So, Has Anyone's Twsbi Not Broken?

[JonSzanto]

It has been two weeks since my last post. My TWSBI is still intact, and a daily writer.

[A144]

Thanks A144, do you mean the right front pocket of your trousers, or jacket? Most plastic pens don't handle the bending stress of trouser pocket carry too well.

 

Pants pocket; usually jeans but occasionally dress slacks/khakis. Here's what my pocket looked like at the end of the day today. The pen and light switch places throughout the day as they get used.

 

Pocket knife (Brous Blades Bionic), 580 (inked with MB Irish Green), and 4Sevens Preon Penlight.

 

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc203/BigBassin/IMG_20150326_000044_edit_1427342473260_zps4empuaa3.jpg

[Swordfish23]

Here's my experience with 580's:

 

I have 3, and a 580AL. Two of the 580's are my daily carry pens. They get clipped to my right front pocket, right between my 4Sevens Preon Penlight flashlight, and whatever pocket knife I'm carrying that. Be it a small plastic handles Spyderco Dragonfly 2 or a full titanium ZT 0801. They've been in this role for months, and only get a break when I'm at work and they ride in my scrubs next to nothing but a Sharpie. The clips, cap bands, and filler knob bands have all developed character in the form of scratches. The caps, bodies, and filler knobs remain relatively scratch free (nothing major).

 

My 580USA and 580AL stay at home, or come along in my backpack in my Nock Co case. The 580AL comes to work occasionally since I usually have my Pendleton BLS in it and occasionally feel the need to take prescriptions with it.

 

The only issues I've had have been the threaded portions of the feeder sleeve breaking off. I take full responsibility for this damage, since I apparently tighten the nib sections too tight, lol. Either way, both incidences of this were promptly fixed by Philip over at TWSBI. My experience so far has been very positive and I will continue to own TWSBIs (currently waiting on the green 580AL).

Sounds sturdy to me.

Also looking forward to that 580AL in green. TWSBI just keeps them coming!

[mongrelnomad]

She's a Sheltie. The picture was taken at the beach in Seagrove Beach, Florida.

I had a sheltie too: Luca - a wonderful, kind and sensitive dog who passed to early. Fabulous dogs...

 

also, just to be on topic: 4 TWSBIs - 530, ROC, mini and Micarta. Light use but no problems.

Edited March 26, 2015 by mongrelnomad

[dooooooor]

I have three twsbis (580, 580RG, Vac 700) and they're all fine. I don't take them out of the house though, so that might be a factor. My only gripe is that the rose gold plating on the cap band of my 580RG has come off in some spots, but it doesn't bother me anymore.

[ScienceChick]

I haven't had to get anything replaced but, based on the posts here, I think emailing TWSBI would get you a pretty replacement cap.

[sangman]

I have one of the early twsbi and I have not had any problems yet. I don't use it evey day but its in a rotation.

[legume]

Nearly every part of my Mini (except the piston mechanism) cracked. It came with a dud nib in the first place. First the nib and feed holder cracked, then it cracked again, then the barrel cracked, then the nib and feed holder again, then the outer section, and then even the cap. With a pen from any other company it would be obvious that user error was the issue, but TWSBI has a thoroughly documented, rampant problem with its plastic molding process and quality control. Their pens have undergone several iterations in attempt to fix the repeated cracking, but obviously they still haven't managed. The nib & feed holder broke in a different place each time, so it's not like I was repeatedly creating a problem I could solve. The pen was never dropped, never damaged. All cracks were spontaneous. Eventually they refused to send new parts and I was sick of the pen by that point so I didn't press the issue and put the pen away.

 

Never in my seven years of using fountain pens have I had such trouble with a pen or company.

