Twsbi Next Pen "economic Model" 2012/10/04

[savingbirds]

When I was a student I used almost exclusively piston fillers, so there's no problem at all, the large ink capacity and the ability to see how much ink is left is a very appealing idea.

 

By the way, B2theBreach, the 540 is hardly the least costly piston filler, not even counting vintage ones or old stocks, they make less expensive ones in India. The least costly one is the Serwex 162, Kevin at FPR retails them at $5 each plus $2 P&P per order.

Indian pens are decent, but very few are high quality. As a student, I went through about three (1 piston, 2 ED) in a month. They just don't hold up. Higher-end pens like the 540, virtually any MontBlanc or Pelikan, or even the Reforn 1745 can hold up to the daily abuse of students (and adults alike).

 

Any more news on the development of this Speedy? And can we expect the mini's to be out by the end of the month? (fingers crossed)

 

If no miracles happen and we follow the current development cycle, you can probably expect it in about a year, perhaps later.

Edited October 12, 2012 by savingbirds

[79spitfire]

Albatross??

 

Seriously? You wouldn't want this you'd run the risk of dooming the entire line!

 

The TWSBI 100 has a lot of merit.

[paultyler_82]

 

Quartz is good, Zircon not because of being a fake diamond.

Crystal is no good, has a connotation of snorting stuff up the nose.

The many shades of Quartz, from white to clear and other colors too.

 

 

I kinda thought people might feel that way about Zircon, but it's not actually fake diamonds, Cubic Zircona is made from Zircon. I was actually more thinking about Zircon's properties... it's a very commonplace mineral, found everywhere (like this pen will hopefully be,) relatively hard on the mohs scale denoting durability, found in colorless and a range of colors. Unfortunately, I think the thought and implication of Cubic Zirconia will probably hurt the name and ultimately, Quartz is probably better since it has similar properties. Zircon is a neat, strong name though.

 

A thought on the numbering system... I totally agree with the first digit denoting the pen's place in the lineup and with all released pens, this is already the case:

5xx - Diamond

7xx - Vac700

8xx - Micarta

Now... this is very Euro-Automotive, but it works, it clearly illustrates your product line. What about the next two digits. Why don't you make them mean something other than simply a revision number or a generational number... similar to Nissan's number/letter codes in engine naming? An example that already works with the current lineup:

x40 - Piston Fill

x00 - Vacuum Fill

x05 - Cartridge/Converter

 

With that naming convention, I think this pen would have a pretty good name as the TWSBI 140 Quartz.

 

Edit - I know this sort of doesn't fit the older 530... but since it's not a current product, it matters less if it doesn't fit the system. Best to start a system like this now while the product line is small and everything still fits the scheme. It also allows for some fluidity to develop other fillers in an existing product/design line with less confusion:

140 Quartz - Piston Fill Quartz line pen

105 Quartz - C/C Quartz line pen

800 Micarta - Vac Fill Micarta line pen

Edited October 12, 2012 by paultyler_82

[rudyhou]

very nice i may already have diamond 360 but i'm still craving this one, especially the clear demonstrator one.

[duende]

How about The TWSBI Beetle?

[N2theBreach]

 

 

A thought on the numbering system... I totally agree with the first digit denoting the pen's place in the lineup and with all released pens, this is already the case:

5xx - Diamond

7xx - Vac700

8xx - Micarta

Now... this is very Euro-Automotive, but it works, it clearly illustrates your product line. What about the next two digits. Why don't you make them mean something other than simply a revision number or a generational number... similar to Nissan's number/letter codes in engine naming? An example that already works with the current lineup:

x40 - Piston Fill

x00 - Vacuum Fill

x05 - Cartridge/Converter

 

With that naming convention, I think this pen would have a pretty good name as the TWSBI 140 Quartz.

