Twsbi In The Uk !

[AlanE]

Hooray !!!!!!

 

TWSBI is now in the UK. The excellent people at The Writing Desk are now stocking the TWSBI. and it works out cheaper than I paid for mine from the states once you factored in import Tax and PO handling charge. No brainer.

 

No affiliation by the way, just a happy customer. Time to drop Christmas hints to get my TWSBI a new friend..

 

Alan

[jniforat]

i'm not in the UK, but it'll be nice for everyone in UK and EU not to have to worry about shipping now

[Malcy]

That's definitely a good deal. Hopefully they will stock other models like the VAC if it sells.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Malcy

[BrandonA]

I sometimes wonder about getting one but for a non brand pen they are quite expensive, especially when you can get cheaper from established brands.

 

Why would I get this over a similarly priced Parker?

[twdpens]

I sometimes wonder about getting one but for a non brand pen they are quite expensive, especially when you can get cheaper from established brands.

 

Why would I get this over a similarly priced Parker?

 

Because similarly priced Parkers aren't as good.

 

Just our opinion, of course, but if you look at our website you may notice a complete absence of Parker, Waterman and Sheaffer (to name but 3 of the top brands) pens in the same price range. There is a good reason for this.

 

Big thanks to AlanE for the mention .

 

Martin

[Gojira]

I must concur with twdpens. I own many Parkers around that price range including a steel-nibbed Sonnet. Throw in a Waterman Hemisphere as well. The Twsbi Diamond 530 writes as well, probably better than all of them. It's in my daily rotation now. The first time I picked it up, I was more than impressed with the build quality. Try one. You really don't know what you're missing out on. No affiliation with Twsbi, just a satisfied customer.

 

Just in time for Christmas too!

Edited December 1, 2010 by Gojira

[ProtUK]

I picked up a Twsbi Diamond 530 in the UK on eBay from the Twsbi store there. I've found it very satisfying to use and usually have it inked. I will admit I found it much more enjoyable to use than I thought I would.

Great to see it stocked in the UK.

 

Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the vac and ink bottle to come along.

[brunico]

a non brand pen

 

Is that non-brand as in "made by an unknown manufacturer for repackaging by a supermarket" or non-brand as in "made not by a pen specialist but by the stationery department of a luxury goods manufacturer"?

 

Edited December 1, 2010 by brunico

[brunico]

if you look at our website you may notice a complete absence of Parker, Waterman and Sheaffer (to name but 3 of the top brands) pens in the same price range. There is a good reason for this.

 

Ha!

 

I've had a Parker Vector, a Sheaffer NoNonsense and a Waterman Maestro. The Maestro was the best of the lot, but it was still a bit high-maintenance (kept needing to prime the converter, especially on starting).

 

My first Lamy Safari was the first fountain pen I'd ever had that wrote reliably every time, didn't need the converter pumping, never skipped, never leaked, never left the inside of the cap covered in ink after a cycle ride along a bumpy towpath...

 

I keep looking for a 'posher' pen just to treat myself, but these inexpensive, form-follows-function, utterly dependable Germanic workhorses leave, for me, very little to be desired outside a piston fill to show off the inks I keep buying from Martin and Anna.

 

Or another perspective...

 

1 Pelikan M205 clear demonstrator = 6 Lamy Vistas

 

1 production-line Montblanc 149 = every Herbin ink and a Lamy Vista for every single one of them

 

1 limited edition Krone = 82 Diamine inks and 82 Pelikan M205s

Edited December 2, 2010 by brunico

[richardandtracy]

Pleased to hear that customs, post etc are ready paid at TWD. I still want a nib broader than medium, so shall wait until it's available.

 

It's always frustrating that stuff available outside the UK in US$ gets taxed so much on import that the effective exchange rate is close to $1=£1 regardless of whether it's a personal import or bought through a shop. Ah well, c'est la vie.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[mongrelnomad]

I sometimes wonder about getting one but for a non brand pen they are quite expensive, especially when you can get cheaper from established brands.

 

Why would I get this over a similarly priced Parker?

 

I don't quite know where to begin. I must admit I was intrigued by the whole TWSBI thing when I heard about it here, but I really wasn't expecting that much. I definitely wasn't expecting a large pen, with considerable heft and engineering integrity, or their designed-for-disassembly approach to teach me that my mystical 'writing-instruments' are actually very simple machines with incredibly small tolerances. I definitely didn't expect it to be anywhere near as good as the Lamy VISTA I thought would be its closest competitor.

 

The fact that, nib aside, I feel it most closely competes with my Pelikan M800 and not the cheap-as-chips Safari or Parkers - and in many ways bests it - should tell you in what esteem I hold the design and Speedy himself...

 

 

 

 

 

The fact that these are now available in the UK (without the associated hassles of waiting, shipping and customs) is only a good thing.

Edited December 2, 2010 by mongrelnomad

[twdpens]

Pleased to hear that customs, post etc are ready paid at TWD. I still want a nib broader than medium, so shall wait until it's available.

 

 

Broad nibs will be available next year. Speedy is working on this.

 

Martin