Pen Review: Karas Kustoms INK Fountain Pen in Raw Aluminum

July 01, 2015 by Lori Beck in Pen Review

Karas Kustoms INK Fountain Pen - Tumbled Raw Aluminum w/copper section
Length Capped: 137mm
Length Posted: 183mm (not meant to be posted)
Length Uncapped: 127mm
Section at Thinnest Point: 9.5mm
Section at Widest Point: 10.25mm
Weight with Cartridge & Cap: 49.2g
Weight with Cartridge & No Cap: 33.4g
Fast Writing: Keeps up very well
Line Variation: None
Upside Down Writing: Not bad at all
Wetness: Perfectly balanced; not too wet or too dry
Pros: Machined metal, smooth threads, customization, color options, good nib/flow, converter included
Cons: Clip issue (likely just with my pen), may be heavy or large for some folks

You wouldn't imagine a machine shop full of guys from Mesa, Arizona who machine hot rod parts, would eventually venture into the world of pens - let alone fountain pens. This is exactly what happened, much to the benefit of pen addicts like myself. Dan Bishop, designer at Karas Kustoms (not Kara's Kustoms as some folks mistakenly assume), started their pen ventures by producing the Render K - an awesome rollerball refill holder to house your Parker or Pilot G2 compatible refills. They started off with a Kickstarter campaign that took off, and eventually this lead to 2 other wildly popular rollerball holders.

The pen community, namely the fountain pen community, wanted more. So Karas Kustoms caved to pressure and designed their first fountain pen - the INK. After another successful Kickstarter campaign, the INK came to be. Karas Kustoms offers the INK in several anodized aluminum finishes, along with a regular polished aluminum. More recently they've added a Raw Tumbled Aluminum finish, and that was enough to finally make me pick up one of these awesome pens. There's something about the raw metal pens that have come about lately that I just love, and this one is definitely no exception.

Along with being able to choose your barrel color, Karas allows you to choose the section material for your pen as well. Between aluminum, raw brass and raw copper, I knew I wanted copper for my own. The copper does add an additional $20 to the cost of the pen, but that is to be expected since it's a more expensive metal. Brass will cost you an extra $10, and the aluminum is nothing additional. I love how you can more or less build your own pen - the customization is definitely a plus. If you're really not a fountain pen person but love the body style of the INK, it also comes in a rollerball option.

Close up of the Raw Tumbled Aluminum finish

I've not used one of the anodized versions myself, but I've read some reviews where folks have found inconsistency in the color. Karas does address this on their FAQ page to their credit - since the anodizing can vary in color from batch to batch, there is inherently some risk that the colors will not match perfectly. It was also mentioned on the Pen Addict Podcast that they recently changed their anodizing company, so if you see an older pen from their line, you may not be able to get a new one of the exact same shade - something to keep in mind.

When Karas posted a picture on their Instagram page about their new Raw Bar Stock finish (or Tumbled Raw Aluminum as I believe it's listed on their product page), I knew that would be the finish I'd purchase my INK in. The photo they posted was of the Render K in the same finish, so I set out to find a picture of the INK - unfortunately I wasn't able to find one. I searched high and low online trying to find ANYONE who'd bought and reviewed this pen, so that I could see for myself what the pen looked like before I bought it. There were none. I had hoped Karas Kustoms would post a picture on their product page, and that was missing as well. There are only photos of the original anodized INK colors and the polished aluminum, which makes it very hard for a potential buyer to make a purchasing decision for this new finish. So Karas folks - if you're reading this - help the people out! :)

I bought my pen sight unseen anyway, because from what I'd seen of the Render K's finish I knew I would most likely love it - and I absolutely did. The pen came in a really neat retro-esque box that reminds me of something a vintage toy would have been packaged in. Printed on the back of the box are the words "Dozens of satisfied customers" - I had to chuckle at this, since their Kickstarter for the INK alone was backed by over 1000 people. The pen was disassembled and packaged neatly in the box - each piece wrapped in plastic. The copper section was polished up beautifully, and a small sheet of paper illustrated how to assemble the nib & section, and how to insert the converter and fill the pen.

The pen is on the large side, but isn't so large as to be uncomfortable. Being aluminum, it's not heavy, but is heavier than a plastic pen. The copper section that I got with my pen adds some weight, so if you prefer something lighter go for the aluminum section.

One thing that stands out about the pen is the threading for the cap. It has the most satisfying positive stop whenever you tighten the cap. The fit and finish is impeccable and is a true testament to the quality of Karas Kustom's products. Contrary to other pens I've used, the threads don't exhibit even the faintest squeak during use. It takes two full rotations to remove the cap, but the act of removing the cap is oh-so-satisfying that it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Notice the "line" at the bend in the clip is slanted

Notice the flat side of the bottom of the clip is unevenly worn

This side is pointed — This side is pointed

A problem I've found with the pen is its clip. Not the design or its stiffness (I actually like both), but my clip in particular seems to not have been cut properly. You'll notice that the line at the top where the clip transitions from the long vertical portion to the bend at the top of the pen, is not horizontally level as it should be. In addition, the bottom of the clip isn't cut straight either; you'll notice one side is "pointy" while the other is rounded off. I can't decide whether it drives me crazy, or whether its imperfection complements the raw tumbled finish of the pen body. I go back and forth on it, but regardless it's definitely a manufacturing defect, albeit a minor one.

