Twsbi Diamond first impressions

[mahkie]

The other day I was provided a pre-production Twsbi Diamond gratis by FPN member speedy, and also got a chance to write with the one he was carrying at the time. I felt I owe it to FPN to share my impressions, although this is not a review since:

 

1) I am not in any way unbiased. Although based on my impressions from this model, I will be buying a couple more Twsbis in different trims/nibs with my own money at retail prices.

 

2) This is not the final production model. Apparently, there are kinks to work out still. My pen works great, but I assume the people at Twsbi know more about quality control and launching mass market products than I do, so I trust their judgement

 

Background: The Twsbi Diamond is an inexpensive (estimated retail price will be ~$40 USD ) piston-filling fountain pen. The featureset was mostly picked by the fountain pen community (with input being given here on FPN and on other BBSes), with the aesthetic design being done through the Twsbi corporation. The design has already won a red dot design award.

 

Appearance and Design:

 

 

The pen is modern looking, but not so modern that it might be considered unprofessional looking. It is a definite close cousin of the Lamy Safari Vista and Pelikan m205 in design, but also very unique, blending modernist aesthetic with some eastern design cues. I really like the thick cap band. It looks even better on the clear demonstrator with "gold" trim (it's actually titanium coating that looks gold and is great at avoiding scratches). I know many others in the Twsbi threads have professed admiration for the design, and I would say that it looks even better in person.

 

Construction & Quality

The construction quality is really good. The body is resilient plastic of some kind, and the cap band feels pretty solid. All parts are removable, so clean freaks can clean the ink out of the inside of the caps, and replate the trim if desired. Also, the "diamond" shape of the barrel makes the barrel feel substantial and very stiff, which I really like.

 

Oh, and when posting, the cap doesn't wriggle. And there is an o-ring on the cap threads that makes capping the pen more pleasant and eases my worries about leaking ink/cap coming unscrewed.

 

Weight & Dimensions

The pen is a bit heavy, mostly due to the amount of ink held, and the piston filler. The pen is slightly heavier and longer than my Lamy Safari, and the only pen heavier is my Waterford Claria (seen in black). The pen feels real substantial, and becomes quite long when posted.

 

 

 

Nib & Performance

The nib is a steel chrome plated nib. The nib is pretty good. It doesn't skip, and is very "neutral". It's not my driest or wettest nib, but it lays down a good line smoothly. I am using it with Baystate Blue with no problems (the feed has not melted lol). I also briefly tried an EF nibbed Twsbi, and it was surprisingly thin, and about as smooth as my fine nib.

 

Filling System & Maintenance

The filling system is a piston that holds a lot of ink. As for maintenance, the entire pen can be broken down by the user for detailed cleaning. Cleanfreaks rejoice! Engineers who take things apart and can't put them back together lament! Even the cap can be broken down to clean ink off. The piston seems very confident, though this is a pre-production model, and is subject to change. Seems like a winner though.

 

Cost & Value

I think this pen is a stellar value. Even if Twsbi decided to sell this pen for $75-100, many people here would consider it a pretty good deal. But they are planning to price it incredibly competitively, somewhere around $40 USD. It's a step up from Lamy build quality, but at a similar price, with a killer featureset.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

I think this pen is going to be a really disruptive pen given the price point and featureset. It's a fountain pen lover's pen, which isn't surprising given the community involvement with feature selection. I can imagine this being a huge hit when it is released, so i'm going to run to the store and buy all the gold trimmed ones before you guys get to them

[Feanor]

No fair, where's mine!

 

Great review, can't wait to get one.

[farseer911]

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:58 AM, Feanor said:

No fair, where's mine!

 

Great review, can't wait to get one.

I woul dpre-pay for one to get on the list.... but no such luck....

[mahkie]

  On 4/2/2010 at 4:37 AM, farseer911 said:

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:58 AM, Feanor said:

No fair, where's mine!

 

Great review, can't wait to get one.

I woul dpre-pay for one to get on the list.... but no such luck....

 

 

I may organize a pre-sale through FPN once shipment is verified close enough. I would need to make a plan for price and logistics, and clear it with the appropriate people. I have a pretty killer plan in mind to offer a good deal to the community.

 

[jleeper]

Now I want this pen even more.

[Dace]

When you say its a step up from Lamy build quality what do you mean?

 

Isn't it a little early to be saying the quality of a pen that isn't even out yet is greater then a company who has decades of quality behind their pens. Nothing against TWSBI or whatever (they really need a new name), but let's not be blinded by the newest gadget to show up under the christmas tree.

 

I am excited about the pen just like everyone else, but I think we need to be a little realistic.

[markc]

Oh man! That's a nice pen. I can't wait for them to be available. I'd probably buy 4 and give 3 (oh, lets be real, maybe 1) away.

