There has been a recent flurry of matte-black fountain pens, with black nibs and furniture, known to enthusiasts as stealth pens. These have come from the likes of Aurora, Lamy and Sailor. Now there is also a new All Black version of the Kaweco Perkeo. I bring this to your attention in case it has slipped in under the radar.

The Kaweco Perkeo has been around for a couple of years now and is a decent, affordable, entry level pen, of comfortable proportions. Initially this was available in four colour combinations. Somehow I ended up buying them all plus a few extra of the mustard and black “Indian Summer” version which I liked the most and which came with a black, Fine nib. I have one in my pen cup at the office and another at home, filled with a black cartridge. I must confess that I had experimented, in swapping the caps around to pair a black barrel with a black cap, but you still end up with a coloured band in the centre. Thus, when I first laid eyes on the new All Black edition, I bought one instantly without a moment’s thought.

The Perkeo, which I have reviewed previously in this blog, is made of a tough plastic with a sixteen sided barrel and an eight sided, pull-off cap. There is no pocket clip, but there is a black, metal finial. It takes standard international cartridges, with room to carry a spare.

I know that some people are critical of Kaweco for poor quality control. My own experience with the Perkeo has been ok. The nibs generally write well in my limited experience. However it is worth examining the nib through the packaging if you can, as your enjoyment of this pen (and any in this price range, for that matter) will depend much upon whether you get a good nib or not. What I look for is a little bit of light between the tines, to indicate that the nib will not be a dry writer. Perhaps being a left hander, I am more sensitive to having a nib on the wet side, particularly for lefty overwriting.

The pen comes with four cartridges of lovely, rich dark Kaweco blue ink. I keep my stash of Kaweco cartridges separate from other unbranded ones. Kaweco cartridges have Kaweco on the side.

Talking of quality control, I did have an issue with one of my Perkeos, in that the inner cap was defective. Basically, you could cap the pen but it took two distinct clicks to cap it, rather than just one, which was a bit disconcerting. Something was catching inside. Aside from this, I have another on which the barrel does not screw on to the section tightly and seamlessly and ends up with a little bit of play and a slight gap.

Overall however, I have been pleased enough with the Perkeos to buy several. The nibs are the key. The great thing is that they seem to be a bit softer than the nibs of the Kaweco Sport pens. Also, I have found that the Fine versions have a delightful feedback to them which I enjoy, on smooth paper. They also resist hard starts, very well.

I sometimes find myself pondering that if I arrived in an unfamiliar town, in need of a pen but had forgotten to bring one, and had a budget of only £20.00, what would be a good stand-by. Aside from the ubiquitous Lamy Safari, and depending upon where you go, there is now the new Cross Bailey Light and the Faber-Castell Grip, as well as the Kaweco Perkeo which costs around £16.00. The Lamy and the Cross will each need their own proprietary cartridges or converters, whereas the Kaweco and the Faber-Castell accept standard international cartridges. Chosen with a little care, the Kaweco Perkeo makes a good option.