twsbi vacuum filling system fountain pen project

[speedy]

Couldn't afford one this minute anyway, but any chance of this being made with black (ie. black chromed) hardware?

 

-MJ

Eventually, it will have black color for sure.

[jonro]

I have only one cheap demonstrator with spring loaded cap, and the ink always splatters on the inner cap when I cap or uncap the pen. Is this likely to happen for the vacuum fill pen? If so, I'll prefer a twist cap. In my limited experience, the twist cap also prevents ink from drying out better than the spring loaded cap.

 

Looking to the pics, the cap seems to be a twist one.

 

I assumed Speedy was referring to the design of the CLIP.

 

I thought the same as well, and yes, a twist cap, please. The clip looks better in the green demo, or is it me? A more refined one would be an improvement, but the general looks of the pen are fine. As someone that has followed the original thread for months, let me congratulate you for the effort and knowledge of making an affordable piston filler. Will the nibs have several options (from Xf to BB plus italics?).

 

Among my pens is a Platinum Preppy, which has an innovative spring loaded inner cap. I have never had any ink splatter in this pen and it's clear plastic, so I would know if it did. I think we need more pens with pull caps, especially with modern technology. The pull cap worked well for the Parker 51 and Sheaffer PFM.

[jonro]

I really like the idea of a one-shot vacuum filler. It reminds me of the wonderful Sheaffer touchdown filler. I like everything about the pen except for the shape. First, the large step down between the body and the section is a turn off; I find pens like that difficult to hold. From the photos, the body tapers off too much and looks like it might be too thin in the rear. Finally, The faceted cap and end cap just look mismatched to me. I'm very much in favor of innovative and interesting design, but in order to be ergonomic, there isn't a lot of wiggle room from the well-tested designs of the past. Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman and others sold many tens of millions of pens and put a lot of effort into making them comfortable to hold. After all, for a long time, the fountain pen was the primary writing instrument for the entire world.

 

I applaud what you are doing here and I'm looking forward to writing with your pens. I like aesthetic innovation, but I like to see ergonomics come first.

[Dace]

Wow that is a huge step down where the barrel meets the threads. I find those kinds of pens incredibly uncomfortable.

 

I like the filling system though.

[twincityskyline]

Speedy - Looking forward to seeing your pens in production, and I like the look of both the shiny black, shiny dark blue and the green demo (if that is actually a material and not just a mock-up so you can see the inner workings). I would agree with the comments about the section appearing fairly skinny (bigger is better for writing comfort). Please let us know when they are available for purchase and I'll pick at least one up for a test drive.

Edited March 20, 2010 by twincityskyline

[riff raff]

Wow that is a huge step down where the barrel meets the threads. I find those kinds of pens incredibly uncomfortable.

 

I like the filling system though.

I noticed that, too. Not much of a flare where the nib meets section, either.

 

Speedy, what's the diameter of the section there?

[Pinmin]

Couldn't afford one this minute anyway, but any chance of this being made with black (ie. black chromed) hardware?

 

-MJ

Eventually, it will have black color for sure.

Are you accepting "advance purchase reservations"?

[Dan Carmell]

I really like the idea of a one-shot vacuum filler. It reminds me of the wonderful Sheaffer touchdown filler. I like everything about the pen except for the shape. First, the large step down between the body and the section is a turn off; I find pens like that difficult to hold. From the photos, the body tapers off too much and looks like it might be too thin in the rear. Finally, The faceted cap and end cap just look mismatched to me. I'm very much in favor of innovative and interesting design, but in order to be ergonomic, there isn't a lot of wiggle room from the well-tested designs of the past. Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman and others sold many tens of millions of pens and put a lot of effort into making them comfortable to hold. After all, for a long time, the fountain pen was the primary writing instrument for the entire world.

 

I applaud what you are doing here and I'm looking forward to writing with your pens. I like aesthetic innovation, but I like to see ergonomics come first.

 

 

I often worry about those steps between the barrel and section, but each time I've found that that step is much too high to interfere with my grip. I think for most people who grasp a fountain pen with a fairly conventional grip, this is not an issue. I will grant you, though, that any one who grips their pen up high will struggle with this.

 

As for the facets interfering with the grip and somehow violating "well-tested designs of the past," I don't buy that at all. There have always been lots of faceted and textured pens around--one example is a number of Omas models dating back some decades. I've used many pens with various facets and never found them a problem. I just got a Parker "Parkette" that is not just faceted but fluted--it makes for a wonderful grip and a great look.

