About my new Kaweco brass Sport

[jogot]

For traveling and for use “on the go” I wanted a pen that is compact and highly robust and at the same time a reasonably good and comfortable writer. All that in a price range that would not let me completely panic in case I would miss the pen during travel or it got stolen.

After having investigated the options I could find for a travel pen, I decided that a Kaweco brass Sport with “M”-nib would likely be the right choice for me. I did not have the opportunity to physically try any of the pens in question and had therefore to rely on what I could find online.

I knew the Kaweco would be much heavier than the other pens I have and was curious how I would like that. Also, I had noticed that several users/reviewers of the Kaweco Sport series pen had mentioned that the nibs are a bit hit or miss, some a great out of the box, others not so much. As the nibs are cheap and easily replaceable, I was willing to risk to get a bad one.

For ink supply the Kaweco sport series uses short international cartridges (Kaweco offers a tiny converter though). Using short international cartridges seems to be an excellent choice for a travel pen or one that is often used “on the go”. It is easy to carry spare ink and clean to replace a cartridge compared to fiddling around with a piston filling system. Also, for this type of cartridge one should have a fair chance to purchase those at many places should the need arise.

Unlike some other pocket/travel fountain pens I looked at, which require the cap to be screwed to the back of the pen for posting, the Kaweco caps just needs to be pushed on, while it is screw-on to close the pen. This in my view is an ideal combination for a pen that, when not in use, will rarely rest peacefully on my desk.

The pen as expected feels very different from my other pens. While being compact it feels very substantial and robust.

When writing with the pen I found its weight to be no problem at all. As I probably have average size male hands, I have to post the pen for anything exceeding just scribbling down a phone number or so. A substantial amount of the weight is in the cap so that the weight of then pen, when writing posted, rests against the hand and does not have to be moved around with the nib movements.

I very much like the look and feel of the brass and I also like the fact that the pen has a design that has been around for so long and probably can be called timeless.

Getting to the actual writing:

I put a Pelikan 4001 royal blue cartridge in it when it arrived as I know how that ink behaves in my Faber Castell Loom (also “M” nib).

The Kaweco started right out of the box but seemed to put very little ink on the paper. The blue tone was very light and when moving fast (a bit faster than I would during writing) it would skip. Also, while I do not have much of a basis or experience really, it felt scratchy to me, but maybe just lacking lubrication due to the poor ink flow.

I turned to Youtube-university to learn what to do about this. I learned how to inspect the nib and found that in my case the nib halves were tightly pressed together. I adjusted that and cleaned also the feed just in case there would be some residue from production.

The brought the flow after some iterations to where I wanted it.

Finally, I smoothened the writing surface of the nib on increasing fine polishing pads (starting at 8000 then 10k and finally 12k).

Now the pen writes really lovely and I am very happy with owning it. I like the feel when having it in my hand and how it writes so nice and smooth on the different papers I tried. It feels like I could write very comfortable with it for hours, something I had not expected.

I fitted it with a Kaweco clip and bought a little Galen leather pouch for it. As much as I benefited from reviews others did for this pen, I hope this short overview might be of some use for others.

[txomsy]

Thanks for posting your opinion, it is always good to know, and the more opinions one can find, the better for making up one's mind.

 

My first impression was that your poor ink flow was due to machining oils, I would have started by that first. Other than that, I agree that it is a substantial yet comfortable pen and it has a great design (IMHO much better than its clones). Mine has aged nicely, and I suspect it will still evolve its patina. That's another plus for me, the organic surface and that it is raw, not varnished as the clones gives -again IMHO- a distinctive feeling. I hope you like the patina yours may develop, but if you don't, you can always polish it.

 

I do use an international converter on it, a Chinese one, I had to trim the back of the converter, but it fits and works OK. It is a pity Kaweco does not make something better for these.

[mtcn77]

On 11/6/2022 at 11:18 AM, jogot said:

The Kaweco started right out of the box but seemed to put very little ink on the paper. The blue tone was very light and when moving fast (a bit faster than I would during writing) it would skip. Also, while I do not have much of a basis or experience really, it felt scratchy to me, but maybe just lacking lubrication due to the poor ink flow.

 

I turned to Youtube-university to learn what to do about this. I learned how to inspect the nib and found that in my case the nib halves were tightly pressed together. I adjusted that and cleaned also the feed just in case there would be some residue from production.

 

The brought the flow after some iterations to where I wanted it.

@jogot your experience replicates mine. Had you written, or I read sooner, I would urge you to try out the B nib size, since my stock M came out unaligned also. However, B was spot on. Since Kaweco nibs are so available, I urge you to contact the manufacturer for a nib change, or a B nib replacement unit.

I know how tiresome it is, it is not just feedback you are experiencing. There is also some BBS splaying causing hardstarts. Eventually, you will feel the tines close on some directions and not writing lines with consistent thickness. Try out the B before that happens, you'll look back in disbelief how it took you so long.

PS: it took me some time to find out you sorted it out yourself. Congratulations!

[austollie]

My Kaweco Al Sport worked well out of the box, without ink flow issues.  I've recently started using a Kaweco Liliput as a pocket pen.  It's more compact than the Sport, but given that the cap needs to be screwed on, it's not as suitable for regular writing as the Sport.  Both have their place.

[jogot]

Yes, I looked at the Kaweco Liliput as well, but it's dimensions seemed to make it necessary to use it posted (which applies for the Sport pretty much also), but the need to screw the cap on made me go for the Sport. I have use it quite a bit since my initial post and it is a lovely pen, just right for what I bought it for. 

[Orval]

I bought one with a fine nib to use during a 800km pelgrimage to Compostela. It wrote perfectly out of the box. With the fine nib the ink capacity was sufficient. I putted it sometimes in my shirt pocket (I put a clip on it), but mostly in the belt pock of my backpack, unprotected between other small stuff. It was for me the perfect writing tool during the journey and has now a nice patina. 

[jogot]

Very impressive that you did this pilgrimage, I've read about it but never considered actually doing it. It proves the Kaweco brass sport capability as a travel pen beyond doubt 😀

[mtcn77]

Kaweco is interesting because it feels of a high degree of engineering. You will not find any loose parts and that is the most impressive feature of the brand. You can literally fill the barrel, lock it shut and it won't leak. Compared to some other brands, its solid cap posting sounds et cetera are just pure bliss. The pen is well worth keeping as a daily writer.