I've bought one Kaweco Dia II some month ago and don't use it because of the small nib. But then I swapped that nib with an Bock 076 size and that made a HUGE difference. A 076 nib is much longer and wider and now the Dia II is one of my favorite pens. So I bought a second one and also changed that nib to 076 size. There is no issue with the cap and everything fits well. Kaweco should sell this fountain pen with the bigger nib and the Dia II would be a good option for much more people.
3:16 The nib of the sport and the Dia are exactly the same size. The Dia nib is in a screw-in nib unit, the plastic sport one isn't. It's possible to swap them. Thanks for the review!
I've had my eye on this one but the gold metal. It's pretty understated but classy too. I love the slim size and glad it's a smaller size pen. The group looks comfortable too.
The "faceted thing" at the top on the cap (and also at the bottom of the barrel) is called "reeding". American coins such as quarters and dimes have reeding on their edges. My Dia2 is a gold trim model, and I added a 14K Kaweco nib. I got the pen primarily because I like the retro look. The one thing I dislike about the pen is the lack of springiness in the clip; it doesn't slip into or out of shirt pockets easily. As to the nib size: To me, it seems proportional to the relatively small size of the the pen and the function of the nib is to write adequately. Consider the small nib/pen comparison exemplified by the Lamy Safaris, or the Pilot Vanishing Points (although not as noticeable).
Just ordered the Dia2 and at the same time I coincidentally won an auction for a white Dia with nos nib and piston parts. Well, mine is a Diaphan; Kaweco renamed it for the Spanish market. Dia translates into 'day' in Spanish. I guess a day pen wasn't an option for Kaweco.
Hi ! Thanks for this review, my Dia2 GT has been my chief pen for almost two years now. Coming from the small nib of the Waterman Hemisphere, it's not a problem for me. I'm hoping one day to get my hands on the two-tone gold nib which it seems to deserve !
I am pleased you reviewed this pen. I have been considering the purchase of a Dia 2. Your conclusion obviously may well tip me towards pulling the trigger. I think I prefer the chrome and black finish as well. All I need to do is decide what nib. A medium or a broad? Hmm. Decisions...
Thanks for the review. I have a Dia, like it very much and would agree with most of your points. It writes very smoothly, it's also a medium like yours, but doesn't lean towards broad. A very elegant looking pen, IMHO the chrome finish version is nicer that the gold one. Its girth is fine for me, it seems your comment on it is based more on your expectations due to pictures of the pen seen before. Since I acquired it only recently, it's not one of my favourite pens yet, but it's certainly fighting for its place in that group. Finally, as 'dia' doesn't mean anything in English and it does mean day in Portuguese, I'd wager the name of the model is pronounced 'dee-ah'.
It is definitely pronounced as ‘dee-ah’. And despite my own preference and purchase of the chrome trim version of this wonderful pen, I now honestly think that I’d have been just as happy with the the gold trim version. Because it looks equally attractive.
A very well thought out design. A very comfortable pen for long writing. I do agree, a #6 nib would be much better. I found the Kaweco Original 250 (with the #6) rather uncomfortable.
The Dia2 is my firm favorite Kaweco pen, yet. I also have the wonderful vintage Dia pen. I have the same Dia2 w/chrome trim as yours. I initially had the steel B nib on my pen. I later bought Kaweco’s 14k gold nib (B). Changed an already splendid pen to an outright outstanding one, in terms of the writing experience. I have Monteverde’s Mercury Noir in my Dia. The Dia2 is very well made, the aesthetics appeal to me a lot, the feel in the hand and comfort of using the pen, and what I consider to be a nice, fair price combine to make the Dia2 a very worthy buy for Kaweco fans, in general. Btw, I couldn’t quite get past the shock of seeing you compare the Dia2 to a Preppy, of all things. And the very sight of reverse writing always makes me wince in dismay. Thank god, you don’t seem to post your pens on video. That is another cringe-y sight indeed.
I have a gold one, so naturally I unsubscribed immediately when I heard your color preference! 😉🐿 It's a quality feeling pen, but not one I often reach for. Mine came with a broad steel nib which was a terrible writer. I replaced it with a broad gold nib which improved the experience quite a lot. The gold is a good nib! My Dia2 is lying in front of me right now, so I was already thinking about inking it up. You may have pushed me over the edge!
I just posted my own thoughts on the pen; I like the pen as well, for a "smaller" pen. I also prefer your review, so glad you've got it out! :) Thanks.
Thank you for this review! I think I'll stick with Sports, but it would make a great gift--it's a sharp looking pen. Re:nibs--I think there is a difference between the Kawecos sold in Europe and those sold here. I have to European Sports with bold nibs and they are spectacular. My U.S. Kawecos all needed work. It does make me wonder!!
I have the sports, I like their utilitarian attributes but at the store I tried a Dia 2 and for what looked like a stodgy old pen, I fell in love with the comfort.
Although I like girthier pens I can write comfortably with anything. If you make a fist, relax your thumb and stick the pen between your thumb and index finger you have replicated my grip. I actually have a noticeable indentation along the second section of my index finger from years of the pen sitting there. Unless the section is very long I normally grip my pen on the barrel and the barrel does not rest on the web between my thumb and finger so the length is not an issue. I can use a Lamy Safari without touching that triangular (ish) grip section. I would probably be a crap reviewer telling everyone that every pen is comfortable in the hand!! As regards the Dia2 I think it is unique enough (in terms of looks) to be interesting. I would consider getting one myself. Chrome trim!
I tried both at the store. They felt very similar except I would say the Dia 2 felt 10% better. I liked the cleaner look of the Student on the ends, but am shying away from the metal sections. The black Student is $40 vs the $100 of the Dia2, If that matters…
I found an old KaWeCo sport in my brief case and inked it up. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the nib. The only think that annoyed me was the small size of the converter. I have some O rings and grease on order from Goulet Pens which I will use to convert it to an eye dropper.
I've bought one Kaweco Dia II some month ago and don't use it because of the small nib. But then I swapped that nib with an Bock 076 size and that made a HUGE difference. A 076 nib is much longer and wider and now the Dia II is one of my favorite pens. So I bought a second one and also changed that nib to 076 size. There is no issue with the cap and everything fits well. Kaweco should sell this fountain pen with the bigger nib and the Dia II would be a good option for much more people.
Hi, great tip. Could you tell me if you only swapped the nib or the whole unit?
I've had my Dia for several years. Traditional look, solid writer.
3:16 The nib of the sport and the Dia are exactly the same size. The Dia nib is in a screw-in nib unit, the plastic sport one isn't. It's possible to swap them. Thanks for the review!
I have a Kaweco Dia 2 in GT with M nib. It writes like a dream. Fantastic nib just out of the box. The overall look is much professional also.
I've had my eye on this one but the gold metal. It's pretty understated but classy too. I love the slim size and glad it's a smaller size pen. The group looks comfortable too.
The "faceted thing" at the top on the cap (and also at the bottom of the barrel) is called "reeding". American coins such as quarters and dimes have reeding on their edges. My Dia2 is a gold trim model, and I added a 14K Kaweco nib. I got the pen primarily because I like the retro look. The one thing I dislike about the pen is the lack of springiness in the clip; it doesn't slip into or out of shirt pockets easily. As to the nib size: To me, it seems proportional to the relatively small size of the the pen and the function of the nib is to write adequately. Consider the small nib/pen comparison exemplified by the Lamy Safaris, or the Pilot Vanishing Points (although not as noticeable).
Just ordered the Dia2 and at the same time I coincidentally won an auction for a white Dia with nos nib and piston parts. Well, mine is a Diaphan; Kaweco renamed it for the Spanish market. Dia translates into 'day' in Spanish. I guess a day pen wasn't an option for Kaweco.
Looks retro! I like the look of it.
Hi ! Thanks for this review, my Dia2 GT has been my chief pen for almost two years now. Coming from the small nib of the Waterman Hemisphere, it's not a problem for me. I'm hoping one day to get my hands on the two-tone gold nib which it seems to deserve !
I am pleased you reviewed this pen. I have been considering the purchase of a Dia 2. Your conclusion obviously may well tip me towards pulling the trigger. I think I prefer the chrome and black finish as well. All I need to do is decide what nib. A medium or a broad? Hmm. Decisions...
Always a pleasure to hear what you say and think. Thank you
I haven't used my Dia2 in a while (I really should) but I remember it being really, really smooth.
