Twsbi Eco: Fine Or Extra-Fine?

[NewPenMan]

On nearly all my pens, I prefer the line I get by writing in "reverse," that is, with the feed side pointing up, and the metal of the nib facing the paper.

 

Ahab, Safari, Jinhao 159, Waterman Phileas...all give me a better line (to my liking) in reverse.

 

Now, I understand that Asian, or at least Japanese nibs are a grade finer than European; so that a Japanese Fine is a European extra-fine.

 

So, as I get ready to order a TWSBI Eco, given what I've said, should I get the Fine? or the EF?

 

My hand is such that I need a fine line, else my letters "fill in" and my handwriting becomes much harder to read, and I'd be getting the Eco to by my main "writer."

 

I also use pens for drawing, which is the other purpose I put to Ahabs...

 

I need to balance between a fine line and scratchiness and I don't know whether the Eco's Fine is smooth or not.

Thank you for any info!

[PaperQueen]

I just compared my Lamy Vista (F nib) and TWSBI Eco (F nib). The Vista is essentially a Safari demonstrator, so it seemed a fair comparison.

 

IMHO, the TWSBI (F) is a hair broader than the Lamy (F) nib. The TWSBI (F) provides a bit of feedback, but nothing excessive; just enough to know you're in contact with the surface.

 

If planning to use the pen in a typical "nib up" position, I suggest getting the TWSBI XF nib.

 

Can't really weigh in on the inverted writing position since everything feels scratchy to me that way.

 

Good luck!

Edited August 10, 2015 by PaperQueen

[Chazzy91]

I love fine nibs, and given your small writing style, I'd encourage you go with the EF. I have a mini with EF And Medium nibs, and the medium is akin to a Kaweco Fine if a comparison to German nibs is of use. Also, my Safari EF is a firehouse in comparison to the TWISBI EF. I assume the same nibs as come with the MINI come with the ECO.

 

On a different note, however, I'd encourage you to try a Pilot Metropolitan with a fine nib. I was initially opposed, but they are incredibly smooth, affordable, and I'd guess 40% finer than my MINi EF. Good luck!

[EBUCKTHORN]

I've found my ECO fine nib to be a very smooth writer, even just a bit smoother than the Mini fine I have. The only ink I've used so far is Waterman Audacious Red.

[T4TEXAS]

My Eco writes as well upside down as it does right side up.

 

Edit: Ignore the above statement. Wishful thinking exceeded experience.

Edited August 11, 2015 by T4TEXAS

[Jamerelbe]

I have three TWSBI's with EF nibs - a 540, a 580, and a Mini, so I think I can say this with some 'authority': TWSBI nibs are made by JoWo (a German company), they're 'fine-to extra-fine' writers not ultra-extra-fines, and would run a little wider than a Pilot or Platinum EF nib. So if you're tossing up between EF and F because you want your pen to lay down a thinner line, I'd definitely go for an EF. Mine are all quite smooth writers - just a little bit of feedback (which is normal for a finer nib), but genuinely pleasurable to write with.

[GhostAsset]

I can totally relate. I love fine nibs and with my TWSBI Classic EF I get a line that is actually a little bit thicker than with my Lamy Safari or Al-Star. Nemosine has a good fine nib in their Singularity and Fission models; the nib comes in a #6 if you need to swap it into another pen.

 

All in all tho, I'd agree with the Pilot Metropolitan recommendation for a fine nib, it's the finest line I've seen on a fountain pen and I've not found it scratchy at all. Now if I could find a pen that wrote like the Metropolitan, had the look of a TWSBI and the feel of a Lamy, I would buy it in a heartbeat! Best of luck to you!

[deacondavid]

I tend to write very small letters most of the time, so I favor nibs on the finer end of things for my daily writing. I have EF nibs in four TWSBI models - a Diamond 580, a pair of Vac 700s and an Eco. All are smooth writers for a the type of nib (the finer you get, the more likely it is that the nib will give you feedback...). As is mentioned above, TWSBI uses nibs from Jowo (a German nib manufacturer), so their sizes are in the "European" end of things - wider than the corresponding nib size from a Japanese pen company.

 

While the TWSBI EF is a nice writer, if you're looking for a thin line, you really need to consider a Japanese pen. The Platinum Preppy is not expensive and comes with an EF nib (.18mm according to nibs.com), which may be the thinnest line nib available for such a low price. The Pilot Metropolitan Fine nib is .35mm (according to the same resource), which is about the same size as the TWSBI/Jowo EF. My current favorite thin line nib is the Ultra Extra Fine available from Platinum (mine is in a 3776 Century). It is a surprisingly smooth-writing .1mm and is incredibly precise. I have the Extra Fine nibs from Pilot and Sailor, too. They're all good pens, but the Platinum UEF is the winner for me - I have recently decided to get a second one at The Dallas Pen Show.

 

This is not intended to take anything away from the TWSBI EF nib. As mentioned above, I have four of them and use them pretty frequently. The TWSBI pens are a great value and tend to be one of the first pens I hand to someone I want to understand why I use fountain pens. I mention the Japanese nibs because it sounds like you're really searching for something very thin (especially if you're inverting the nibs). I hope you find the ideal nib for your writing style.

[juneping]

i recently just bought a TWSBI eco EF nib. the lines are thicker than Lamy safari EF.

the thing i want to mention is, with lamy, i could see the shading of the ink but with TWSBI i can't. it does write smoother and wetter...just no shading which is my biggest motivation of using fountain pens.....

[Torrilin]

There’s considerable batch variation in Lamy nibs. I’ve got several pairs of the same marked width. None of them match, even if I use the same ink. And they don’t match if I use them on the same pen body. I can’t 100% swear that this happens with the xf Safari nibs, but since I have a Safari xf that compares favorably to a Pilot xf I’m pretty sure it does...

 

I don’t have as large a sample of Jowo nibs, but so far the 3 Jowo xf nibs I’ve used vary more in line width from ink than anything else. They’re a good match to a Pilot or Platinum fine. And the Jowo nibs match very closely if they are using the same ink.

[galeos]

I relate to the OP, and prefer Fine or EF Pilot nibs.

 

The EF nib on my TWSBI mini writes dry, and lays down a line like an EF Pilot.

However the EF nib on my TWSBI Eco has perfect ink flow, but the result is thicker; not quite as thick as a pilot M, but close. I don't have any M pilots anymore, so I use my TWSBI Eco EF in that role!

 

The tipping material on the two nibs are visibly different, with the Eco's tip having more material. I have no idea which TWSBI EF is more typical, this was simply my experience.

Edited August 18, 2018 by galeos

[prashant.tikekar]

I have several TWSBIs in nib widths from EF, F and M on. Vac 700,540/580 and Eco and all nibs write in proper line width matching stamped width on them. Also all the pens wrote as per my expectations out of the box. Maybe I was lucky almost 8 times.