Kaweco Sport Ice FP, as a dropper filler

[GladWriter]

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/Gladtobemom/Pens/DSCN0939.jpg

 

1. First Impressions (8/10) –

When closed, this is a short chunky feeling pen with a really nice clip that can be removed.

What drew me to it was the price (about $15), the vivid color of the cap (perfect for Noodler's Apache Sunset), and the clear barrel.

It came with a couple of cartridges (which I've never used).

I usually clip my carry around pen to the neck of my dress, so the generous clip was a big plus.

 

2. Appearance & Design (8/10) –

It's quite a snazzy looking little pen, the orange one appears almost a dayglow orange--it glows.

When the cap is posted (put on the back of the pen, it has nice balance.

I use a little scuba grease on the barrel threads and fill it with ink, so the liquid ink shows through the barrel, something I like--I know exactly how much ink it contains.

It has a silver jewel on the cap that says Kaweco.

The cap threads on with nice solid smooth threads and the inner cap seals well.

The threads on the Barrel are just right for sealing with a little scuba grease to turn this into a dropper filler. I've never had it leak in a year--no O ring needed.

The cap is octagonal, so it doesn't roll too, which is nice.

It is a petite pen, even with the cap posted.

The threads are impeccably done and as a dropper filler, it's brilliant.

This will never look like an "expensive" pen, but it IS a sporty looking and attracts quite a bit of attention.

 

3. Weight & Dimensions (7/10) –

Closed, the pen is exactly 10.5cm long (just over 4 in.),

Open, with the cap posted, it's 133mm (5.25 in.)--a very comfortable length,

Without the cap posted, it's only 10cm long, which is really too short to comfortably use.

It's pretty lightweight, but it feels solid and comfortable. The area just above the nib has a nice comfortable feel. Filled, with the cap posted, it writes like a middle weight pen. (I tried the metal Sport in the store and it was cap heavy, this one is NOT cap heavy and has a nice balance.)

 

4. Nib & Performance (7/10) – It writes quite nicely, the line width is narrower than a medium, wider than most fines. It lays down the ink very smoothely, though I did take a little 1000 grit japanese sandpaper to the nib for about 4 strokes when I first got it--because it didn't seem to like my writing angle. That worked a treat, though and it's smooth as silk now. It's a fairly juicy, fast writer. Even when making lots of sweeping smiley faces and check marks . . . I don't out write the nib.

 

5. Filling System (10/10 as a dropper filler) -

I have never used it with a cartridge.

I put some scuba thread grease (silicone) on the threads, filled the barrel with Noodler's Apache Sunset, and it's been my paper grading pen ever since. It holds a LOT of ink too and never leaks. For re-filling on the go, or for travel, I just load up a visine bottle (handy that they are Nalgene) with ink. I do wipe the threads and apply a new tiny bead of scuba grease with each filling, for that, I have a tiny tube of it in my bag along with a toothpick and a piece of gauze for cleaning the threads.

It came with a teeny little push pull MonteVerde converter which was TOTALLY inadequate for my needs. (I'll discuss that filler with the pen I really used it on). Even though it takes a standard international cartridge, most converters won't work because they are too long.

 

6. Cost & Value (9/10) –

You can get the pen readily for about $15 without the converter, that was an added bonus from the Ebay seller I bought it from. (I bought it with several bottles of ink and he did combine shipping and threw in the clip when I asked for it, GreenMan508)

If you buy it in a pen store, it may (or may not) come with the clip? I didn't buy from my local store because they didn't have orange.

A really good value.

 

7. Conclusion (Final score, 5/6) - I use it almost daily, I also have red, blue, and green now. I like matching my ink to the pen color. I'm quite happy with this little pen. It holds enough ink that at a conference, taking 10s of pages on notes every day, I didn't fill it in 4 days! Now that's really holding ink!

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i175/Gladtobemom/Pens/DSCN0938.jpg

 

 

[troglokev]

Thanks for the review: these really are nice little pens for not a stupid amount of money.

 

I use one as a travel pen (so cartridges only). The tines on my nib were slightly misaligned when I got mine, but a bit of a tweak got it writing nice and smoothly.

[tmenyc]

I agree! I carry two of them in my bag, in the handy-dandy Kaweco leather case -- the solid blue and the clear blue cap/no color barrel; one has PR DC Supershow Blue and other PR Dakota Red. I use them whenever I don't have my Vac, the team captain, in my pocket. They're both wonderful writers. I've been thinking of converting them to eyedroppers, and you've just convinced me.

Now, to find scuba grease in Manhattan...

Edited March 25, 2009 by tmenyc

[Possum Hill]

I bought one already converted to eyedropper fill from Swisher Pens. There's an O-ring for sealing.

[gyrosan]

I love mine Kaweco Sport in transparent. I do not have a clip and use mine mostly for underlining. The best thing that I like about this pen is its size and form that prevents pen from rolling off the desk. Maybe i'll convert it in an eyedropper if I find a suitable O-ring somewhere (I bought silicone grease from a dive shop some time ago). Thanks for the review, Gladwriter

 

A great pen, great nib and awesome price. This is what all pens should be about!

 

Kind regards,

gyrosan

[MYU]

That's great to know Charles Swisher has provided an ED conversion for the Sport. I wonder if they offer that as a separate purchase as well (if you already have the pen). Or perhaps it may be easier to pick up an O-ring at Home Depot. Anyone know the size?

[SF Susan]

I love the little Kaweco pens - I have several. I've been thinking about converting at least one of them to an ED, and your post has definitely persuaded me to do so.

