Kaweco – the Kaiser
Kaweco is one brand that is seeped in history. It started its journey from Heidelberg in Germany in 1883 and though it has changed hands many times since then, neither has the brand lost its iconic status, nor has the quality of its products come in for questioning, ever. As a matter of fact, it has always been known for both its manufacturing excellence and its designing prowess. Why, there was a time, when the domain leaders were known to draw inspiration form Kaweco products!
In this video I will be showing a Kaweco sport Frosted pen, which has been one of my most trusted companion for many summers now. It will not be out of place to mention here that Kaweco somehow manages to bring out the hedonist in me and I have lost count of the number of similar Kaweco pens that I have, though admittedly, they are all different, either in colour or their clip types or the nib sizes. This pen particular has a broad nib (2.3) and I save this for those special moods when I want to rid my mind of all things good and bad and just immerse myself into writing. It is more an exercise to make the toxins in my system flow out with the ink and the things that I write are mostly inconsistent, but does it help…
These Kaweco sport pens are conversation starters as because of their unique designing, they hardly ever fail to make eyebrows rise, especially among the philistines. However, that cannot deny the pen, or Kaweco, full marks for having created this awe-inspiring shape. On the face of it is a smallish pen, and one is tempted to wonder whether it would be a misfit in those big and bulky German hands, for which it must have been originally designed. One even thinks that the pen itself is too light for comfortable writing. Then one posts the pen and viola – the weight distributes, the balance becomes perfect and the length jumps delightfully to provide a writing experience that is as unique as the pen itself.
While most Kaweco pens, I am told, are now used with cartridges, I prefer the converter and like everything else about the Kaweco, the converter is a sheer piece of engineering excellence. As off course if the clip, which though it slides in on the cap from the top, is as secure as any other.
As for writing, what do I say. It can easily tempt the laziest person to write miles, such is the sheer joy of the wet and juicy nib that this pen has, though I must hasten to add that the pleasure of writing with a Kaweco is equally distinct in all their pens. The point to be noted here is that Kaweco knows their business and the pens that they make are not only extremely robust but are also engineered to a level of perfection that is simply phenomenal. It will not be an exaggeration to say that one can buy Kaweco pens with his / her eyes closed, just for the sake of their functional brilliance – and I say this after acknowledging the fact that most Kaweco pens that I have bought are for their looks. But I guess I can be excused, for the first Kaweco pen that I had bought was neither for the look, nor for the performance, but for the Kaweco tin box that these pens are often packed in!
While not many people know about Kaweco pens, let me tell you that there is a hardcore group of Kaweco fanatics out there, people who have made it their life’s mission to collect and love Kaweco pens. They are so focussed in their obsession that I, with all my Kaweco pens do not even dare to approach them to be allowed into their sacred space.
Before I sign off, only one thing. Kaweco pens that are of a certain vintage, or even antiques are highly collectable. For one, they are not easily available and two because of the sheer legacy and history that they represent. It goes without saying, that the engineering and sheer built quality then too, was of a standard that most aspire to, but seldom reach.
The Kaiser is the German word for the emperor. And believe me, Kaweco can easily be considered the chosen one among the kings of the fountain pen world.
For more information: https://www.kaweco-pen.com/
watch the video here:
