Collection Fever

A little bit of history Every fountain pen fan tries a Sport eventually, often fairly on, and for many of us the convenience of the venerable pocket performer reels us in to the point where different flavours start to appeal too – and Kaweco does a fine job of feeding the frenzy, with colour-matched limited editions like this. The Kaweco Collection serves up both an affordable plastic Sport and a posher aluminium version this time, and luckily we got to try both!

How it looks It looks much like any other Sport but in a pair of rather sophisticated colours, and with ‘Kaweco Collection’ proudly displayed on the side of the barrel. No complaints there; if you’re a Sport fan, you probably want already simply after looking at these pictures – and that’s rather the brand’s plan.

How it feels Small, and light. As usual, the aluminium version feels a touch more robust, but far from heavy. Like you’d expect a Sport to feel, really; the difference is all visual.

How it fills As ever, syringe-filling a small international cartridge would be our tip. There is a tiny push-rod converter, but the ink runs out so quickly that scope for frustration is considerable.

Crucially, how it writes… Generally, pretty well. The quality control on the steel nibs has improved in recent years, and for the pricier aluminium version any Bock 060 nib can be screwed in if you fancy a change. There’s even a gold option, should pushing the boat out that far be on the agenda. We stuck with the standard steel M, probably the most popular option, for this test and the results were encouraging.

Pen! What is it good for? The Sport’s natural home is in your pocket, of course, but these two specials were also made for showing off, so it’s up to you. Generally we’d suggest these are for leisure use rather than business, but who are we to dictate?

VFM The plastic Mellow Blue will set you back about £25, which is quite fair value, and the swisher aluminium Iguana Blue more like £70 – not crazy money at all, but it makes sense to try an ‘entry level’ Sport to check out whether the format works for you first.

The only way is ethics These are made in Germany with decent labour conditions, and Kaweco haven’t gone crazy with the packaging, so things look healthy on the ethical front.

If this isn’t quite your cup of tea, but almost… There are plenty of other Sports to try if you prefer a different colour or a heavier metal, for instance. Or, if that modest-sized nib irks you but the octagonal barrel is just your cup of tea, try the larger, #6-nibbed Original.

Our overall recommendation These will sell like the proverbial hot cakes; if either takes your fancy, get it quickly!