Buying my first TWSBI pen

[marcelo]

On 2/7/2022 at 2:33 AM, Kilrymont said:

The vac mini is a real swine for spontaneous parts breakages. After I replace the now two piece cap NONE of its main structural components will be original. The ink chamber cracked inside weeks of purchase.  Caps and piston controls shear off at the chrome ring. I'm a week short of 70 and have never broken any valued item from overstressing it or otherwise mishandling it. I'm careful with stuff, Did not stop these parts from breaking. No ECO in my possession has failed in any way, although I found their nibs to be less reliably pleasant to use than the Diamond or Vac nibs. I have one with a M nib that writes nearly as well as my Souverans, and for the price has to be the best value piston filler I have. But its stablemate has an F nib that's torture to use.

I think that ECOS are a lucky dip, Structurally, they seem better than their rich relations, but with less reliably good nibs.

But ALL Twsbi pens benefit from a bit of silicone grease once or twice a year. Unless you are confident don't strip out the threaded piston advancing pushrod as its reassembly can be challenging. Keeping the cylinder clean and lightly lubed will preserve the airtightness of the piston, which if too dry can let in air from above and give rise to the puzzling dripping-nib syndrome that has caught out many users.

 

"I'm a week short of 70 and have never broken any valued item from overstressing it or otherwise mishandling it. I'm careful with stuff, Did not stop these parts from breaking."

I'm 52 and always behaved like you with stuff, even when I was a kid, but the TWSBI CR guy said to me that "As long as you are careful with not over tightening the cap or the grip section into the barrel, cracks are rarely going to develop." Mm-hmm.

[Amontillado]

I've been reluctant to admit what I've bought. I got fascinated by fountain pens last fall. Today, my fleet includes two Vac 700R's, a Vac Mini, an Eco-T, and a Go. My third 700R is due on Tuesday. The idea is to write with the 700R's. I need a fine nib for my daily work log, essays are nicer with a medium, and I like a stub for signing stuff.

 

So far, from an uneducated point of view, it's all been good with TWSBI's. The fine nibs in a 700R and my Vac Mini are particularly smooth. I wouldn't have suspected they would work so well.

 

Assuming my TWSBI's auger into the cornfield after a while, what should I look for? I want either piston or vacuum fill pens, and like the idea of the inverted fill ink bottles. I suppose the Pineider traveling inkwell would serve that purpose, if it fit future pens.

 

In the meantime, my TWSBI vac pens are serving me well. With the caveat my tastes are provincial, I'm enjoying them.

[Jamerelbe]

3 hours ago, Amontillado said:

I've been reluctant to admit what I've bought. I got fascinated by fountain pens last fall. Today, my fleet includes two Vac 700R's, a Vac Mini, an Eco-T, and a Go. My third 700R is due on Tuesday. The idea is to write with the 700R's. I need a fine nib for my daily work log, essays are nicer with a medium, and I like a stub for signing stuff.

 

So far, from an uneducated point of view, it's all been good with TWSBI's. The fine nibs in a 700R and my Vac Mini are particularly smooth. I wouldn't have suspected they would work so well.

 

Assuming my TWSBI's auger into the cornfield after a while, what should I look for? I want either piston or vacuum fill pens, and like the idea of the inverted fill ink bottles. I suppose the Pineider traveling inkwell would serve that purpose, if it fit future pens.

 

In the meantime, my TWSBI vac pens are serving me well. With the caveat my tastes are provincial, I'm enjoying them.

 

The problem with threads like this one is that they "bring out of the woodwork" people who've had bad experiences with TWSBI - but not so much those who've had good experiences.  And that can skew the perspective.  I've had a couple of my TWSBIs crack, despite my care of the pens - and TWSBI have always been kind enough to send me replacement parts.  I have other TWSBIs that after 5-10 years of ownership continue to be crack-free.  I like these pens enough that I was prepared to take the risk on buying a couple in 2021 (when they were on special at an Australian store) - and haven't been disappointed (yet).  My latest acquisition was a Vac 700R, which I've been wanting to try out for years!

 

I'm not trying to minimise anyone else's negative experiences with TWSBI - I've had enough experience of well-cared-for pens cracking to know this is a reality.  And though my experiences with TWSBI support have always been positive, I've seen enough replies on these threads to know that their main USA customer care rep can sometimes get combative.  But in the interests of fairness, I just want to point out that (a) many of TWSBI's pens *do* last a long time without problem (at least mine have!), and (b) they're not *always* hostile or unsympathetic when people report problems with their pens.  

