Any Difference In Kawecos?

[Blue_Moon]

Forget the feel, the weight, the look, the price - forget everything, EXCEPT the quality of writing (smoothness of the nib on paper, few to no hard starts, little to no skipping), Now, is there any difference at all between a Classic/Ice Sport and an Al Sport? I'm making the assumption that the Classic Sport and Ice Sport are exactly the same in quality of writing.

[chiaroscuro]

Tough question. The nibs are exactly the same (gold plated in the Classic models, doesn't affect anything), but writing feels quite different because the AL bodies are much heavier.

[hot cocoa]

^^ Exactly what chiaroscuro said. There is no difference in nib smoothness and you can exchange nibs from the classic and ice sports with those on the Al sports easily since it's the same nib.

[Blue_Moon]

Tough question. The nibs are exactly the same (gold plated in the Classic models, doesn't affect anything), but writing feels quite different because the AL bodies are much heavier.

 

 

^^ Exactly what chiaroscuro said. There is no difference in nib smoothness and you can exchange nibs from the classic and ice sports with those on the Al sports easily since it's the same nib.

 

So no difference in the feed - the flow of ink is the same? They all write when the nib meets the paper with no hard starts and no skipping?

[chiaroscuro]

Short answer: they're the same and, as far as simple, modern steel nibs go, you can't go wrong with either model. They feel like completely different instruments, though, because of the weight and how they post.

 

Now I'll be exhaustive for the benefit of anyone that may have similar questions:

 

They're the exact same (the collars are different in the units that are sold separately for the ALs and the Classics, but the feeds and nibs are identical and easy to swap between models). Furthermore, they are remarkably consistent. I've used eight modern Kaweco Sport nibs (between Classic, ALs and additional units for both; all EF and F), and all the corresponding sizes were identical to each other, except for the plating and except for one that had an off center slit. All wrote perfectly all the time.

 

They're smooth and very hard nibs that give clean lines with no variation. Good flow and zero start up issues or skipping, ever. I've yet to use an ink that caused problems. Because they always write, they're optimal for displaying an ink's characteristics (meaning that they don't *require* a dry or a wet ink; a dry ink will feel dry, a wet ink will feel wet and so forth). Basically, they're the perfect non-descript modern nib.

 

All that said, if I had a dollar for every time I've read about someone having an experience opposite to mine with X or Y brand, I'd buy Kaweco outright and bring back the piston filled Sports with all manner of springy and exotic nibs.

 

 

[stevekolt]

The Al-Sport fills a particular niche for me. It is for pocket carry when wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I will be ordering a blue one tomorrow to add to the collection, it will be the third. Never had a problem with starting or skipping.