Kaweco Smokey Grey (Cartridge) — Ink Review #195

 

Kaweco Smokey Grey

 

Ink Review #195

 

Originally posted on FPN: Jul 25, 2025

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🧾 Description

Ink: Smokey Grey

Brand: Kaweco

Country: Germany

Available: 50 ml bottles or cartridges.

Pens Used: Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/ BB), Karas Vertex FPNibs ultra-flex with ebonite feed.

 

I got a pack of cartridges of Smokey Grey. Boy, I was in for a surprise; it refused to write in both pens, even after priming (Kaweco Sport and the Vertex), until I forgot it for a few days. Moral of the story, if you can’t get a sample, pop in the cartridge and let it be. 

 

Or syringe it., which worked fine in the Lamy Safari. 

If you want to see what the Japanese EF looks like, check @LizEF’s excellent review. 

 

Ink has low lubrication, and the flow is dry. However, with a Medium Kaweco Sport, when the pen finally wrote it was very pleasant, and it’s like an HB pencil, However, with a Lamy Safari Ef, it was yucky and pale, more like 4 nib. 

 

Moral of the story: if you can’t get a sample, just pop in the cartridge and forget the pen for a few days. The ink needs time to saturate the feed. Or better yet, syringe the ink into a converter and prime the feed yourself. Interestingly, I had no problem at all with my Lamy Safari.

In the Lamy Safari EF, the ink felt underlubricated. The flow was dry, the writing scratchy, and the colour faint—like a 4H pencil. But in the Kaweco Sport M, it behaved much better: smoother, and closer in tone to an HB pencil. In the Karas Vertex, however, it was inconsistent—the cartridge just couldn’t keep up with the ebonite feed and the FPNibs flex nib.

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 🧪 Chroma

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 ✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Normally, I include a Japanese EF nib in the lineup; here I used the Karas Vertex’s Bock EF nib. The colour is darker because of the ebonite feed.

Rhodia / Iroful

 Note that the Karas Vertex is fitted with an FPNIBS, featuring an Ebonite feed with a very generous ink flow.

Midori /Tomoe River 68gsm

 

Hammermill 20lb

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 📸 Photo

Rhodia/ Iroful

 Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

Hammermill 20lb copy paper

 

 🔍 Comparison

I lost my Kaweco swatch, so I redid it again, that’s why it’s repeated twice. 

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 💧 Water Test


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 🎨 Artwork

 Global Warming 

Talens mixed media paper 

 

Memories 

 Inspired by an intricate sketch/gravure with my cat and mouse thematic. 

 Talens Mixed media paper

 

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- What I Liked:  When it flowed. 😉

- What I Did Not Like: The cartridge. Ink flow. 

- What Some Might Not Like: Low lubrication, dry flow, pale colour. 

- Writing Experience: With the right nib, it was very pleasant. 

- Pros: Great for sketching.

- Cons: Not the best cartridges. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

- Shading: Ok. 

- Ghosting: Faint, depending on the nib.

- Bleed Through: There are spots. Don’t use a wet pen on cheap paper.

- Flow Rate: Dry

- Lubrication:  Scratchy with EF nibs pleasant with a M Kawco nib. 

- Nib Dry-out:  Did not notice. 

- Start-up: Temperamental with a cartridge. Otherwise ok. 

- Saturation: Not. 

- Sheen:  No. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line:  Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen):  Nope

- Clogging:  No.

- Cleaning:  Easy

- Water Resistance: Good.

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 💬 Closing

My experience was tainted by the temperamental cartridges. If I’d know I would have syringed it right away. 

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review. 😉

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. :😊  

 

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