So, Has Anyone's Twsbi Not Broken?

[nikolaiw]

I've had my 580 for abou a month now and although I'm still "babying" it, it has left my desk and ventured out in my backpack. No problems/issues at all. I concur with the price sentiment; hard to find a pen as good at this price. Even if you got the rose gold version ( I did and love it).

 

Now, the freebie that came with the last bottle of noodlers is another story. I couldn't figure out where the ink was coming from until I noticed the crack in the body, and it was only a week old.

[britteach]

There have been LOTS of posts on FPN about faulty TWSBIs - cracked barrels, cracked caps, cap rings that break off, etc, etc.

 

I really want to try a Diamond 540, but all the posts about problems have scared me off. Have any of you bought TWSBIs and NOT had problems?

I'm glad you asked. FPN appears to frown upon any criticism of pen and ink manufacturers and are even more reluctant to tolerate anyone who might dare to report a problem with a pen or brand of ink they have used. As a result I will tread lightly here.

 

Yes. I have owned several TWSBI fountain pens; all of them have been defective. My VAC 700 had difficulty drawing ink and I never seemed to have enough fluid in the well. I suspected there was an air leak that contributed to the difficulty. It wasn't long before the plunger snapped and the pen became useless.

I had read many favorable reviews about the Diamond 540 and was attracted to the fact that you could take apart and put back together every component of the pen. TWSBI even provides a tool and silicone.

 

It is a good looking traditionally shaped fountain pen with a variety of nib sizes that are interchangeable and like the better Pelikans, it is plunger filled. At $50 a pop, it seemed like a bargain so I bought two. Within a month of everyday use, the barrel first one near the nib cracked and the plunger snapped. I have not used the second one yet. However, I also bought the beautiful blue, clear and red TWSBI 540 ROC , the one that commemorates the founding of the Republic of China, and again after a month of everyday use the barrel cracked near the nib, the cap had hairline splitting and the plunger snapped making it impossible to salvage.

 

I have read from other posters that TWSBI may make good on these defective pens with a replacement but truthfully I haven’t bothered to try. I am an avid fountain pen collector and my Pelikan’s are my workhorses. Never had a problem with them and they are relatively easy to clean and maintain.

 

TWSBI had the right idea with modeling its pens after Pelikan and then going one step further with its accompanying repair kit but I have to be honest and say that the plastic TWSBI uses is cheap and too fragile. Even though they are roughly two-thirds cheaper than the least expensive Pelikan, I just don’t find them to be worth it. Which is too bad. They look beautiful out of the box and are easy to write with. One day I might attempt to seek a replacement for those that broke but I really have no reason to purchase another TWSBI again based on my experience with them.

[ChuckB]

I'm glad you asked. FPN appears to frown upon any criticism of pen and ink manufacturers and are even more reluctant to tolerate anyone who might dare to report a problem with a pen or brand of ink they have used. As a result I will tread lightly here.

 

Unfair criticism. You are posting in a thread that is 14 pages and still going

Edited June 22, 2015 by ChuckB

[outis onoma]

TWSBI was one of the first fountain pens I tried, and for a while I bought every new release (530,540, mini, classic, vac 700). But they all broke in some fashion. Broken plastic, poor, skippy nibs, etc. I was a student when I first got them, so they were always in my pocket. I know keeping them in my pocket is heretical to some on FPN, but my Pelikan m200 and Lamy 2000 have been my daily writers since the beginning, and have worked flawlessly: solid construction and smooth, wet writers. It doesn't matter what I do to them. While I understand that TWSBI has good customer service, I'm really looking for no hassle pens that work out of the box.

Edited June 24, 2015 by outis onoma

[RayW]

I have a TWSBI classic that works beautifully

[Blue_Moon]

I'm glad you asked. FPN appears to frown upon any criticism of pen and ink manufacturers and are even more reluctant to tolerate anyone who might dare to report a problem with a pen or brand of ink they have used. As a result I will tread lightly here.

