Kaweco Student - Black (F)
Length capped: 129mm/5"
Length posted: 161mm/6.3"
Length unposted: 120mm/4.7"
Weight with cartridge: 24.9g
Pros: Nice weight, very cool design, sturdiness, smooth nib
Cons: Blemish on the finish, section is a little thin and slick

When I ran the giveaway on the blog a week or so ago, I was surprised to notice that a lot of people had listed their favorite pen as the Kaweco Student. I was most familiar with the Sport line of Kaweco pens, and hadn't really heard of the Student before then. I headed over to Pen Chalet to check it out and was immediately drawn to the cool vintage look. It was nice to see a full-sized pen in the Kaweco lineup as well. There were several colors to choose from, but I ultimately chose the black.

I received the pen a couple of days later and I was happy to see the pen shipped with a large size Kaweco tin - I really love the vintage look and feel of those tins. Pro tip: they make a great storage box for extra ink cartridges, ink samples or even extra pens! The pen came with a Kaweco blue standard international short cartridge, or can take the Kaweco standard international converter.

Love that Kaweco logo

I ordered my pen with the Fine nib and it was very smooth. I have noticed that it does have some occasional starting issues, which I think will easily be remedied with a few passes on some micro mesh. I've had other Kaweco nibs that have been perfect out of the box, so I think this specific one may have been a one-off. The pen has some weight to it, but isn't too heavy which I like. The section is a slick aluminum and is tapered and then flares back out. I find it to be a little thin for long writing sessions, especially if you tend to grip your pen tightly like I do. For short writing sessions, it actually feels really nice. I know a lot of folks have issues with metal grip sections because they can tend to be slick, so that is worth noting if that's a concern for you; for me, it didn't seem to be a problem.

One flaw that I did notice with the pen was that there was a pretty clear blemish on the cap just above the center band. I attempted to scrape it off with my nail because I thought it might have just been something sticky, but it stayed put. This may not bother most folks, but for a new pen I'd want it to be flawless.

I was very impressed with the Kaweco Student. I expected it to be very lightweight, but it really feels like a nice expensive pen. For $60 at Pen Chalet, I would definitely recommend it; especially if the smaller Kaweco pens don't suit you. Readers of The Desk can use promo code DESKOFLORI for an additional 10% off any purchase!

(Pen Chalet has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review. Thank you so much to Ron and Pen Chalet for sponsoring this review! My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).