Posts filed under Kaweco

Kaweco Smokey Grey Ink Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I’ve been hunting for a beautiful grey ink to put in my new (to me) Montblanc Alexandre Dumas fountain pen. I originally filled the pen with Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun, but I find that ink too watery, especially with an italic nib. As I was going through my list of things to review, up popped Kaweco Smokey Grey ink.

I don’t own many Kaweco inks, so I was interested to see how this one performed in my Dumas. I did my usual ink tests, and found that the ink is light grey with a little bit of shading. Like Fuyu-Syogun, it’s quite wet. Although it’s not waterproof, it held up better than many of the inks I’ve reviewed in my water test.

Chromatography reveals a rather uninteresting spectrum of colors: grey, some dark blue, and a little lavender.

Kaweco Smokey Grey is a flat color. Although it offers some shading, it has no sheen whatsoever.

Compared to Fuyu-Syogun, Kaweco Smokey Grey is what I would call a true grey, whereas Fuyu-Syogun is more of a lavender-grey.

Unfortunately, Kaweco Smokey Grey is not the solution to my grey ink dilemma. I find it boring and much too light for everyday writing. It might work as a nice wash for painting or a background color for other inks.

Next up on my search for the perfect grey ink for my Alexandre Dumas: Kyo-no-oto 05 Aonibi-iro, a blue-grey ink that looks very intriguing.

You can purchase a 30ml bottle of Kaweco Smokey Grey from JetPens for $13.50.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on September 4, 2017 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kaweco, Ink Reviews.

Kaweco Sunrise Orange Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

As far as orange inks go, I'm still dipping my toes into the orange pool. I don't always want an orange ink at the ready, but it's undeniable fun to have a couple of orange inks in the collection. Just like most things, I think my collection is destined to grow as I keep finding more orange inks that fill that orange void I didn't know I had.

Kaweco recently released a new slew of inks, and Sunrise Orange was one of them. Available in bottles and cartridges, this is a mellow orange that falls somewhere in between neon glow-in-the-dark orange and Diamine Ancient Copper. It has plenty of mellow brown and rust notes that tone down the bright orange, yellow, and red primaries. It's definitely an orange ink, but it's more subdued than what I'm used to. Most orange inks are fluorescent, in-your-face, non-apologetic flashes that pop off the page. With Sunrise Orange, you have an ink that almost passes the "office safe" test. Regardless, it's a gorgeous ink and I've really enjoyed using it this year.

Most inks that make it into my "favorite" lists have a fair amount of shading, and Sunrise Orange is no exception. Given the dramatic difference between the rust/brown base and the orange/yellow/red high end, it's no surprise that this ink has some fantastic shading properties. Even in a fine or extra fine nib, this ink shades well. As the nib gets larger, the shading gets more dramatic. Needless to say, it adds a lot of character to an ink that otherwise might be easy to skip.

Like other Kaweco inks, it doesn't have any noticeable issues with bleeding or feathering. It's a really well-behaved ink, and that's just what I'd expect from Kaweco. Cleaning is easy, it plays nicely with all types of nibs and papers, and has great flow/lubrication. One thing you won't find in this ink is a resistance to water, but that shouldn't be surprising.

Reliability also isn't a concern with this ink. It starts with no problems, even after being capped for a few days. If you leave the pen sitting on your desk for a few minutes, the ink flow returns with minimal effort and waiting. I haven't noticed this ink causing any skipping or flow issues in my pens, and it cleans out easily.

The only real downside to this ink is the dry time. It takes quite a while to dry in some cases. In the fine nib I've been using lately, it takes a good 30-35 seconds for the ink to dry completely in the heavier areas. Sure, the areas where the ink is light (lighter strokes) don't take more than 15 seconds to dry, but you have to watch out for the microscopic pools of ink to dry before running your hand over it. This is definitely a concern for left-handed writers, as well as anyone who tends to close a notebook quickly after jotting down some notes. The latter example would leave orange blots on the opposite page of the notebook. It's a minor complaint, but something to consider if dry time is important to you.

Apart from that, this is an incredible ink! The color is unique and fun, it shades like a rockstar, and it adds excitement to the page. Kaweco Sunrise Orange is available in a 30ml bottle or international short cartridges (packs of 6), so it's bound to work with any pen you fancy.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on August 9, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Kaweco, Ink Reviews.

Kaweco Ice Sport Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I love wee pens, and of my wee pens, my Kaweco Liliput is one of my favorites. So it's probably weird that I've never tried a Kaweco Sport until now. This delightful little thing is like pen candy. And while it's not for eating, I'd argue that it's perfect for filling a bowl on your coffee table with every color of the rainbow. There may or may not be a few in my JetPens cart right now.

The first thing I said to this pen was, "I'm probably going to break you". The plastic looks fairly meek, and I found myself in awe of all those who have said they eyedropper these pens. But I resolved to not go easy on the little thing. It's been tossed around in my purse, lost in my purse, stuck in folio pockets, and used (often) as a bookmark in my traveler's notebook while that notebook has (often) been stuffed into a bag that already contained too many notebooks. And it's just fine. It's not even scratched. Clearly this wee pen is made of stronger stuff than it looks, but I still won't eyedropper it.

As a pocket pen, it's tiny all over. It is a comfortable length when posted, but the diameter of the section is a bit narrow. It's nice for me, but I can imagine it might be a bit tricky for larger hands. I found it perfectly comfortable for long writing sessions and very handy for making quick notes. The cap screws on, but it only takes a single rotation to unscrew it. One downside is the fact that it's clipless. That's great for a pen that really does just live in a pocket, but less ideal for other uses. A separate clip is available, but it's friction-fit and has a tendency to slip.

It only takes a standard international short cartridge, so there are limited ink colors available unless you refill your cartridge with a syringe. Technically there are some tiny converters made for these pens, but they aren't great. I've been using the blue cartridge that came with it, and it's a pleasant performer, if a little boring.

The nib is lovely. Smooth, but with just the right touch of feedback. It's not super wet, but enough that it doesn't feel dry, either. The German EF nib writes similarly to a Japanese F, which is about what I'd expect. It's fine enough that I've had luck writing on cheaper paper without too much bleed-through. Kaweco nibs aren't always gems out of the box, according to reputation, but I've had good luck with all of mine. And the nibs are easily swapped out, so your favorite nib can travel between pens.

This pen is a tiny workhorse that can take a decent amount of abuse and it's at a price point where I'm not too afraid to take it out into the world with me. It's the perfect grocery-list-crossing, please-fill-out-this-form, jot-down-a-note pen for when you have too much to do and just need a pleasant writing experience to re-center yourself mid-errand. After playing with this pen for a few weeks, the aluminum model rocketed to the top of my "next pen" list. And maybe a few of the Skyline Sports, too.

It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a solid little travel buddy. There are tons of beautiful colors and finishes available. You're bound to love one or five of them.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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