My Humble Twsbi Review

[Gojira]

$40 for the Twsbi Diamond 530 is very fair price. I'm really impressed with the build quality. It really feels like a more expensive pen. My fine nib is more on the dry side but has performed reliably so far.

 

How about a titanium Twsbi next? A titanium overlay over a clear demonstrator piston filler priced about $100-120...NOW that'd really.....really be mind-blowing!

[dhamma]

I just ordered one, it should arrive tomorrow morning. But I still think it's too expensive for Taiwan.

[cubic archon]

TWOOHZ-bee. TWUHZ-bee. Actually it's hard to get right, everybody's accents would differ... I wish I knew proper phonetic symbols.

Edited November 24, 2010 by cubic archon

[Lloyd]

TWOOHZ-bee. TWUHZ-bee. Actually it's hard to get right, everybody's accents would differ... I wish I knew proper phonetic symbols.

 

According to the seller mackie, it is pronounced "twis-bee".

[dhamma]

Right, it's like twist without the t (twis)and bee at the end!I guess it stands for tws= Taiwan's and bi= Chinese for pen = Taiwan's pen

[Soot]

They sell the pen for $ 36 and they want to raise the price end of December to $ 41. That's too expensive for Taiwan. I would buy more for a lower price.

 

I am curious, dhamma, how would you price it in Taiwan?

 

If you want something cheaper you could always go to Lee's and buy an NOS Pilot give-away for $10 (NT$300)...

Edited November 25, 2010 by Soot

[dhamma]

900-1000 NT would be nice! I think 1250 NT ( December price )is way too expensive for the most people in Taiwan. My co-teacher can't buy one, because he thinks it's too expensive for him! He just gets 20.000 NT a month.

[Soot]

900-1000 NT would be nice! I think 1250 NT ( December price )is way too expensive for the most people in Taiwan. My co-teacher can't buy one, because he thinks it's too expensive for him! He just gets 20.000 NT a month.

 

Unfortunately, that's the sad part about Taiwan's salary situation; they're really low when compared to other developed countries' standards. Living on a NT$20,000 salary and buying a NT$1250 pen is indeed hard to swallow, but what can you do? Save a little more this month, and buy it next month?

 

IMO, it's not the pen that is expensive but rather the salary in Taiwan is really low. The ironic thing is-- most everything in Taiwan is expensive (especially so when you are only earning NT$20,000/month).

Edited November 25, 2010 by Soot

[cocojj]

Some countries have higher standard of living than others, what may be "affordable" to the masses of one country might be a high-end product only the upper classes can buy in another. My TWSBI is an expensive pen to me, although I know it's an inexpensive pen to many in this forum. Same for, say, Lamy Safari, which is a "giveaway" pen for others. That's life, I suppose.

Edited November 26, 2010 by cocojj

[Gojira]

I'm actually very surprised that salaries in Taiwan are that low, very comparable to salaries here in Malaysia, which I'd consider to be less developed than Taiwan. What really shocks me is that my friend in Taipei told me that decent apartments within the city area are being sold around NT$50 million!

 

A Lamy Safari here would be considered expensive for the average person. Especially so since it's just A PEN. A Twsbi is definitely not cheap. But in comparison to say, a Pelikan M400, the Twsbi can easily hold its own. Just to compare, the M400 here costs 4 times the price of a Twsbi.

[dhamma]

I'm actually very surprised that salaries in Taiwan are that low, very comparable to salaries here in Malaysia, which I'd consider to be less developed than Taiwan. What really shocks me is that my friend in Taipei told me that decent apartments within the city area are being sold around NT$50 million!

 

A Lamy Safari here would be considered expensive for the average person. Especially so since it's just A PEN. A Twsbi is definitely not cheap. But in comparison to say, a Pelikan M400, the Twsbi can easily hold its own. Just to compare, the M400 here costs 4 times the price of a Twsbi.

For NT 50 Mill. you should be able to buy at least 2-3 decent apartments in Taipei.

 

I just got my twsbi! I inked it with Sailor Gentle Ink black and I have to say it's an impressive pen! It's quite heavy and big. It writes perfect just out of the box. The F nib is a little too fine for me, but not too bad.

I will use the pen today! It might be a perfect daily pen.

[Soot]

I'm actually very surprised that salaries in Taiwan are that low, very comparable to salaries here in Malaysia, which I'd consider to be less developed than Taiwan. What really shocks me is that my friend in Taipei told me that decent apartments within the city area are being sold around NT$50 million!

Your friend probably meant 5m... 50m, you could get an EXCELLENT apartment.

 

Just to get give you an idea of Taiwan's salary situation: a typical college grad straight out of college might only receive an average of 22k/months... so buying even an decent apartment is a huge task in itself. It's very difficult to buy a nest with mere salaries these days.

 

 

I just got my twsbi! I inked it with Sailor Gentle Ink black and I have to say it's an impressive pen! It's quite heavy and big. It writes perfect just out of the box. The F nib is a little too fine for me, but not too bad.

I will use the pen today! It might be a perfect daily pen.

Glad you like it, I hope that $1250 or whatever amount you spent was worth it.

[Gojira]

Aah...I must have gotten mixed up between NT$5 and NT$50 million.

 

The Twsbi is a surprising pen, isn't it? I was very, very pleasantly surprised at the weight and build quality. Mine is currently inked with Wancher Matcha...love the look of green ink swimming in the barrel. Let's hope they come up with more goodies soon!

[SignalboxCat]

Right, it's like twist without the t (twis)and bee at the end!I guess it stands for tws= Taiwan's and bi= Chinese for pen = Taiwan's pen

 

If you don't like the sound of that, I guess you could pronounce it the Welsh way......

 

"w" is a vowel in Welsh, although it can have 2 or 3 versions, it often takes the "oo" sound, hence "toos-bee" (toos like toots without the t), putting the emphasis on the second syllable

[joelchan]

It's Sheaffer .

 

 

Nothing to do with the pen, but that's a lovely color, may I ask what ink you're using?

[swmlon]

This pen with EF nib is becoming more and more my workhorse pen, above my Sailor 1911, Pelikan 605 and Lamy 2000, and this was way way cheaper than all of those.

It's currently inked wth Diamine Chocolate brown, and the flow is good, but the line is still fine which is amazing.

[Thomaparis]

I'm not sure it is the right place to ask...

I'm really interessed by this pen, a piston-filler and a demonstrator at a very affordable price, but I can't try one and would like to know what nib width to expect. I personnally own a F nibbed Pelikan M400 and would want something a little bit broader but not too much. Is the Medium nib on the TWBSI the right nib for my expectations?

 

Many thanks,

Thomas

[watch_art]

yep.

[a m a r g o]

Looks really nice... still I don't like the "strings" on the outside of the barrel, It would be nicer if it was clean.

[Dr Lopez]

I'm not sure it is the right place to ask...

I'm really interessed by this pen, a piston-filler and a demonstrator at a very affordable price, but I can't try one and would like to know what nib width to expect. I personnally own a F nibbed Pelikan M400 and would want something a little bit broader but not too much. Is the Medium nib on the TWBSI the right nib for my expectations?

 

Many thanks,

Thomas

 

I think so. I have both F and M, both are true fine and medium, very consistent. The M is a little broader, as you wish, but not much. Just as it should in my opinion. It is in the thinner size of a medium so to speak if you compare with the medium Pelikan nib.