Thanks for the review. I have a Dia, like it very much and would agree with most of your points. It writes very smoothly, it's also a medium like yours, but doesn't lean towards broad. A very elegant looking pen, IMHO the chrome finish version is nicer that the gold one. Its girth is fine for me, it seems your comment on it is based more on your expectations due to pictures of the pen seen before. Since I acquired it only recently, it's not one of my favourite pens yet, but it's certainly fighting for its place in that group. Finally, as 'dia' doesn't mean anything in English and it does mean day in Portuguese, I'd wager the name of the model is pronounced 'dee-ah'.
It is definitely pronounced as ‘dee-ah’.
And despite my own preference and purchase of the chrome trim version of this wonderful pen, I now honestly think that I’d have been just as happy with the the gold trim version. Because it looks equally attractive.
A very well thought out design. A very comfortable pen for long writing. I do agree, a #6 nib would be much better. I found the Kaweco Original 250 (with the #6) rather uncomfortable.
The Dia2 is my firm favorite Kaweco pen, yet. I also have the wonderful vintage Dia pen. I have the same Dia2 w/chrome trim as yours. I initially had the steel B nib on my pen. I later bought Kaweco’s 14k gold nib (B). Changed an already splendid pen to an outright outstanding one, in terms of the writing experience. I have Monteverde’s Mercury Noir in my Dia.
The Dia2 is very well made, the aesthetics appeal to me a lot, the feel in the hand and comfort of using the pen, and what I consider to be a nice, fair price combine to make the Dia2 a very worthy buy for Kaweco fans, in general.
Btw, I couldn’t quite get past the shock of seeing you compare the Dia2 to a Preppy, of all things. And the very sight of reverse writing always makes me wince in dismay. Thank god, you don’t seem to post your pens on video. That is another cringe-y sight indeed.
Great review of one of my all time favourite pens. Size and nib are perfect for me. Out of many, I mainly reach out to this pen !
I have a gold one, so naturally I unsubscribed immediately when I heard your color preference! 😉🐿
It's a quality feeling pen, but not one I often reach for. Mine came with a broad steel nib which was a terrible writer. I replaced it with a broad gold nib which improved the experience quite a lot. The gold is a good nib!
My Dia2 is lying in front of me right now, so I was already thinking about inking it up. You may have pushed me over the edge!
Thanks for the review. I was not even aware of this pen. It’s over my budget though. 😅
I just posted my own thoughts on the pen; I like the pen as well, for a "smaller" pen. I also prefer your review, so glad you've got it out! :) Thanks.
Thank you for this review! I think I'll stick with Sports, but it would make a great gift--it's a sharp looking pen.
Re:nibs--I think there is a difference between the Kawecos sold in Europe and those sold here. I have to European Sports with bold nibs and they are spectacular. My U.S. Kawecos all needed work. It does make me wonder!!
I have the sports, I like their utilitarian attributes but at the store I tried a Dia 2 and for what looked like a stodgy old pen, I fell in love with the comfort.
Thanks for the review, I have been thinking of getting one so this is a great help.
Thumbed up when you said, 'this is like trippin' me out here.'
I have one and it’s an awesome pen
I like the Dia. Not quite enough for it to get to the top of my wanted pens list, but it's a very good looking instrument.
Although I like girthier pens I can write comfortably with anything. If you make a fist, relax your thumb and stick the pen between your thumb and index finger you have replicated my grip. I actually have a noticeable indentation along the second section of my index finger from years of the pen sitting there. Unless the section is very long I normally grip my pen on the barrel and the barrel does not rest on the web between my thumb and finger so the length is not an issue. I can use a Lamy Safari without touching that triangular (ish) grip section. I would probably be a crap reviewer telling everyone that every pen is comfortable in the hand!! As regards the Dia2 I think it is unique enough (in terms of looks) to be interesting. I would consider getting one myself. Chrome trim!
Pen is a good one.
nice review. here take my like👍
Thank you. Looks rather like the Student (apart from those serrated rings) - d'you think the two would perform in a similar manner?
The student has a shiny metal section. This can be slippery and many people avoid metal sections.
I tried both at the store. They felt very similar except I would say the Dia 2 felt 10% better. I liked the cleaner look of the Student on the ends, but am shying away from the metal sections. The black Student is $40 vs the $100 of the Dia2, If that matters…
Size does matter. If I am going to pay that much for a steel nib, I want a #6 nib. KaWeCo is one of the very few FB brands that doesn’t vibe with me.
I found an old KaWeCo sport in my brief case and inked it up. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the nib. The only think that annoyed me was the small size of the converter. I have some O rings and grease on order from Goulet Pens which I will use to convert it to an eye dropper.