 

Unfair criticism. You are posting in a thread that is 14 pages and still going

 

Don't quite understand. Why is it unfair for a person to report their own experience with this brand of pen? I think when TWSBI produces poor quality pens, they are fair game, regardless of whether the post is 4 pages, 14, or 140.

[Oldparkerguy]

I bought a used one in mid winter that arrived cracked at barrel threads (Vac 700). Customer Service fixed me up with a new barrel pronto)

OTOH I have eight others that have never had a single problem.

These are great pens NO Worries.

[JonSzanto]

Unfair criticism. You are posting in a thread that is 14 pages and still going

 

Excuse me, but with only six posts to your name, you can't really judge. For those of us who have been here for years, there is - at the very least - an element of truth to the fact that honest criticism of certain brands can have a rather harsh and unintended set of consequences for the author. It is a dicey road to travel, and if you haven't been one of the many who have directly or indirectly experienced the negative side-effects of reporting problems of favored products, you are hardly in a position to speak about it.

[JonSzanto]

Don't quite understand. Why is it unfair for a person to report their own experience with this brand of pen?

 

I believe the point was not that it was unfair to do it, but to claim that FPN frowns upon it. As I've posted just before this, it really is a valid criticism: FPN is not a safe place to post valid critiques of some of the favored brands/products.

[ChuckB]

Don't quite understand. Why is it unfair for a person to report their own experience with this brand of pen? I think when TWSBI produces poor quality pens, they are fair game, regardless of whether the post is 4 pages, 14, or 140.

I was not precise in my communication. It is fair to comment on one's personal experience with a pen.

 

My comment was directed at the remark that the forum moderators discriminate against those whose evaluations might be negative.

 

That clearly is not the case

Edited June 25, 2015 by ChuckB

[ChuckB]

Excuse me, but with only six posts to your name, you can't really judge. For those of us who have been here for years, there is - at the very least - an element of truth to the fact that honest criticism of certain brands can have a rather harsh and unintended set of consequences for the author. It is a dicey road to travel, and if you haven't been one of the many who have directly or indirectly experienced the negative side-effects of reporting problems of favored products, you are hardly in a position to speak about it.

Thank you for your comment. However I am obligated to point to out that there is absolutely no correlation between the number of post someone has contributed and how long they have been reading through the posts on this forum. But I am sure you know that.

 

Having said that, I may have misunderstood the comment. It could be that the poster was referring to the FPN Community. I took it to mean there was there was a lack of tolerance from forum administrators. That is not the case.

 

May I add, you are quick to point out that you are entitled to your opinions. Kindly afford me that same courtesy.

[ChuckB]

I believe the point was not that it was unfair to do it, but to claim that FPN frowns upon it. As I've posted just before this, it really is a valid criticism: FPN is not a safe place to post valid critiques of some of the favored brands/products.

Please do not speak for me.

[JonSzanto]

Chuck, you were absolutely correct in that post count does not directly correlate to experience on the forum. Having said that, I see that you joined in March of this year - have you been reading longer than that, and if so, for how long? See below for my reason for asking.

 

My comment was directed at the remark that the forum moderators discriminate against those whose evaluations might be negative.

That clearly is not the case

 

In numerous threads, in countless occurrences, it most definitely has been the case. If you had been a member of, or reading, FPN for more than a few months, you might be aware of this. I say might, because another little trick is that quite often individual posts, and even entire threads, have been deleted by moderators. You might ask around about the history of the Conway-Stewart forum. There are also a number of people who are no longer allowed to log into FPN - i.e. they are banned - for expressing negative opinions.

 

Having said that, I may have misunderstood the comment. It could be that the poster was referring to the FPN Community. I took it to mean there was there was a lack of tolerance from forum administrators. That is not the case.

 

You are welcome to have an opinion. However, you are in error when you state the above, and you have nothing to back it up other than "well, I have not seen any lack of tolerance". It is a documented behavior.

 

Please do not speak for me.

 

I did not intend to, nor do I believe I did.