[rwilsonedn]

My experience matches GladWriter's. I have carried one of these around quite a bit sealed with just some silicon grease and no O-ring. Never a sign of a leak, or any indication of air getting into the barrel. I also have one of the O-ring conversion jobs, which is an equally nice pen, but frankly I trust the silicon grease more than I trust the O-ring. Maybe it's just left over trauma from the Challenger disaster. Anyway, if had a Sport and some siligrease I would not spend time looking for a matching O-ring, but if you really want one, they sit in little grooves in the section. How many grooves there are seems to vary with the particular pen. In my samples, the outside diameter of the section is about 11/32 (sorry, no metric calipers handy) and the groove is less than 1/32 deep. So I would say an inside diameter of 10/32 should be about right. The ring themselves appear to be about 1/32 thick--very fine. That's my best estimate without a good measuring instrument.

ron

[lovemy51]

thanx for the review! why does that red look better in your pix than the seller's? i feel like buying a red one now (i have a gray).

thanx again.

[ToasterPastry]

Great review. For your information, there is a similar review on a rollerball Kaweco Ice written by some bozo.

[GladWriter]

Great review. For your information, there is a similar review on a rollerball Kaweco Ice written by some bozo.

 

 

Well hello Mr. Bozo,

 

It's interesting that we both chose orange.

 

I filled the pen with ink and layed it on top of a paper towel in a saucer, periodically picking it up and writing with it. The ink worked its way up about halfway into the threads, but it didn't leak in over a couple of weeks. So . . . I figured that the threads must be done quite well. That's why I didn't use an O ring.

 

An O ring would keep the pen from nesting those threads that last turn or so. I just sweep a teeny bit of the grease all the way around the threads with a toothpick and close the pen. The ink doesn't work its way up into the threads at all, even with carrying it around in my pocket.

[dhlr14454]

I have been thinking about trying the Swisher-modded pen for a while: but they have had a bunch of the two-tone Ice Sports for a while, and they're not as attractive as the single color. The 7/10 score for the nib makes me wonder, too. But I like the Sport a lot.

 

It was interesting to know that the metal Alum Sport can be cap heavy. This is quite the valuable review.

[GladWriter]

How I rate nibs, I'm pretty picky

 

1 is a (Potty Mouth) nib that breaks or dries out even when capped.

 

2 is a nib that just won't do its job at all, I've dealt with my share of these.

 

3 is a nib that is unacceptable in some way. A stub nib that won't wet the width of the tip, a nib that builds up ink on the back, a nib that won't re-wet itself without dipping . . . The new new bastardized osmiroid nibs qualify for this . . . they make me crazy. I just WANT them to work like the old ones.

 

4 is a nib that is generally ok, useable, but leaves me unhappy. I can think of quite a few nibs that get a 4. Unmodified Recife medium (way too juicy, Too much of a "ball" o the nib, smears the ink. Another one is the hero school pen. Flow is Ok but the nib is too small and the least bit of pressure and it leaves a blob of ink. A four is not something I'm going to hang on to, it's either swapped or modified into something I can use.

 

5 is a serviceable nib, wet enough not to skip and useable. Classic example is the Platinum Preppy fountain pen. It flows OK, is kind of scratcy, doesn't have a nice ball on the tip so it can catch fibers on watercolor paper, or even cut it. The feed is not overly juicy; it's actually a little bit stingy.

 

6 is a slightly better nib, better feel, but still doesn't give me that "aaah" feeling. A classic example is an Esterbrook 9555. The nib is stiff, a little scratchy, but the flow is good, not just adequate.

 

7 smoother more pleasant to write with. Flow is good, writing is smooth, would write pretty well even on watercolor paper. No real complaints, but it's not a dream nib either. Definitely a keeper.

 

8 nice nib. pleasurable writing. Flow matches the nib and I can't outwrite it in normal use. I could sketch with it. won't cut paper fibers . . . nice all around nib. Quite a few of the esterbrooks fall in this category. A lot of "expensive" pens do too. Most Mont Blancs I've tried, The old Osmiroids, Sailor Fude.

 

9. excellent nib in almost every way. Most of my Sailors, my Manga nibbed Ackerman, My old osmiroid sketch nib, my Visconti that I had modified at a pen show (while people stood around and told me how nuts I was), and my super sweet. Sailor Zoom.

 

10. practically perfect in every way . . . my Sailor Cross Emperor, My Sailor Saibi Togi--the finest nib that I've ever used and I can do tiny detailed drawings with it. My dad's Swan.

 

As I said, I'm really really picky.

[tmenyc]

Well, on Friday I found a scuba shop here in Manhattan, got a small container of silicone grease, slicked up the threads, and filled up on one of Ices. Worked like a charm all weekend! I checked it a few times for seepage, figuring it would happen sooner rather than later, and there was none. I'll do the other as soon as the cartridge now in there is empty.

Thanks for the tip!

[loweevan]

I have a question about this that hopefully someone will be curious enough to try and answer. How easy is it to get the feed out of this pen? I'm looking for a pen to use with the Baystate colors and would prefer one with an easily removable feed to make sure that I can get it call cleaned out when not in use. I know some pens require a tool and others (e.g. Safari, Tombow 505) just pull right out. I hope that this is the latter.

[wrath186]

Love the Kaweco ice pen. I have one in red and it is fast becoming a favorite. As far as the O ring is concerned. Would a thin enough ring do the trick or are they all to thick?

[robofkent]

I have just converted my newly acquired Ice Sport into an ED and the ink flow is so much better

[Arson]

Nice review. I just converted my pen as well. It's drying up on me a little, but a few shakes gets it going again.

 

http://youtu.be/pIGOiXA44Yc