Another Viewpoint: The Kaweco Sport Squeezable Converter

A few weeks ago, I ordered this Special Edition Kaweco Sport Mocha Fountain Pen from Fontoplumo, which has become my go-to shop for Kawecos. Frank has great prices, very reasonable shipping rates, and personal touches that keep me coming back, despite the fact that he’s in the Netherlands while I’m in the US. When I caught wind of this Mocha edition, I talked myself out of it. For awhile. I’m trying to not fall into the “I must have every color” mindset (though my Lamy Safari/AL-Star collection would tell you that I’m pretty much full of s#&t in this regard).

I caved and ordered this version of the Kaweco Sport because it looks an awful lot like my favorite iced coffee. Or caramel. That is to say, it looks delicious. It’s a dessert pen, without the guilt or calories. Sold!

Along with the pen, I also ordered the Retro Sport Gold Clip AND the new “squeezable” converter, Kaweco’s latest effort to provide a converter option for their line of pocket pens.

I syringe filled the tiny converter with a squirt of Akkerman #5, Shocking Blue, popped it into the pen as you would a cartridge, and started scribbling. The gold-tone medium nib wrote immediately, very smoothly, and nicely wet. Though I know that you can eyedropper the Kaweco Sport model, we all know how well that works for me, so having this new converter option kind of made my day.

Right around this time, Jeff Abbott published his review of the same converter, and came away with a very different experience and opinion than I did. He calls the item a “dud,” and outlines his reasons in a well-written post. He had trouble achieving a full fill. I never tried to fill the converter by dipping it into ink and squeezing it. As I said, I went the “syringe fill” route and didn’t have any trouble at all, whereas, Jeff did. He also noticed that his pens with squeeze converters installed seemed to leak ink onto their nibs while they were being carried. I haven’t found that to be the case. I don’t baby my pens, so I’m not sure why that’s happening for Jeff and not for me. He also states that this converter is a pain to clean. I haven’t cleaned mine out yet, so I can’t really voice an opinion on this aspect. I do, though, plan to just flush it with a syringe so I don’t think it’ll be too much trouble.

Granted, this latest iteration of the mini Kaweco converter doesn’t hold much ink, but I’ve been using mine to write plenty of notes, and this review, and still haven’t had to refill. For me, it’s been a convenient way to use my favorite inks in this tasty looking Mocha Kaweco Sport. (Whenever I use this pen, I WANT COFFEE.)

I’m not saying that I’m right and Jeff’s wrong. Not at all. I just wanted to present another viewpoint. For me, the Kaweco Sport Squeezable Converter, is well worth the couple of dollars it costs.

Now we need a tie-breaker. Anyone?

There are no affiliate links in this post. I purchased the pen and accessories with my own money. 

You Had Me At Orange

Turns out my pledge to hold off on buying pens doesn’t stand a chance when the pen world offers up a handful of reasonably priced orange pens. It’s a conspiracy, I tell you!

I wrote the rough draft of this review with my new CopperOrange Lamy AL-Star (medium nib), filled with the matching CopperOrange ink (cartridge). Lamy has, in my opinion, nailed it with this pen and ink combo. They match perfectly and this ink has quickly become one of my favorite oranges. It’s dark enough to be legible, but still pops with a nicely balanced brightness.

The pen almost looks like it’s lit from within—warm and bright but still easy on the eyes. The AL-Star is a pen you either love or hate, mostly because of the iconic contoured grip. I have no issues with the grip so picking up this pen in this color was a total no-brainer.

I also “cracked” and ordered the orange TWSBI 580AL when I read that the color was being discontinued. (They manipulate me like a pen-buying puppet!) I chewed on my pledge, but again, this is an affordable pen and I’ve yet to have a bad TWSBI experience.

The pen arrived in Saturday’s mail, but the weekend was such a blur that I haven’t gotten around to inking it yet. I stepped outside of my nib comfort zone by ordering a broad, and can’t wait to see how it writes. My current dilemma—what ink should I fill it with? One of my oranges? Or a nice bright blue? Why I belabor this, I’ll never know. It’s not like it’s a permanent decision.

I hear there’s a big basketball game on tonight, but I’ll be watching “The Voice,” then reading. So…not really a basketball fan, but the Limited Edition SWISH Big Shot Tornado Popper by Retro 51 reeled me in with top-notch details and orangey goodness.

The pen is marked and textured like an actual basketball, features that classic Retro 51 knurling, and is finished with a very cool basketball graphic end cap. Though I don’t give a hoot if Wisconsin or Duke wins tonight, I do love using my SWISH pen with my usual “swapped in” Schmidt P8126 refill.

So that pledge to pare down pen purchases has taken a little bit of a beating.

Lamy, TWSBI, and Retro 51—you had me at orange.

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I purchased the Lamy AL-Star from Fontoplumo, the TWSBI 580AL directly from TWSBI, and the SWISH Retro 51 from Anderson Pens. I experienced excellent customer service from all three vendors. There are no affiliate links in this post. I just enjoy sharing good pens and good buying experiences with you.