Kaweco – Page 4 – Fountain Pen Follies

Pen of the Day: Omas Paragon Saffron Blue

May 13, 2016May 12, 2016 Laura4 Comments

Omas Paragon Saffron Blue fountain pen

Omas Paragon Saffron Blue with medium nib. I’ve been talking about Omas with a few people this week. So I had to ink one up. This is a Paragon, from 1997, in Saffron Blue celluloid. That material isn’t incredibly common, but it is really beautiful.

Omas Paragon Saffron Blue fountain pen

The Saffron Blue celluloid is primarily dark blue, with ochre, white and gold. It reminds me of Vermeer’s palette. Or maybe Van Gogh — but only the celluloid; not the pen.

I always use a safe blue ink in this one. Today it’s Kaweco Royal Blue, which is an unheralded but excellent standard blue.

Kaweco Royal Blue ink writing sample

Flurry of Fountain Pens: Pen Group Meetup

April 11, 2016April 10, 2016 Laura7 Comments

fountain pens in case

We had a wonderful group meetup yesterday in advance of the Chicago Pen Show, which is coming up in just a few weeks. We all brought some pens. This kind of meetup is great fun, because it’s not only a nice chance to spend time with nice people, but also a great way to see and try pens you’ve only heard about. Particularly if one of the attendees has a collection to die for, like my friend Dan. That magnificent thing above is his smallest pen case.

So that case holds a bunch of Pelikans, including I think six M800s and three M1000s, plus an 85th Anniversary Aurora and two Nakayas. But that’s just one of his pen cases. Were there four or five cases? I lost count. Because, dazzled. His collection is like the best pen store ever, except nothing is for sale and everything is inked.

I tried one of his M1000s. Now, the M800 is too heavy for me, so the M1000 should be a non-starter, being even larger. But I thought the nib on the M1000 was heavenly. I tried a triple broad. Which turned out to be not much broader than my Pelikan M605’s extra-fine nib. (Joking, not joking. Owners of modern Pelikans will understand.)

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Bung Box First Love Sapphire: Another Glimpse

March 16, 2016June 16, 2018 Laura3 Comments

Bung Box First Love Sapphire writing sample

I know I mentioned a few weeks ago that a friend gave me a sample of my very first Bung Box ink, First Love Sapphire.

And I posted a writing sample from an Aurora Optima with a fine nib.

But here’s a quick look at Bung Box First Love Sapphire from both the Optima and a much different pen, a Kaweco Sport with 1.1 mm calligraphy nib.

I find it really interesting. The ink color is consistent, but the impression it makes, on me at least, is very different.

A Peek at the Pen Cups

March 14, 2016December 11, 2018 Laura5 Comments

My pen cup runneth over. Both of them. And they show what’s going on here for the next week or two.

I’ve got four Kaweco Sports inked right now. Three of them contain inks I’m going to be reviewing, or might be reviewing or really thought I’d already have finished reviewing. Those pens are blue, clear and purple, respectively.

The other is my new AL-Sport. Which is new. I am not sure I expressed that clearly enough. I meant, new! Well, actually, newest. Newest!

Does that photo up above look sufficiently dark and mysterious? Good. There are two pens there that I think are going to be pens of the week this very week, so I don’t want to give away too much now. I hope it’s just like Pretty Little Liars here, in terms of suspense. So you can tune in tomorrow, when I reveal “A.”

Pen of the Day: Kaweco AL-Sport Grey

March 8, 2016March 7, 2016 Laura7 Comments

Kaweco AL-Sport in Grey with medium nib. I shared some photos of this pen yesterday, since it’s my newest purchase. I just really like it, so it’s Pen of the Day, too.

This one has a very nice medium nib. It’s narrower than the medium nib on my Pelikan M400 White Tortoise, which you can compare here. I’m using the Kaweco with a wetter ink than the Pelikan, too.

I’ve got my new AL-Sport inked with Waterman Blue Black, now sold under the name of Mysterious Blue. Waterman Blue Black is a traditional blue black with a greenish tint. It’s not perfect. It’s not an ink for a dry pen, because the color looks better with more ink flow. And on some lower quality paper the ink color can lighten with time. But Waterman Blue Black is very feather resistant, it won’t show through poor quality paper, and it’s a wet ink that works with most pens.

I use either Waterman Serenity Blue or Blue Black with every newly purchased pen. That way I can tell right away how the nib writes. This one writes a little bit wet and is super smooth.

New Pen! Kaweco AL-Sport Fountain Pen in Grey

March 7, 2016March 6, 2016 Laura1 Comment

I’m going to post more about this pen tomorrow, but I just wanted to write a little about it today, too. Because, squeal, new pen. It’s not every day I buy one of those.

My husband probably wouldn’t believe that last line, but you are my witnesses. Some days I rest.

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Finding Inks for Lamy’s Charged Green Al-Star

February 27, 2016May 16, 2016 Laura2 Comments

Being an unreconstructed fan of the Broadway musical — aka a total nerd — I really wanted to title this, “How do you solve a problem like the Lamy Charged Green Al-Star?” But, yeah, few will know what I’m talking about. And those who do will shake their heads.

So, here’s the issue. As our commentator Elizabeth noted, Lamy’s Charged Green ink isn’t perhaps the greatest match for the new Charged Green Al-Star. It’s a little light in color and it’s a little too green. Though as an ink I like it, personally. I’m totally into light green ink. I grabbed a few for this post.

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Pen of the Day: Kaweco Sport

February 23, 2016February 22, 2016 LauraLeave a comment

Kaweco Classic Sport with 1.1 mm calligraphy nib. This blue pen is my small tip of the cap to the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Pitchers and catchers reported last week, and spring training opens this week.

I am using a Kaweco calligraphy nib in 1.1 mm size, because I mentioned it last week and thought it would be fun to show. I also have the 1.5 mm version. These are excellent stubs, smooth and wet, around $10, and easily swapped into any Classic Sport.

The ink is KWZ Iron Gall Blue #6, which is my last blue iron gall KWZ ink to sample (sob). It’s quite similar to KWZ Iron Gall Turquoise, which I’m testing at the exact same time. I think both are lovely.

A Pen Case Just for Kaweco Sports

February 15, 2016December 11, 2018 Laura1 Comment

What is that interesting bit of red and black up there? It’s the coolest leather pen case/pen cup. Michael at MY63 Leather made it just to fit four Kaweco Sports.

Kaweco Sports are mini-pens, smaller than normal when capped, and then normal size when you post them to write with. But because they are shorter capped, when you put them in a regular pen case or pen cup, they tend to get a little lost in there.

So Michael decided to make a cup or case that fits Kaweco Sports exactly.

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Pen of the Day: Kaweco Skyline Sport Metallic Violet

February 12, 2016February 10, 2016 Laura6 Comments

Kaweco Skyline Sport in Metallic Violet with medium nib. You know I love my Kaweco Sports, and here’s a great one. The color is called Metallic Violet, but the pen body is plastic not metal. Instead of being an ordinary plastic, however, it’s a special swirly acrylic that looks shiny.

That’s how you make a purple pen!

It’s inked with a cartridge of Kaweco Summer Purple. Another ink on my to-be-reviewed list, Kaweco Summer Purple is my kind of purple: cheerful, unsaturated but easy to read, with lovely shading.