Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy Set Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

The Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy Set includes the Perkeo pen barrel and cap and three different grip sections, each housing 1.1, 1.5, or 1.9 millimeter nibs. 3 Kaweco Pearl Black cartridges are also included but I decided to use my Kaweco Midnight Blue cartridges instead. The set comes in a plastic box.

The pen, grip sections, and cartridges in a clear “tray”.

Since I have already done a review (of the Perkeo), I will focus on the Calligraphy Set. Not only does the set include 3 separate grip sections with the nib and feed, they are different shades of blue, so you can easily tell which nib you’re using. The light blue section holds the 1.1, the royal blue holds the 1.5, and the dark blue 1.9.

The light blue 1.1 section (left) is installed in the pen, 1.5 royal blue in the middle, and 1.9 dark blue on the right.

I knew that the Perkeo would work right out of the box (which it did), but I was really surprised at how nicely it wrote! It wasn’t scratchy but it also wasn’t uncontrollably smooth either. In addition to this Ayush paper, I also tried the smoother Meringue paper and this pen behaved like a champ.

I felt that I had spent a fair amount of time with the 1.1; after all, it’s been inked up since August 1, and used five times before this article, so it was time for the 1.5 nib. This one isn’t quite as smooth as the 1.1, but I think it is a bit more sensitive to angle than the 1.1. Most companies use 1.1 for their stubs so I find it fun to use a 1.5 for variety, and it’s a faster way to go through ink.

1.1 on the first paragraph, and 1.5 for the rest of the page.

Of course, after the 1.1 and 1.5, I have to try the 1.9 and it, too, wrote well out of the box. (The 1.1 and 1.5 nibs have been sitting out on my desk for a few hours so the ink is more saturated. The top of this page is a bit lighter because I put a drop of water on the breather hole to get the ink started.)

Love all the ink that gets laid down by a 1.9!

I liked all three nibs pretty equally, but the 1.9 forces me to slow down a bit more so my letters aren’t as messy.

Writing sample of the 1.1, 1.5, and 1.9 nibs.

The Kaweco Perkeo Calligraphy set retails for $40, which is a good deal for a pen with 3 nibs/grip sections.

(Disclaimer: I bought this set from Vanness Pens. I already had the Kaweco Midnight Blue cartridges and Ayush Paper.)

PS - A 10 ml vial is a great to store the grip sections (Clearly, I cannot grammar when writing! You know what I meant, lol!)

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Kaweco AL Sport Piston Filler 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

One of my favorite things to do is wander off to someplace scenic and then write a lot when I get there. Writing at home, where the dishes and laundry and cats and children are all competing for my attention, is nearly impossible for me these days. Really, I can write anywhere but at home, but good scenery helps. It's nice to have something pretty to look at as I stare into the distance for extended thinky time, which is 60% of the writing time.

But writing on the go has a conundrum. Pocket-sized pens are much more portable and easy to take on the go. BUT pocket-sized pens commonly do not hold much ink. I have a few trusty eyedropper pens that have served me well in these cases, but I was very excited when I learned that Kaweco was releasing a piston filler version of their pocket pen. I already love Kaweco pens, but a Kaweco with a built-in ink tank? Be still my heart.

I finally got my hands on one, and the verdict is: why do other pens even exist? That's a silly question, of course--I love all my other pens, also, and I wish I could write with every single one of them every single day. But this one really is the perfect "run away and write lots" pen. I believe we will have many adventures together.

Our first adventure was a few weeks ago at an all-day write-in at a winery in the middle of the countryside. The setting was gorgeous, the words were flowing, and this pen was a champ.

The Kaweco piston filler comes in two models, the Classic, which is made of plastic, and the AL, or aluminum model. I chose the aluminum one for its durability. It has the characteristic Kaweco Sport shape with the cylindrical body and hexagonal, long cap that covers most of the pen. The cap posts securely to make a normal length pen, though I prefer to write with it unposted. This model has a built-in clip, which delights me. It's the same design as their add-on clips, but this one won't slip off--though you can remove it by unscrewing the finial, if you want. The aluminum body is anodized a matte black and all the finishes are in gold tones, which gives it a very elegant look.

The grip section is slightly shaped for good grip, and behind the grip and threads is an acrylic ink window so you can see how much ink you have left.

At the bottom of the pen is a cap that unscrews to reveal the piston knob. I really like this design. While the cap is a small piece you need to keep track of, keeping the piston knob covered prevents any accidental twisting that could result in ink spillage.

The pen has a gold plated steel nib. Mine is an EF, and it glides. It is so smooth, with just the perfect amount of flow. It's a fantastic writer. It never skipped or stopped for the entire five hours of writing I did at this retreat. It was the perfect pen for the day.

