Kaco Edge - Brushed Makrolon

[taike]

The new pen from Chinese stationery maker Kaco is interesting.

 

 

A few days ago, the Kaco Edge popped up in this thread. Kaco had dropped off my radar after I looked at the Sky but decided it wasn't for me.

 

 

The Edge is obviously inspired by the Lamy 2000.

 

 

The color and texture of the Makrolon is indistinguishable. With my eyes closed, I cannot tell the difference.

 

• The two pens are about the same size (the Edge is some 3mm longer). They share similar lines.
• The Lamy is girthier. It feels bigger in the hand. The Lamy is heavier by about 5g uncapped.
• The section of the Edge feels thinner. The section is Makrolon like the rest of the pen.
• The Edge uses a snap cap with a clutch ring like the Lamy. Closing the Edge is not as positive as the Lamy. It takes more force, but you do eventually get a snap when the cap seats.
• The clip on the Edge is a spring-loaded wedge of aluminum that hinges away from the cap just a smidge. It doesn't look like it works very well. It's good for keeping the pen from rolling around. I assume it's the feature that gave the pen its name.

Nib style and filling mechanism are where the two pens diverge. The Edge uses a Schmidt No. 5 nib unit that works cartridges or a converter. It comes with a couple of long international standard ink cartridges but no converter. The nib is steel and comes only in EF

The only branding on the Edge is the Kaco logo on the nib.

Size

• 138mm capped
• 127mm uncapped
• 152 posted

Weight with long cartridge

• 24.33g capped
• 12.65g uncapped

The Edge is about 2g lighter than the Lamy capped and 5g uncapped.

The Kaco Edge sells for US$6.50 at the Kaco store on Taobao. I guess Makrolon is just plastic after all.

 

Writing Experience

 

 

I elected to use the supplied black ink. I figured if I didn't use it for this experience, I might never wind up giving it a try. The Kaco ink turned out to be very well behaved and quick drying. Nice ink.

The pen was ready to write within seconds of putting in the cartridge. As fast as I can remember. It wrote the first time I put nib to paper and hasn't stopped since. For an EF nib, it is a generous line and medium wet. The nib is remarkably smooth.

I chose a medium 5mm grid TWSBI notebook. The smaller page and grid rule encourages compact writing. The Edge with the EF nib proved perfect for this kind of writing. 5 stars.

It reminded me of my Pilot Custom Heritage 92 14K F nib. So I dragged out that pen, dipped it in some Pilot Irushizuku Take-sumi and had a go. The Pilot ink is a blacker black, but the two pens produce a very similar line. The comparison speaks well for the Edge.

I haven't tried removing the nib unit to try swapping other nibs. At this point, I'm not sure I need to think about that for a while. As is, the Edge is a useful pen. I'm sold.

 

Conclusions

I have to say, the Edge was a surprise. I wasn't expecting an affordable, original-design pen made with quality parts in brushed black Makrolon.

 

I suppose Kaco is already a big enough Makrolon customer for the popular Sky, so getting the material was a not an issue. Given their expertise in manufacturing, hopefully the pen will hold up over extended use. Kaco does make a lot of pens.

 

The design side of the process is equally interesting. According to the box, the pen was designed by Chen Sen. A little digging turned up the LinFan Design Workshop where Lin Fan 林 帆 is listed as the 2014 co-founder & Design director at Shanghai KACO Industrial Co., Ltd. Among the projects listed on the website are the Sky pen and other work for Kaco, including a stapler co-designed by Lin Fan and Chen Sen in 2018.

 

So Kaco has some design chops behind their products. That's encouraging. For the Edge, I'm not too keen on the clip, but otherwise I'm a fan.

 

More background on Sky here.

 

 

[truthpil]

Excellent review! I've had my Edge for over a week and confirm all of your observations. Everything but the clip is fantastic. I'd only add that some sellers throw in a free Schmidt converter re-branded as a Kaco K1.

[Holon]

Thanks for the nice review and the information about the designer. I'm a fan of the Edge too, it's a great pen, not only because of the price.

 

 

I elected to use the supplied black ink. I figured if I didn't use it for this experience, I might never wind up giving it a try.

 

 

I thought exactly the same

Edited October 10, 2018 by Holon

[penzel_washinkton]

Nice review.

If it shown side by side with the Lamy 2K to a person not knowing it, they might think it's an updated/modern version of the Lamy 2K until they open the cap

Edited October 10, 2018 by penzel_washinkton

[SoulSamurai]

Oh, I like it! I think I shall have to grab one. Thanks for the review!