[maclink]

13 hours ago, Amontillado said:

So far, from an uneducated point of view, it's all been good with TWSBI's. The fine nibs in a 700R and my Vac Mini are particularly smooth. I wouldn't have suspected they would work so well.

Your experience is yours.  Each is unique although there may be similarities. Enjoy your pens. You are not alone with your problem/free experience.  

[Amontillado]

1 hour ago, maclink said:

Your experience is yours.  Each is unique although there may be similarities. Enjoy your pens. You are not alone with your problem/free experience.  

 

I ordered the third TWSBI 700R to have a medium nib at the ready. I prefer medium over fine, and only use a fine nib when I need to write small.

 

My Opus 88 Omar had a fine nib with a minor problem. The fins would glut up with ink. It never caused a problem other than worrying me it might start drooling ink. It never did, I should have just ignored it.

 

Yesterday I got a medium nib for the Omar. Wonder of wonders, it has no ink glutting issues and writes fine.

 

Belts and suspenders. Two medium nib pens, hopefully both good writers, as soon as the new Vac 700R gets here.

 

Solar flares can take out electronics, Russian hackers can take out the Internet, and I've got a good supply of ink and paper.

 

I will not lose my voice. 🙂

 

 

 

[mauckcg]

15 hours ago, Jamerelbe said:

 

The problem with threads like this one is that they "bring out of the woodwork" people who've had bad experiences with TWSBI - but not so much those who've had good experiences.  And that can skew the perspective.  I've had a couple of my TWSBIs crack, despite my care of the pens - and TWSBI have always been kind enough to send me replacement parts.  I have other TWSBIs that after 5-10 years of ownership continue to be crack-free.  I like these pens enough that I was prepared to take the risk on buying a couple in 2021 (when they were on special at an Australian store) - and haven't been disappointed (yet).  My latest acquisition was a Vac 700R, which I've been wanting to try out for years!

 

I'm not trying to minimise anyone else's negative experiences with TWSBI - I've had enough experience of well-cared-for pens cracking to know this is a reality.  And though my experiences with TWSBI support have always been positive, I've seen enough replies on these threads to know that their main USA customer care rep can sometimes get combative.  But in the interests of fairness, I just want to point out that (a) many of TWSBI's pens *do* last a long time without problem (at least mine have!), and (b) they're not *always* hostile or unsympathetic when people report problems with their pens.  

There are some serious TWSBI haters here.  I haven't had any issues with the 12 I own, the longest of which is 5 years now.  Even if something cracks, TWSBI willingly replaces the bits needed.

[marcelo]

On 2/18/2022 at 12:38 PM, mauckcg said:

There are some serious TWSBI haters here.  I haven't had any issues with the 12 I own, the longest of which is 5 years now.  Even if something cracks, TWSBI willingly replaces the bits needed.

 

I do not consider myself a TWSBI hater, but, like others here, a "facter". 😉

[Jagamov]

I just received my 580 in the mail today. It filled up easily and writes like a dream. Much better than it’s prices suggests. Time will tell if it has any issues, but so far so good. 

[amberleadavis]

I have about 30 TWSBIs and the two that get the most use are the Gos.  They are easy to fill, if something breaks you aren't upset and they are resilient about not leaking. 

[Distaff]

On 4/11/2022 at 6:19 PM, Jagamov said:

I just received my 580 in the mail today. It filled up easily and writes like a dream. Much better than it’s prices suggests. Time will tell if it has any issues, but so far so good. 

Same here, mini version.   Arrived today.   The instructions baffled me.  YouTube to the rescue - the guy there just filled his up.  He seemed to know what he was doing,  so I did the same.  Silicone and wrench remain untouched, still tucked in the packaging.   Very smooth writer in extra fine.   I wish it was finer (I always do).  Paper is Clairefontaine, and ink is Massachusetts 54.  My next order will include a "drier" ink.   

 

So far, I like it.

[Jagamov]

10 hours ago, Distaff said:

Same here, mini version.   Arrived today.   The instructions baffled me.  YouTube to the rescue - the guy there just filled his up.  He seemed to know what he was doing,  so I did the same.  Silicone and wrench remain untouched, still tucked in the packaging.   Very smooth writer in extra fine.   I wish it was finer (I always do).  Paper is Clairefontaine, and ink is Massachusetts 54.  My next order will include a "drier" ink.   

 

So far, I like it.

 

Nice!

 

So far I'm still really liking it, but it does have a tendency to have hard starts and does start to tend to run drier during longer writing sessions.

 

I can barely twist the piston and it goes back to being super wet again, but inevitably it will starting to lighten up.  Very weird.  I plan to give it a good cleaning with a touch of dish soap and see it that helps.