The second of two Kaweco pens loaned to me for review purposes is this Kaweco Elite, with a broad nib. This review will be brief because I can be short and to-the-point on this one: there's nothing wrong with this pen, but it's not for me, and certainly not at the $150+ price point where Kaweco has it listed.
This is a nice-looking pen, albeit a bit clunky when posted. It's a multifaceted resin body, with a metal/chrome cap.
The broad nib is much larger than the nib on the more common "sport" line of pens. In fact, it looks nearly identical to the nib on the TWSBI 580, and writes very similarly as well. I believe the TWSBI nibs are made by Bock or Jowo, two of the major German nib manufacturers, so it very well could be the same nib.
A nice, high quality, stainless steel German broad nib.
This pen is very heavy due to the metal cap, and as a result was difficult for me to use posted. I found no major flaws on either the body or the cap--it's a very nicely made pen. I don't understand, however, where Kaweco thinks this pen fits in today's market. This is a cartridge-converter steel-nibbed plastic/metal pen priced at $150, while TWSBI is currently selling a piston-filler that uses the same (or similar) nib for $55. No matter how good a writer this pen is, that's a considerable delta on the price, and I'm not sure what the consumer is getting for that additional $95.
In fairness to Kaweco, I only used this pen for the morning before I had to return it, so it's possible it would have grown on me. I suspect, though, that the Elite is simply not a pen for me, and I'll continue to hold out until I get to try my Dia2 or an Allrounder with a larger nib.
Handwritten review of Kaweco Elite fountain pen. You may recognize the mini-review of the Kaweco Blue-Black Ink at the bottom.
