Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pen EF Nib Review

Kaweco makes some of my favorite products on the market, bar none. The Kaweco Al Sport has been a long time favorite and still ranks up there as one of my most used pens. It fits my needs perfectly for a compact fountain pen, but when I saw the Kaweco Liliput I knew one would make it into my arsenal before long.

The Liliput brings to the table an even smaller, more compact barrel compared to the Al Sport. It is still a fully aluminum body, and, even more importantly, uses the same exact stainless steel nib. I went with the EF nib on my Liliput (also available in F, M, and B) which is the first Kaweco EF nib I have used. It is now my go-to nib for any and all future Kaweco purchases. It is firm and produces a tight line, but does so while being one of the smoothest nibs I own. It is so impressive I have started to swap out some of my other Kaweco nibs for the EF.

One of my favorite features of the Liliput is the threading on the end of the barrel which allows you to post the cap solidly. Due to the size of the pen it is almost mandatory to post the cap to write comfortably. I completely missed this feature when ordering the pen, and only when I got it in hand did I realize the threads were in place. Good job me!

With the Liliput it all boils down to one thing: How are you going to use this pen? If you are going to be writing notes all day in class or in the office, you might want to look at a larger barrel pen. But if you are looking for a high-quality portable fountain pen for writing on the go, then the Kaweco Liliput should be on your short list.

Several of my pen friends have reviewed the Liliput, including Gourmet Pens, From the Pen Cup, No Pen Intended, and Pen Addict guest blogger Ben Dahl. Be sure to check out their great reviews as well. P.S. - We all like the black barrel.

Monami Super Gel-Q Gel Ink Pen 0.4 mm Blue Black Review

I teased my review of the Monami Super Gel-Q a couple of weeks ago on Twitter and mentioned then that I wanted to spend more time with it before posting my review on the the blog. Well, time has been spent and I think I am able to paint a better picture now than when I first bought the pen.

I purposefully set low expectations for this pen before testing it out. Why? First of all, I don’t have a lot of experience with the Monami brand. Secondly, it looks like they are borrowing heavily design-wise from the Pilot Hi-Tec-C and Uni-ball Signo DX. My experience in the past with pens that fit this criteria usually haven’t been positive, so thus the low expectations.

So, with that background out of the way, how did it perform? Initially, much better than I imagined. It wrote so well and was so nice to use I kept stopping, looking at the pen, and asking “is this really happening?” It was happening all right. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I took it to work to continue testing it out. And then …

… the other shoe dropped.

Have you been around long enough to remember my review of the Zebra Sarasa Stick? I had high expectations for this pen since I am a huge fan of the regular Zebra Sarasa line. The Sarasa Stick was great at first, but all of a sudden the line would dry up in the middle of writing. Sometimes it would come back, sometimes it wouldn’t. As I continued to use the Monami Super Gel-Q the same exact thing started to happen.

I was upset because I thought I found another great everyday use pen. I scribbled and scribbled but I still haven’t been able to get as good of a line as I did in the photo above. My lettering looks great that picture, and I want it back!

I’m not giving up hope yet though. Sometimes a pen needs a break to get started down the right path again. Plus, I have a black 0.4 mm that I haven’t used yet so maybe this is a one off issue. My recommendation? Try one, but just one. They have several great colors to choose from but I wouldn’t go buying up six or so right out of the gate. If that one works well then dig a little deeper.

Just remember to keep your expectations in check.

Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen 1.1mm Nib Review

(This is a guest review by Bryan Gushikawa)

Ah, Lamy. The German company that stands for rugged, tank-like pens with fat nibs! They really know what their customers want and the Lamy Joy Calligraphy Fountain Pen is proof. The angled, super-wide nib makes for fun writing and can really make calligraphy pop on the page. Unlike the louder colors of the Safari and Al-Star lines, though, this one comes in a classy black with red accent plastic body, but has the same tough metal clip and triangle grip of those lines.

The body is long, almost 3/4ths of a cap length longer than the Safaris. The heavy plastic body feels rugged and is big enough to be comfortable to hold for long periods of time. The triangle grip is smooth plastic and it seems to be a love or hate thing among fountain pen users. The trademark ink window is present and this pen IS compatible with all Lamy cartridges and the converter, too. I like the black color a lot because it’s not a super fingerprint magnet, but it looks pretty stylish, especially with the red accents.

The nib is classic Lamy: built like a tank, but smooth with good flow. The angle imparts a nice flavor to the nib, even though the line is really wide, and calligraphy with this pen will be wonderful. The nibs are most likely interchangeable between other Lamy pens (not verified), so if you have another Lamy pen, this one is still a good one to get. I couldn’t find any flaws with this pen and the quality is very high for such a low price point!

It’s well known that Lamy=quality and this pen is NO exception. Classic German sensibility, design and performance. You can’t go wrong with a Lamy!!!