Kaweco Royal Blue Fountain Pen Ink: A 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.)

Kaweco Royal Blue is a blue ink that is similar to Waterman's Serenity Blue but exhibits more of a purple hue. It flows nicely from my Pelikan's italic nib and is neither too wet nor too dry. It has no odor to it (some inks do). The blue pops nicely on white paper but is more subdued on cream or other colors of paper.

This ink should be perfectly suitable for correspondence. I would feel comfortable using it in a business setting, but it might have too much purple in it for some tastes.

The ink does not exhibit any sheen, and the shading is minimal. With a fine point nib, the ink may be too light, but with wider nibs it has good saturation.

At $17.50 for 30ml on JetPens, this isn't the cheapest ink you can buy or the most expensive. If you like a blue ink with a purple cast to it, then this is a great choice. If, however, you prefer a truer blue or blue-black ink, then I would not recommend Royal Blue.

I prefer inks with a little more character--lots of saturation, shading, sheen, unique colors, etc. So, I doubt Kaweco Royal Blue will be in my regular rotation. But I'm impressed by its good flow and it behaves well.

Pros

• Good blue-purple color
• Good flow, not too heavy or dry
• No distinctive, annoying odor
• A good choice for a basic blue ink

Cons

• Does not exhibit sheen or much shading
• The purplish cast might make this less suitable for business use
• A little expensive

Fun with lighting!

Kaweco AL Sport Stonewashed Roller Ball Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Kaweco AL Sport is a classic, beautiful design that many of us love, but we also probably assume that we're talking about a fountain pen when that name comes up. Well, there's also a roller ball version of the pen, and it's pretty nice.

The Kaweco AL Sport Roller Ball is exactly what you might expect — it's the same as the normal fountain pen, but with a different section that uses a roller ball refill instead of the fountain pen nib. In fact, you can even swap the section out with other AL Sports if you want.

In my opinion, this is one of the best pocket carry pens out there. It's well made, durable, and has a refill that behaves better than most fountain pen nibs. Even better, it can accept the Schmidt capless refills. Yep, the same ones found in the Retro 51. Knowing that, this pen was an insta-purchase for me.

How does the pen perform? In many ways, it's the same as the regular fountain pen version, so I'll just summarize it with: it feels great in the hand, it's made of durable materials with high tolerances, and it can withstand a lot of punishment. With this particular version, the stonewashing effect means you don't have to worry about making that first scratch because there's already an infinite number of scratches on the pen from the factory. (I hope I'm not the only one who has a fear of making a first scratch on a new pen.)

If the body is the same as the fountain pen line, then the most important thing to consider here is the refill. I'll be honest with you — the Kaweco refill included with the pen is OK. It tends to skip every now and then and it doesn't fit in the pen perfectly. When writing, the refill moves a tiny bit and makes a noise that distracts me when writing. I like the refill to be snug when writing. And, the skipping can be a bit of an annoyance as well. Like I said, it's OK.

But, you have to also consider that the awesome Schmidt Capless refills work with this pen. Any Parker style refills will work this pen as well, but I'm a huge fan of the Schmidts. Most of us probably had our introduction to these refills from a Retro 51 of one kind or another, and you'll know immediately if you like it or not. Basically, the Schmidt refills are really smooth, dark, and skipless. I've never had problems with them hard-starting, skipping, or any other problems that sometimes come up with roller balls. They're really one of my favorite refills, and I'm really happy when a pen accepts them.

With that in mind, I whole-heartedly recommend this pen. Just remember to pick up a Schmidt P8126 or P8127 with your order. The combination of a comfortable, nearly indestructable pen with an awesome refill is what joy is made from. The price for the pen is a bit high, but you probably already know that this is a standard price for the Kaweco AL Sports, and it's certainly fair due to the materials and high quality craftsmanship that goes into them. If you're in the market for a great roller ball, definitely check them out!

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

Kaweco 14k Gold Two-Tone Medium Nib Review

I like new fountain pen nibs almost as much as I like new fountain pens. Many companies offer replacement nibs for their pens, and for those that do, I find myself owning at least two different nibs. Why? Swapping an EF nib out for a 1.1 mm stub, or something similar, gives a completely different writing experience and makes for a more useful pen.

Kaweco, on the whole, makes this very easy to do. When I was just a novice fountain pen user it was eye-opening when I first found out how to change a Kaweco nib. This amazed me, because something that I thought was too advanced for me at the time was so simple. I had no idea at the time how it would open up an entirely new world to me.

I have several Kaweco pens on my desk, but I use a total of two nibs between all of them. A stock steel EF nib, and a modified B nib that Shawn Newton turned into a cursive italic, as seen in action here. This way, I always have my favorite nib handy for use in whichever compatible Kaweco I want to break out.

I've been anxious to try out one of the new Kaweco 14k nibs since I heard of their existence, so I appreciate Kaweco loaning me this one for review. It is a real stunner to look at, with the two-tone gold making a great visual impression. Performance wise, it is just as you might expect. It is smooth, soft, and consistent, with a feel similar to its German counterparts such as Pelikan or Lamy. The medium nib is not fine enough for my taste, so I would be looking to modify it, but those who like a wide Western line should enjoy it.

The price is as you would expect for a 14k gold nib these days, if not a touch high. Fontoplumo is the only place I see it available right now and it will run you €120, or approximately $140. I'd be more comfortable paying closer to $100, but with the versatility it brings in fitting a huge range of Kaweco models (Liliput, AL Sport, AC Sport, Luxe Sport, Special, Allrounder, Dia chrome, Dia gold, Elegance, Student) it may be worth a splurge.

Check out more reviews of the 14k solid colored BB nib at Gourmet Pens and The Well-Appointed Desk. My thanks to Kaweco for letting me test out this excellent nib.