Thanks for watching! Let me know how it goes with your tuning. I agree though. I'm glad I got my Kaweco Sport working, but a $27 pen should never have these issues right out of the box. I can get a $2 ballpoint at Walmart that will be reliable every single time, you know?

About 99.9 percent of Kaweco Sports are fine out of the box. This does not mean that a given owner will like it. Not every pen suits everyone. Some writers prefer dry nibs, some prefer wet, and some like a nib right in the middle. The Sport is an extremely popular pen because the vast majority of buyers like it as it comes.

@@jamesaritchie1 I know they are very popular. I just got a lemon I guess. In addition to a poor ink flow by almost any reasonable standard, mine is also quite scratch. I tuned the nib and feed to where it’s almost an acceptable writing experience. I don’t return to brands that perform poorly, and I don’t mean difference in writing preferences, I mean poor writing instruments by any reasonable standards. I have a bunch of Jinhao pens that are far cheaper than the sport and every one of them were good straight out of the box. I did adjust some because I like a wetter writer, but they were all fine writers. Burned once by Kaweco, so I’ll stick to Pilot, Sailor, Lamy, TWISBI, and the many other brands that have never failed me.

Glad I could help! Yes, it is a shame that these pens don't write better to begin with. If you spend $25+ on a pen, it should write more reliably than a cheap ballpoint.

​@@DowntheBreatherHoleI'm planning on ordering some Kaweco pens for some Christmas presents and I'll definitely do this to them before giving them away since the people that would receive them are liable to just throw them out if they don't write well out of the box.

I'm glad you found my video too! It's too bad so many Kaweco Sports need this kind of help right out of the box. Glad this tip helped your fountain pen write better!

I'm glad this video helped fix your fountain pen! Thanks for watching!

The Apricot Pearl Sport is such a pretty pen! I'm glad I could help save it!

So glad this helped! My Kaweco Sport is a lot better than it was, but it still runs a bit dry occasionally. It's a work in progress I guess.

Glad I could help you get your Kaweco Al Sport working!

Glad I could help!

Nice! Yeah these tips can be used on other fountain pens too. Glad they were helpful to you!

Cleaning that area should be part of every thorough cleaning, and such cleanings should never be more than two months apart.

Glad to help!

Glad I could help! It can make a nib wetter, hopefully not too wet though!

Thanks for watching!

Awesome! Glad I could help you get your fountain pen writing the way it should!

Glad I could help your fountain pen write better! Thanks for commenting!

Glad I could help you tune your pen!

Glad I could help!

Always glad to help get another Kaweco Sport writing well!

Glad to hear your Kaweco fountain pen is writing well again! Thanks for letting me know this fix worked for you too!

@@DowntheBreatherHole It was the cleaning of the feed, with the Victorinox, that fixed my issue completely. Thanks again, I hadn't used it for months because of the issues, and now I write and doodle all day with it, just like a happy kid that got his Christmas present!!

Glad I could help! Did you clean your pen between cartridges? Sometimes a pen needs a good flush to continue flowing properly.

Thanks for watching! I hope my tips help your fountain pen write better. Let me know how it goes!

Did it work out?

Yeah, its strange that some brands like Kaweco struggled so much in this department, while others in the same price range get it right every time.

Yes, Kaweco with an EF nib can be tricky, but at least nine times out of ten the problem is with the nib, not the feed. But Kaweco does pay attention to detail. Very close attention. Those who complain seem not to notice that Kaweco pens are one of the most popular out there, or that the vast majority have no problems at all. Chances are that you "iffy" pens are exactly how they're supposed to be, at least where flow is concerned, but you just don't like them. No offense, but I've had at least a hundred people send me expensive pens they thought had misaligned nibs, and almost none of them did. . .unless the owner did the damage, and that's often easy to tell. Out of innumerable high-end pens they thought had baby's bottom, maybe two or three did. Tell me which high-end pens you've had those problems with, and I can probably tell you the actual percentage of those pens where such things are actually a problem. I can guarantee that percentage is going to be so low it almost doesn't exist. It is EXTREMELY rare for even name brand low-end pens to have problems, and far, far, far rarer for high-end pens to have them. But these are fountain pens and expecting one hundred percent of them to be perfect is just really silly. I know some "experts" out there, such as sbrebrown, say it's unacceptable for a single high-end pen to have a bad nib or feed, but that is an incredibly ignorant and naive statement. Bringing high-end pens up to that standard would at least double the cost, and probably triple it because it would mean hand inspection and hand-testing of every single pen, and, of course, inspectors who were also nearly perfect. I seriously doubt it could even be done with production pens. Quality control is never cheap, even when it's far from perfect. Perfect quality control is impossible on standard production pens, but even getting close to perfection would cost so much money that only the rich could afford such fountain pens. Regardless of what sbrebrown knows about fountain pens, and it's probably a lot, he apparently knows nothing at all about manufacturing. Now, in the interest of full honesty, I hardly consider a two-hundred-dollar pen "high-end". I don't really consider a seven-hundred-dollar pen "high-end". I don't really consider seven-hundred-dollar pens high end. You can't judge what is and isn't "high-end" by what your budget says you can afford. There are production pens out there that reach $20,000. Maybe more. I haven't checked in a while. So a seven-hundred-dollar pen isn't anywhere near midstream, let along high-end. I have never had a high pen budget, but I bought a Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age, a Pilot Custom 823, and a Platinum 3776 just by saving putting ten dollars per week into a Christmas account for two years. All they really cost me was not drinking coffee, Capuchino, or bottled water when away from home. But that doesn't work with a Namiki Maki-e. I have two Namiki pens, but only one of them cost more than I could possibly afford without a lot of saving, and a loan. It cost $12,000 street price. But even it is not much more than halfway up the production pen ladder, though the Namiki pens really aren't production pens. And that $20,000 mark doesn't begin to touch some of the custom-made pens you can get. Those can easily hit $100,000. A big factor in the cost of pens such as Namiki, and those even more expensive pens, comes from striving to be perfect with quality control. That said, those two hundred and up pens you mention almost certainly all have pretty good quality control, and it's very, very, very rare to get a bad one. It does happen, of course, but on such a low percentage that complaining about it is also silly. Especially since companies who make such pens all stand behind them and will correct problems. So will Kaweco, in my experience. But the Sport is a dirt cheap pen, and the worst thing that can happen if you screw it up is that you'll have to buy another nib/feed unit, which costs about fifteen dollars, if my memory holds up.

