For this post I just wanted to share the pastel purple and blue colour comparisons of the aluminium models of the popular Kaweco AL Sport and Ferris Wheel Press Carousel fountain pens. The models featured from left to right are the Light Blue, Harlequin Dream, Aurorealis, Lilac, Hello Kitty Lilac.
Kaweco Sport
The Kaweco Sport from Germany is a popular entry-level pocket-sized fountain pen that usually comes with a plastic body a range of personalisation accessories including pen clips and replaceable nib units sold separately. The AL line comes with the same nib but aluminium body at a higher price point. The aluminium body gives it a lot more weight to feel more comfortable in hand when writing and once I tried it, I haven't looked back. By default, they come with a couple of usually blue ink cartridges but you can also get a mini piston converter if you like to change ink colours frequently. The ink capacity is tiny but the piston does make cleaning the ink out of the nib a breeze for colour changes.
Kaweco Sport comes in a standard colour line and then annual limited edition colours under Kaweco Collection and region/store exclusives that are popular with collectors to keep and eye out and hunt for.
Ferris Wheel Press Carousel
The Carousel fountain pen from Ferris Wheel Press is their entry-level fountain pen that also usually comes with a plastic body and international standard converter included. They use the same body for their Roundabout Rollerball Pen. They release new colours a few times a year to match with their new ink releases.
Last year in 2023 with the released of Fluttering Heart, we saw the first aluminium version of the Carousel with the engraved grip section to match the ink design concept with fluttering gemstone butterflies. The furore from the roll-out was devastating as there was a lot more interest than I think Ferris Wheel Press themselves had anticipated.
Regardless, since then they have released a few other special edition ones and this year to date includes Harlequin Dream and 2024 LE Aurorealis.
All the pens featured come with the frosted aluminium finish which is my preferred over the satin as it is a tiny bit grippier and doesn't leave fingerprints as easily.
The Light Blue is a paler than the Harlequin Dream. Aurorealis is a brighter purple than both Lilacs. The biggest surprise for me was that the Hello Kitty 2023 LE Lilac is a tiny bit cooler toned than the original Lilac (I believe this was a Taiwan exclusive maybe around 2019 or so?)
Interestingly the Hello Kitty Lilac is a longer posted length than the standard Kaweco which I found to be the same as the pink version.
The two Carousel nibs are the same but the section engraving is unique to each design. The Light Blue and Lilac have the standard nib while the Hello Kitty had the special nib design.
Whilst we don't have these particular Kawecos in stock, our store currently has a few colours of the range along with both Ferris Wheel Press pens available for purchase if they interest you.