What Ink Do You Use With Your Kaweco Sport?

[ENewton]

I still think that if my first fountain pen had been a Kaweco Sport, I would never have become a habitual fountain-pen user, but over several years I have taken one step after another to improve the writing experience. At first, I could write only a few words without discomfort in my hand. After tuning by a skilled person, the pen wrote somewhat better but was still dry and prone to skip. Turning it into an eyedropper seems to have made the most difference in its performance. I also sick with very wet inks, in order for the line not to be too pale.

 

Very recently, I took the risk of trying a glittery ink, De Atramentis Brilliant Violet with Copper, which I didn't dare try in any of my nicer pens, because of the particles. And now, to my considerable surprise, the pen is actually pleasant to use, producing smooth, wet lines, in contrast to the dry, pale lines I ordinarily associate with it. I think the key might be to use inks with a great deal of lubrication.

[bass1193]

For the modern Sports, I've tried many inks. They're all extra fine nibs except for a medium I got in the first Goldspot mystery box. They've performed well with them all, after a great deal of tweaking. The more recent acquisitions have proven better-performing out of the box, with my most recent Brass Sport being perfect out of the tin, and my oldest Guilloche taking almost a month of work to get working to my liking.

 

The vintage Sports, two v16's and a v16n, have all performed well with every ink I've tried. Two, the v16 with a reverse oblique BB and the v16n with an oblique BB were in like-new condition and have performed flawlessly. The v16 with a medium nib was well used and the nib is somewhat finicky, but far better than some of my modern Sports were out of the box.

[yarnkitty]

I converted mine to eyedropper when I got the Noodler's Eel sample. It is still writing great and never gets dried out even when I don't use it for a couple weeks. Really my most reliable pen now besides my Platinum Preppy fine.

[miro6666]

Whichever ink you use it wont look nice if you have standard kaweco nib issues. They simply dont write well.

When nib put in order, id suggest some of diamine inks. At least i find them go nice with kaweco.

[minddance]

I use very wet inks in my Kawecos. Or I will wet the ink myself using Kodak Photoflo.

 

And also, I hacked the air channel of the feeds. They used to write with very miserly flow or no flow at all. I also widened the tine slit by spreading them. Now they are fine.

 

I am not advocating any of these methods but for me, drastic operations had to be carried out in order for my Kawecos to write - at all.

 

The B nib worked very well ootb. But not the EF, F, M, and BB.

[mana]

Vintage V12 with a 14k B-nib, using Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black in it, works a treat producing a wide and lavishly wet stubby line. Incredible pen & nib, I must say.

[tinta]

Though not a Sport as such, but perhaps a kind of "stretched" Sport, one of my new Kaweco Specials has been loaded with Pelikan 4001 blue/black carts. This pen has a 14c "B" nib reduced to a < 0.8 mm. stub. Writes wet for dry Pelikan inks.

 

My other Special is fitted with a lovely soft writing 14c M < 0.6 mm stub (strange as the Kaweco gold nibs tend to be nails). This pen lately has been alternating between Visconti Blue & Visconti Sepia cartridges. To me, Visconti's Sepia is as close as you are going to come to the now non-existent OMAS Sepia (one of my treasured shades of brown).

 

 

 

"Minddance" I can fully understand your efforts to improve the flow of the stingy Bock feed. I was not as courageous as yourself in these matters, but sent my Bock 060 feeds to my favourite "nib whisperer", Pendleton Brown to improve.

[minddance]

 

"Minddance" I can fully understand your efforts to improve the flow of the stingy Bock feed. I was not as courageous as yourself in these matters, but sent my Bock 060 feeds to my favourite "nib whisperer", Pendleton Brown to improve.

Those were my wilder days. I have mellowed since and now advise people to either use wetter inks or yes, send to professionals to get their pens fixed.

[kulnet]

Mine is currently eye droppered with Sailor Miruai

[tinta]

Those were my wilder days. I have mellowed since and now advise people to either use wetter inks or yes, send to professionals to get their pens fixed.

I seem to be in exactly the same space when the urge comes to "do-it-yourself " nib-tech activity. For as long as I have been a member here at FPN (& have used fountain pens for more than four decades, before joining here) I have advised folks to go to the pros to get their pens fixed or change their inks & see.

 

However.....

-When I received the latest Kaweco 14c B stub from Pendleton, it came with an extra "also improved" Bock 060 feed & collar (inside an ink sample vial), to sock away "if" his complete nib unit would not perform for my unreasonable request, that it flow well with very dry Pelikan blue/black ink. A real nice gesture by a nib-tech.

 

-Well, indeed the B nib/feed combo initially provided by Pendleton did not flow at all with the very dry Pelikan ink. I then thought what about that extra feed & collar that Pendleton had slipped graciously inside an ink vial & into my package?

 

-Would I be able to pull out a friction fit nib & feed from the nib collar?

Would I be able to swap out the feed that didn't flow well with the extra one he provided, (before sending this nib-unit back to Pendleton)?

 

-I rolled up my sleeves, donned a pair of sticky latex gloves & performed everything as well as I could, except perhaps not getting my nib returned as deep back into its collar as it was originally set.

My effort was not as deep as Pendleton usually sets my nibs, yet I still centered the nib & seated it deep enough, firmly inside its collar.

 

This arrangement seemed to work like magic! This "revised" nib-unit has been well behaved with all the dry Pelikan 4001 ink carts I have. I was satisfied with my success in putting things back together, but I mustn't forget that the new feed I installed was worked on by Pendleton & not by myself.

 

Still, I'm non the wiser when it comes to tinkering with pens & will continue to advise contacting the best nib-techs who make their living working with pens & nibs day-in & out.

[Enkida]

Hmm... I'm using Kaweco Summer Purple in my M-nib Kaweco AL Sport, and I haven't had any problems with it to date. I did test it in the shop first, and it wrote like a dream then (and still does now).

 

I'm not a fan of the colour of Summer Purple, although the performance is just fine. I'm probably going to stick in a J.Herbin cartridge in there after I use up the current one, although I'm not certain of which colour yet.

[tinta]

Hmm... I'm using Kaweco Summer Purple in my M-nib Kaweco AL Sport, and I haven't had any problems with it to date. I did test it in the shop first, and it wrote like a dream then (and still does now).

 

I'm not a fan of the colour of Summer Purple, although the performance is just fine. I'm probably going to stick in a J.Herbin cartridge in there after I use up the current one, although I'm not certain of which colour yet.

Try Herbin's Poussiere de Lune #48, a lovely shade of soft dusty purple. Flows well too

[tinta]

Vintage V12 with a 14k B-nib, using Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black in it, works a treat producing a wide and lavishly wet stubby line. Incredible pen & nib, I must say.

You have got a beauty of a vintage pen, nib & your ink included. Can you send an image?