Saturday, November 15, 2008

Review: Kaweco Sport Eyedropper Ink Roller


Specs:

Length capped: 4-1/8 inches
Length uncapped: 4 inches
Length posted: 5.25 inches
Diameter: 3/8 inch at the grip
Weight, filled as an ED pen: 0.39 oz
Weight with optional Monteverde mini converter: 0.325 oz
Ink capacity using a Monteverde mini converter: .45 ml
Ink capacity using a short standard international cartridge: .5 ml
Ink capacity as an ED fill: 2.5 ml
Optional clip
Optional pen case holds two Kaweco pens.

Using this pen since April, the Kaweco Sport ink roller remains one of my favorites.

I bought the red Ice which is an attractive, compact pen that fits neatly into a pocket. It's a true red that's not at all orangey. The pen, sold by Swisher Pens, was modified by Nathan Tardif to be filled by an eyedropper and it still accepts a short international standard cartridge or a Monteverde mini converter. I really enjoy viewing the ink in the transparent barrel. I usually write with caps unposted, but this feels better, and is comfortable, with the cap posted.

The ink cartridge that came with the Kaweco lays a bright, attractive blue line that is too broad (.6mm) to suit me. Writing with Montblanc Sepia brought the line width down to .4mm and Noodler's waterproof black brings it closer to .5mm. Very nice.

The Kaweco with the provided ink doesn't write as smoothly as my fine Parker rollerball and requires a bit more pressure with any ink I've tried, but being able to use my fountain pen inks and have different colors makes up for any lack of smoothness.

The best part is that I can write checks that have the carbonless copy using the fraudproof Noodler's bulletproof inks without caring if I'm pressing hard enough for the copy and still writing lightly enough to avoid warping the nib of a fountain pen.

For those who want the fluidity, variety of colors, and earth-friendliness afforded by fountain pen inks but who don't want a fountain pen, I recommend the Kaweco ink roller, especially the eyedropper pens sold by Swisher Pens because of the convenience of the larger ink capacity.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for providing the review. I adore Kaweco Sport fountain pens and have been thinking of getting an ink roller for those times when a fountain pen is just not appropriate (like writing on carbonless copies). So, it is good to read that they work well.

Anonymous said...

I love my Kaweco Sport fountain pen and would like to convert to the eyedropper with silicone grease and o-rings. Swisher pens no longer converts and does not know what size o-ring I should use (inner diameter/outser diameter). Could you please let me know the size you think would work (the pen has obviously not been altered/lathed--new from JetPens). metric sizing fine as I can order odd sizes online. And are both o-rings the same size? any help appreciated!

Gail Rhea said...

I "unscrewed" the o-rings from my Kaweco ED fountain pen and measured them.

The outside diameter is 6 mm. The inside diameter is 5 mm. The measurements were the same for both o-rings.

HTH. Good luck!