Bronze vs. Brass Kaweco Sport & I Cannot Buy the Lamy 2K!

It’s Hemingway Jones Fountain Pen Show LIVE! Let’s company the Bronze versus the Brass Kaweco Sports. What are their differences? Is there a clear winner?

I also discuss how I cannot bring myself to buy a Lamy 2000 no matter how fun or scandalous it would be for the Channel! I am missing an opportuntiy there.

Cool or Not Cool is coming. Oh man, wait until you hear about it! This is going to be so fun.

All of this and more!!!!

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[mmzeeman]

It is inspiring to see you talk so passionately about the Kaweco Sport. My Al-Sport was lost some time ago, but I'm sorry to say that I won't replace it with another one. My time with it was fun, while it lasted. There are so many other pens to discover.

[NikeaTiber]

Re: expensive pens with steel nibs. I understand your point though there are two points that I would like to make in regards to this. Modern steel nibs are great, and provided that it is a #6 you've got plenty of replacement options; 14k or 18k gold, platinum, palladium, titanium, and flexible nibs. Definitely adds to the price, though.

I love my 2000. Understated elegance, in my opinion. Hides scratches really well, and it is the most affordable flagship pen out there. The "ears" are unobtrusive and definitely help out any rotational issues that you might have. The ink windows are a bit hit or miss depending on the ink that you have it filled with. I've had mine filled and refilled with KWZ Baltic Memories for a long time now and the ink has saturated to the point where it takes 3-5 minutes for the ink film to clear up enough to get an idea of how much ink I've got left. Love that ink, though- especially once it has "concentrated" a bit. I think you should get a 2K, if for no other reason other than it is an iconic pen and you review pens. It is also an *extremely* well-engineered pen.

I love my kaweco sports. I'm really tempted to track down and purchase a stainless steel sport. I'm not a fan of cartridge converter pens so I habitually eyedropper fill my sports (I like a broad nibbed pen that can reliably feed toothpaste, so a cartridge or converter gets drained alarmingly quickly in my usage case) and provided kaweco uses a good grade of stainless eyedropper filling shouldn't be an issue like it c/would be with brass, bronze, or aluminum. I also feel it would be more appropriate for me, as I'm a structural welder and work with steel every day.

Another item that weighs ~1 gram is a US dollar bill, btw.

[anne-spcl]

I love my LAMY 2000. The nib is magnificent, and hope they never change the color. I'm a calligrapher. I always buy a pen for the quality of the nib. The 4 pens that have made me sigh with delight are the TWSBI 580 in broad and 1.1 stub, Pilot E95 in fine, Pilot VP (I have a fine, but I want a broad too), and the LAMY 2000 in broad. These have all been a joy.

[jerryw]

Another great podcast. I finally bought a Lamy 2000 after considering it for quite a long time. It is a Medium nib that seems to have an architect grind to it. Based on the paper and the ink, this pen will occasionally sing like a music unique qualities! I never had any did I wait so long to get the pen?

My next purchase was a Pelikan M605 Anthracite medium nib Stresemann

[StilograficaMente]

First video to recover after vacation while I had a very long walk in the park. It's so a perfect pairing walking with your passion for fountain pens in my ears. Thank you.

[thekanthalkid]

Great live. If you look at the metallurgy of Bronze vs Brass they are very similar just some different ratios of copper and zinc. The 2X price difference for a material so similar is a bit insane to me. I guess the only other thing justify the price is the fact that it's a limited edition. I still don't see the value proposition. Either way, if you're enjoying the pen, that's all that matters. CHEERS!

[Mpsieber]

This channel is so much fun. Thank you!

[ravkesef]

You’ve just proven that one size does not fit all. While the Lamy 2000 may be an iconic writing instrument, clearly it doesn’t push the right buttons for you. For my part, I have no difficulty with hooded nibs, and I find that holding a black macrolon Lamy 2000 in my hand allows me to feel as well as see the beauty. So there you have it – – we’re all created different, and that’s the beauty of the thing.

[queenbuzybee]

Hi HJ, late as always due to time zones. I totally agree that at a certain price point I expect „more“. Santini, for example, make in-house nibs, 14k, and offer custom grinds at this price point and they’re not a mainstream company like Leonardo or Esterbrook, etc. I believe if smaller companies can cut it, the others sure should be able to do so. Thank you for the time that you invest in the community, it’s much appreciated. Without wanting to sound snobby, I really enjoy the intellectual level as well as the aesthetics of your videos.
I was thinking about getting the Visconti Van Gogh Sunflowers, also because I think it’s beautiful. What’s been keeping me contemplating is that the grip section is metal, something I usually don’t enjoy.