 

And then, I have no idea why, but I bought a mechanical pencil from them. I needed one and it seemed to have good reviews. I thought since it wasn't made of plastic, maybe my experience would be different. What a mistake. It broke within a week even though I had never damaged it. I had the pencil within a felt sleeve within a pencil case within a bag. TWSBI was absolutely nasty with me and tried to gaslight me by lying that there was no issue with the pencil even though I had created video evidence that the pencil was undamaged, but broken nonetheless. TWSBI was condescending and refused to accept any fault. In fact they had the nerve to tell me that I was incapable of telling whether a simple mechanical pencil was broken or not. I doubt that if there hadn't been a third party involved (Amazon) they would have ever issued a refund. I will never do business with them again.

 

I've now also gotten rid of the Mini. Good riddance.

Edited April 4, 2015 by legume

[JonSzanto]

I will never do business with them again.

 

Seems like a good course of action. My 540 is still without a single issue. Go figure.

[Bill Wood]

I have a 540. Not a daily user but it got some attention. It's cracked in well documented places but not leaking yet. I suspect that if I used the pen daily it would have been dead long ago. I applaud the company for their filling systems and price point. We must understand that this is a pen that your not going to pass along to your kids or grand kids, they're just not made that way, and I don't think they're ever going to be made that way. Twsbi does indicate in their material that they introduce fountain pens to users. They are constantly designing, and educating which is great, but let's face it, their still in the Noodlers category. I think I'll always have one, but other great pen turners in the US have gotten my attention. I like pens that will out live me.

[Legal Eagle]

Here's something you guys might be interested to hear. So I recently replaced the barrel on my backup 580al, and not because it cracked or anything. I went to lube the barrel and piston head a few weeks back, but I messed up when taking the piston mechanism out of the barrel. Somehow the piston rod & piston head got stuck in the barrel, while the rest came out no problem. I stupidly attempted to pull it out with tweezers at first and ended up scratching the inside of the barrel(who knows why I didn't just grab needle nose pliers to begin with). I contacted TWSBI and purchased a replacement barrel for a small fee.

When the new barrel arrived I decided to mangle the old barrel with a pair of pliers to see how fragile, or crack resistant it is. This new plastic they're using is actually somewhat flexible, and took a lot of abuse. My experiences are pretty much similar to this video here that TWSBI made.

. Edited April 5, 2015 by Legal Eagle

[JonSzanto]

Sounds like you need to lube that vise! But thanks - can't ask for a pen to do more than that.

[purplepen]

I have a TWSBI special edition 580 that cracked in two places. Sent it back to TWSBI for repairs and got it back good as new in a little over a week. Awesome customer service !

[blazingthrough]

I've had replacement parts sent to me twice. I like the customer service.

 

.....And then my friend told me he needed a replacement part for his Vac 700 and they made him pay $3 shipping...... for a broken part that was NOT his fault. Ergh.

[Flounder]

What broke on the vac700? Cap band?

[Inkysloth]

I had part of the section crack on my Diamond mini and the feed thread sheared off, now there are small cracks appearing in the top of the cap, where the clip is fixed on.

 

I like the pens, and the customer service is excellent, but I'd rather not need the customer service in the first place!

[*Mirjam*]

Today I found my nib unit cracked in my mini. It was leaking a little and when cleaning I discovered it...

I hope the photos I took with my camera shows it. The little rubber ring that sits there was in the crack, I think that's why it was leaking only a little..

[delray48209]

Another Twsbi hits the dust. When I unscrewed the nib section from the barrel, the end part of the feeder broke off into the barrel. This is the second time this has happened to me. Be cautious when removing the nib from your Twsbu because evidently based upon my experience, the nib feeder easily breaks off into the barrel portion of the pen.

[F104]

My TWSBI 580s are unbroken.

 

Granted, they have not seen particularly heavy use. But they have been used, cleaned, used, disassembled and cleaned, and used again.

[delray48209]

Just a note. Philip from Twsbi contacted me and is sending replacement parts. I have to say their customer service is awesome.

 

Another Twsbi hits the dust. When I unscrewed the nib section from the barrel, the end part of the feeder broke off into the barrel. This is the second time this has happened to me. Be cautious when removing the nib from your Twsbu because evidently based upon my experience, the nib feeder easily breaks off into the barrel portion of the pen.