First Impressions and Specifications of Kaweco Supra Fountain Pen
The first thing you notice about the pen straight out of the box, besides its polished brass appearance, is its weight. The pen weighs a hefty 1.8 ounces in all, which is triple the weight of a Lamy Safari, for example. With a nearly half-inch barrel diameter, the pen feels quite significant in-hand and would certainly please those who prefer larger, heavyweight type pens.
Kaweco Supra Fountain Pen measurements:
- Pen Length Closed, Capped: 5.11 in. / 130mm (with extender)
- Pen Length Open (Uncapped): 4.9 in. / 124.5mm (with extender)
- Pen Length Open (Cap Posted): 6.46 in. / 164mm (with extender)
- Pen Length Closed, Capped: 3.90 in. / 99mm (without extender)
- Pen Length Open (Uncapped): 3.72 in. / 94.5mm (without extender)
- Pen Length Open (Cap Posted): 5.23 in. / 133mm (without extender)
- Pen Diameter Body: 0.43 in. / 11mm
- Pen Diameter Grip Section (thinnest) : 0.37 in. / 9.5mm
- Total Weight: 1.7oz / 49g (with extender)
- Total Weight: 1.4oz / 38g (without extender)
- Cap Weight: 0.4oz / 9g
Features of the Kaweco Supra Brass Fountain Pen
Once you uncap the pen, the second major feature of this pen is the larger, number 6 size nib in stainless steel. Most Kaweco pens, including the Sport and Liliput models, use the smaller #5 nib. The larger nib looks right at home with the profile of this larger pen.
The third and most distinctive feature about this pen that you would notice right away would be the middle, "extension" section of the barrel. Measuring 2.5cm in length, the brass extender piece is a game-changer on this pen. It changes the entire dynamic of your writing experience with the Supra and allows it to be adapted to your own personal taste.
As you would see in our video, the extender piece unscrews from the front grip section and the rest of the barrel. It removes 0.4 ounces from the total weight of the pen, and shortens it up to the equivalent length of a Liliput. When in "mini mode," the Supra is a heavy pocket pen, similar to the Kaweco Brass Sport, but still has the smooth, cylindrical features of the Liliput model. It is up to your own personal taste of how you would like to write with this pen, so you can test out the mini mode uncapped or posted to your liking.
Writing Modes and Ink Compatibility
Speaking of posting, the cap does screw on to the back of the pen, which is a great utility feature for those who like a pen that posts, since one never has to worry about the cap falling off and getting lost.
Personally, my favorite mode of writing with this pen was without the extender piece and with the cap posted on back. It gave me the most comfortable writing experience out of the four ways you can hold this pen.
The drawback of removing the extension piece is that the Kaweco Supra can no longer hold a standard, international size ink converter. You would have to resort to filling ink cartridges or using the Kaweco Sport Piston Converter, which holds a minuscule amount of ink.
So, just how does the Supra stack up to the two most popular Kaweco pen models (the Sport and Liliput)? Let's check out some comparison shots to show you the length and size of the Supra stacked against these Kaweco models you may be more familiar with.