I received the starter set version of this pen, so it came in a beautiful presentation tin with a bottle of Kaweco's classic blue ink, which I was more than happy to fill it with. It's a lovely true blue and looks fantastic in the pen and on the page. The Starter Set AL Sport Piston Filler sells for $170 at JetPens, while the pen alone sells for $160.50. The Classic version in plastic costs $70. It's available in XF, F, M, B, and BB. And with this ink capacity, you could actually rock that BB. The prices all seem quite fair, in line with other Kaweco models. A regular AL Sport costs $76, so it makes sense that the added complexity and convenience of the piston model would be higher.

This pen has been my daily pen since it was inked, and I still haven't had to refill it. This is going to be the perfect pen to take on longer trips without having to worry about running out of ink. There are a plethora of writing events coming up throughout the rest of the year, along with my usual November writing retreat and one long work trip. Kaweco will be my trusty sidekick.

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

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Kaweco Piston Sport - A Quick Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

Those of you who know me, know that there are a few brands where I am a little crazy about and the Kaweco Sport is one of them. I have them in gold trim, silver trim, clear, frosted, and aluminum (the other metal versions don’t really appeal to me), so I was super stoked about the Kaweco Piston Sport fountain pen when it was announced over a year ago. It was only released in Black and as of this writing, there aren’t any other colors announced either. So I finally caved and asked the Bossman if I could borrow the one he used for his review of the AL Piston Sport. He said no because he had already given it away, but he ordered the Classic one for me from sponsor Pen Chalet so I could review it.

In looking up details for this pen, I realize that vendors had different names for this pen, so I went to the Kaweco website for the definitive name, which is the Kaweco Piston Sport Classic. There is also the Piston Sport AL (aluminum) which is what the Bossman reviewed, but this review is for the Classic, aka plastic, version. Classic also means that it has gold-colored trim, as opposed to Skyline, which is silver trim (other series also have silver trim, like Frosted or Ice, etc.).

Kaweco Piston Sport Classic.

The way to tell that you have a Kaweco Piston Sport (left) as opposed to a regular Kaweco Sport (this one is Honey), is the gold ring by the blind cap.

At the beginning of April 2025, I inked up the Kaweco Piston Sport with Franklin-Christoph ATL ‘23 ink, and I’ve used it 8 times over the last three months. It wrote without issues upon inking with the F-C ink, which has average flow, and I’ve had no issues with it despite not using it consistently during that time. It would write immediately regardless of how long it had been since I last used it - I’m sure there was at least a one month stretch in there (also, another shout-out to Fountain Pen Companion for making it easy to have these stats).

Uncapped, you can see that there is an ink window, which makes it easy to see ink levels.

Inking the pen requires removal of the blind cap, the presence of which prevents users from accidentally turning the piston knob.

I had wondered if the piston filler would make the nib write wetter/broader, but it gave me the expected line width for a Fine (it is available in Extra Fine to Double Broad). I was able to remove the nib unit from the Piston Sport, which also has an o-ring to prevent leakage. As I am currently traveling, I don’t have any of the non-plastic Sports with me to confirm, but it looks to be the same nib unit that is swappable with those models. You can also pull the nib and feed from the housing and swap it with other Sports as well (I don’t generally do this since I have other Sports I can swap from, and the Piston Sport is still inked up).

The Piston Sport’s nib unit unscrews easily. (Pardon the “fancy” backdrop, aka paper towel, lol.)

The Piston Sport nibs (left) next to the regular Sport.

Used both the Piston Sport (Fine) and the Honey Sport (Broad) to continue writing out Hamilton lyrics. The line widths are what I expected for both. The ink in the Honey Sport is Diamine Candlelight from the 2021 Inkvent.

With the regular Kaweco Sport costing around $28-30, I expected the Piston Sport to cost more, and it does, coming in at $75 MSRP. I know that there are other piston filler pens that cost less (TWSBI Eco/Swipe/Go, Nahvalur Original, Monteverde MP 1 are some that come to mind), but if you really like the form factor of the Kaweco Sport with the added ink capacity (1.2ml vs 0.7 ml cartridge or 0.5 ml mini converter), the Kaweco Piston Sport is a pretty good choice, especially when the AL Piston Sport comes in at $160. If Kaweco starts offering this pen in other colors, my wallet will be in trouble, but until then, I’m good with this one.

(Disclaimer: The Kaweco Piston Sport was purchased by the Bossman at a discount from sponsor, Pen Chalet. I purchased the Honey Sport separately.)