Kaweco ART Sport Review

I hate the term but I am going to use it anyway: I am a Kaweco fanboy. They make some of the best products on the market, and I have yet to be disappointed by any that I have used. Their designs are unique, with just the right mix of historical style and modern edge. In other words, right up my alley.

When Kaweco offered me the chance to review a wide range of their products about a month ago I jumped at the opportunity. For the sake of disclosure, I received these products at no charge to review, although some of them will be returned when I am done. I will try to remember to include that in my Kaweco posts in the coming months but I wanted to put this out there in case I forget down the line.

With that out of the way, I am going to cut to the chase and review the one pen I was more eager to get my hands on than any other: The Kaweco ART Sport.

I have been a fan of the Kaweco AL Sport for years, and it remains one of my all-time favorite fountain pens to this day. The compact size, the quality construction, the smoothness of the nib. Kaweco nails it all. They did it again with the ART Sport.

The primary difference with the ART versus the AL is the use of CNC turned acrylic to make the barrels instead of aluminum. If you think the Amber model looks good in pictures you should see it in person. The depth of the pattern is stunning, especially in the right light. And there are eight more equally as cool colors to choose from.

One thing new in this pen that I hadn't tried before is Kaweco's bold nib. I have generally been averse to even trying anything wider than an EF nib, especially in a German pen. But as the old saying goes, try it, and you might like it. I did, and I do. Even more so, I love it and plan on keeping it. I can even look past the gold color!

Have I fawned enough yet? Seriously, this is a great pen and a perfect addition to the Kaweco Sport lineup. The ART Sport model doesn't seem to have wide distribution at the moment, but can be found randomly through a search. I wonder if Kaweco has bigger things planned for this line going forward?

Be sure to check out Stephen Brown's video review of the Kaweco ART Sport. He is part of the #KawecoKrew also, as Ed Jelley has perfectly tagged those of us who received this wonderful care package from Kaweco.

Platinum Plaisir Fountain Pen Review

Platinum joins Pilot and Sailor as part of the "Big Three" Japanese fountain pen makers. All three have a long history of producing quality products, from entry level up to the most expensive custom pens you can find. Buy a fountain pen with one of these three names stamped on it and there is a high likelihood you will have a good experience.

Platinum does entry level as good as any of them, with the famous Platinum Preppy leading the charge. I've made no bones about how great I think that pen is for $3. The Platinum Plaisir is the cool older brother to the Preppy and fits right in with the family.

The Plaisir features the same fine, firm nib as the Preppy but upgraded the design of the barrel greatly. Not only does it feature a lightweight, silky smooth aluminum body, it also has an innovative cap that allows the pen to be stored for a year without drying out. That is a great feature for me since I often have many pens inked up at once and don't use them all every day.

I went with the more recently released Gunmetal color for my first Plaisir and there are several other colors to choose from in both 03 Fine and 05 Medium nibs. I syringe filled an empty Platinum cartridge with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz ink for the awesome combo you see on the page above. I have been very happy with the Plaisir and it will continue to see frequent use.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Lamy 2000 Review

My history with the Lamy 2000 is long and sordid. I was fascinated by this pen like so many fountain pen users are, but once I got the 2000 in my hand that fascination turned into frustration. This is supposedly one of the greatest fountain pens of all time - why did I want to break it over my knee?

As it turns out, the answer was simple. Getting to that answer, however, was a longer process than it would have been for someone more experienced with fountain pens than I was at the time. Hopefully I can shorten that cycle for anyone else considering purchasing a Lamy 2000.

Despite the fact it has been well over a year since I first opened the box containing my Lamy 2000, I still remember my first reaction to picking it up: Holy amazeballs! The only other pen in its price range that I owned and could compare it to was the Pilot Vanishing Point, and the 2000 was a completely different experience.

Since owning the Lamy 2000, the word Makrolon is now an official part of my vocabulary. Makrolon is the fiberglass-type material that the 2000 barrel is made of, and it is fantastic. It is lightweight, yet sturdy, warms to the touch, and feels great in the hand. Did I mention beautiful? That too, especially for someone who likes minimally styled pens like myself.

The inking system for the 2000 is a piston filler and is integrated flawlessly. In fact, if you were unaware of the mechanism, you would be hard pressed to see the seam at the end of the pen. It moves smoothly when engaged and pulls in ink with ease.

Where I ran into trouble with my 2000 was with the nib. It is a 14k gold hooded nib that is integrated perfectly into the barrel. As soon as I inked it up the first time I enjoyed how it wrote but noticed quickly that I was having trouble with some of my strokes. I felt the nib was sticking to the page, which caused skipping in the line. The thing was, it wasn't unusable. It was a very minor issue.

I went through several cleanings and different inks to see if the writing performance would improve. It didn't, so off to the internet I went. After only a minute of searching I found a common theme: Lamy 2000 nibs are notoriously inconsistent out of the box. Unfortunately for me, I had found a bad one.

The refrain I heard was to send it to a nibmeister to get it fixed. The issue at the time was I had never done that before, and was nervous about doing so. I put it off, my 2000 collected dust despite how badly I wanted to use it, and I pouted. I did formulate a plan though. The Atlanta Pen Show was going to be my savior.

Getting my Lamy 2000 nib fixed at the pen show was the number one item on my list. I made an appointment with Mike Masuyama, and when I sat down with him and handed him the pen he noticed the problem immediately: the right tine was longer than the left.

This is nothing I would have noticed on my own, so letting an expert handle it was the best route. Not only did he even the tines and smooth it, I had him grind it down to a Japanese EF size - around 0.2 mm. My Lamy 2000 is now usable!

Not only is it usable, it is one of the best pens I own, if not the best. In the time since I bought my 2000 I have bought a dozen or more very nice fountain pens and it is a contender for the best of them all. I get asked "Pilot Vanishing Point or Lamy 2000" often and now the answer is clear: Lamy 2000.

What did I learn through this experience? Even though I spent a good amount of money on a pen and the expectation is it should be perfect out of the box, it often times isn't. This isn't just a Lamy 2000 issue by the way. It can happen to any pen, and spending $30 or so to have a professional look at it and smooth it is money well spent. I have sent many pens to Mr. Masuyama since, and each time they return better than before.

The Lamy 2000 is an iconic pen, and I wanted to share my personal experience with it. There are many things I didn't touch on in this review, so be sure to check out some of these wonderful posts to learn more about the Lamy 2000:

-- Lamy 2000 Review (Pen and Design)

-- Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen (Ed Jelley)

-- Icon: Lamy 2000 (Makrolon) (From the Pen Cup)

-- Lamy 2000 – The Awesome Review (FPGeeks)

-- Lamy 2000 And The Origins Of Lamy Design (The Fountain Pen Network)