 

Dan

[speedy]

I have only one cheap demonstrator with spring loaded cap, and the ink always splatters on the inner cap when I cap or uncap the pen. Is this likely to happen for the vacuum fill pen? If so, I'll prefer a twist cap. In my limited experience, the twist cap also prevents ink from drying out better than the spring loaded cap.

 

Looking to the pics, the cap seems to be a twist one.

 

I assumed Speedy was referring to the design of the CLIP.

 

I thought the same as well, and yes, a twist cap, please. The clip looks better in the green demo, or is it me? A more refined one would be an improvement, but the general looks of the pen are fine. As someone that has followed the original thread for months, let me congratulate you for the effort and knowledge of making an affordable piston filler. Will the nibs have several options (from Xf to BB plus italics?).

 

Among my pens is a Platinum Preppy, which has an innovative spring loaded inner cap. I have never had any ink splatter in this pen and it's clear plastic, so I would know if it did. I think we need more pens with pull caps, especially with modern technology. The pull cap worked well for the Parker 51 and Sheaffer PFM.

In this pen, the spring loading is for clip function; it is a diecasting clip, not steel stamped clip. a well designed inner cap can provide good sealing of the pen, not leaking out.

[speedy]

I really like the idea of a one-shot vacuum filler. It reminds me of the wonderful Sheaffer touchdown filler. I like everything about the pen except for the shape. First, the large step down between the body and the section is a turn off; I find pens like that difficult to hold. From the photos, the body tapers off too much and looks like it might be too thin in the rear. Finally, The faceted cap and end cap just look mismatched to me. I'm very much in favor of innovative and interesting design, but in order to be ergonomic, there isn't a lot of wiggle room from the well-tested designs of the past. Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman and others sold many tens of millions of pens and put a lot of effort into making them comfortable to hold. After all, for a long time, the fountain pen was the primary writing instrument for the entire world.

 

I applaud what you are doing here and I'm looking forward to writing with your pens. I like aesthetic innovation, but I like to see ergonomics come first.

Thanks for your good comments. I know the biggest concern on this pen is the large step down on screw area. I was first also against this design, until I had my Dunhill AD200, due to it's very smooth writing nib end up I like the pen, and found that the big step down doesn't really bother me that much. Of course if you normally hold the pen on middle section (near screw) then you will feel uncomfortable.

 

The reason I decide to use this design is that I think I should give it a shot so not all our pen looks too similar... Anyhow, if it is needed we can very easily come out with another body design, since after this time we will then have the vacuum filling mechanism.

 

We will make fast tooling to complete working sample first, so let's see what will happen later on.

[speedy]

Wow that is a huge step down where the barrel meets the threads. I find those kinds of pens incredibly uncomfortable.

 

I like the filling system though.

I noticed that, too. Not much of a flare where the nib meets section, either.

 

Speedy, what's the diameter of the section there?

 

it is about 15mm in diameter

[speedy]

Couldn't afford one this minute anyway, but any chance of this being made with black (ie. black chromed) hardware?

 

-MJ

Eventually, it will have black color for sure.

Are you accepting "advance purchase reservations"?

I would like to, but don't have web program set up to do so, need to check if someone can program that for me.

[Siv]

A power or piston filler in the price range you mention should be commended. Good luck with the project and remember that success is based on satisfying the majority, not the minority - no matter how vocal they may seem.

[Spector]

wow, looks like this might be a promising pen.

[Ondina]

A power or piston filler in the price range you mention should be commended. Good luck with the project and remember that success is based on satisfying the majority, not the minority - no matter how vocal they may seem.

 

Wise comment on Syd's part: forum members often have views that are not coincident with more ample market consumer targets. I wish you the best of luck in your project which is certainly a remarkable one.

[speedy]

A power or piston filler in the price range you mention should be commended. Good luck with the project and remember that success is based on satisfying the majority, not the minority - no matter how vocal they may seem.

 

Wise comment on Syd's part: forum members often have views that are not coincident with more ample market consumer targets. I wish you the best of luck in your project which is certainly a remarkable one.

Thanks for the good reminding, we certainly will keep that in mind. The biggest attraction of our pens should be quality + price = best value. That's our selling point.

[camoandconcrete]

Is this supposed to be an inexpensive vacuum filler like the piston filler you are releasing?

[speedy]

Is this supposed to be an inexpensive vacuum filler like the piston filler you are releasing?

Slightly higher than Diamond, estimate around US$55

[pkoko]

Any idea what kind of nib is use? and nib sizes?

[mahkie]

Any idea what kind of nib is use? and nib sizes?

 

They are Schmidt nibs

 

 

The sizes of nibs available at launch will be EF, F, and M. I have a F nibbed Twsbi diamond and it's pretty good.

Edited April 20, 2010 by mahkie