Kaweco Sport Piston

[Fluegelfeder]

Hi folks!

 

Last year there was first the Sport Bronze, then in autumn the long-awaited Sport Ebonite, followed by the colorful acrylic Sport Art versions and now, at Easter, the long-awaited Sport piston filler... What a concentration of new models - including several that have been eagerly awaited for a long time: the Ebonite and the piston version! While the Sport Ebonite was a Special Edition, the new piston version is fortunately here to stay! It would have been nonsense to call it a special edition, as a lot of effort was put into the model.

 

Packaging

 

The Kaweco comes in a beautiful round tin box in a half-open cardboard slipcase. Depending on your choice, the fountain pen can be purchased with a bottle of blue ink (Starter Set) or without (Solo).

 

Dimensions

 

Length opened without cap: 10cm

Length opened with cap attached: 12.7cm

Length closed: 10.5cm

Weight: 22gr

In direct comparison with the other Sport models, it is noticeable that the new piston filler is slightly shorter than the others when closed, although the individual parts (filler and cap) are the same length. In this respect, the Sport piston filler obviously sits deeper in the cap.

 

Material

 

Aluminum and ABS plastic. In contrast to the usual series, however, the construction here is more complex: the body consists of the ink chamber made of ABS plastic, which also forms the ink viewing window. A firmly bonded aluminum sleeve sits on top of this. This ensures that the piston mechanism does not run directly on the aluminum and that ink cannot react with the aluminum. The thread at the back of the decorative ring on the blind cap is also made of aluminum. I personally like that very much. The dummy cap, cap and grip are also made of aluminum and the cap has a plastic ring on the inside to prevent the body from scratching. In contrast to my Sport Brass, however, this ring does not extend all the way to the cap lip, but is 'only' a relatively narrow inner ring, as is usual with Sport aluminum.

Whether you like the combination of matt black aluminum and gold accents is undoubtedly a matter of taste. Personally, I find it visually successful, but I still can't quite reconcile it aesthetically: the golden accents convey this touch of history and, especially with this model and then also as a piston fountain pen, this charm of the golden era of fountain pens. On the other hand, hardly any other material looks as modern and even futuristic as matt black aluminum (apart from titanium perhaps), which somehow doesn't quite fit together. But the little one certainly looks pretty.

 

Filling mechanism

 

Here comes the innovation: a Kaweco Sport with a real piston mechanism. Great cinema! I have to admit, I had long feared that a piston Sport model might become a Sport with a permanently installed piston converter. There are quite a few manufacturers who rely on such systems for the sake of simplicity, even in the high-price segment. So I'm all the more pleased that the piston really does work in the body. I'm also very pleased about the blind cap, which simply offers more playfulness than a direct cone. And let's be honest, if it were just a pocket filler, then another Sport model would do just as well

The piston seal works with two sealing lips. I don't know whether it actually lasts longer than systems with just one sealing lip, but I like the look of it better. My MB 146 only has one sealing lip and this is also on the side of the piston mechanism, which is why there are always ink deposits in the resulting gap, which are more difficult to rinse out than, for example, Pelikan, which also works with two sealing lips. This is complaining on a high level, but I appreciate an eye for such details. The piston mechanism itself actually works extremely smoothly and is extremely easy to move. In my opinion, Pelikan works much softer than a Lamy 2000 and also softer than MB, but the Kaweco is a whole lot smoother. Let's see what time brings and to what extent this changes. One reason for the smooth running is probably the lubricant on the body wall. The silicone grease (?) is clearly visible in the ink window where the reach of the piston mechanism ends at the front of the grip. There is not an excessive amount, but it is certainly recognizable.

 

Nib

 

Not only the piston mechanism, but also the nib unit (190) is new. Whereby 'new' is relative, because it is the familiar small (stainless steel) nib from the regular Sport models, which, however, sits in a new nib unit. The nib unit is shorter overall, has an additional O-ring seal and is made of gray plastic. The RRP is a pleasing €14.95 and therefore only slightly higher than the regular nib unit, which is entirely reasonable. My nib here writes perfectly out of the box, without any writing problems and - something I haven't had before - pleasantly wet. We're still not talking about Niagara Falls or Omas' Bologna wet. But for Kaweco, it's quite a bit richer than usual. For me, that would actually be the perfect amount of ink on paper for everyday use. Now, of course, I don't know whether this is due to my individual nib here or whether the 190s generally put a little more ink on the paper (or whether it has to do with the piston mechanism or-or-or).... In any case, I like it so much.

 

Fit and finish

 

The devil is in the detail and in my opinion Kaweco has thought a lot about this and done it really well: I have already mentioned the internal ring in the cap that protects the barrel from scratches. This can also be found on all other high-end sports models and is therefore hardly worth mentioning - but how many other manufacturers think of this? More exciting, however, are the other details of the piston model: I have already mentioned the aluminum thread on the blind cap. The cone under the blind cap, on the other hand, should also be mentioned here: Yes, it is made of plain black plastic, but it has a golden Kaweco logo inlaid, as on the cap head at the front.

