Posts filed under Kaweco

Kaweco Student 70s Soul Fountain Pen: A Review

I saw the Kaweco Student 70s Soul Fountain Pen a few months ago on the Vanness Pens website. It was love at first sight--I mean who wouldn’t love a pen that looks like a creamsicle? Unfortunately, Vanness was out of stock, and I decided that it wasn’t meant to be. But, a couple of weeks ago there it was! The 70s Soul back in stock! So I ordered one immediately.

The pen comes in the usual Kaweco tin box with one blue cartridge.

Fortunately, I had a Kaweco converter in my stockpile, so I loaded it up with my favorite orange ink: Kyoto Kyo-Iro Higashiyama Moonlight (reviewed here).

The Student is a small pen, though it is not pocket-sized. It measures 5 and 1/8 inches/130mm capped; 4 and 3/4 inches/121mm uncapped, and 6 and 1/4 inches/159mm posted. Although the pen writes fairly well posted, I always feel like posting throws off the balance unless the cap posts deeply. This one does not.

I love the shade of orange used on the 70s Soul. It really does look like a creamsicle alongside the cream-colored barrel. The cap has a gold Kaweco finial, a gold clip engraved with the Kaweco name in cursive, and a gold band engraved with “Kaweco Germany.” The back of the cap also has “Kaweco Student Germany” printed in gold lettering.

The body has no branding at all, just a clean, uninterrupted line. I love how it tapers near the bottom. The grip is gold (presumably over steel). I normally don’t like metal grips, but this one isn’t heavy and my fingers don’t slide all over it. That said, it is a thin grip. I don’t own a caliper, so I can’t state the diameter of the grip, but it’s too thin to be comfortable for long writing sessions, at least for me.

I chose a steel, gold-plated fine nib for this pen. It’s a tiny nib, but, fortunately, it’s smooth and the tines are aligned. Kaweco nibs are often hit or miss, and I lucked out on this one.

Unfortunately, the converter is just okay. Ink tends to pool near the piston end, so I have to open the pen up and manually push the ink down toward the nib to keep things flowing. I’ve read that Kaweco pens work best with cartridges, but, dang it, I like using my matchy Japanese inks!

The Kaweco Student 70s Soul Fountain Pen is adorable. I love the colors, and it’s fun to write with (at least in short spurts). At $70 (converter not included) I think it’s way overpriced. I guess you’re paying for the Kaweco brand and . . . I’m not sure what else. It’s a plastic pen with a steel nib. I think $30 would be more reasonable for a pen of this size and quality. Vanness Pens has this pen in stock if you need some 70s soul in your life.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds with a reviewer’s discount from Vanness Pens.)

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Posted on May 10, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kaweco, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Kaweco Sport Sunset Fountain Pen Giveaway

What, did you think I forgot this week’s giveaway? Just running a bit behind, but hopefully this pen makes up for the delay.

I recently ordered a few pens from Fontoplumo, and made sure to add something just for you fine readers of this blog. The Kaweco Sport Sunset is a Fontoplumo exclusive, and I have one of these beauties to give away. Read below and get to entering!

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Kaweco, Giveaways.

Kaweco Steel Sport Fountain Pen Review

Kaweco makes my favorite pocket fountain pens, bar none. I think I’ve tried just about all of them at this point, and even so, I’m always ready to get the latest model in my hands. The Kaweco Steel Sport is the latest model, and my current favorite. At least until the next one.

What I like so much about the Kaweco Sport lineup overall is they are rock solid in my pocket. It doesn’t matter if it is the plastic barrel Classic or something as strong as this stainless steel model. My pocket is where I carry the Sport most of the time, and despite all of the jostling around the cap stays secure and the ink never leaks from the nib.

Prior to the Steel model, the stock gray AL Sport was my favorite to use, and the Brass Sport was the best looking. The Steel sport is the best of both world for me.

For all of the Kaweco Sports I have used, I am experiencing something different with this one that I have with any other. When unscrewing the cap, I find the grip section gets loose - about 1/16th of a turn - on occasion. When the pen was brand new, I noticed at a higher rate than I do now. I think it’s just one of those metal on metal things that now I’ve started to break it in is getting better. It’s a minor thing, but I thought I’d point it out because I’ve used a lot of these pens and have never seen this.

This doesn’t affect the performance of the pen or my thoughts of this pen, but one thing with Kaweco sometimes can: The nib. The brand is known for sketchy quality control on their steel nibs, especially with what is referred to as a Baby’s Bottom. This causes skipping and poor line performance, and has plagued Kaweco for years. I almost never have a problem with my Kaweco nibs because I generally order them with extra fine nibs. You hear more reports of this issue with medium or broad nibs.

I’m happy to report the extra fine nib on my Steel Sport is perfect, but again, your mileage may vary.

To fill the Steel Sport, I used the Diamine 1864 Blue Black ink cartridges. I find Kaweco’s inks to be a little washed out, and there are a ton of short international cartridges on the market that I prefer.

Picking a Kaweco Sport comes down to personal preference. I find the experience of using one plus the portability of it keeps it at the top of my most used pens list. Plus, there are so many choices you are certain to find one in your price range that suits your style.

So, what’s next in the Sport lineup Kaweco? I’ll be anxiously waiting.

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

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