[Brian]

Ever since I first saw these I wondered how they would be in person. Thanks for the review and comments. This is a pen that I am sure many of us will be watching. Best wishes and luck to the team who makes this possible.

[mahkie]

  On 4/2/2010 at 5:39 AM, Dace said:

When you say its a step up from Lamy build quality what do you mean?

 

There's a couple things I could say about that. First of all, the pen is "tight" feeling and heftier than my Lamy Safari (yes I know that weight doesn't equal build quality). Also, there are far more small parts used in the construction of a more complex pen. In addition to that, the design is incredibly well thought out to address common complaints. The pen can be completely disassembled to fix minor issues like ink stuck in the clear cap. Also, the plastic used seems less flexy than the lamy

 

I agree that it is somewhat subjective as to what better build quality is, and that what I have may not necessarily represent a final product, but I think people will be pleasantly surprised

[orangos]

  On 4/2/2010 at 5:02 AM, mahkie said:

  On 4/2/2010 at 4:37 AM, farseer911 said:

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:58 AM, Feanor said:

No fair, where's mine!

 

Great review, can't wait to get one.

I woul dpre-pay for one to get on the list.... but no such luck....

 

 

I may organize a pre-sale through FPN once shipment is verified close enough. I would need to make a plan for price and logistics, and clear it with the appropriate people. I have a pretty killer plan in mind to offer a good deal to the community.

 

Looking forward to hearing about your deal -- eager buyer here!

[Lloyd]

  On 4/2/2010 at 10:07 AM, orangos said:

Looking forward to hearing about your deal -- eager buyer here!

+1 (or more)

[Nitesiter07]

I can definitely see me owning 4 or 5 of them, having them loaded with different inks. :-)

 

 

Dave

[encremental]

Just a thought - not having had much chance to say the name out loud, are we all pronouncing TWSBI in our heads as 'Twisby'?

 

Edward Gorey fans (surely not just Limesally and I) will remember that Augustus's twisby* is found disembowelled near the edge of the lake by Fenks the butler towards the end of 'The Other Statue'.

 

A great name, anyway - and I want at least two of the pens and have bookmarked the ebay shop. Everything about them seems just right, but of course it will all come down to the nib in the end. If that has all the excitement of an IPG, then design awards will count for nothing.

 

John

 

*it's a small, sinister looking soft toy

[mahkie]

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:10 PM, encremental said:

Just a thought - not having had much chance to say the name out loud, are we all pronouncing TWSBI in our heads as 'Twisby'?

 

Yeah, that seems to be the way to say it haha

 

 

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:10 PM, encremental said:

A great name, anyway - and I want at least two of the pens and have bookmarked the ebay shop. Everything about them seems just right, but of course it will all come down to the nib in the end. If that has all the excitement of an IPG, then design awards will count for nothing.

 

 

I like the nib. I like it better than the nibs on my Lamy Safaris, but then again, people have different tastes than me. Once some more experienced collectors than me pick these up and comparing and airing their grievances I think people will get a better idea.

 

When I met with speedy, he confirmed that many people have asked him to make the pen so that it would be possible to screw in Pelikan mXXX nibs. That would be pretty cool if something like that happens in the future. I would buy one and then promptly order a nib from Mr. Binder The design of the pen seems to be sort of like a Pelikan m800, so it might even be possible with slight modification.

 

 

[aircraft_electrician]

Not being fond of clear pens, I'm really hoping this one will be available in solid colors. If so, I'll be purchasing a few of these.

[PigRatAndGoat]

I like it. Does anyone else know of a piston filler in this price range?

[Ted H]

I'd get one!

[encremental]

mahkie - being able to fit different nibs might be cool. I suppose it would be easy and cheap to make a range of tiny plastic adapters, whose outside thread fitted the TWSBI, and inside thread suited a given nib.

 

If you prefer the TWISBI's nib to that of a Safari, then that is surely a good sign. Although it would become monotonous, I think I could quite easily spend my life writing with just Lamy nibs.

 

John

[panda88888]

  On 4/2/2010 at 5:02 AM, mahkie said:

  On 4/2/2010 at 4:37 AM, farseer911 said:

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:58 AM, Feanor said:

No fair, where's mine!

 

Great review, can't wait to get one.

I woul dpre-pay for one to get on the list.... but no such luck....

 

 

I may organize a pre-sale through FPN once shipment is verified close enough. I would need to make a plan for price and logistics, and clear it with the appropriate people. I have a pretty killer plan in mind to offer a good deal to the community.

 

I can't wait for the pre-sale. I've been waiting for the Diamond to go on sale for half a year now.

[Dace]

  On 4/2/2010 at 3:43 PM, PigRatAndGoat said:

I like it. Does anyone else know of a piston filler in this price range?

 

Thats built like this one? No. There are a number of cheaper "student" type of piston fillers like the Dollar and Reform pens.