The choice of ABS plastic should also be mentioned here. Opinions may differ as to whether acrylic would not have been better, albeit more expensive. More interesting, however, is the choice of color for the ABS plastic: it was not highly transparent, but gray-transparent. When we asked Mr. Wunschel from Kaweco, he explained that yellowing of transparent plastic cannot be ruled out, which is why they opted for grey-transparent so that any yellowing or simply clouding caused by inks would not be so noticeable. I also think it makes sense to produce the new 190 nib unit with a gray housing, so that it stands out visually from the standard 60 nib unit and you can be sure that you have the right nib unit for the respective model. These nib units are also interchangeable, which means that many people will probably accumulate 'replacement nibs' with a different stroke width for the piston filler. As most people who have a Sport piston will probably also have other Kaweco Sports and therefore other loose nibs, you won't get confused in the future.

 

Price

 

149 RRP for a piston fountain pen with a steel nib seems reasonable to me in view of other German manufacturers. There is no question that it can be cheaper internationally, and of course it remains to be seen how durable the piston mechanism is. Overall, however, I think it is a really successful realization of a long-cherished wish in the fountain pen community: finally a classic Kaweco Sport piston fountain pen again. And as a regular model too, although it can be assumed that, as with the other Kaweco models, special editions will be added from time to time. The piston filler in a night edition or stonewashed oooooor as a brass version... or made of steel!!! Wow! The Kaweco Sport piston in brass or steel!!! Can we do that please? That would be great!

 

But now for the pictures!

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[Fluegelfeder]

[senzen]

Thank you! That blue nib unit inside the black section looks pretty cool. Is the section slippery at all?

 

I already have waaaay too many pens but I'm curious if or when they'll release more colours, not everyone can successfully design coloured (anodized?) aluminium, for instance Apple iMacs look nasty (to me).

 

I would only suggest changing "spring" for "nib", I realise it might be a translation problem.

[AceNinja]

Nice written review with lots of intrinsic details!

 

Now I would like to know if the piston mechanism is removeable/unscrewable from the barrel, or was it friction/snap fitted.

[Fluegelfeder]

@Senzen: No, on the contrary: the section - as well as the rest of the pen - ist quite tactile. Do you by any chance own a Kaweco AL Sport? If so: same as these.

(And: 'spring' changed to 'nib' - sorry about that!)

 

@AceNinja: Good question. I have no Idea and and don't dare taking it apart just for the fun of it. But what I can say is: There's nothing visible to open it with a tool (like those flattened parts for Pelikan tools or those holes for MB tools). 

 

[Fluegelfeder]

And one further piece of information on the capacity: 

 

1 ml to 1.1 ml fits into this small pocket pen. The Sport converter takes 0.4ml, so this is quite a huge step forward (although the plastic Sport as eyedropper can take up to 2ml...).

[Fluegelfeder]

A few more pictures outside:

 

[Surlyprof]

Thank you @Fluegelfeder.  Great review with excellent photos.  It was so nice to read a much more in-depth written and visual explanation of this intriguing pen.  It will be interesting to see what colors Kaweco releases in the future when this is a hit (which I think it will be).

[senzen]

12 hours ago, Fluegelfeder said:

@Senzen: No, on the contrary: the section - as well as the rest of the pen - ist quite tactile. Do you by any chance own a Kaweco AL Sport? If so: same as these.

(And: 'spring' changed to 'nib' - sorry about that!)

 

 

 

Thank you, no I only have a "checkers" black and gold Sport.

[AceNinja]

14 hours ago, Fluegelfeder said:

A few more pictures outside:

 

 

these are some beautiful photos.  Also, the kaweco logo finial on the turning knob is a nice touch.

 

So for the kaweco's piston mechanism, is it the non-differential type mechanism?  ie differential type mechanism is like a pelikan's or a TWSBI's, where when you turn the piston knob, it extends the piston rod and at the same time raise the piston know slightly from the barrel.  By non-differential i meant that the piston knob rotates but it itself didn't change position.

 

Also the ink volume sounds very reasonable to me, given that the pen is small to begin with, and piston mechanism usually takes at least half barrel length.  To cite another small piston filler, the discontinued Pelikan M300 has ink capacity of 0.65ml (as quoted here: https://www.pelikan-collectibles.com/en/Pelikan/Models/Souveraen-Series/M300-Basis/index.html).  That's a short international cartridge category.

[txomsy]

Thanks for the review. It is most informative and helpful. I've already started saving for one.

[Fluegelfeder]

Thanks for all your kind words of appreciation!

 

@AceNinja: It's the non-differential type: The turning knob doesn't lift up by turning it.

 

 

[Doc Dan]

Thanks for the great review. This is my most anticipated pen! I was always on the fence about Kaweco, but this one caused me to fall over on that side. Hopefully, they will be in stock, here, in a week or two. I wonder what the street price will be?

[donnweinberg]

I join the others in thanking you for your comprehensive review, as a result of which I will purchase one of these pens.  Internal piston fillers are my favorite.