Kaweco Sport Vs. Lamy Safari

[BillZ]

I didn't notice anyone mentioning the companion Kaweco rollerball that also takes Int Short carts. Plus you can get a nifty little case to carry both pens. All for about $60 USD.

[cancoi]

I have both Safari & Kaweco Sport with EF, M, & 1.1 stubs; here's my 2 cents:

1. Pocketability of Kaweco great.

2. International cartridge acceptance (though you could just refill the Lamy cartridge with your ink du jour)

3. Lamy 1.1 stub writes perfectly the first time, regardless of paper; Kaweco, not so much.

4. EF Kaweco nib writes perfectly the first time; my Lamy, not so much.

5. Both Mediums are great.

6. I have no issues w/either posted or unposted, but I do have small hands.

7. Lastly, the Lamy grip is negligible to me.

 

Personally, I keep my EF Kaweco Sport in my pocket at all times, as I need a s. Never had it leak in-flight, in-pocket, or in-bag, regardless of orientation. Lamy always needs to be upright. At some point, I may order another EF nib & send it to Pendleton Brown (or maybe send my 1.1 stub for a BLS adjustment).

[AlejoPlay]

Kaweco Sport with silicone grease turned into an eyedropper all the way. I have two Sports I use that way and they are great! I plan on getting a third in the near future.

[Water Ouzel]

Ouzel... Great information, specially data about the nibs. I knew one of them comes in EF - i would go for the EF when available. So, it is the Kaweco! Then the next issue is how fine is the F nib of a Prera. Both have the feaure i like, they are transparent. I have a TWSBI mini and after being used to this feature i want to see the ink level!

I got the Kaweco Sport EF from Jetpens.com, at the time Goulet Pens only offered the Sport with F, M or B nibs.

 

Speaking of Goulet, they have a tool so you can compare various nibs' performance, linked from their home page.

[penslabyrinth]

Both are great writers, but I prefer the Kaweco Sport because I can't stand the Safari grip.

[TheDane]

I have owned a couple of Lamy Safari's and one Al Star. I hated every one of them. They feel cheap, the nib dries out relatively cheaply and I have never liked snap on caps. I now own a Kaweco Sport, and like it much better. It is very short when capped, but writes like a dream. I tried converting it to an eyedropper, but experience leakage. Works great with a standard cartridge!! I really like my Kaweco.

Hmmm... " a standard cartridge"

I havn't found a standard cartridge that will fit the Sport.

Which standard cartridges are short enough to fit the Sport ?

 

Regards,

The Dane

[ndrwcn]

The plastic of the kaweco, in my experience, has not held up as well as the lamy. I love the smaller size, but personally am going up to the aluminum version for durability.

I would recommend lamy with the z24 converter in general for anyone who is starting out.

[Hadders]

Go for the Kaweco. Screw caps are always better in the pocket.

[Maurizio]

I have both. My Lamy has a 1.5 italic nib it writes nicely, and wrote well right out of the box, but the nib is somewhat rougher than the Kaweco Sport. I have my Lamy fitted with a converter.

 

I never thought about a Kaweco before, but in early December I saw a Kaweco Sport calligraphy set at Fountain Pen Hospital in Manhattan. I'm a sucker for calligraphy sets and bought it on the spot. The Kaweco set came with 5 interchangable nibs. I put the broadest nib on, it looks like a 2.4mm. It wrote smoothly and well right out of the box. I've been having so much fun practicing calligraphy with that nib I havn't even tried the others yet. The Kaweco nib is noticeably smoother than the Lamy. Of course a broader nib lays down more ink so it's not quite fair to compare a 1.5 Lamy with a 2.4 Kaweco.

 

If I had to choose one, I'd go for the Kaweco.

[Coop]

I'd go with the Kaweco. All my experiences with the Lamy Safari/Vista/Alstar have been very disappointing. But I'm very happy with my Kaweco sport.

 

Why? Well, the form factor of the Kaweco is much more suitable for pocket carry. Also, it has a screw on cap, so less worries about the cap coming off accidentaly. For longer writing sessions you'll have to post the Kaweco, but for a quick jot, you can use it unposted (then again, I have fairly small hands). The Lamy works fine either way, but has the awkward grip. Then there's smoothness... None of the Lamy pens I tried wrote smooth. They varied from lots of feedback to friggin awful (YMMV), all Kawecos I ever used were nice and smooth writers. Then there's the cartridges, the kaweco uses easily available international standard cartridges, which are cheaper and available in more colours. The Lamy uses proprietary cartridges, still not exactly hard to come by, but they cost a little more and colour options are less unless you buy a converter or want to clean out and syringe fill used cartridges (which of course can be done with the Kaweco as well). The Kaweco can be made into an eyedropper, giving it a huge ink capacity. The Lamy, not so much due to the ink window.

 

And last but not least, my personal opinion... The Kaweco is a cute and pretty stylish, in a retro sort of way. The Lamy is one of the fugliest pens ever made. They say it is a timeless design, in my opinion that means the pen is an eyesore in any day and age...