(Please Vote) Has Your Twsbi Cracked?

[Cyber6]

All my 540's died (4 of them, broken clip, cracked barrel, broken cap, and broken neck/feed thingy)... my older 530's have stayed in good health (2 of them)... My 580's are fine (a bunch of them .. between my girls and me ... maybe 5-6).. and my mini (which is old).. is fine.

 

 

I do believe the poll shows a structural flaw on the 540's ... All broken parts were quickly replaced by TWSBI.

 

 

 

C.

[Mags]

Just my 540 cracked. I emailed twice for a replacement from Phillip and he acknowledged and ignored me. So....I am accepting that TWSBI is a lower cost producer....with no customer support per my experience. If the pens work they are good value. I have accepted the fact I bought a $50 pen and it lasted 3 years before it became useless. I have had no issues with the 580 Rose Gold, the Mini, the other 540 and the Eco. My one regret....I should have just grabbed a Micarta and two minis!!!!!

[reicel]

1 VAC, 1 mini and 4 580's - no cracks. And I carried the mini in my bag for about 18 months.

[mehandiratta]

I have 4 twsbi none cracked...

I use them very carefully...

 

Classic

580 Al orange

Vac 700 sapphire

Eco

[Drone]

  On 8/26/2015 at 7:15 PM, T4TEXAS said:

I have a similar issue with my black Eco. Ink has coated the visible nib under the grip/section plastic. It does not show on the feed side under the plastic, and is not leaking out of the pen. I do not know what this means. Are others's Ecos doing something similar.

 

This sounds normal to me. In my Eco, the whole area where the nib fits into the section is full of ink, as it should be in my opinion.

[T4TEXAS]

Yes, question resolved on August 26th.

[butangmucat]

  On 8/4/2015 at 7:09 PM, Koyote said:

My TWSBI Classics didn't crack, since they are made of metal. They leaked, they didn't write consistently, but they didn't crack.

 

My 540 did crack, and I could not get the replacement part installed so I threw it in the trash. Life is too short to deal with junk.

 

My Classic leaked because of a crack in the nib housing which finally broke apart. Got it replaced in three days including transit.

[MegWesley]

My Classic has a microscopic little crack on the grip holder. Granted, I did accidentally drop that section in the very first cleaning and I don't actually know if I can get that part replaced or not. I would like to since it does leak for a while after I fill it up so I don't use it anymore. It's very sad since it is a really nice pen and I like it a lot.

[Ernest]

My TWSBI 540's section has cracked again and again.

I have stopped asking for replacement.

This is what I have done to the section.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Ernest

[Ernest]

I used acrylic ink and finished it off with my wife's clear nail polish.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Ernest

[ScienceChick]

That's a clever, and attractive, fix.

[amberleadavis]

Great idea. I wonder if it would have caused any problems to pain the inside instead of the outside. I love those type of paintings.

[bijou3owl]

Update on my Mini: the feed broke in three different places, and part of it came off and got stuck in the bit that screws in to the barrel. I couldnt get it out despite my best efforts, so I cant even just get a new nib unit - the whole pen is kaput. I threw it in the trash with glee, as the pen has never quite worked right since I got it last year, despite being sent to TWSBI to get it checked out.

[storyteller]

Have had a TWSBI Diamond 530 since 2011 with no cracks or other problems.

 

My wife uses it nearly every day.

 

Must be doing something right.

[FountainPages]

Sadly, all four of the Mini's I have owned have cracked. When 50USD can still buy a fair amount of groceries to feed someone, I don't think Twizbee pens all that inexpensive and I won't buy another.

[lacie]

I've been carrying around my 580AL in my bag everyday since August with no issues so far.

 

I would have preferred to get a mini but all the cracking reports put me off it.

[DonLeone]

1 year in on my 580 AL and no issues. It was even handled by a complete doofus who tried to squish the cap on as if it were a marker or something.

 

The way I use my fountain pens has evolved though. I have this pen pouch that holds 12 pens (2x6 and then there's room for loose things) somewhat securely with a single elastic strap that does very well with really big pens. Most straps stretch to their maximum. Sadly the pouches are no longer made. I have a felt A4 sized cloth that's normally used to line boxes but I got the raw cloths at an arts supplies store. I use it to separate the pens from the loose pens, which are mostly plastic brush pens.

 

Whenever I use my pens I take out the cloth and place it on the table. Then my pens that I use will land on that cloth, never on the table. The cloths are Burgundy red and my pens and the cloths contrast with their surroundings so people immediately notice these are not your regular pens and everyone steers clear from them.

 

This all means my pens never or rarely suffer impacts, get little to no scratches and no doofuses dare grab them. So when I say my 580 hasn't showed any issues, keep in mind that I'm treating my pens like newborn babies.

[arcadeflow]

I've been wondering if people with broken TWSBIs have ever had a pen of another brand break too.

[Jamerelbe]

  On 12/8/2015 at 3:37 AM, arcadeflow said:

I've been wondering if people with broken TWSBIs have ever had a pen of another brand break too.

 

Yep: I had a Platinum Preppy (yellow highlighter) that developed a crack in its nib; and a couple of Jinhaos that had problems with their inner caps cracking. In neither case did I expect, ask for or receive a replacement, though - whereas TWSBI went out of their way to help me with the Mini that developed a crack in its cap - and also provided me with a replacment 580 nib when I damaged it (my fault entirely).

[dan in montreal]

  On 12/8/2015 at 3:59 AM, Jamerelbe said:

 

Yep: I had a Platinum Preppy (yellow highlighter) that developed a crack in its nib; and a couple of Jinhaos that had problems with their inner caps cracking. In neither case did I expect, ask for or receive a replacement, though - whereas TWSBI went out of their way to help me with the Mini that developed a crack in its cap - and also provided me with a replacment 580 nib when I damaged it (my fault entirely).

Yes, however the Preppy is a 2 dollar pen and most of the popular Jinhaos are less than 5 dollars. I for one expect the Preppy to break and also expect the Jinhao inner caps to crack. These are basically disposable pens. I would not pay 30.00 let alone 50.00 bucks for a disposable pen.

Arcadeflow, in this price range, no, I've never had / seen this type of breakeage.