The nib is Schmidt and comes in either a Fine or Medium. I opted for the Fine and am very pleasantly surprised by how well it writes. It's not without a bit of tooth, but it's definitely not scratchy. It's a #5 size, and will exchange perfectly with Franklin Christoph's #5 nibs (not all #5s will be compatible). After seeing Matthew Morse's video where he swapped his out, I threw my Masuyama Medium Cursive Italic nib in my INK and it writes beautifully. I LOVE my cursive italic, but until I get an extra, it'll remain in my Model 40 Pocket and I'll use the Schmidt nib in this one.

The feed keeps up very well with fast writing. It doesn't give any line variation, but of course it's not meant to. Upside down writing proved useable as well. I was pleased with the pen's wetness as well - not dry at all and not a gusher.

All in all, I was VERY happy with my Karas Kustoms INK. The tumbled aluminum finish gives and awesome EDC feel and gives way to allowing scratches and dings over time. It would have been easy for Karas to put a junk nib on their pen but they didn't - I find this admirable. A lesser company may have opted to throw a *shudder* generic "Iridium Point Germany* nib on a beautiful pen. Based on the reviews I've seen my clip issue is not a common one. I'll probably reach out to them and see if I can get a replacement. I highly recommend you get an INK for yourself if you don't have one. They start at just $85, which is a steal for an American-made machined fountain pen with a converter included.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Ink Review: Diamine Bilberry

June 30, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

Diamine Bilberry - June 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al-Star Silvergreen (F)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: low
Saturation: high
Flow: wet
Dry Time: 19 seconds

Next up for this month's Goulet Ink Drop is Diamine Bilberry. With this month's theme being "Farmers' Market," Bilberry must have been an easy choice. I honestly wasn't sure what a Bilberry was, so Wikipedia came to the rescue! On first glance you might thing that a bilberry is the same thing as a blueberry, but it is actually distinct from the blueberry, but in a similar family. It is native to Europe & the British Isles, so naturally with Diamine being a European brand they chose the name Bilberry for this deep, rich blueish purple ink. (As a side note, I think Goulet's swab of this is a little deceiving - I found it to have a little more blue tone than what their swab (or even my swab) shows).

One of the coolest things about this ink is its amazing gold sheen. If you lay it on thick you will notice right away that there is a nice halo effect that shimmers like gold flakes that you'd see in a J. Herbin 1670 ink. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly that pronounced, but it's definitely there.

Bilberry is a heavily saturated ink, so you don't get a ton of shading, but the heavy saturation seems to make the ink flow nicely. It runs smooth as silk out of my Lamy F nib, and produces no feathering, bleedthrough or ghosting on typical fountain pen paper. Dry time is a bit on the high side at 19 seconds - left handers beware.

Chromatography is just blue with the faintest hint of purple.

Depending on your light source, this ink in swab form can look both blue and purple. It honestly looks like you'd taken De Atramentis Hyacinth, or a similar royal blue that really pops, and mixed it with a color like Noodler's Purple Martin.

All ink all, if you love blues and purples you'll love this ink. As an added bonus you get an incredible sheen as long as you're using a heavier writing pen. If you're interested in a bottle for yourself, you can grab 80ml for $14.95 or 30ml for $7.50.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Ink Review: De Atramentis Cucumber (Scented)

June 29, 2015 by Lori Beck in Ink Review

De Atramentis Cucumber (scented) - June 2015 Ink Drop
Pen: Lamy Al-Star Silver Green (F)
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm
Shading: moderate to high
Saturation: medium
Flow: medium
Dry Time: 13 seconds

When I inked up the first ink in this month's Ink Drop, I was surprised by the color. I had imagined a color called "Cucumber" by De Atramentis would either be a lot darker like the skin of a cucumber, or lighter like the inside. I was actually quite pleased - this shade of green has always been one of my favorites.

De Atramentis Cucumber is another in the brand's scented line of inks. I was actually a bit disappointed by the cucumber scent, though. It really doesn't resemble cucumber at all to me. Unlike, Hyacinth from last month's Drop, the scent doesn't really resemble its name at all - at least to me. I had my boyfriend smell it too and he seemed to agree with me.

The ink is lighter on the saturation side, which produces a pretty substantial amount of shading. It flows pretty well, though a little on the dryer side, but there's no feathering, ghosting or bleedthrough on Rhodia. Dry time was a bit on the high side for a fine nib at right around 13 seconds.

Chromotography was...anti-climactic, but interesting nonetheless. It's literally green, with a touch of greyish undertone. It shows really well on the page - and incidentally couples my two favorite colors!

I've not come across an ink that compares exactly to this ink, but in swab form it is somewhere between Noodler's Bad Green Gator and Private Reserve's Avacado. It's much lighter than both of these on paper, though.

