Kaweco x Milligram Skyline Sage Fountain Pen Review @Kaweco_Germany @MilligramStore

Thank you to Milligram for sending this cutie for a review! This is an affordable starter pen and great for collectors, too! Easily an everyday writer, knockabout pen, great for gifts, pretty robust, and quite versatile!

I am no stranger to the Kaweco Sport. I have owned and used multiple Sport/ICE models, as well as the metal ones but I really like this color!

ABOUT

Body material: Plastic
Trim: Metal clip optional
Nib material: Steel
Filling: Standard international cartridge / Kaweco squeeze converter / eyedropper-compatible
Cap: Screw on
Posts: Yes, friction
Measurements
Length (capped): 106.25 mm/4.18"
Length (uncapped): 100.44 mm/3.95"
Length (posted): 133.03 mm/5.23"
Length (section): 20.38 mm/0.80"
Diameter (barrel): 10.92 mm/0.43"
Diameter (section): 9.47 - 10.33 mm/0.37" - 0.40"
Weight (all): 12 g
Weight (cap): 5 g
Weight (body): 7 g
Price: $36.92 USD
Where to buy: Milligram Store

PACKAGING

The Milligram x Kaweco Skyline Sage is packaged in a small black cardboard box. The top is branded with the Kaweco logo in glossy black print as well as, "Milligram in Collaboration with" (Kaweco). The bed of the box slides out from the side. The pen is nestled in a simple black cardboard bed. There is one standard international cartridge in the pen. The pen is not accompanied by anything else. I like this simple packaging. It is recyclable and not excessive - neither in terms of size or weight.

APPEARANCE

The Kaweco Skyline model is not a new one. This is essentially a Sport but this particular color is exclusive to Milligram. The pen is a pocket pen - it has slightly rounded ends, a round body/barrel, and an octagonal cap. The finial has a metal Kaweco emblem stamped in place. The cap is engraved with and is silver-color filled with "Kaweco Sport" on one side and the Milligram logo on the other side, which I happen to think is really cute. The clip is a slide-on, silver-colored clip. Cute and simple.

The section is small but then so is the pen! It is a smooth, round section with a slightly pinched shape. The back end of the pen says "Made in Germany". The Skyline is a small, pocketable pen that is comfortable to use as a full-size pen when the cap is posted: "Small in the pocket, large in the hand". The entire pen is a beautiful earthy sage color. Kaweco Skylines are not my absolute favorite pens out there because I am not wild about pocket pens in general, but I do love that they are pretty robust and hardy, and they come in different and fun colors.

The pen is pretty well made. Fun fact: I have personally assembled my own Kaweco Sport at the Insights-X Stationery Trade Show in Germany! Assembly is easy but details like aligning the emblem with the logo on the cap are too time-consuming to truly pay attention to so that is something you might notice on your own. The plastic seams are visible on the pen. Overall, for the price, it's just fine. The Skyline is super cute and I love the Milligram logo on here.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The steel nib is a #5, manufactured by Bock. This one is an extra-fine. It has a single slit, a round breather hole, and it is engraved with the Kaweco logo, EF, and some flourishes. As I always do with a new pen, I flushed the section with dilute dish soap and then with water. The nib performs very well. It isn't quite extra-fine but that is not unusual for German nibs. It is well-adjusted and well-tuned. It's slightly on the dry side but that means drying times are really fast, and it makes it a superb option for organizers and daily writing, especially if you're using paper that is not all that fountain pen friendly. It is a firm nib that does not tolerate pressure well. It is not meant to be a soft writer, though. I found the nib prone to hard starts and skipping if left uncapped - it dries out quickly.

I do not like to use cartridges and the Kaweco squeeze converter is useless, so I keep this eyedroppered. Aside from not being able to see the ink level, it works best for me.

IN HAND

The optional slide-on clip suits the pen and is easy to use. It is springy and easy to operate one-handed. It also slides on and off papers, pockets, and pouches easily. The pen is so light that the clip is easy and convenient to work with. The octagonal cap shape means the pen does not roll, even without a clip, but I like the option. I do not care for the fact that the clip scratches the plastic if you put it on and take it off. It's not a huge deal but it is unfortunate if you like your pens pristine. At some point, this material will pick up micro scratches, so it's going to happen anyway.

The section is comfortable enough. It does not feel sharp or slippery.

The pen is not meant to be used unposted as it is quite small, but it can be done for jotting a few things down. The cap posts snugly and securely by friction and it feels good in hand that way. The Kaweco Skyline models are very comfortable - I love the feeling of the plastic as it warms in my hand. I like to use mine posted because it's just the right width, length, weight, and balance this way. I love how deeply and snugly the cap posts. It's very secure and feels safe.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

Definitely on the pricey side if you're buying in Australia, and not an inexpensive option even if you're not, but it's cute. Relatively affordable, very reliable and robust, collection-worthy because of the colors. Portable, easy to use. It has a lot of good things going for it. Would I buy it for nearly $40? Only if I were a collector.






