Pen Review: Kaweco Brass Sport

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Kaweco Brass Sport - Raw Brass (F)
Length Capped: 107mm
Length Posted: 126mm
Length Unposted: 100mm
Section at Thinnest Point: 7mm
Section at Widest Point: 9mm
Weight with Cartridge: 43.5g
Fast Writing: Feed does struggle a bit to keep up, though I think this may be due to the nib issue.
Line Variation: Decent, but will railroad quickly.  Not practical.
Upside down Writing: Scratchy, but doable
Wetness: Fairly Dry
Pros: Unique, hefty (could be con as well, depending on the person), patina, customizability
Cons: Hefty (depending on the person), nib issues (see below), converter options

Parts of the Pen:

Like all Kaweco Sport models, the pen features a fairly long cap with an octagonal facets.  The body is cylindrical with a step down at the end leading to an end cap with a rounded top and a dimple in the middle.  The section is tapered and flared, and has a small grouping of threads at the top where the cap screws on.  Unlike other Sport models, this one has a plastic lining in the cap, which I believe is meant to prevent seizing of the brass parts to one another.  The raw aluminum one may have this as well - I've not seen that one in person.  One good thing about the plastic lining is you don't get the scratchy sound of metal on metal when you screw the cap on.  Finally, the finial is very slightly conical and features the 3-syllable Kaweco logo.

Raw brass, no patina

Raw brass, no patina

Body

End cap

Finial

Plastic inner cap

Another angle on the inner cap

Section

Review

As soon as I saw the Kaweco Brass Sport, I knew I had to have one.  Knowing what kind of patina could develop on raw brass made the pen appeal to me.  Up to this point, I'd only used the Skyline Sport, and I really fell in love with that pen, so I couldn't wait to get ahold of some more Kawecos.

The first thing that will strike you about this pen is obviously its incredible heft; especially if you're accustomed to using a regular Sport or Skyline.  The Brass is around 33g heavier than a regular Sport, so that's something to consider if you don't like heavier pens.  Me, I really enjoyed the extra weight.  I've done some fairly long writing sessions with this pen and didn't experience any fatigue.  The extra weight actually assisted in getting the pen to write with what I unfortunately found to be a pretty poor nib out of the box.  More on that in a moment...

The nib tines we misaligned at first

With my Skyline, I didn't have too many issues with the nib - I did make it a little wetter, just for personal preference, but other than that it was decently smooth.  The Fine nib that came with my Brass Sport was misaligned and had a pretty bad case of "baby's bottom" which hampered the ink flow and gave a ton of hard starts.  Luckily I've gotten accustomed to smoothing my own nibs, so once I hit it with some micromesh and widened the tines just a bit, it wrote like a dream.  It was unfortunate to get a poor nib on such an awesome pen, though I was glad to have been able to fix it.  I know some others haven't been so lucky, and have written the brand off completely.  I encourage you to give it another try and even practice some smoothing on cheaper nibs (try eBay) so that you can remedy these issues yourself should they happen again.  Granted, I certainly don't think that nib issues should happen on any pen, let alone one of this price.  Sadly the pen world is never perfect.

Now onto the good stuff - the patina that has developed on this pen in just a few days is awesome.  I really can't wait to see how this thing looks in a few months.  Out of the box, the pen is a very bright shiny raw brass with no flaws to speak of.  As soon as you touch your fingers to it, it'll start to develop some darkening, or patina.  For those that don't know what that is, it is a fine layer or "tarnish" that forms on various metals such as brass, copper, bronze, etc. due to oxidation or other chemical processes.  A tarnish or patina can protect metal from corrosion or weathering.  You'll notice that pennies that are very old have actually darkened over time - that is the same as what's happening to this brass pen.