This ink may be my favorite of this month's Ink Drop by Goulet Pens. Stay tuned for the other 4 reviews this week! If you're interested in a bottle for yourself, and aren't dead-set on having an ink that smells like real life cucumbers, then you can grab a 35mL bottle for $12.95.

Thanks for reading!
Lori

Pen Review: Kaweco AL Sport Stonewashed (Black)

June 25, 2015 by Lori Beck in Pen Review

Kaweco AL Sport Stonewashed (Black)
Length Capped: 106mm
Length Posted: 131mm
Length Uncapped: 100mm
Section at Thinnest Point: 9mm
Section at Widest Point: 9.5mm
Weight with Cartridge: 21.2g
Fast Writing: Keeps up decently, couple of skips
Line Variation: Not much at all; not practical.
Upside Down Writing: Very scratchy, but doable. Hard to read.
Wetness: Fairly dry, but not bad.
Pros: Nib writes well, very cool "distressed" body, decent nib
Cons: Converter options

Kaweco continues to do an incredible job of doing unique things with their fountain pen designs. The "stonewashed" version of their AL Sport is something I've not seen other companies do. Though Kaweco is a German company, this stonewashed pen reminds me of the Japanese concept of "wabi-sabi," in which the aesthetic value of an object increases with wear and tear from use. Nakaya uses this idea in the design of some of their pens by introducing cracks to the finish; in my opinion it really adds to their appeal.

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 - the threads with this specific pen I've noticed have not squeaked when unscrewing the cap . I suspect this is due to the process of distressing the pen, but can't say for certain. Finally, the finial is very slightly conical and features the 3-syllable Kaweco logo.

Review

Kaweco likens this design as a "used look that perfectly matches your favorite pair of jeans." According to their site, they treat the pens with a very similar procedure to that used in jeans manufacturing. The result is an amazingly deceiving design which would have you believe this pen has been around for years and has produced many a page of written thought.

I've seen some people say that they don't like how even and uniform the wear marks on the pen are; I can understand that, as a pen that's been around for years may not wear as evenly. I still like the design of the pen, because they've not worn the entire finish off, but instead have focused on the high edges, which would be the first to wear on an old pen. Their idea is to mimic a worn pair of jeans, and to that end, I think they've done it perfectly.

The AL Sport Stonewashed edition is obviously the same pen as its non-distressed AL Sport counterpart, so the basic usability and functionality remains the same. The pen is well balanced, both posted and unposted. Due to its fairly short length, I prefer to write posted - the balance is unaffected by this as the cap adds negligible back weight.

The Kaweco steel nib is a fairly smooth writer with a touch of feedback. Being a steel nib, you get minimal line variation, though you can squeeze out the tiniest bit if you're determined to do so. Just be sure not to overdo it, because you'll probably spring the nib. Upside down writing is possible but I noticed the nib tends to catch on the paper and you'll have a hard time reading it. I've found the Kawecos tend to run a little on the dry side and this one was no exception - that could also be attributed to the finer nib size as well.

One thing that will always be an issue with the Kaweco Sport pens is the converter options. Since the pen is aluminum, eyedropper conversion isn't an option sadly. The pen takes Standard International short cartridges, and most full sized converters will not fit in the body of the pen. That leaves you with a few options: use only prefilled Standard International Cartridges, refill a used cartridge with a bottled ink and a syringe, or pick up one of the few converter options. The Monteverde Mini Converter, which is a plunger style, will fit in the sport pen but I believe that the plunger cannot be pulled out all the way. I've also heard that people have had issues with it not fitting the back of the feed properly, so there is the potential for leakage. Your second option is the Kaweco squeeze converter which is made specifically for the Kaweco Sport pens. It was recently redesigned to fit better in the new Sports, but a lot of people have issues getting a full fill with the squeeze mechanism. Another option is to fill the Squeeze Converter with a syringe, saving you the hassle of buying cartridges to refill, and avoiding the issue of getting a full fill. Finally, you may remember me mentioning the Templar Mini Converter when I reviewed the regular Kaweco AL Sport - I have since purchased one, and sadly discovered that they do no fit properly on the Kaweco feed. I spoke to Richard Croft about it, and he said that even though the Kaweco pens take a Standard International cartridge, the nipple on the back of the feed is skinnier and therefore the SI converters will not fit snugly. This likely explains why the Monteverde Mini Converter doesn't fit well either. Richard is developing a new style of converter just for the Sport pens, and is going to send me one of those to try. Until then, I'm still refilling my old cartridges.

All in all, I really dig this pen. Despite the converter issues, the unique distressed design keeps me coming back to it. It's a pen you'll never have to worry about scratching, as that has already been done for you! Of course the extra effort in manufacturing is going to add a little to the price, so the AL Sport Stonewashed sells for $90 from most of the US vendors. The pen comes in both a black and blue option currently, though I'd really love to see them add more color options down the road - a Stonewashed anthracite or silver would be awesome!

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).