Fountain Pen Review: Kaweco Classic Sport Red

Kaweco welcomed 2016 with the launch of a selection of new pens, ink colors, and accessories. Four Sport pens — one for each of the following lines: Classic, Skyline, ICE, and AL — were released during the year. A bright, shiny red pen with gold trims was added to the Classic line, and my friends at the magical shop in Nürnberg sent me one to review here. I do not have many red fountain pens, and the red Classic Sport pen is the perfect addition to the small group of red pens in my collection.

The red Classic Sport fountain pen is from Kaweco's Sport Series that includes the Aluminum, Stonewashed, AC, Art, Brass, ICE, and Skyline. It is available in black, chess, guilloche, white, green, burgundy, transparent, and red. It is called the Classic because it follows the same design from the early 1940 Kaweco Sport pens. Sport pens are clipless, but clips are available from retailers in chrome, gold, or bronze finishes.

The Sport is a lightweight fountain pen, is easy to carry in one's jeans' pocket, or tuck in a bag. This small pen, however, has a unique design and becomes a full-sized pen when the cap is posted on the barrel. The pen is designed well, and Kaweco built it using high quality plastic.

Without a clip or an ink cartridge, the Classic Sport fountain pen weighs 10g (body - 6g; cap - 4g) only. Did you know that a posted Kaweco Sport fountain weighs exactly the same as the body of a Lamy Safari?

The Classic Sport fountain is ~4.10 inches with its cap on, and a short 4 inches without the cap. When the cap is posted, the pen measures 5.3 inches long — a full-sized fountain pen!

Some fountain pen users say that Kaweco Sport pens are difficult to use without posting the cap. But this pen's faceted cap is designed to be an extension of its barrel to make it a full-sized pen. The cap is also a built in roll stopper, so that even without a clip, the pen will not easily roll off a surface.

The Classic Sport fountain pen's parts — barrel, section (grip + feed + nib), and cap are in the same bright red color. The nib and feed are friction-fitted into the section, and they can be easily pulled out for a thorough cleaning. The cap is threaded and screws securely to the barrel — not typical of small pens in this price range — which is a very practical feature.

The Classic Sport fountain pen is filled with ink using cartridges or converters. Kaweco has their Premium ink cartridges for Sport fountain pens, but international standard short cartridges also fit in these fountain pens. Kaweco also offers two types of converters for Sport fountain pens: mini-converter and the squeeze converter (in my pen, pictured above) which can fill up with the same amount of ink as an international standard short cartridge (0.5–0.6 ml). However, filling it up was awkward, and squeezing it repeatedly did not fill it with ink to its full capacity. I inked this pen instead with a cartridge of Kaweco's Sunrise Orange.

The bottom of the Classic Sport fountain pen barrel is knurled, and says 'Made in Germany.' 

The Sport's oversized cap with octagonal shape is iconic and distinguishes it from other Kaweco pens.

Classic Sport pens have gold trims, including their finial (top cap), which bears the Kaweco logo.

My red Classic Sport has a medium (M) nib, but Kaweco Sport pens have nibs ranging from extra fine (XF) to double broad (BB). Other Sport pens have chrome/silver nibs, but those in the Classic line have gold plated nibs. The imprint includes the nib width (M), Kaweco logo, and the words Germany and 1883 under a filigree-like pattern.

The feed and nib of Kaweco Classic fountain pen. The nib's gold plating has discoloration in the part where it is inserted in the section, but this does not affect writing at all.

My red fountain pens: Lamy LE China, Pelikan Souveran M400, Unic, and Kaweco Classic Red.

Kaweco Sport fountain pens (from top): Calligraphy, AL (aluminum), ICE, Skyline, and Classic.

The medium nib wrote well out of the box. It's still a little narrow for my writing, but very useful when the occasion calls for small handwriting. Sunrise Orange was launched in 2016, together with Smokey Grey.

The Kaweco Classic Sport is a well-made, compact fountain pen that is portable and easy to use. The gold-plated steel nib writes well, and can easily be swapped with other Sport nibs. It's a great pen in the US$30 price range, a perfect companion for small notebooks. If you are looking for a happy fountain pen, I suggest you get this red Kaweco Classic Sport for yourself.

The Classic Sport and other Kaweco pens are widely available in many reputable sellers worldwide. For a list of sellers, visit Kaweco's Store Locator.

I received the Classic Sport fountain pen in this review free of charge from Kaweco Germany for review purposes. For more details, visit the Kaweco website.

In the Philippines, Kaweco pens are available at Scribe Writing Essentials stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, SM Megamall, and in their Cebu branches. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, visit the Scribe website. Kaweco pens are also available at Stationer Extraordinaire.