As is always a topic of conversation with the Kaweco Sports, you don't have a ton of options in the way of converters.  I'm currently refilling empty cartridges until the Kaweco Squeeze Converter comes back in stock at JetPens.  The downside to refilling cartridges is that they will eventually wear out over time and have to be replaced, making it a continual investment, albeit a small one.  A lot of folks have had a bad time filling the squeeze converter and end up using an ink syringe to fill it.  I'm fine with that, as it at least eliminates the need to keep buying cartridges.  Another option I've heard of is the Templar Mini Converter - I'm eager to try that one out as well, as Stephen Brown says in one of his reviews that it holds a tiny bit more ink than the squeeze converter.  Also please note this pen should not be eyedropper converted as it is metal, which does not play nice with a lot of fountain pen inks.

Not unlike the Al Sport Raw Aluminum, the Brass Sport will change based on the way you use it, giving it a look and feel that is unique to you.  I really love that about this pen; it's design is a reflection of its user.  It's a pen that I won't be afraid to throw in a pants pocket with keys, or toss into the bottom of a bag full of loose articles.  Each ding and dent will be part of its character.  One downside that some may not like, is it does make your hands smell like metal.  I'm hoping that will fade over time.

If you can't tell I'm smitten with this pen.  If you're interested in one for yourself, they're still slowly making their way to the US - Goulet has it listed but doesn't have it up for sale just yet.  I believe it's currently listed on CultPens for my friends in the UK.  Online retail is $100 - it might be steep for some folks since it comes standard with a steel nib, but I believe the uniqueness makes it worth it.

Thanks for reading!
- Lori

(Kaweco has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review - I have since chosen to purchase the pen from them.  My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).

Pen Review: Kaweco Student

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Kaweco Student - Black (F)
Length capped: 129mm/5"
Length posted: 161mm/6.3"
Length unposted: 120mm/4.7"
Weight with cartridge: 24.9g
Pros: Nice weight, very cool design, sturdiness, smooth nib
Cons: Blemish on the finish, section is a little thin and slick

When I ran the giveaway on the blog a week or so ago, I was surprised to notice that a lot of people had listed their favorite pen as the Kaweco Student.  I was most familiar with the Sport line of Kaweco pens, and hadn't really heard of the Student before then.  I headed over to Pen Chalet to check it out and was immediately drawn to the cool vintage look.  It was nice to see a full-sized pen in the Kaweco lineup as well.  There were several colors to choose from, but I ultimately chose the black.

I received the pen a couple of days later and I was happy to see the pen shipped with a large size Kaweco tin - I really love the vintage look and feel of those tins.  Pro tip: they make a great storage box for extra ink cartridges, ink samples or even extra pens!  The pen came with a Kaweco blue standard international short cartridge, or can take the Kaweco standard international converter.

Love that Kaweco logo

The cap finial

I ordered my pen with the Fine nib and it was very smooth.  I have noticed that it does have some occasional starting issues, which I think will easily be remedied with a few passes on some micro mesh.  I've had other Kaweco nibs that have been perfect out of the box, so I think this specific one may have been a one-off.  The pen has some weight to it, but isn't too heavy which I like.  The section is a slick aluminum and is tapered and then flares back out.  I find it to be a little thin for long writing sessions, especially if you tend to grip your pen tightly like I do.  For short writing sessions, it actually feels really nice.  I know a lot of folks have issues with metal grip sections because they can tend to be slick, so that is worth noting if that's a concern for you; for me, it didn't seem to be a problem.

Grip section

One flaw that I did notice with the pen was that there was a pretty clear blemish on the cap just above the center band.  I attempted to scrape it off with my nail because I thought it might have just been something sticky, but it stayed put.  This may not bother most folks, but for a new pen I'd want it to be flawless.

Macro shot of the blemish

Macro shot of the blemish

Blemish

I was very impressed with the Kaweco Student.  I expected it to be very lightweight, but it really feels like a nice expensive pen.  For $60 at Pen Chalet, I would definitely recommend it; especially if the smaller Kaweco pens don't suit you.  Readers of The Desk can use promo code DESKOFLORI for an additional 10% off any purchase!

(Pen Chalet has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review.  Thank you so much to Ron and Pen Chalet for sponsoring this review! My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).

