Thoughts On The Twsbi Vac 700

[yogalarva]

Sorry about the sub-par pictures. It appears I scuffed up the lens on my iPhone and that is my only camera, so I’m doing my best. This is not meant to be a formal review, but rather an overview of a pen that I’m really enjoying. The ink shown in all of these pictures is Noodler’s Upper Ganges Blue, which I have become quite fond of and is great for a demonstrator because it doesn’t look like just black in in the barrel.

 

Overall

I think this pen is wonderful and I would gladly buy it again. But, it’s not for everyone…

 

Appearance

 

The Vac is a goofy looking pen, no doubt about that. The cap and filling knob have facets while the barrel does not, the clip is brushed and all other metal parts are shiny, there’s a strange bulbous bit in the middle, etc.

But somehow it all winds up just working for me. While some may be annoyed that it is only available in various shades of demonstrator, I am too distracted by watching my ink slosh around to be bothered…

Filling

Admittedly, the vacuum filling mechanism was a major reason I got this pen. I’m still getting used to it, but it is effective and a fun little novelty. Also, if you want to fill from a small sample it is easy to fill with a blunt tipped syringe without any mess.

The pen is also really easy to take apart so that you can thoroughly clean all the little parts out when you change inks. It’s so slick and makes me want to start taking apart other pens…

Nib

I bought this pen with a 1.1 mm stub which was buttah smooth and very wet. And a bit too broad for my daily writing so I switched to a M. Still very smooth and no flow problems at all except for Salix, which seems to just be a bad fit for this pen. I’m glad that, at least in my limited sample size of N = 2, I have not experienced the horrible flow issues that other people report with TWSBIs.

General writing experience

I think this is so far my favorite pen to write with. It fits my hand very well (no hint of the issues I feared with step from section to barrel), good weight, nice nibs that are easy to swap, and a big ink capacity. Not sure what else I could ask for!

This pen was purchased with my own money and I am not being compensated for this review in any way. All opinions expressed above are my own and you are free to disagree with them if you want.

[Djehuty]

Thank you for an excellent review. I'm very happy with my TWSBI (their first piston-filler, I forget the number), and this one's on my list as well. This review just confirms it.

[Betweenthelines]

Nice.. do you post it?

[yogalarva]

Nice.. do you post it?

 

I do not, but I don't post any of my pens. Not really sure why, but I don't and Vac is no exception. Plus, it is waaayyyyyy too long posted. The cap does post very securely, but i can't imagine it being comfortable for anyone in that state...

[chad.trent]

I only wish it was slightly smaller. Not the size of the Mini or anythig. But if it was like 80% of it's size I'd carry it a lot more. As it is, it's borderline too big for me.

[ctt1wbw]

They are releasing a Vac Mini sometime soon. I have this one on my list. I was going to buy one this morning, but already have a TWSBI 580 which I love, but I needed a new razor and some blades, so I bought a Merkur d/e razor from Amazon.

[rwilsonedn]

Delightful review! Thanks. Sometimes it is nice to skip the weights and measures and just get to the subjective things that really matter.

ron

[PDW]

Good to see a personal, subjective view as well as the facts - thanks. And, at least on my monitor, the images look fine so you don't need to apologise

[Scribblesoften]

Excellent review. Thank you for posting it. This is the TWSBI that fits my hand best. I would not have thought it from the appearance with the big step, but it just does.

[sjones581]

I just can't get into my Vac 700. I ink it up and it writes great, nice nib, good flow, etc. but I empty it and put it away. I don't like the pen (it is fun to take apart though!) and it is not in my rotation. I can't put my finger on why I don't like it.

[WDP4BAAZ]

Thanks for a fabulous review followed by nice pictures as well .

 

I got a "Mini" & will buy a Vac700 soon .

 

Regards ,

 

BAAZ

[Bill Broome]

I really like my Vac700.

[Clive Andrew]

I recently purchased a Vac700 amber, inked it with Diamine Ancient Copper, lovely combination, one of my favorite pens that i use daily.

 

Clive Andrew.

[RLTodd]

I don't care for mine, it gets a bit fiddly.

I bought a Mini and I find it just about perfect.

Just personal preference, but I think I can see why Sheaffer quit making Vacs for Touchdowns.

[FOUR X FOUR]

The value of this pen is much greater than its modest retail cost