Kaweco Carat
1950s
About This Model
Kaweco is one of the oldest names in German fountain pen manufacturing, with roots in the late 1880s. They achieved success with ebonite pens by 1903 and published a full catalog in 1911. With Waterman's, they first brought out safety pens. Growth was spectacular until the economic crash in the mid-1920s, with Soennecken and Montblanc gaining ascendancy and other firms appearing. Kaweco could not keep up and with the Depression entered their first bankruptcy. In the pre-war 1930s, the models we know today, the Colleg, Sport, Special, Elite, and Helios appeared, all as celluloid piston-fillers. They survived the postwar years, but slipped again with the advent of cheap plastics and ballpoint pens, and experiened a second bankrupcty again in 1981. In 1995, the Gutberlet family took over its assets and re-emerged as a stationery and office supply firm. Most recently, since 2010, Kaweco has produced the first series of new models, excellent re-enactments of the earlier Sports and Dias, but with modern styling.
About This Pen
The Carat was a mid-level 1950s pen by Kaweco, part of the company’s postwar renaissance in Germany. Like all Kawecos of the era, it is a piston-filler in black resin. At 12.5cm long and 1cm across just below the cap edge, it is typical size for German piston pens. It has two different model designations: 2851 EF, for the nib, and 109 for the pen. It is virtually unmarked, with only a few very minor scuffs on the barrel; there is no layer of use wear that one would expect in a 1950s pen. The green view window is clear. The cork was replaced and the pen fills and holds ink well. This pen’s only blemish is in some roughness under the cap rings, which are believed to have been cemented in place instead of being properly swaged, and are noticeable only under close inspection. The gold trim is all clean and shiny. The nib is an extra fine, and a very precise writer. A very nice pen, good for a shirt or jacket pocket, ideal for quick notes in a small pad.
Price: $120 Sold