[fossilimprint]

I have held the Lamy 2000 in hand, and for me 2 major deal breakers. 1 - the shape makes my fingers slip to the nib, feels very uncomfortable. 2 - the "sweet spot" where the nib feels smooth, is too small and difficult to find, especially frustrating when my fingers slip, I re-grip and lose the magic spot yet again. /\/\/\ About Bronze vs Brass, I find that Brass smells unpleasant to me, while Bronze does not have any bad smell to me. The price of the Bronze Kaweco is higher because it is a limited edition, vs. brass is regular production. As of this writing it is difficult to find the bronze. /\/\/\ Thank you for yet another delightful Live.

[ChrisSaenz]

Hi Hemingway! I like my Lamy 2000 B (writes like a stub nib) ... but I admit I like the regular Lamy nibs better. I enjoy the Jinhao 80s (many colors) with regular Lamy nibs! 😂
Have you tried a Lamy Studio? Maybe you already have one I can't recall.
I'm watching on the replay!!! Great show!!!

[bankston]

I understand your concerns with the P51 and finding its writing alignment. But with the L2K, all you need to do is connect one of the little tabs with your index finger, make sure the nib isn't upside down, and Bob's your aunt's husband.

[blazel]

The Lamy 2000 is my favorite of all pens. I have one in fine and one in medium. I have never had any issues with the pen or using it. The minimalist look and feel is timeless. The macrolon material is sublime when in use and warms up as you use it, notably on a colder day. Never experienced any kind of mis-start or no-start, even if it hasn’t been used in a long time. The windows to see ink levels are perfect, no issue…just hold the pen horizontally to a light source at eye level and you see perfectly. The ‘ears’ for the clips are not even noticeable, in fact I never even thought about them until now.
The ‘sweet spot’ is an overrated criticism, if you can eat peas with a spoon you can orient the pen just fine with no fuss. Plus, you can use this pen without drawing attention to yourself in meetings, etc.
My second favorite pen of all time is a Kaweco Brass Sport in medium. I love the durability of the pen and it’s weight.
Plus the personalization of the patina is a bonus.

[michellet]

Our Boston City Hall….I understand how people don’t love it. For the longest time I couldn’t see the beauty, and I also like the Brutalist style. Changing your physical perspective, using a black and white camera filter or viewing it at night might give you more appreciation.

[sistergoldenhair]

Every fountain pen collection needs a lamy 2000. It’s an iconic pen that has stood the test of time and more accessible than Montblanc. EF is my personal favorite nib on that pen after trying the Broad, medium and fine and finding them all too beefy.

[kendallmallon]

I agree that it would be great if the 2K came in colors. It may just be a production limitation with how they do the matte finish and the colors. I have 3 2Ks tbh... so I have the same writing experience with my 3 favorite inks. The medium in the 2K is just perfect for me. But I was against it for a long time until I wrote with one. But I hold my pen farther back and never rest on the steel section or the little ears for the cap.

[adriangaylard]

I agree with you that on balance, cartridge converters are the best fill system. Along with easy to repair, I'd add easy to clean. In my collection I've got vacumatics aerometrics, snorkels, lever and button fillers, along with a piston filler. They are attached to some great pens and as an engineer I like the various mechanisms. However, nothing matches the ease of use and ownership a cartridge converter brings.

[bankston]

Lamy 2K in stainless! If for nothing else, you can use the clip as a mirror for shaving.

[david.leikam]

Just jumped into Kaweco Brass & Bronze this month.

[karidru]

I keep finding myself agreeing with you. It's honestly kind of refreshing that there's a pen that no part of me wants, so I'm not fighting myself on my Lamy 2k dislike. I don't like hooded nibs and I don't really favor pistons. I don't even think gold nibs are that much better than steel on modern pens. I can sit here all day and list off the assorted things about it that I don't care for or don't need, but several of those things could be offset by something that I DO care for... and there's just not. At the end of the day, the thing is just boring looking. But I figure that's OK. The people who do like it are welcome to it.