[ThirdeYe]

My one and only TWSBI, my 530 I bought back when they first came out, has not cracked. Then again, I hardly ever use it. I think I've only inked it maybe 3 times so far. I love the pen, but I purposely do not use it very often because I am worried about it breaking.

[Joseph B]

I purchased a clear 540 when it was first were introduced. It has never been inked. Upon close inspection I noticed that it is cracked behind the cap band. TWSBI sent an amber replacement cap. I suppose that they discontinued the clear, maybe for that reason. That being said, I have used my Mini with no issues. And I like my Micarta V1 very much.

[ChuckB]

My one and only TWSBI, my 530 I bought back when they first came out, has not cracked. Then again, I hardly ever use it. I think I've only inked it maybe 3 times so far. I love the pen, but I purposely do not use it very often because I am worried about it breaking.

Postinging error by me. apologies

Edited June 27, 2015 by ChuckB

[ChuckB]

Chuck, you were absolutely correct in that post count does not directly correlate to experience on the forum. Having said that, I see that you joined in March of this year - have you been reading longer than that, and if so, for how long? See below for my reason for asking.

 

 

 

In numerous threads, in countless occurrences, it most definitely has been the case. If you had been a member of, or reading, FPN for more than a few months, you might be aware of this. I say might, because another little trick is that quite often individual posts, and even entire threads, have been deleted by moderators. You might ask around about the history of the Conway-Stewart forum. There are also a number of people who are no longer allowed to log into FPN - i.e. they are banned - for expressing negative opinions.

 

 

 

You are welcome to have an opinion. However, you are in error when you state the above, and you have nothing to back it up other than "well, I have not seen any lack of tolerance". It is a documented behavior.

 

 

 

I did not intend to, nor do I believe I did.

Your personal attacks aside, the very fact that you are posting in a thread that is over 2years old entitled "Has anyone's TWSBI not broken?" does not support your assertion.

 

Out of respect for the forum members I will no longer be responding to your comments here. Should you feel the need to continue the discussion with me please take it offline in private.

[akustyk]

It's a tough one for me. I have had both good and bad experiences. The Mini is still my only pen that's always been inked, still working very well.

 

I think that the brand has done some great things with the design, manufacturing, packaging, and marketing. They eventually found a reliable supplier for their nibs. All good things.

 

There must be something odd in the manufacturing or the raw material, or both. It seems that even TWSBI don't exactly know what it is or they would have solved by now. The changes in design (a different grip section, for example) have shown us that they do try to fix things in each iteration of the Diamond model.

[JonSzanto]

Your personal attacks aside, the very fact that you are posting in a thread that is over 2years old entitled "Has anyone's TWSBI not broken?" does not support your assertion.

 

Out of respect for the forum members I will no longer be responding to your comments here. Should you feel the need to continue the discussion with me please take it offline in private.

 

A. There were no personal attacks.

B. As stated, there are some topics/brands that are more hammered-upon than others; I gave at least one example (C-S). TWSBI has always been in a favored position, and that you ignored what I wrote is disappointing.

C. Disappear if you like - I answer public comments in public.

 

For the record, I've been in this thread since virtually the beginning, and the OP is one of my friends. My TWSBI 540 is still in constant use, and I've just picked up a Mini. I wish it were the car instead of the pen, but whatta ya gonna do?

[Bex66]

I've only had 2 TWSBIs. The purple 580AL was returned because it was too big and top-heavy for me, but for no other reason - it looked lovely and wrote beautifully. I would highly recommend it for someone who likes a heavier or posted feel.

 

My Diamond Mini (yes, I wish mine were the car, too, but hey ho) is in constant use, inked up with a variety of green inks for marking students' work. It is wonderful and tolerates the cheap paper often used by students (unlike some of my more expensive gold-nibbed FPs)

I've had it for about 18 months and it still looks like new. It travels with me every day and shows no sign of wear, cracks or other problems, though I do baby all my pens.

 

I have a medium and an EF nib, so I interchange them, depending on my mood. The EF is a dry writer (I know, it's been said numerous times before) so I use the M more often as I love to see the ink shading.