I’m sensing a bit of Kaweco obsession coming on as of recently. With my recent review of the AL Sport ballpoint, AL Sport fountain pen, and the Classic Sport rollerball, you’d think I’d had enough. Unfortunately not… or, fortunately? I suppose that depends on perspective.
This particular pen is one that I’ve been extremely excited about since the first time I came across it. The raw aluminum (glossy silver) editions of the AL Sports are all stunning, and when I saw the rollerball edition, I was intrigued. When I found out the refill it takes I was even more excited.
The Kaweco AL Sport Rollerball is kind of an enigma though as it really isn’t an easy pen to find. It’s not on JetPens, Amazon, eBay… or even Kaweco’s website for that matter! I saw this pen while perusing Cult Pen’s site for AL Sports and literally stumbled upon it. In doing more research, it baffled me how little presence this pen had online or really anywhere.
My experience of actually buying this pen was a bit crazy. In trying to buy it locally I contacted my local pen shop, Scottsdale Pen, and Jay let me know that this model was not available on his list to order. I reached out to JetPens who said they may look into carrying it at some point; no luck there either. So, I reached out to Kaweco specifically to ask about where to find the pen in the US and they referred me to a wholesaler, that then referred me to email a retailer that didn’t have it available. Upon visiting Cult Pens it showed that they were out of stock, but I emailed them to see when they might be getting more and they quickly replied and said they did find one that wasn’t listed on the site. I quickly bought it through the cart as to hopefully not miss it forever!
On a side note, if you’ve never done business with Cult Pens, you should at some point. They have a selection that is much broader than many online retailers and they are always extremely prompt in their shipping. Even though it may cost a little more in shipping to get the product to the US, I’ve found that my price point is generally not much higher overall because their prices are reasonable. So, kudos to Cult Pens. Thank you.
I'm going to make a pretty bold statement here and say flat out that this is one of my favorite pens. The build quality of the AL Kawecos really is superb and the design is so unique. With the glossy, polished aluminum finish, this thing really stands out.
Even though these pens are small, when posted, they are comfortable to write with and I really enjoy the grip section. I actually wish there were more metal barreled pens that had the concave grip section like this (not like an overly tactical pen) that is done in such a classy way. The metal is cool to the touch and slick, but feels great in your hand.
A unique design feature of the Kaweco Sport line is the octagonal faceted cap. Most of the aluminum offerings are in a matte colored finish (although somewhat metallic), but the raw aluminum versions have a shiny, reflective surface that catches the light in really cool ways. You find yourself spinning it to watch the change on the various surfaces. Really, such a beautiful design that they've been making for a really long time.
Now, for the icing on the cake: the refill. This pen can take the standard Parker style refills, but is designed to take the Schmidt cap-less rollerball found in the Retro 51 Tornado. I've noted this refill so many times in my posts, including the recent Classic Sport review. I'm actually working on compiling a list of pens that take this refill because I enjoy it so much. If you know any others, please feel free to share.
The only thing I see that could be an issue for some are the scratches on the surface that really are bound to happen due to the raw aluminum. Honestly, I think for me this will allow me to actually enjoy the utility of the pen over time as I won't be worried about it. Kind of a blessing and a curse.
This pen was a little bit of a splurge, although not crazy expensive, but I am so glad I made this purchase. This is a pen I know I will enjoy for years.