So, Has Anyone's Twsbi Not Broken?

[JLukeW]

I've had 5 of my 8 Twsibs break from relatively normal use.

 

Edit: I should really clarify this statement.

 

I've owned 3 Diamond 540s, 2 580s, and 3 Twsbi Minis.

 

1 Mini, both 580s, and one 540 all cracked between the front and back plastic sections (broken threads, cracked plastic, or similar) resulting in uncontrollable leaks (despite silicon grease and other efforts to fix them). I received one free replacement early on from TWSBI (their service is great), but didn't bother on the others. They've been binned (except for the nibs, which I had custom-ground to stub italics).

 

Why did this happen? I filled most of my pens with an eyedropper (so I can use mixed CMYK fountain pen ink). The cracks never seemed to happen when I was twisting them back on... the cracks would appear later, or the leaks would be delayed. Very strange.

 

I'm left with 2 540s and 1 Mini. The mini has no damage, but both 540s have hairline cracks along the back plastic casing, near where you turn the end to draw up ink.

 

Despite all these problems, the TWSBI demonstrators remain my favourite pens.

Edited August 10, 2015 by JLukeW

[EBUCKTHORN]

TWSBIs present such a dilemma! There is so much to like about them, some of us have encountered few, or no, problems and, yet, others have had such poor results. Do any of our veteran FPN folks recall ever witnessing a similar situation with another brand, or model?

[JGT]

I've used a TWSBI 580 for 2 years with a Pendleton Brown BLS 1.1mm nib. I bought 2 more for my grandsons, we've never had a problem whatsoever. They just keep on going with whatever ink we put in them. My experience has all been positive!!

[chad.trent]

I'm getting ready to send my Classic back to TWSBI. It started leaking around the ink window, so I put a little silicone grease on the threads. That helped, but now it's leaking where the feed goes into the section.

 

I've heard nothing but good things about TWSBI's customer service, so hopefully it will be a quick and easy fix.

[pajaro]

I have a 530 that I bought NOS for $20 on ebay. I have had it at least a year, and there are no problems. The pen has been inked the whole time. Sometimes I leave it for months idle and then the pen starts right off if I use it. I think it's an extraordinary pen. The fine nib is almost as nice as some gold Pelikans. Posting the cap does make it feel a bit clumsy.

[TXKat]

I've not ready the entire thread through, so pitchforks are acceptable, but I'm now curious...

 

I have 1 TWSBI 580 clear. Are the cracks happening only in certain colors, some colors more than others? Mine (knock on wood) is fine (for the moment). Are certain inks the culprit maybe?

[JonSzanto]

Nothing to do with inks.

[NewPenMan]

What I get from reading all the comments is that TWSBI owners love their pens. They are good looking pens with great features.

 

And, TWSBI pens crack. It's simply what they do. To me, it doesn't mitigate the situation that twsbi's crack when you screw the cap on; that is what one does with a pen.

 

be like saying oh, it's a great airplane except when you have to put the landing gear up; then the wings fall off. But other than that, it's a great plane!

 

Whatever spell twsbi pens put on their owners, it feels like cracked-twsbi owners accept fully the cracking and they love those pens anyway.

 

To me, "twsbi" is a warning label.

[Freddy]

This continues to be a fascinating read...............

 

Thanks!

 

Fred

 

The inconsequence is manifest.............................

[Jamerelbe]

@NewPenMan,you may be onto something - I have 6 TWSBIs, and probably won't stop there: I love the way they look, feel and write, and the swappability of their nib assemblies. I've had one TWSBI crack thus far - the cap on my Mini - but have contacted TWSBI with self-caused problems too (damaging a nib through my own stupidity), and found them very responsive.

 

The main difference between my experience and your airplane analogy is that, so far, cracking in my pens has not been life-threatening (!) - and I have enough additional pens that if I have to take one out of commission, I can do so. And I know that as soon as I have a problem, TWSBI will help me get my pen back "up in the air" with a minimum of fuss.

[NewPenMan]

The part of the analogy that's applicable is not whether lives are lost but about a fail in material resulting from normal pen usage which seems to include just sitting on a desk.

 

Twsbi appears to take care of its customers without fuss. ..provided they don't have "too many" issues. After that it seems they aren't so customer - friendly.

 

Seems twsbi's business model is to get people so hooked on the looks of the pens that they'll willingly spend more money to buy new pens rather than demand that twsbi stand behind their products.

 

Cheers

Edited August 29, 2015 by NewPenMan

[Jamerelbe]

The part of the analogy that's applicable is not whether lives are lost but about a fail in material resulting from normal pen usage which seems to include just sitting on a desk.

 

Twsbi appears to take care of its customers without fuss. ..provided they don't have "too many" issues. After that it seems they aren't so customer - friendly.

 

Seems twsbi's business model is to get people so hooked on the looks of the pens that they'll willingly spend more money to buy new pens rather than demand that twsbi stand behind their products.

 

Cheers

 

Yeah, I got that the analogy was to do with breakage during normal usage, rather than risk to life and limb - but it also appealed to my sense of humour...

 

I think TWSBI's business model is to hook people on look *and writing experience*, as well as the appeal of interchangeable nibs (for the Diamond 580) and the tinkerer's desire to "see how it works" and to pull it apart. For me, that's a potent cocktail (I would never dream of pulling apart some of my pricier pens "just for interest's sake"). To be fair to them, I think they *are* trying hard to address cracking issues in their new line of pens - but for whatever the reason (maybe the choice of material and the manufacturing process) there's still an unacceptably high volume of duds making it into virtual (and real) retailers' display cabinets.

[Occipital Lobe]

I have a 580 and a micarta v2.

Both Work flawlessly and don´t seem to be fragile.

The nib on the Micarta is stiff as a nail though, whereas the nib on the 580 is just a Little springy.

Sadly - this changed yesterday when the threaded end of the section snapped off and stayed in the barrel.

The pen had started leaking a few weeks ago, and continued to do so, even with generous amounts of silicone grease on the threads.

 

9 minutes after my desperate mail to customer service I received a polite and helpful reply, and a new section is on the way.

I just ground the medium nib to a perfect cursive italic, so the timing was horrible,

[EBUCKTHORN]

With which pen did this happen? Thanks.

[Occipital Lobe]

It was the 580 that gave up.

[pajaro]

My 530 clear plastic pen has no cracks. Maybe I am not using it enough.

[ingolf]

My 580 Clear writes fine (1.5 stub nib) and looks fine.

Even it´s low-cost (compared to other brands) the pen is a great experience (but I don´t love it ... I love my wife ).

[mhosea]

Do any of our veteran FPN folks recall ever witnessing a similar situation with another brand, or model?

Pens? Not sure. It's hard to get people to agree on anything. OTOH, it definitely does remind me of a certain, very-popular brand of ink.

 

Just have a single 540, amber. Bought it at a pen show because I wanted the wrench for my Pelikans. But I like it. It feels good in the hand and doesn't dry out fast. I think molded plastics can have stresses that might result in earlier cracks in some pens and not others. OTOH, after disassembling my 540 once, I decided that nobody should be removing the section on the 540s unless they want to crack something eventually.

Edited September 5, 2015 by mhosea

[alc3261]

I do not make a habit of taking my TWSBI apart and I have never had one crack.

[FOUR X FOUR]

None of mine have ever broken.