Pen Review: Pilot Custom 74

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Pilot Custom 74 - Smoke (M)
Length capped: 142mm/5.6"
Length posted: 154mm/6"
Length unposted: 135mm/5.3"
Weight w/full converter: 23.7g
Pros: Looks, converter type, buttery smooth nib
Cons: None. Seriously!

I've had my Pilot Custom 74 for quite a while now, I wanted to spend some time with it before reviewing it because it's truly one of my favorite pens, if not THE favorite.  I'd learned of the Custom 74 from watching some of Brian Goulet's videos.  His blue Custom 74 with a Medium nib has long been his favorite pen and he's raved about it on multiple occasions.  After hearing this several times, I decided to take a look.  I really loved the look of the pen, and realized how big of a sucker I am for demonstrators.  It was tough to choose, but I ultimately chose a Smoke color with a Fine nib.

Upon receiving the pen, I was instantly in love with it.  The Smoke color demonstrator barrel was an amazing color - and very unique.  I've not found a pen that's currently being made with this color which is a shame honestly.  It's a classic design with a modern twist which I very much appreciate. Also amazing, was the nib itself.  Pilot's nibs are Japanese made, so they run finer than their German counterparts.  It was very fine but smooth and felt great on nearly every paper I tried.  

Over time, I realized that my tendencies toward finer nibs were fading as I'd fallen in love with inks as much as I had fountain pens.  The Fine nib was great and I had no complaints about it other than it just didn't put enough ink down on the page to show off my ink color.  I opted to order a Medium nib after Pen Chalet had an amazing deal on the Custom 74 with the Pen Addict Podcast discount.  My boyfriend and I ultimately gave my Fine Custom 74 to Josh for his birthday, who you may remember from my story on the counterfeit Lamy Safari.

14K of awesome

For every time I'd raved about how amazing the Fine nib was on the Custom 74, I was astonished but how much MORE amazing the Medium was.  The thing glides across the page, like butter on a hot plate coated in oil.  Writing with this pen has never been a disappointment to this day.  To date, it's the only pen I have that I'm convinced could not be improved with a little bit of smoothing.

Top side of the nib

Underside of the nib

The section of the pen has a nice taper to it that flares back out, making it comfortable to write with for long periods of time.  The taper is not too thin and accommodates my grip perfectly, so that makes it especially comfortable for me personally.  For those who tend to choke up on their pen as they write, the threads are not harsh at all, so you shouldn't experience any discomfort with that.

Section

The weight is fairly light, but not too light, so it doesn't fatigue the hand either.  The length unposted is more than long enough to make it comfortable - posted is almost too long for my taste and I have fairly large hands; about 7" from the tip of my middle finger to the base of my palm.

The Pilot Custom 74 truly is an amazing pen.  The praise that it receives is well deserved, and the nib is something to be marveled.  If you've been considering one, do yourself a favor and pick one up!

My Experience With a Counterfeit Lamy Safari

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*UPDATE* I've made a minor correction to this story after learning some new information about the box that my pen came in.  Thank you to Chase for pointing this new information out.

Have you ever had one of those moments, where there is a sequence of puzzling events that are explained all at once by a sudden epiphany?  That phenomenon is basically what describes my experience with my charcoal Lamy Safari.

If you've read my review of my Lamy Safari, you'll recall that it was a gift to me by a very gracious family member (Josh) for Christmas.  He had just gotten a Safari of his own and rekindled his love of fountain pens similarly to how I did.  When he found out that I was a fountain pen fan, he was kind enough to buy me one to help me get back into the habit.  It certainly worked; though little did we know, that this pen would have quite an effect on several future events, which I'm about to tell you about.  Grab some popcorn, you'll be here a while!

My new Safari was still in its typical Lamy box with the slotted holes in it.  I couldn't wait to get home and open it up and try it out.  When I finally got home, I cracked open the box and found two things that I wasn't expecting: the Lamy cartridge was a blue-black instead of the regular blue that normally comes with the Safari, and there was a Z24 converter included in the box as well.  I was excited because I like blue-black more than blue, and I thought I was going to have to buy a converter separately like everyone else I knew, (including Josh, who didn't receive one with his pen).  I immediately called him and told him the good news, and he was happy, but a bit miffed that he hadn't gotten one with his pen.  He bought both pens on Amazon, but from different sellers, so we assumed that mine had come from Germany which is why it included a different cartridge and the converter.

