Kaweco Lilliput Fountain Pen, Extra Fine Nib - Copper

The media could not be loaded. Okay so the Kaweco Sport series is my all time favorite fountain pen. But, the liliput isn't that far behind.I don't use the liliput as my daily driver. It sits in my field notes cover that I use for my daily to-do's.The pros. This is an adorable pen. The materials are top notch, when the pen is posted it's a full size-ish writer and is extremely comfortable to hold. It's taken every short international cartridge I've thrown at it and is just a handsome little fountain pen. I love copper and the patina it has on it is just gorgeous and I had zero issues with the nib out of the box.The cons. You can't write with this unposted you just can't, it's too short. The threads are great by there are just too man turns to unscrew the cap and screw it back onto the back of the pen. I don't grab this pen if I'm in a hurry. The EF nib is not extra fine by my standards. I've been spoiled by Japanese fine lines, but that's just me. I have a hard start once in a great which isn't an issue but it may be to some of you. If you don't like coppers smell or patina than I'd go with the stainless steel because it started to patina the second I touched this pen.All in all this is a wonderful instrument. I would certainly buy it again I honestly regret nothing. But if you don't like small pens, thicker lines, and copper. This will isnt your pen.

This pen is excellent! I got mine in copper, and have no regrets, as the natural patina has developed very nicely. It’s very easy to take anywhere due to its slim size, and being made of metal, is more durable than any of my other pens.My nib size is extra fine, and unlike some brands (TWSBI…) extra fine really means extra fine! The line is somewhere around 0.5mm, obviously depending on writing pressure, the type of paper you’re writing on, and the ink you’re using. For this reason alone, it’s one of my favorites since small writing is very easy. The nib is pretty firm, and not very springy so don’t expect anything crazy in a signature.Some minor gripes: it takes 4 full rotations to unscrew the cap, which doesn’t sound like a lot but most of my other pens have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 2 so it’s a little annoying. Also, this pen does not fit the Kaweco refillable piston, so if you want your own ink inside the pen, you’ll have to use a syringe and transfer it into an empty spent cartridge.Lastly, on about 4 occasions in the last 6 months I’ve had the pen, the cartridge has become detached internally. When you go to investigate why the pen has suddenly stopped writing, you’re greeted with a handful of ink which is unpleasant to say the least. I’ve noticed that this happens most often when I’m reusing cartridges for my own preferred ink, and especially if I’ve recently dropped the pen. This is my biggest grievance with the pen, but still not enough of a hassle to stop me from using it daily :)I haven’t used shimmering ink in this yet, and wouldn’t recommend it on the extra fine nib because the low ink flow is a recipe for clogs.Lastly, I highly recommend purchasing Kaweco’s add on clip for this guy to keep it in your pocket better (no, I don’t know why it isn’t included - it should be!)Thank you for coming to my pen talk. If 4.5 stars was an option, I’d give it that.

By rights I shouldn't be enthusiastic about this pen. Consider the following -1. The cap has to be unscrewed to expose the nib and then screwed onto the end of the barrel to make it long enough to write with. That's a cumbersome chore to deal with when you just want to write something down. There are countless retractable pen options available for cheaper, which can be operated quickly and conveniently with one hand--including retractable fountain pens!2. Because copper is a fairly heavy material, the pen is noticeably (although not severely) back-weighted when the cap is posted onto the barrel.3. The pen only accepts standard international short cartridges. Given that I prefer to use only water resistant inks, my options are basically limited to De Atramentis Dokument inks and Montblanc permanent inks, both of which are fairly expensive. (There is a tiny cartridge converter available for Kaweco pens of this size which facilitates the use of bottled ink, but given their small ink capacity, using a converter with this pen would mean having to have bottled ink handy for when the pen runs dry, which defeats the purpose of having a carry-around pocket pen like the Liliput).4. No clip to keep it secure in a notebook and no roll-stop either. It almost seems designed to roll off desks and tabletops.Yet despite these complaints, I really adore this pen and have been using it every day. The extra fine nib is a true extra fine (closer to a Japanese extra fine than most extra fine western nibs)--this is especially valuable given that waterproof pigment inks tend to create a thicker line on the page than standard dye-based inks. It wrote perfectly right out of the box (which hasn't always been the case in my experience with Kaweco pens, but I go very lucky with this one!). The feel of copper in my hand is extremely pleasant--warm and not as slippery as the stainless steel grip sections on other pens I own. It does put a slight copper odor on your fingers, like a new penny, although this has diminished with use. It's also been neat to observe a slight patina develop on the grip section as the copper has been exposed to the air and the oils from my skin (sounds gross, but it looks very cool). I also appreciate that I can keep it in my pocket alongside keys and change, and risk occasionally dropping it, without worrying that it will crack or break.To be honest, most of the features I like on this pen you can also find on the brass Kaweco Sport, which also has the advantages of not rolling when you put it down and a cap which can be posted on the barrel with friction rather than screw threads. And brass--which if I'm not mistaken is a copper alloy--is also a bit sturdier/more wear-resistant than pure copper. But I didn't think of any of that when I bought this copper Lilliput. You, gentle reader, might want to benefit from my hindsight here. All the same, I've grown quite fond of my copper Lilliput and, especially at the current price (~$70) I think it offers very good value for money.