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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