Pen Review: Kaweco AL Sport Stonewashed Blue FP

[Chrissy]

Kaweco AL Sport Stonewashed Blue FP Review

History (reproduced from the Kaweco web-site)

The first Kaweco Sport was founded in 1912 as a pocket fountain pen for ladies, officers and sportsmen. In 1930 the brands and models of Kaweco and Aurumia fused and the Ka We Co three part circle emerged. This circle is still used today on nearly all of it’s pens.

In 1993 H & M Gutberlet GmbH made it’s first prototypes for a relaunch of the Kaweco Sport under the name Trekking, but gained and registered the rights to rename as Kaweco in 1994.

The Kaweco Sport was newly produced as a cartridge holder in 1995, but the design remained the same as the 1935 model.

In 2000 the first Limited Sport edition was produced in green celluloid, and the AL Sport as well as the Art Sport were launched in 2003.

The Pen

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Measurements: Closed; 107mm, Posted; 135mm, Nib; 17mm. Weight including cartridge; 22grams.

I think the phrase ‘small but perfectly formed’ could be coined for the Kaweco Sport. It starts off as a small and compact pen until you remove it’s octagonal shaped cap, and replace it on the end of the barrel to make a good sized fountain pen in your hand. The AL Sport Stonewashed struck me as feeling lighter than it looked, and that’s because both the cap and barrel are made from aluminium. It feels light but nice in your hand. I chose a Fine steel nib to go with this pen.

It’s not a new pen that you would feel precious about, as it’s Stonewashed finish makes it look like it’s been rattling about in a handbag or a box, and rubbing against other metal objects, for some time. It starts off with a worn, almost neglected, look that intentionally reminds you of stonewashed jeans, that are tumbled with stones in large drums to get that ‘already worn’ look.

The Filling system

As I’m reviewing some Kaweco pens and inks, I selected a Midnight Blue cartridge for the AL Stonewashed Blue FP. The cartridges are International Short cartridge size.

If you’re looking for a pen with a sophisticated piston filling system, or even a classic type of twist converter, then you might be disappointed with this pocket-sized pen. There is only room for one International short cartridge due to it’s miniature size. However, I don’t find this a problem at all.

The Writing Test

I may have made a mistake of expecting it to write straight out of the box, but at first I found it to have start, and flow issues, until I removed the cartridge again, and flushed out the pen with some soapy, then clean water. Assuming you are holding the pen in your right hand, hold the nib top and bottom (not sides) and it unscrews out of the section in a clockwise direction using your left hand.

The writing test here shows how it wrote for me after flushing and drying, then spending two days, nib down, with the Midnight Blue cartridge inside. It isn’t at all tiring to write with and I didn’t find the grip at all slippery. Once I got it writing, the firm, steel Fine nib gave me a smooth writing experience that rivalled that of some gold nibs in more expensive pens. There is no flex with the nib.

This pen comes with a standard steel nib and has EF, F, M, B and BB tip options.
I am advised by Kaweco that threaded calligraphy nibs are also available to purchase separately as are 14ct gold options plus black options.

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Overall Opinion
Kaweco Sport pens have a really good screw cap that prevents their cartridges from drying out, and I have always liked that in this type of pen. i also love the fact that the Sport AL pens come in the Kaweco super metal gift tin that easily takes two pens plus a couple of spare cartridges.

If you want a clip or a converter they are available separately, but I find it as easy to refill cartridges from bottled ink with a syringe, as using the tiny squeeze type of converter that is made to fit this pen.

All in all, I really like this pen and I would recommend it. The RRP of this pen is £63 in the UK, but you can find it for less.

Kaweco loaned me this pen to review, and I really appreciate that. Thank you Kaweco.

[Rusty888]

Great review. It's a pen I was looking at getting for my everyday pen. There's something about the stonewashed finish that is alluring.

[Chrissy]

You're welcome. :)
I agree there is something alluring about the stonewashed finish, rather than having plain aluminium.

[whych]

I usually collect vintage sports. I don't really collect modern sports unless they are at a 'bargain' price.
That said, all Sports are magic. As long as the cap is screwed on properly, you can abuse the pen by shaking, dropping or by whatever other means you can and it will never leak. They will seldom dry out and should keep their ink for a year or 2 and still write first time.
As far as the hard starting goes:
I have found they take a while for the ink to start feeding when first filled/used from clean. Usually leaving the pen sitting nib down for a few days fixes this and once the ink flows, there are no problems.
Many cartridge fill pens suffer from the same problem, so it is not an issue if you know you need to leave the pen a few days after filling. (A bit frustrating if you are in a hurry to use the pen though.)
What I have found is the broad nibs are prone to skipping - don't know if it is a nib problem or not. I don't use the pen often enough for it to worry me.

As a company goes, Kaweco are more helpful than most.
For a better history of Kaweco, the brand, read some of FPN user 'Kaweco's' comments on FPN.

[Chrissy]

I usually collect vintage sports. I don't really collect modern sports unless they are at a 'bargain' price.
That said, all Sports are magic. As long as the cap is screwed on properly, you can abuse the pen by shaking, dropping or by whatever other means you can and it will never leak. They will seldom dry out and should keep their ink for a year or 2 and still write first time.
As far as the hard starting goes:
I have found they take a while for the ink to start feeding when first filled/used from clean. Usually leaving the pen sitting nib down for a few days fixes this and once the ink flows, there are no problems.
Many cartridge fill pens suffer from the same problem, so it is not an issue if you know you need to leave the pen a few days after filling. (A bit frustrating if you are in a hurry to use the pen though.)
What I have found is the broad nibs are prone to skipping - don't know if it is a nib problem or not. I don't use the pen often enough for it to worry me.

As a company goes, Kaweco are more helpful than most.
For a better history of Kaweco, the brand, read some of FPN user 'Kaweco's' comments on FPN.

Thank you for your comments. I am not a fan of broad nibs, so I selected a fine one as my preference. I have edited my thread to show the nib sizes that are available.

I can certainly agree with you that as a company, Kaweco have been more helpful than most that I have had experience with.

[rpsyed]

Great review! Lovely pictures, as well.

[Chrissy]

Great review! Lovely pictures, as well.

Thank you, and you're welcome.

I added a couple more pictures to show the pen in it's tin. :)