I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

@RobertOsterInk Lime Juice Ink Review @MilligramStore

Thanks to Milligram for sending this ink for a review!

ABOUT

Color: Green
Bottle: 50 ml
Price: $15.29 USD
Where to buy: Milligram

PROS

• Lime Juice is very perfectly named!
• Easy to fill from bottle.
• Easy to clean.
• Gorgeous color with great shading!
• Shades well.
• Like all green inks, it looks so good in a clear pen!
• The label on top of the cap of the bottle has the name of the ink printed on it, as well as a tiny ink swab so it's easy to spot in your ink drawer/cabinet.
• Easy to store bottles.

CONS

• I'm pretty happy with this one.

OVERALL

Lime Juice is the class of green I like - on the lighter side so it shades really well. I am also a sucker for inks named after food, so that is extra enticing for me. I like the color and it's well-behaved! Quite nice!





I received this item free of charge to help Milligram select a winning ink, but I'm also now using it for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

@MilligramStore Notebooks from Marc Martin Kaleidoscope Jungle & Melbourne Museum

Thank you so much to Milligram for sending these beautiful notebooks for a review!

Milligram x Marc Martin Limited Edition Artist Collection Kaleidoscope Jungle Notebooks

Size: B5/25 cm x 175 cm
Ruling: Dot grid
Page count: 80
Cover: flexible card cover
Paper weight: 80 gsm
Price: ~ $23 USD
Where to buy: Milligram

Marc Martin is a Melbourne-based illustrator and artist! This collaboration features one-of-a-kind artwork, which brings to life a tropical jungle with hidden creatures. There is also a stunning limited edition set of tow notebooks, with a light and dark version to reflect day and night. - Milligram

PACKAGING

Each pair of notebooks is plastic wrapped and secured by a paper belly band. It has details about the notebook design and notebook specifications.

APPEARANCE

I love these notebooks. The designs used are the type of art I really like - colorful, watercolor-like, somewhat whimsical. LOVE. These are B5 notebooks with covers that look and feel like canvas. They are semi-flexible with pointed edges. Each notebook has stitched edges, colored endpapers, and silver- and gold-embossed foil cover details. There are colorful plants and hidden animals. Did I mention I love this?

The paper is cream colored with small, solid grey dots. Dot grids are my favorite so these notebooks are basically a match made in heaven for me. They are slim and lovely! The highlight of these notebooks is certainly the adorable artwork.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

Have I mentioned I love these notebooks? They are slim, convenient and portable to carry, and definitely convenient to use. They open easily and lie flat so it's so easy to write on all parts of the pages without discomfort. The covers have a semi-flexible feel so while they protect the pages, they are all so easy to pop in a bag or folio. I really like the texture of the covers - not quite smooth, they feel a bit like thin canvas. The thread binding is robust and tough but are loose enough to manipulate the notebook.

The paper is a treat. First, it really smells like paper - sort of like Tomoe River and I have buried my nostrils in the pages to inhale its perfect and seductive scent. Consider me wooed! At 80gsm, it is not particularly thin but I do find it lovely and fountain pen friendly. It does not look, feel, or behave coated to me.

It works well with pencils in a range of hardness but I found it too smooth to be my preferred pencil paper. Ballpoints and gel pens were easily tolerated - no feathering or bleedthrough but not so much that I could not use both sides of the page. Brush pens were okay but markers did bleed through, which is not unusual.

As I mentioned, the paper is fountain pen friendly, handling a wide range of inks and nibs. I experienced very minimal feathering, often where my hand oils had smeared on the page. Wet writers did bleed through here and there but show through was not terrible. I tested with pretty heavy ink application and I think it held up pretty well. For normal writing, it works great. I enjoyed the writing experience and I found inks showed nice shading, sheen, and particles were also visible. Overall, very pleasant.

The dot grid is easy on the eyes, and I love them!

OVERALL

LOVE. While these are not inexpensive notebooks, I think they are worth a splurge. Beautiful covers, so handy to carry and use, fountain pen friendly. Yay!

Milligram x Melbourne Museum Notebooks

Size:  A5/21 cm x14.5 cm

Ruling: Plain & Ruled

Page count: 80

Cover: flexible card cover

Paper weight: 80 gsm

Price: ~ $20 USD

Where to buy: Milligram

The Archive & Library collection notebooks come in a set of two. The designs of each notebook draw from the Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria and William H. Harvey's Nereis Australis. The designs bring museum works to life, with gorgeous foil work and adorable endpapers. Such simple and beautiful designs, perfect for lovers of nature, history, and stationery. Well, they're also perfect for museum lovers, explorers, and writers. Love these collaborations. 

The paper performs the same as the above notebooks!

I received these items free of charge for a review. I was not compensated monetarily. Everything you have read is my own opinion.