Smokey Grey - Kaweco

[visvamitra]

Founded in Heidelberg in 1883, as Heidelberger Federhalterfabrik, the company started by producing a modest range of wooden dip pens. The Kaweco brand name, originally developed as a model name and coined after Koch, Weber & Company, the owners, was adopted as the company name in the early 1900’s. By the 1930’s over 600 staff were producing a huge array of fountain pens and pencils, including the popular Sport range of pocket pens. The company's survived almost one hundred years but in 1980 its operations were closed.

 

 

Happily that wasn't the end of the brand. Horst Gutberlet - owner of H&M Gutberlet GmbH and pen enthusiast and his son Michael were able to but the brand name in 1994. They started working on reviving the brand. It took many years of dedicated work. The brand was initially distributed by Diplomat however over the years their line-up has extended and they were able to create their own international network of distributors.

 

 

As with most big dreams the realisation took many years of dedicated work. The Kaweco brand was initially distributed by Diplomat. Over the years, the model line-up has expanded and Kaweco has created their own international network of distributors.

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/7232/sBiTQO.jpg

Today Kaweco offers wide variety of fountain pens and accessories. They have eight inks in their line-up. I don't know makes their inks, however I've read somewhere it was Dr. Pflug from Aratrum (creator of Caran d'Ache inks). If anyone has some data on this topic, I'd like to learn it

Anyway the inks are sold in generic glass bottles (30 ml) and their price is steep. Given that in my country Kaweco inks are priced higher (price per 1 ml) than Edelstein or Graf von Faber-Castell I keep on aking myself "what were you guys thinking"? I expect premium priced products to offer premium experience - premium inks should be well-behaved and offer some added value as aesthetic bottle. Here KaWeCo doesn't deliver. The bottle is cheap, generic and boring. Practical, no doubt, but if you want me to pay premium give me premium

1. Karamel Braun (Caramel Brown)
2. Konigsblau (Royal Blue)
3. Mittertnachtsblau (Midnight Blue)
4. Palmen Grun (Palm Green)
5. Paradies Blau (Paradise Blue)
6. Perlen Schwarz (Pearl Black)
7. Rubinrot (Ruby Red)
8. Smokey Grey
9. Sommer Lila (Summer Purple)
10. Sunrise Orange

 

 

Smokey Grey is one of two new colors. With time and experience I started to enjoy grey inks. Not all of them, mind you, but many. As soon as Kaweco inks became available in my country I bought cartridges in order to try iy and share my thoughts.

 

Basically the color looks rather well although for some people it'll be too light for everyday use. As for the quality and writing experience, well, it's nothing special, really. Lubrication is average, it feels a little dry in most pens. Shading is visible but it's not interesting or complex.

 

Frankly just another grey on the market. Ok, it has some unusual undertones but for me it'snot enough. When we take into account Kaweco's ink price I can't help but notice that this ink is ridicoulously overpriced for what it offers. Diamine's Grey is much better ink (and 4x cheaper). Unless you collect grey inks you won't loose anything by making a pass on this one

 

 

Ink Splash

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Clairefontaine Triomphe, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

CIAK, Lamy Al-Star, different nib sizes

Comparison

Edited August 28, 2016 by visvamitra

[lapis]

Thanks for this big tip. A wonderful grey. The blue and silver touches make it possible. Still, different from De A's Silver Grey and L's Smokey.

[visvamitra]

Anyone else has some experience with it?

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. I like grey inks, but this one is a bit too light to be really legible, which is the same problem I had with Fuyu-Syogun (which Smokey Grey, although a bit warmer toned, resembles in the comparison).

OTOH, I like D'A Silver Grey (at least in the relabeled version Tchaikowsky) a whole lot.... That one is just enough darker to really stand out on a page.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[visvamitra]

I agree with your assessment

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thanks....it is a bit too light.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Well, in the meanwhile, I bought some six Kaweco cartridges, of them the Gray is best for shading. It is a bit light (not quite as light as I feared) , but I can well live with that for the shading.