Since I didn't have a bottle of ink yet, I went ahead and popped in the cartridge and began using my new Safari.  I got a Fine nib, and right away I noticed the pen was writing very wet.  I knew from watching Brian Goulet's videos that German nibs tend to run wetter, so after some time I realized I needed to pick up an Extra-Fine nib.  I placed an order from Goulet for an EF nib and a bottle of Noodler's Dark Matter.  After they arrived, I went to put my new nib on my pen and noticed right away that it fit very loosely.  I gave the sides of the nib a good squeeze and it was still very loose but I was still able to write with it.  Right away I noticed that the line produced by this new EF nib was much, MUCH thinner than that of the F nib I'd just been using.  At this point I was a bit puzzled, as the difference was so pronounced that I thought I'd possibly gotten a dud.  So I emailed Goulet and described the problems I'd had, and they were very quick to let me know that this was not a typical experience with a Lamy EF nib, and sent out a replacement to me right away.

When I received the new EF nib, I unfortunately experienced the exact same issues.  In fact as I was refilling my pen, the nib was so loose that it actually fell off into a completely full 3oz bottle of ink.  You can bet I lost my cool when that happened...I had to empty the bottle into another clean container, fish the nib out, and then carefully transfer it back into the bottle with a 6ml ink syringe.  After that fiasco, the nib still wouldn't stay on the feed at all.  I did some Googling and found one other person who had a similar issue and he said to gently use some rubber pliers or a couple of hard surfaces to slightly bend the fins on the nib in to tighten it.  After several minutes of trying not to overly bend the nib, I was finally able to get it to stay on the feed.  That was one hurdle defeated, but there was still the issue of it writing much drier than I'd expected when compared to the F nib.  So I consulted Brian Goulet's videos again and he suggested that I very gently apply pressure to the nib while writing to spread the tines a bit to increase ink flow.  I was able to get the tines opened up enough to where it felt like it was writing wetter.

I'd finally gotten my pen set up the way I liked it, so I happily used it for a few months.  Over time I noticed that the Z24 converter that came with the pen had a black ring right below the piston knob that started to come loose.  It didn't affect the functionality, so I didn't worry about it.  Despite all of these issues I'd ran into,  I wasn't deterred from accumulating inks, other pens and a full-on obsession with the hobby.

I had a bunch of ink samples I wanted to bring Josh, so we met up and exchanged inks and tried each other's new pens.  I happened to pick up his Safari, and immediately, alarm bells went off...this pen felt COMPLETELY different than my Safari.  It was heavier, sturdier and had an overall feel of high quality.  I pointed this out to him and he agreed they felt quite a bit different.  We ultimately surmised that it was because one of the pens could have come from a different country of origin (Germany vs. U.S.), and didn't think much of it after that.

Over the next couple of weeks I kept thinking back to Josh's Safari and I couldn't help but fixate on the differences.  One big thing I noticed was that the cap on my pen spun freely while capped, and his did not.  This had bothered me about my pen from day one, because it never really felt like the cap fit it well.  It just so happened that around this same time, I was browsing Instagram and I saw a post from @InkJournal teasing a new story for their blog about the differences between real Safaris and fake Safaris.  When I read this, it hit me - could my pen be a counterfeit??  'Surely not,' I thought.  But I couldn't help but to look further into it.  It was at this point that I came across a thread on FPN (Fountain Pen Network, for those who aren't familiar) that detailed another pen fan's experience with a fake Safari they purchased from, you guessed it, Amazon.  As I read over the details he gave of his pen, I knew immediately that Josh had unknowingly purchased a counterfeit Lamy Safari.

Everything I'd been experiencing with this pen began making sense now.  The light weight feel, the spinning cap, the blue-black cartridge, the included converter...all of it matched perfectly with what I'd been reading on FPN.  I couldn't wait to get home so that I could compare the box and the pen to the pictures I'd seen.