 

Edit - I know this sort of doesn't fit the older 530... but since it's not a current product, it matters less if it doesn't fit the system. Best to start a system like this now while the product line is small and everything still fits the scheme. It also allows for some fluidity to develop other fillers in an existing product/design line with less confusion:

140 Quartz - Piston Fill Quartz line pen

105 Quartz - C/C Quartz line pen

800 Micarta - Vac Fill Micarta line pen

 

Once again, you get my vote! That would be so cool. There are always trade offs. They would give up creative names like Jolie, or Quartz. However, the brand name, TWSBI, is unique enough, itself, so I don't think it needs a catchy name. Another advantage is that it doesn't target any particular demographic. Johnny, the high school quarterback could brag about his TWSBI 140, and his grandmother could enjoy using hers to write notes on lacy paper to her friends (bragging about her grandson, the football star, of course )

[fabrimedeiros]

Someone suggested LamySafariKiller on FB

[mik86]

TWSBI alpha, twsbi classic, and twsbi 100 are all great names. I think some some differentiation from the 540 is a good thing because you dont want it to be a 540 killer! And, keeping it simple should let it be in the price range that you specified. That would be really nice.

 

I would be just as happy if you made a pen that focused around a large converter-- like the con70--or even a pen that took the con70. Like a black micarta(for staining issues) with a con70 converter or similar! Sorry, off topic.

[gks]

I do not like "Quartz" as the name. Sorry. Stick with the numbers. 100

[bailey philip]

I like the design....what caught my eye was the dark color of the second rendition with a black nib.

 

Very stealthy...solid black with a black STUB nib....

 

Mmmmm..stealthy look, black..... TWSBISR71 Blackbird.

[counterpt]

I get a few people hooked on fountain pens a year by giving them a safari, a converter, and a bottle of ink.

I hate doing it because the converter doesn't hold that much, and the ink window is nearly useless with the converter.

 

This could easily be the pen I give to people (mostly my students) to get them started on fountain pens.

 

I agree with others that it should be able to be posted (on the barrel not the piston knob).

 

Regarding the name, TWSBI Start?

[savingbirds]

Even though this is just a rough plan for a new pen, I am still anxious about it!

 

Will this new pen use the same nibs as the D540 or V700? It would be great if they used previous nibs, as I won't have to repurchase all of them!

[Jimmy James]

The shape of the nib in the render looks a lot to me like the #5 Bock nibs they're using, but who knows.

[Avetikus]

 

A thought on the numbering system... I totally agree with the first digit denoting the pen's place in the lineup and with all released pens, this is already the case:

5xx - Diamond

7xx - Vac700

8xx - Micarta

Now... this is very Euro-Automotive, but it works, it clearly illustrates your product line. What about the next two digits. Why don't you make them mean something other than simply a revision number or a generational number... similar to Nissan's number/letter codes in engine naming? An example that already works with the current lineup:

x40 - Piston Fill

x00 - Vacuum Fill

x05 - Cartridge/Converter

 

With that naming convention, I think this pen would have a pretty good name as the TWSBI 140 Quartz.

 

Edit - I know this sort of doesn't fit the older 530... but since it's not a current product, it matters less if it doesn't fit the system. Best to start a system like this now while the product line is small and everything still fits the scheme. It also allows for some fluidity to develop other fillers in an existing product/design line with less confusion:

140 Quartz - Piston Fill Quartz line pen

105 Quartz - C/C Quartz line pen

800 Micarta - Vac Fill Micarta line pen

 

+1 on the numbering system!

 

That said, having a numbering system does not mean you can't have a name as well. 'Quartz' seems a little gimmicky, and Zircon isn't going to be much better, but whatever name comes to the top, the numbers should be kept. It makes sense enough that Taylor makes some fairly decent guitars using a similar hierarchical system.

 

-Av

[Astrea]

+1 on using a numbering system...given how the other TWSBI pens are named, I think a consistent number system would be great.

 

Right now we've got the Diamond 540 (was 530, going to 580), the metal Diamond 850, and the Vac700, so this pen could go with the same name + number system. Don't really like Quartz or Zicron though, instead of echoing the 'Diamond' image I think it might be better to go with a different name since this is a brand new pen.