims). That would be the ultimate upgrade! I also acquired the respective "Sport" and "Lilliput" Kaweco leather pouches, which are really the best things ever given their very reasonable price. The leather is fine, but still rugged, and I obtained additional "2 pen" pouches to fit my French laguiole knives for a third of the price of custom knife pocket pouches. I am posting a series of photos taken from my Samsung Note 4 phone. The Note 4 takes absolutely stunning images, but unfortunately the images take up so much data, that I was not able to load the originals on the forum. I had to "downgrade" / compress them to fit. I hope that they look ok. If anyone has any suggestions as to loading these images without losing too much resolution, please let me know. The attached images include: Kaweco brass Sport and Lilliput pens and accessories (Sport and Lilliput pens, Kaweco converters attached to the "stock" steel nibs, Sport and Lilliput leather pouches, and Kaweco box) My gentlemans / waistcoat EDC contents (brass Lilliput in pouch, brass compass, copper Prometheus Beta flashlight, all in a Saddleback Leather card wallet / sleeve) EDC pouch and pens German pens comparison (Kaweco brass Sport, Kaweco brass Lilliput, Pelikan M800 and Montblanc 149) German pens posted The first image depicts one of my Imperial Roman Rhine Legions, about to be attacked in its fortress by Germanic tribesmen, circa 9-15 AD. Some of the other images are that of a Bavarian village during the War of the Spanish Succession (circa 1700) defended by Bavarian, French, Irish (French regiments loyal to King Louis XIV), and Swiss (regiments loyal to France) troops. The village is under attack by English, Scottish, Dutch, Prussian, Danish, and Ausrian troops. I apologize for the completely unnecessary toy soldier images, but I was simply not able to restrain myself. Regards, Tish

Hello Everyone, I have been following the forum for some time, and became fascinated with everything to do with beautiful precision writing instruments. I was inspired to watch endless youtube videos and following various blogs over the last 5 years or so. Along the way I learned about journaling, and about fountain pens I would not even have considered acquiring until one forum member or another wrote about their personal experiences. For example, although my collection was formerly entirely German in manufacture (Pelikan, Kaweco, Lamy, Montblanc), I recently obtained some very well made Chinese pens. My next steps will be to learn how to properly tune my pens, and even attempt to fiddle with the nibs - perhaps switching out and replacing them with #6 nibs by various manufacturers. Once I am confident I hope to "rebuild" some vintage Parkers and American pens with the mentorship of my friend Nathaniel who runs an online pen shop in Chicago. I work in the public safety field, and am a reserve member of the military. I am hoping to open a law practice when I retire from my profession, and the whole fountain pen thing hit me around the time I realized that I would be starting a more gentle life in the next 5 years or so. My wife and daughter were very sceptical about my new hobby, especially as I am already obsessed with building huge armies of military miniatures (everything from Ancient Egypt to the American Civil War), but they are coming around. I hope to be a useful and pleasant contributor to his forum. Regards, Tish