Kaweco Sport Rollerball

The Kaweco Sport Fountain pen gets a lot of air time as an entry level fountain pen, but they also come in rollerball, ballpoint and pencil versions. The one I have is the classic demonstrator in rollerball, which I purchased on sale at my local department store.

On first inspection, I get the feeling that the refill has been swapped out at the store. The refill I have here is the Schmidt Easyflow 9000 which is a hybrid style refill that is more reminiscent of a ballpoint than a rollerball refill (think Uniball Jetstream). I don’t think this is the standard refill that comes in this pen, but it fits fine, so if anyone is keen to turn their pen into a ballpoint, the Parker G2 size refill fits perfectly. This might be a better alternative than the ballpoint version of this pen, which might be a bit too small for most hands and the refill may be a bit more cost effective – the ballpoint version uses the D1 size refills, which are a bit more expensive and has a lot less product than the Parker G2 sized refills.

Onto the pen itself, the aesthetic is near identical to a Classic Sport which has gold trim as opposed to the Skyline and Frosted models, which come in silver trim. For any model other than the demonstrator rollerball, it would be fine but the refill here, as you can see, is silver. The original Kaweco refill is also silver, so if you don’t like gold and silver on the same pen, well then this isn’t going to work out for you.

The build quality is reasonably sturdy. I haven’t had any issues with the pen body – my other Kaweco sport, a classic white fountain pen which I have since passed on, had a hairline crack in the lid after a few years, but this one has not had any issues. I do notice that the plastic is starting to yellow, which is a bit disappointing, since this pen doesn’t get a lot of use.

My main issue with the Kaweco Sport fountain pens I’ve had in the past is that the lid, when posted, seems to work itself off the pen body over writing sessions, which I’ve found very annoying. When I purchased this pen, I bought it for shorter writing sessions, more like quick notes and to keep in various bags. But even with shorter writing sessions, the lid seems to work itself off the body as I write. I’m not sure if its more noticeable because I’m aware and looking for it, but its too noticeable for me to continue using.

So unfortunately, this pen hasn’t worked out for me. I think I am the only person in the pen world that doesn’t like Kaweco Sport pens. If you are thinking of getting one, I’d suggest trying one in store first to see if you have the same issue, before buying.