Many thanks to Lizzie at Studio Pens for sending me the four new Kaweco ART Sports to review. As you may be aware, Kaweco is one of the oldest brands on the market and focuses on that thin line between tradition and innovation of which I am a devoted fan.
The ART Sport is the latest addition to the Kaweco Sport range and closely follows the original 1935 octagonal design and ethos – ‘Small in the pocket, large in the hand’. The oversized cap arrangement creates a small closed pen and when posted, a full length open pen. And the big thing here is that the ART Sport cap comes with a built in clip!
The new range is meticulously crafted using acrylic rods cast in creative colour combinations. Due to the manufacturing techniques, each pen is individually created and the patterned designs unique to that pen. Each one is ‘one of a kind’ and supplied in the iconic Kaweco gift tin.
So, referencing the image above and going clockwise from top left:
Terrazzo offers an exciting mosaic-like design filled with blues, greens, browns and yellow ochre on top of a primarily white barrel. Finished with an integrated gold pocket clip and gold nib.
Mineral White features a ‘cracked’ texture, light will reflect off the material inside to redirect light and giving the pen the appearance of depth in the design. Finished with an integrated silver pocket clip and polished steel nib to lend to the icy aesthetic of this pen.
Hickory Brown features a combination of deep black and shimmering brown shades to give this pen a vintage tortoiseshell appeal. Finished with an integrated gold pocket clip and gold nib. This is my pick of the bunch.
Pebble Blue features a combination of deep black and blue shimmering inlays. The unique combination gives the appearance of depth in the design. Finished with an integrated silver pocket clip and stainless steel nib.
But with so many gorgeous pen finishes in the sector right now, and I can’t not mention Esterbrook and Benu whose finishes are just jaw dropping, I do wonder if the finishes here are a little on the dull side? Particularly as this is named the ART Sport? But hey, this is a big move forward for Kaweco so hopefully the next batch will be packed with colours, textures and shimmers. And not only that, wouldn’t it be even more fabulous if Kaweco could develop a flex nib for the ART Sport for writing AND illustration? I mean a really flexible flexi? With the sector as a whole moving at pace into the art sectors, NOW, here could be a pen that would really live up to its name! I’m pretty sure that Phil Dart at Beaufort Inks could sort that one.
So to conclude, this is a good move forward for the Kaweco Sport and hopefully Kaweco will seize the moment and take this all the way? As said, my pick is the Hickory Brown, but please Kaweco, can we have more dramatic colours, textures and shimmers in future editions AND an ART Sport flex nib too? Please?
If you want to find out more and you’re based in Europe, here’s a link for you: Kaweco Art Sport Fountain Pen Hickory Brown – Fine
And HEY! If you’re interested to know more about how to use fountain pen inks in more creative ways – whether it’s simply to observe their chromatic behaviours, or, to recreate one of my swatch cards, or, to learn how to use them in watercolour painting, illustration and calligraphy, why not check out my online course or, even better, sign up for a workshop?
FOUNTAIN PEN INK ART 