(Updated w/new info)  What I thought was a laughable counterfeit box, turns out to be a counterfeit version of the old packaging that Lamy used.  I've found several reviewers online who got their pens a year or two ago that have a box that matches the bottom box.  I at first thought that the seller may have gotten his/her hands on some old Lamy packaging, but after further inspection it seems they've produced a pretty decent fake of it.  One thing that I noticed from the pictures I'd seen online compared to this one - is that it appears that the slits in the box are cut differently.  If you notice on my grey box, the edges of the slits in the box have a positive texture.  They stand up, and if you run your finger over them you can feel the edges sticking up - almost as if it was cut from the inside out instead of the outside in.  I've included a photo below of the legitimate old Lamy packaging, and you can see that there are no positive edges on it.  You'll also notice that on both the legit old grey packaging and my new black box from my Al-Star, the base of each slit has a horizontal line on it.  The counterfeit packaging does not.  This leads me to believe that they have produced a really good fake of the old packaging.

Top: Legitimate Safari box; Bottom: Counterfeit Safari box

Legitimate "old" Lamy packaging.  Notice that the base of each of the slits has a horizontal line on it, similar to the photo below of the new Al-Star box.  (Photo via europeanpaper.com)

Inserts for the Safaris - Bottom is the counterfeit; notice the fairly convincing German barcode sticker. "Unverb" translates to "Recommended retail."

Another aspect that sets the counterfeit Safari apart from the legitimate one is the instruction booklet that comes in the box.  The legitimate booklet is simply a warranty card with Lamy's contact information.  The counterfeit booklet has quite a bit more information in it.  It features instructions on how to fill a cartridge converter pen, as well as how to fill a piston pen.  It also has illustrations of different nib sizes on it.

Top: Legitimate booklet; Bottom: Counterfeit booklet

Piston filling instructions.  Bottom: Counterfeit

Counterfeit booklet: cartridge converter instructions & nib size comparisons

The body of the pens appear very similar, however once you hold them in your hand you can tell the difference immediately.  The biggest red flag for me was the weight difference.  The counterfeit Safari weighs considerably less than the real Safari, and just has a cheaper feel.  The matte finish on the real Safari is considerably better than the counterfeit.  The counterfeit is quite a bit smoother, and actually has more of a brown tint instead of the correct charcoal grey.

Top: Counterfeit Safari; Bottom: Legitimate Safari. Notice the finish on the counterfeit has a smoother texture, where the legitimate pen is textured.  The counterfeit pen also has a brown tint.

Top: Counterfeit; Bottom: Legit. Notice the center of the letter "A" - the small triangle of what would be the negative space on the letter A is quite a bit smaller on the counterfeit.

Top: Counterfeit with a legit EF nib from Goulet; Bottom: Legit pen & nib. Notice the subtle differences in the edges on the grip and the space between the nibs and feed from the body.

Top: Counterfeit feed; Bottom: Legit feed.  The counterfeit feed has a thinner girth and an overall different design - hence the issues I had getting the legit nib to fit it.

Left: Legit pen; Right: Counterfeit pen.  A good example of the different textures on the finish.

Left: Legit finial; Right: Counterfeit finial.  The "X" on the counterfeit finial is shallower and shorter from edge to edge.

Left: Counterfeit pen; Right: Legit pen.  Notice the edge of the circle on the end of the pen is slightly thinner on the counterfeit. (Sorry it's a bit out of focus!)

Though the body of the pen is fairly convincing as a fake, once you experience the nib and compare it to a legitimate one, it's a totally different story.  Unfortunately, this skewed my view of all nibs for quite a while and I made several choices on nib sizes that I likely wouldn't have made if I'd known what I know now.  The "Fine" nib on the counterfeit writes more like a real Lamy Medium nib, and because of this I'd obsessively chosen EF nibs on other pens that I bought, thinking that it was my only choice since German F nibs (or what I thought was a real German F nib) wrote such a wide line.  Luckily with a lot of trial and error, I've learned the true nature of both German and European nib sizes and now know what I like.

