Minerva Zimmerman

Fountain Pen Friday #1

I draft by hand and tend to use fountain pens because I can get better ink colors. I’m also a bit of a cheap-ass so if you’re looking for recommendations for $200 pens, you’ll be disappointed. I generally buy pens in around the $20 range though I do have cheaper and more expensive pens than that. I buy for writing in a pocket notebook for extended periods of time.

The pen closed with its cap on.
The pen closed with its cap on.

Today I’m going to talk about the Kaweco Ice Sport Fountain Pen (Jet Pens, Goulet Pens, Amazon).

I like it because without the cap, it is really small and light so I can write for long periods of time without hand fatigue.

Pen how I use it most, without cap, with cartridge inserted.
Pen how I use it most, without cap, with cartridge inserted.

It fits international cartridges and can also be used as an eyedropper pen (which I haven’t personally tried yet.)

Parts of the pen and a cartridge.
Parts of the pen and a cartridge.

It has a plain round grip, which works best for me, though I do wish it had a little bit of cushion since I tend to clench my pen.

Writing with pen cap on the back.
Writing with pen cap on the back.

I have really tiny hands. I wear extra small garden gloves (or kids sizes). So to show you the true size of this pen I’ve shown it with things that are more standard in size.

The closed pen with assorted items for scale.
The closed pen with assorted items for scale.
My hand holding a highliter for scale of me.
My hand holding a highlighter for scale of me.

It is made of plastic which makes it light and loses about half its weight without the cap. I really like clear body pens because I hate guessing at ink levels. Also, I think being able to see the ink LOOKS really cool.

writing sample with pen and with same colored gel pen. Notice the gel pen skipped more.
writing sample with pen and with same colored gel pen. Notice the gel pen skipped more.

Here’s a writing sample. Line one is all caps, line two is how I normally write, line three is all cursive. Line 4 is with the G2 gel pen below. As you can see even though this is a medium tip, it writes closer to fine. I find it writes a good size in the pocket notebooks (moleskine, ink and pen, etc.) I normally use for drafting stories.

The Good

  • Easy to write with.

  • Lightweight.

  • has pointy metal button on the top of the cap you could possibly break a car window with if trapped in a river

  • uses standard cartridges

  • round grip

  • compact for travel

  • cap screws on for secure traveling

The Bad

 

Overall grade: A (the bad things are hackable)

 

 

 

Posted in Pens