Kaweco Dia2 Converter

[AidenMark]

Which converter fits the Kaweco Dia2 pen (with the standard Bock 060 nib unit)?

 

Kaweco have 3 types on their site - mini for the Sport, squeeze and standard. I bought a standard Kaweco converter but it doesn't remotely fit the pen - it won't even fit in the metal base of the section. Other converters in my possession don't fit either.

 

I've seen this asked a few times but couldn't find it answered.

Edited May 14, 2020 by AidenMark

[aderoy]

If you remove the spring from the body of the pen you can use a standard international converter.

 

If you do not remove the spring (via pliers or say knitting hook) with the standard converter installed and inked up and you unscrew the barrel just say be ready for ink all over. The spring will push on the top of the converter and just for jiggles unscrew emptying the ink.

 

Of course I disavow any knowledge of this happening to me online

[Ron Z]

I use a standard DIN converter in mine.

[AidenMark]

I wonder if the design has changed over the decade this pen has been around. I tried with a Kaweco, a Pelikan, a Diplomat and a Delta converter. The Delta kinda fit but was wobbly. The others didn't fit at all.

 

The spring issue isn't the main problem. The converters won't go through the thread collar on the section. Screwing the pen together with or without the spring is a step further on.

Edited May 14, 2020 by AidenMark

[tinta]

The Kaweco branded international converter has been very reliable for me, for both the Dia2 & my present Kaweco Specials.

 

I have seen this converter in three different configurations with "Kaweco" printed on each of their piston tubes. All of them can be fully disassembled for thorough cleaning. I have no idea who makes these converters for Kaweco, perhaps Schmidt.

 

In the beginning I had problems with poor suction, with bubbles in the tube, instead of filling the chamber with ink. I first blamed the converter, but it turned out that the connection between it & the feed's nipple was the real problem.

You have to push down firmly to attach the Kaweco converters onto the Bock 060 feeds. When filling, you will first get some bubbles in the converter, but if you cycle your converter at least three times, you should get an almost full tube of ink.

At least, this has been my experience.

Edited May 14, 2020 by tinta

[Barkingpig]

I just looked @ the converter in my pen & it is indeed branded Kaweco.

 

I always use JETPENS as my reference for Kaweco specifications & a check there confirmed the converter recommended (or actually required) is Kaweco "standard" converter & appears to be the only full sized converter Kaweco offers.

 

Mine may well have come with my pen when I ordered it but I have never had any trouble with it's fit nor function.

[Ron Z]

It may be worth contacting Kaewco directly with your problem. The website is in German, but if you look at the top right hand corner, you can select the language. At the bottom of the page under Information there is a contact link. They were very responsive when I wrote with a problem earlier this year.

[tinta]

Mr Gutberlet & his staff has been extremely helpful with all my inquiries. If I remember right, I reached out to Kaweco at least four times.

[AidenMark]

I reduced the problem to its essentials and pulled out the Bock 060 nib unit and tried fitting converters to it, without the pen. The 060 unit has an outer collar around the ink feed nipple. Kind of looks like this: (( o )) The gap between the inner collar wall and the ink nipple is quite small - meaning the converter must have a thin end collar it fit.

 

My Kaweco standard converter simply will NOT fit the Bock 060. I then checked on an older medium 060 and a stub 060 I had in the draw. Same thing. The converter would not fit in the nib unit collar.

 

After trying 8 converters I did find a generic no-name that fit. So some but not all std internationals will work - as Aderoy suggested.

 

I can only assume something changed in the collar design of the recent Kaweco 'standard' converter that stops it fitting Bock units. I'll take your advice and write to Kaweco and ask them about it.

[tinta]

I reduced the problem to its essentials and pulled out the Bock 060 nib unit and tried fitting converters to it, without the pen. The 060 unit has an outer collar around the ink feed nipple. Kind of looks like this: (( o )) The gap between the inner collar wall and the ink nipple is quite small - meaning the converter must have a thin end collar it fit.

 

My Kaweco standard converter simply will NOT fit the Bock 060. I then checked on an older medium 060 and a stub 060 I had in the draw. Same thing. The converter would not fit in the nib unit collar.

 

After trying 8 converters I did find a generic no-name that fit. So some but not all std internationals will work - as Aderoy suggested.

 

I can only assume something changed in the collar design of the recent Kaweco 'standard' converter that stops it fitting Bock units. I'll take your advice and write to Kaweco and ask them about it.

I too have had a problem with certain Kaweco converters connecting to the Bock 060 feed collar. A thin ink channel slides into a nipple at the rear of the nib-unit's collar. It may be that the diameter of this nipple is not sized right to match some (Kaweco) converters.

 

Like I stated before, my Kaweco branded converters now all seem to connect very firmly into the 060 collars. But my first examples of these converters did not perform well at all. I was frustrated & resorted to using carts.

 

The earlier Kaweco branded converters had a bright pewter sleeve at the back, a clear tube, a white plunger, the brand name printed in raised white letters & a clear twist knob.

The more recent ones have a smoke coloured tube with the brand name almost hidden. The metal sleeve at the back is darker & the twist knob is opaque black (more like a Schmidt K5).

 

Maybe you could obtain the "latest" version of the Kaweco converter straight from the pen manufacturer. If you explain your difficulties with this component, I'm sure they would send you a replacement. I had the chrome finish chip off the drip of one of my Dia2s. They gladly replaced it.

[JML]

I have a Dia2 and the Kaweco converter that I bought is awful. It leaks around the plunger gasket and doesn't seem to feed the pen properly (I've tried two Kaweco nibs and a Bock). They seem to have discontinued that converter, however. That one had a clear piece that one would turn to move the plunger and a white plunger. It also doesn't hold much ink.

 

The currently sold Kaweco-branded converter that many sites allege fits the Dia2 is a threaded international style converter. I tried several such threaded converters and they will NOT fit the Kaweco section; the section on my pen is too narrow and is NOT threaded inside. So maybe Kaweco changed the Dia2 section since I bought my pen about 5 years ago. 

A regular unthreaded international WILL fit (at least some will). They also hold more ink and fit more tightly. The Kaweco nibs and the Bock nib I changed to will securely fit the converter's business end. I removed the spring inside the barrel of the pen to fit a converter (the international converter is longer than the Kaweco converter I described, but it fits fine).

 

 

[stevo58]

Hmm, I bought a Dia2 not so long ago and use a standard Pelikan converter with it, no problems. I’ve since swapped the nib out for a Bock 076, and still no problems. 
 

I do like the pen, though, it “feels right” in my hand. 
 

steven