Posts filed under Kaweco

Six Shades of Grey: An Ink Comparison

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

A few weeks ago I reviewed Kaweco Smokey Grey ink. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed with that ink, but I needed a matchy ink to go with my lovely Montblance Alexandre Dumas fountain pen. So, I bought some grey ink samples from Vanness Pens and decided to compare them.

The six inks I compared are Kaweco Smokey Grey, Robert Oster Graphite, Kobe #10 Mikage Grey, Papier Plume Oyster Grey, Akkerman #29 Hofvijver Grijs, and Kobe #46 Nagisa Museum Grey.

In the comparison above, you can see that I wound up with quite a variety of greys, ranging from the very light Kaweco to the almost black Nagisa Museum Grey.

The chromatography on each ink reveals some interesting characteristics.

*L to R: Kaweco Smokey Grey, Robert Oster Graphite, Kobe Mikage Grey, Papier Plume Oyster Grey, Akkerman Hofvijver Grijs, and Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey*

Kaweco Smokey Grey has virtually no color range, varying slightly from grey to light lavender. Robert Oster Graphite is the most spectacular of the bunch at least in terms of chromatography, with lots of magenta and blue. Kobe Mikage contains mostly lavender and a little bit of blue. Papier Plume Oyster Grey contains blue and magenta tones. Akkerman Grijs is, perhaps, the truest grey, revealing no other colors. Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey is the darkest of all, and like the Akkerman, it demonstrates virtually no color variation.

Close ups of the ink swatches show what each ink looks like using a Brause 361 Steno Blue Pumpkin Calligraphy Pen Nib along with splotches and swabs.

Kaweco Smokey Grey is quite light in the swab, but with the wet dip nib, it writes more like a dark grey.

Robert Oster Graphite, despite its colorful chromatography, is a dark grey both in the swab and with the pen. The ink splats show a tiny bit of sheen, but unfortunately it’s been raining in Abilene all week, and I couldn’t get pictures with sunlight displaying the sheen in all its glory.

Kobe Mikage Grey, in my opinion, is the most intriguing shade of grey. In the swab, the writing, and the splats its purple hue is quite striking.

Papier Plume is a really nice blue-grey as revealed in the swab. With the pen, it appears as a dark grey with some blue sheen.

Akkerman Grijs is definitely the truest grey. The swab shows that it’s a flat color with little variation.

Kobe Nagisa Museum Grey is very close to black with some nice sheen.

I was really pleased with the wide variety of grey shades in these samples. I’ve pretty much written off Kaweco Smokey Grey as being too light and uninteresting for my use. If I wanted a true grey, I would choose the Akkerman. I found Kobe Nagisa to be too close to Iroshizuku Take-Sumi which I already own. Although Robert Oster inks are usually among my top picks, I didn’t much like Graphite, even though the chromatography made the ink look really interesting. So, of the six shades of grey, my two favorites are Papier Plume Oyster with its beautiful blue-grey tones and nice shading and Kobe #10 Mikage Grey with its deep purple-grey hue. It also shades quite well and has some sheen.

Currently my Montblanc Alexandre Dumas is inked with Kobe Mikage. When I run out of that, I’ll put the Papier Plume in the pen and make my final decision about which ink I’ll buy.

You can purchase a 30ml bottle of Kaweco Smokey Grey from JetPens for $13.50. All the other inks are available from Vanness Pens. Robert Oster Graphite is $17.00 for 50ml. Kobe #10 Mikage Grey and Kobe #46 Nagisa Museum Grey are $30.00 for 50ml. Papier Plume Oyster Grey is $7.00 for 30ml. And Akkerman Hofjijver Grijs is $28.00 for 60ml.

(I purchased the ink samples above with my own funds from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on September 29, 2017 by Susan Pigott and filed under Ink Reviews, Akkerman, Kaweco, Kobe, Papier Plume.

Kaweco Perkeo 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.)

Kaweco has updated their old 1900s dip pen design into a new entry-level, full-size fountain pen--and I'm quite smitten with it. The Kaweco Perkeo is a cartridge/converter pen. It takes standard international sizes, so there's no need to fuss with the dreadful Kaweco mini converters. Each pen comes with a short blue cartridge. It's a bit of a shame that they don't come with converters--be sure to toss one in your cart if you're buying one of these pens.

The Perkeo is available in four colors: "Bad Taste" in cherry and black; "Cotton Candy" in pink and grey; "Indian Summer" in black and slime-green; and "Old Chambray" in a pale off-white and blue. They're all fun and attractive color combos, and it's incredibly fun to mix-and-match the bodies, sections, and caps. I won't even confess to how much time I've spent swapping them around.

The caps show the familiar Kaweco faceted silhouette. They are octagon shaped and a bit wider than the Sport caps--so the Kaweco clips will not fit on these pens. I hope they plan to release a clip for this model soon. At the top of the cap is a Kaweco brand medallion. The body has many narrow facets and looks quite sleek and elegant, I think. The section has two color bands that match the cap color. The section is slightly molded for a triangular grip. It isn't as intense as the Lamy Safari grip, but it's a similar idea. If you don't have a triangular pen hold, it could potentially be intrusive for you. I don't quite understand why any pen manufacturer would fit their product in such a way to limit their audience, but there you go. They do feel perfectly comfortable for me, but you may want to try holding one before you commit to the purchase if molded grips cause you grief.

The lightweight plastic has a matte finish, but is very smooth to the touch. The snap cap is quick and handy but gives a good seal. After leaving the pens idle for nearly a week, only one needed any priming to get started again. The cap posts very nicely and securely. The bodies are long enough to carry a spare cartridge, if you're using the short size. If you partially unscrew the barrel, you can peek at your ink level through a clear thread piece. It's not terribly easy to see through the threads, but it does give some idea of ink level. There are holes at the bottom of the barrel--so no eyedropper filling for this pen unless you seal the bottom very securely first. I think that's a missed opportunity for these pens.

The nibs are friction fit, but very difficult to get out. I'd recommend not trying unless there is a pressing need--and be careful to not damage the nib as you pull. They also seem to be slightly different in shape than the Kaweco Sport nibs. They're number five nibs, but they're longer and a bit narrower in wingspan. This shape may contribute to the surprising springiness of these nibs. I got a lovely bit of line variation when putting a pressure on the nibs. If you're careful not to spring the steel, you can get some great character in your writing.

The nibs are all quite smooth and seem to get a good ink supply. I've tried them with Kaweco, Diamine, and Monteverde ink cartridges, and all have been delightful. The pink and blue pens come with silvery steel nibs, and the black and slime pens come with an almost iridescent blue-black nib. My overall impression of the nibs is that they are good quality but bad consistency. All write pleasantly and well--but they all write a bit differently, despite all being a fine point. The lines vary a bit in width, and some nibs seem firmer or offer more feedback than others. Even the coating on the darker nibs seems different between the two pens. While I don't mind this inconsistency so long as they all write well, it does point to some concerns about quality control of the nibs overall (which isn't a new issue for Kaweco nibs).

Despite my few small complaints, I'm enjoying these pens a lot. They're light, durable, inexpensive, and fun. I'm hoping for more great color combos in the future (so I can continue to play LEGO pens) but I think Kaweco has a great, competitive entry-level pen, here. If you have these already, I'd love to see your color combos!

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

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Posted on September 7, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Kaweco, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

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.