Sorry to hear about your Kaweco fountain pen struggles. Your pen going dry after several months of reliable writing sounds more like a clogged feed than a defective one. I recommend trying a good flush with distilled water and a little dish soap. If that doesn't work, then I recommend trying a different cartridge. They aren't made to last forever, so you have to swap them out every once in a while, even if you're refilling them yourself. If all else fails, you can buy a new nib unit to replace the one that isn't working.

@@DowntheBreatherHole Thanks very much for your reply and advice. I shall try this.

@@DowntheBreatherHole Followed your advice and it’s now right as rain. Fingers crossed 🤞. Thanks again.

@@RalphBrooker-gn9iv Glad to hear it!

I agree. Even entry level fountain pens cost more than the typical ballpoint, so you would expect them to be consistently better. That's why I admire companies such as Pilot. Have I gotten a bad nib from them? Yes, once, but my other six Pilot fountain pens have been very consistent.

Oh no, that's the worst! How is your Kaweco Sport writing now?

I hope you can tune it up nicely!

TWSBI fountain pens are wonderful writers, and the designs are fun. In my experience, they're not always the most durable.

I researched the plastic Kaweco sports grips, housing and feed removal. The collar/nib housing is not designed to be removed. You can only remove the nib and feed, on the plastic sports. The black collar remains inside the grip section. It’s too bad because I managed to get ink between the grip and housing and it’s really obvious on my lovely lime sport. Ah well, live and learn! 🙋‍♀️🤷‍♀️🖋

Yeah, I watched a video by Jet Pens about the Kaweco Sport Lineup, and they said you can screw out the nib housing on the al-sports, but on the plastic sports you just pull out the nib and feed. I appreciate that the black collar is there because I think it adds to the pens durability, but I certainly feel your pen. Demonstrator and semi-demonstrator pens can be difficult to keep in pristine looking condition due to ink staining and even dust.

I heard the same thing from Figboot on Pens, which is why my second Kaweco I got with a medium nib. The nib is great. I'm pretty sure it's the feed that is to blame for the problems. I hope you can get yours writing better! If you are willing to take a gamble, Kaweco sells replacement nib units. You could also try getting a new one and see if it's any better.

Yeah, maybe. There can also be some variability in sizing, nib to nib. I have five Lamy fine nibs, and none of them are exactly the same. Some are true fines, while others are closer to medium.

Yeah, that sounds like how mine was before I altered the feed. This seems to be a common problem with Kaweco Sport fountain pens. Now, mine still isn't the gushiest pen, but it doesn't skip on me anymore, and I enjoy writing with it quite a bit.

@@DowntheBreatherHoledid you have hardstarts?

@@shellshock10 I don't think so. My problem was Kaweco Sports going dry after writing with them for a minute or two.

@@DowntheBreatherHolesame here, I either get a hardstart or the pen skips when stroking in certain directions and the pen is very scratchy.

That's a good question. I've always been too scared to do too much with reshaping nibs. If there is some baby's bottom or another problem with the nib shape, then micromesh could definitely help. But only attempt it if you're comfortable with that risk.

Good tips! Thanks!

Both very bad ideas. If you want to make ink wetter, then use something designed to do that. Vanness White Lightning is the best solution. Not only will it lubricate the ink properly, it will also help prevent mold. Soapy water is a terrible idea. So is using a razorblade to widen the tines. There are better, easier, much safer ways of widening the times without risking damage.

@@jamesaritchie1 I've been doing this for 10 years. Soap is a surfactant. Just like white lightning. They're mostly the same. If you add some up a big bottle there's a slight chance of mold growing but I only add it to my pens ink reservoir

@@jamesaritchie1 the razor is for that feed channel not the tines

Good point!

And sometime a little too much pressure when writing bends the nib slightly upward so it doesn't touch the nib at the front, or doesn't touch it well enough.

I don't mind inky hands. It makes me feel like an artist. Also, if you would like to make your own tutorial that is shorter, you are more than welcome to do so.

They are nice in the hand too. My problem with the Kaweco Sport is the feed. They just can't keep up with ink flow.

@@DowntheBreatherHole yep. It’s unbelievable the company hasn’t bothered to fix that situation.

Hi Dave! I'm sorry my video didn't work for you. If you're having trouble with your Kawedo Sport, I'm willing to bet the last five minutes of the video will be worth your time. Alternatively, you're welcome to message me on Instagram @downthebreatherhole and I'd be happy to try to provide one-on-one support. Have a good one!