[kcwookie]

I ordered one last night. I'm looking forward to getting it. I've wanted a Lamy 2K and will enjoy writing with a pen made of the same material to see if I really like it. I'd been put off by Lamy until I purchased my Studio and the Aion.

 

I've not heard of Kaco, but they are on my radar now.

Edited October 10, 2018 by kcwookie

[schulste]

Thanks for the great review! I've been thinking about giving this pen a try, but I will order one now after this positive review.

 

As far as Makrolon goes, it is a premium polycarbonate from a premium manufacturer. It doesn't really matter how much you need to purchase; a distributer would be able to provide smaller amounts. I would be surprised if the Edge is fibreglass-reinforced like the Lamy 2000, but I've been surprised by Chinese pens before. I'll see if I can't get some time on our SEM to see if there is fibreglass in the polycarbonate.

[truthpil]

Thanks for the great review! I've been thinking about giving this pen a try, but I will order one now after this positive review.

 

As far as Makrolon goes, it is a premium polycarbonate from a premium manufacturer. It doesn't really matter how much you need to purchase; a distributer would be able to provide smaller amounts. I would be surprised if the Edge is fibreglass-reinforced like the Lamy 2000, but I've been surprised by Chinese pens before. I'll see if I can't get some time on our SEM to see if there is fibreglass in the polycarbonate.

You have access to a SEM? That's so cool! Given the price difference and the lack of heft compared to the L2K, I highly doubt there's any fibreglass involved, but looking forward to your analysis!

[penzel_washinkton]

Just got this baby and loving the feel of the Makrolon so far.

Also experienced the strange capping experience of some mushy/squishyness inside, sounds like a something clicking into its place.

 

Also quick note about the nib, I truly believe this EF writes finer than a Pilot Metropolitan Fine.

Going to hunt some Schmidt nib now

Edited October 11, 2018 by penzel_washinkton

[truthpil]

Great! For me that nice EF really fills in a missing spot I had for a non-Pilot nib that writes like a Pilot 78G/Kakuno/Metropolitan/Prera Fine.

Every other Western EF I had is closer to a Japanese M.

 

Now I'm eyeing a bright yellow Sky as a Christmas present for my 3-year-oid (he's crazy about anything yellow and I've been brainwashing him into the fountain pen world since he was 9 months old muhahaha). The Sky uses the same nibs in either EF or F.

[woleizihan]

I think the section is actually metal with a similar finish. Just like what Lamy did to avoid staining.

[taike]

I think the section is actually metal with a similar finish. Just like what Lamy did to avoid staining.

 

Had a go to take it apart to see if I could swing it. Decent twist and the nib unit unscrews.

 

Section is the same plastic as the barrel from what I can tell.

 

[woleizihan]

I'm pretty sure it's metal on mine.

[Holon]

The section is brushed metal (aluminium). Just the threads are plastic.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Holon

[truthpil]

The section is brushed metal (aluminium). Just the threads are plastic.

 

Yes, same with mine. It's already getting cold where I live and they haven't turned the heat on yet (long story), so you can really feel the different between the metal and Makrolon parts. It's a little disconcerting to grab the pen and feel this cold aluminum at the end while the rest of the pen feels warm.

[taike]

The section is brushed metal (aluminium). Just the threads are plastic.

Live and learn! Thanks

[penzel_washinkton]

Great! For me that nice EF really fills in a missing spot I had for a non-Pilot nib that writes like a Pilot 78G/Kakuno/Metropolitan/Prera Fine.

Every other Western EF I had is closer to a Japanese M.

 

Now I'm eyeing a bright yellow Sky as a Christmas present for my 3-year-oid (he's crazy about anything yellow and I've been brainwashing him into the fountain pen world since he was 9 months old muhahaha). The Sky uses the same nibs in either EF or F.

 

I might be too quick to judge. After using it today, I can say that it produces more or less the line width to the Metropolitan F, probably the feed was not saturated enough in the initial flow from the cartridge

 

The Sky would be a good present for younger people, nice idea

[ErrantSmudge]

The nib has "GERMANY" engraved on it. Is that true? Or is that labeling just for appearance?

[woleizihan]

The nib has "GERMANY" engraved on it. Is that true? Or is that labeling just for appearance?

It has Schmidt nib.

[penzel_washinkton]

The nib has "GERMANY" engraved on it. Is that true? Or is that labeling just for appearance?

 

Yes I can confirm and yes it is a Schmidt nib as others have mentioned

Edited October 13, 2018 by penzel_washinkton