As I mentioned earlier, because I had so much trouble with the counterfeit nib, I ordered an EF nib from Goulet.  After all the fits I had getting the thing to fit on there, once I had I was extremely pleased at how different the EF nib felt.  It wasn't scratchy and didn't hard start like the F nib did.  Upon closer inspection, the counterfeit F nib had a number of things wrong with it, including an off-center nib slit, and one nib tine being longer than the other!

Left: Counterfeit Fine nib; Right: Legitimate Extra-Fine nib.  Notice the nib slit on the counterfeit is off center from the breather hole; the left tine is longer than the right one, and the breather hole is farther forward.  The stamped nib size and "Lamy" name are in a different ink color as well.

Something else that I didn't even notice myself until I read the FPN thread was how far forward the breather hole is on the counterfeit nib.  From this angle, you can see that if you draw an imaginary vertical line starting at the "fins" of the nib, it *should* line up perfectly with the breather hole.  On the counterfeit nib, it doesn't; it's quite a ways further forward.

Of course a counterfeit Safari wouldn't be complete without a counterfeit Z24 converter to go with it.  This was of course my first converter, so I had no idea that it was a fake; I was just excited that I got one with my new pen and didn't have to buy it separately!  Over time, the converter started to feel flimsy and even began to deteriorate in places.  The black ring just below the piston knob randomly came loose one day while I was cleaning it.  Luckily it didn't affect the function of it, but looking back now, it should have been a red flag, as most true Z24 converters never have this issue.  The piston action on the fake feels...wobbly...and and not smooth.  Now that I have experienced a real Z24 converter with my CopperOrange Al-Star, I can certainly tell a difference.  Another red flag for the converter is how loosely it fits into the pen; it takes little effort to pull it off of the feed.

Left: Counterfeit Z24 converter; Right: Legitimate Z24 converter.  Notice the flat edges of the red plastic are thinner on the fake.  The piston rod is also quite janky looking compared to the real deal, and the knob itself is a bit wider.

Top: Legitimate Z24 converter; Bottom: Counterfeit Z24 converter.  The fake has a wider negative space in the letter "A" and the piston knob itself is a bit wider.  The plastic looks cheaper as well.

Left: Legitimate converter; Right: Counterfeit converter.  The ring cannot be removed on the legitimate (without breaking the glue free with a considerable amount of force).

I think that has covered the major differences between this pen and a real Lamy Safari.  My hope with this post is that I can help others be aware that there are sellers out there on eBay and even Amazon who sell counterfeit pens as if they were the real thing.  Keep in mind that this is different than companies like Jinhao who sell "look-alike" pens and market them as just that: look-alikes.  They don't sell them under the false pretense of being a real branded fountain pen.  My pen unfortunately was the latter.  I was fortunate to eventually be enlightened on the situation, and be able to remedy the false information that I'd learned from using this instrument.  I'm better for having experienced this, and now will be extra diligent in urging people to use a legitimate retailer such as Goulet Pens, Anderson Pens, JetPens or Pen Chalet (or others).  The few extra dollars that you pay will be worth it when there is an issue and you need to utilize their customer service.  From my experience, the customer service at all of these retailers is top notch; especially Goulet (who doesn't love a hand-written note with their order?!).

If you've taken the time to read this thank you for hanging with me!  I hope that it has at least been interesting and given you some useful info.

You'll be pleased to know that the seller of this pen is no longer listed on Amazon; however I did find a seller with a very similar name that is selling pen related items.  Josh has reached out to Amazon detailing what happened and is currently awaiting a response from them.  **UPDATE** Amazon let us return the pen for a full refund with little effort or explanation.  Kudos to their customer service for that!

If you're interested, here are the links I referenced for details on counterfeit Safaris:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/286424-bought-a-fake-safari/
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/285327-are-there-any-fake-lamy-safaris/
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/267633-buyer-beware-lamy-safari-on-ebay/
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2933849141? (you'll have to use the translate function in your browser; I recommend Google Chrome)
http://goldspotpens.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-to-spot-knock-off-lamy-safari.html