A Quick Look at the 2026 Kaweco DIY Glow-in-the-Dark Fountain Pen
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The Kaweco DIY event for 2026 has come and gone, and I once again found myself at Pen Boutique (at this point, months ago) to get my inky hands on the new glow-in-the-dark color!
This year, the process remains the same, but this time around there weren’t parts available from the previous DIY years (although I believe I saw some stores still had them available).
Since it’s been a while, I’ll quickly go over the assembly process. There are 2 presses in total, and press #1 will insert the nib unit into the grip section. Everything is keyed so it’s hard to mess up.
The second press inserts the inner cap sleeve, as well as the Kaweco medallion. This step is also keyed, but if you’re not careful, it’s possible for the medallion to go flying.
With the pen put together, we can talk about the color! As the name suggests, it glows in the dark. A Glowaco, if you will. A Kawecglow. Glowtally. It’s a beautiful reminder of my childhood in the 90’s when glow-in-the-dark was still relatively popular, still being used in all sorts of things from ceiling stars to glow-in-the-dark toys. Need I mention glow sticks? It was awesome, and this DIY sport is no different.
It has the usual Kaweco DIY Sport etched into the barrel, with silver trimmings. I originally wanted to get a silver clip for it, but the store was out, and I honestly think it’s for the better so as not to distract from the main feature of the pen.
But enough waiting! As you can see, this pen of mine glows with an awesome power, but it still needs a good light source to get it going (I used a strong flashlight). Like most glow-in-the-dark things, it most likely won’t glow that strongly if you simply turn the lights off. Still, I was surprised by how strong the glow was after taking it outside briefly for a photo (photos at the bottom of the post).
My favorite feature is how the glow makes the DIY Sport etching stand out. I’ve seen a lot of pens with designs on them that glow, but this has me thinking that the reverse would be even cooler.
And that’s the Glowaco! And overall, I think this is easily the coolest-looking DIY pen thus far, but that also poses a big problem. Because this time around the pen is so dramatically different from a standard colorway, it means a lot of people who previously weren’t interested are going to want it (and they did). Normally, that would be great! Except that a lot, if not most, of those people don’t have a shop nearby to participate. I had a few friends myself who were concerned about their ability to get one (and some didn’t). And yet, they still seemed to sell out fast. Unfortunately, that also means that it’s subject to scalping, and no surprise, I was seeing plenty of these being resold at the high prices you’d expect.
In the last three years of the DIY event, I’ve also noticed a trend: it’s poorly organized. As I mentioned earlier, I saw at least a few events that ran out of parts prematurely, but it’s also not well scheduled. In my case, the location I went to didn’t even show up on Kaweco’s own list of participating retailers (and I wasn’t completely sure if it was happening or not until the day before, thanks to an Instagram post about it). In one of the previous years, the event had to be rescheduled due to an issue with the machines. Something out of their control, perhaps, but it’s a serious contrast compared to, say, Traveler’s Company events that typically seem very well organized. In the last 2 years, this wasn’t such a problem; I didn’t see that many people upset that they missed out, but this year’s color was obviously going to have a higher demand.
I still think the DIY event is a great idea, and I really like the DIY Glow. I love the DIY Sport etching on it, but honestly, I think it should have been a regular release.
Written with Diamine Violet.
More Images
Glowhoahoahoahoa
Featured in the photography and writing samples:
Diamine Violet
Kaweco DIY Glow
52 gsm B6 Tomoe River notebook by Sterling Ink
Midori MD A6 lined notebook — Amazon
Traveler’s Company brass clip —Endless Pens | Amazon
Traveler’s Company “Have a Nice Trip” brass clip — Endless Pens | Amazon
Casio CA-53W Data Bank — Amazon
Lego 72046 Gameboy — Amazon
Current text: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery — Amazon
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