[ManofKent]

Nice review, but too pale for me. I do find Kaweco inks well behaved though, and really like their black.

[ENewton]

Well, in the meanwhile, I bought some six Kaweco cartridges, of them the Gray is best for shading. It is a bit light (not quite as light as I feared) , but I can well live with that for the shading.

 

Bo Bo, have you tried Kaweco Summer Purple? I find that it shades even if I use a fine-point pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Kaweco Summer Purple....they either didn't have it or it has a different name in German.....and it was only four I bought not six....perhaps I had six written down on my list & (but they do have 6 cartridges in a box)

The Sunrise Orange nor Palm Green didn't quite do as well as I hoped in shading...nothing special....that's OK, the three new small bottle MB's Orange, Yellow and Miles Davis washed out blue are not either.

 

(I know I have to get that Herbin Orange....been saying that for 1/2 a decade...but the orange bug don't bite often.)

 

Caramel brown was a disappointment.

 

Next time I get to town....I'll drop off at my B&M and buy some. Purple & I will buy a bottle of the gray.

I didn't need those warm Subway's chocolate chip cookie anyway. Especially when my wife is on a diet.

Yes, Germany has become civilized....Dunken Donuts at the train station, Subways'....and it's cookies.....Starbucks and it's brownies....

..............evil chuckle....what's behind my wife's back, is behind her back....what she don't know.....won't hurt her diet.

 

It could be they had that purple in a bottle, but, with so many bottles of ink....for me over 50 bottles of ink is a lot...so I wanted to test them first. I'm glad I did.

Edited June 17, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[NicolausPiscator]

Hümpf! ... as one could express it in German... I completely agree with you that Kaweco's Smokey Grey is more smoke than grey. It reminds me of Herbin's Gris nuage which I haven't seen as being interesting up till now. For my opinion there isn't enough life and differentiation in it - in both of them. As one of the lighter grey inks - and an especially impressive one - I very much like Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun.

[lapis]

The reason why fuyu-syogun is one of my all-time favourite greys and Kaweco's Smokey Grey isn't is that I love the grey sky holding up a snow storm but I don't love smoke.

[Torrilin]

Anyone else has some experience with it?

I’m writing out a cartridge of it. It can range from the light shade you show here to something that passes for black. It’s in a fine nib, and it can feel offputtingly pencily in color terms on the light end, but there’s shading even in a fine. It’s very nice with crosshatching.

 

I don’t have any pens that take standard carts and have a 1.1mm or wider nib, and I feel like this ink really needs at least a 1.5mm with good flow.

 

I’ve done a bit of watercolor testing, and it seems to hold up to watercolor so far. Not enough to have a real opinion, just enough that I might try more.

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 6/17/2017 at 5:11 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

Kaweco Summer Purple

They didn't have it at my B&M today.

( didn't think to tell them to get me some.)

 

But as light as Kaweco smoky gray is, I picked up another six pack of it. For €1.95.

 

I had done a deleted 7 gray ink***, 4 paper post that bored the first 50 viewers, and it wasn't as bad as I'd remembered.

It does shade, if one has the papers for it.

 

On Color copy 100g Mondi, all the grays were better and on that paper Kaweco gray was better than the other three papers.

 

*** I had no idea I had so many grays.....but my two very good grays, from W. Germany time, Pelikan gray and Pelikan silver gray were not tested, in no one can lay hands on them and I'm down to some three cartridges between the two.

 

Once Pelikan made many more inks than lately, even counting Edelstein....and that's a long sad story...

 

I didn't load up, (got samples but didn't load up)  with them, as a 'noobie' thinking they'd show up again, but i was off to find a €20 fountain pen at the flea market.....didn't find one. Didn't get back to that stand... cubed!

That Pelikan  W.Germany orange is great too...one cartridge left.