Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint Review

Everyone knows I am a big Kaweco fan, especially of the AL Sport Fountain Pen which I currently own four of. Its close relative, the AL Sport Ballpoint, had been on my wish list for ages until I finally bought one a few months back. I was really excited when I first got it, but that excitement waned quickly for a few reasons.

I knew going into it that the ballpoint refill was going to be poor. That's fine, and was actually a big selling point to me because it takes D1 refills, meaning I can load it with the Zebra Sharbo X 0.4 mm gel ink refills that I like so much. The hand written review above is done with the stock refill. The best compliment I can give it is that it is usable. The lines and tip are clean, but the ink color is far too light - you can tell how hard I was pressing in an effort to darken it up.

It is also a loud pen. This is a product of the combination of aluminum construction materials and the retractable mechanism. The moving parts and the metal on metal areas of the pen cause some noise when writing. Lots of click-clack going on. What really did not work for me with the Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint is the barrel length. It comes up about 1/4" short of where I am comfortable writing with it for any length of time. Unfortunately for me, the stylus-equipped version of this pen showed up online about a week after I received my standard model. I think the extra length would have made all the difference in my opinion of this pen. As it stands, it made the "Truly Disappointed" list in Episode 32 of the podcast.

It all worked out in the end though, as I was able to trade this pen to a Pen Addict reader for an EF nib unit for my Vanishing Point. The Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint is working out very well for him and just goes to show you how a pen that doesn't work so well for you can work great for someone else.

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.

How To Change The Nib On A Kaweco AL Sport

Unscrew it.