Twsbi Vac 700 Review

[drav]

[The "double plunge" technique shown in the dizzypen video is the easiest way I've seen to get a full fill in a vac. But a generous ink window or (preferably) a demonstrator pen helps to see what you're doing.

 

However, when looking for TWSBI Vac 700 stuff, I stumbled across this kludge for getting a full fill into a Vac 700:

 

Twsbi Vac 700 special ink feeding tool

 

 

Interesting and thanks for sharing! I wonder if that is TWSBI inspired or by someone else? It would make an interesting travel pot, but I would prefer to use a regular ink bottle as I know I could do the "double plunge" without worrying about inking the cap threads!

 

Thanks!

 

Dan

[fabrimedeiros]

I really love the Vac 700 design. Probably I like more than the 530-540 design per se, but I think Twsbi could have worked better on the abrupt transition between the barrel and section. This edge looks too sharp. Some people said it doesn't bother when they're writing, though.

 

 

[cgardner42]

Nice Review! This one would have to be a "wait for solids" for me. I love the 540 demonstrator as the internals look so cool but this one is rather plan in clear colors. If they made it in white/ivory I'd buy it tomorrow!

[Earthdawn]

Got mine on Saturday and I have to agree that it is a great pen... Very smooth writer and looks great too. Fit and finish on mine is perfect and it filled like a dream. Writing with it is really a pleasure as it is very comfortable. Also, it wrote immediately after I filled it with no startup issues at all...

 

Blue Broad

[Zanshin]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

[ticoun]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

I can't remember exactly where, but speedy has mentionned not to flush the TWSBI pens, as they're all tested and already clean, and that it is better to ink it right up.

Also, here's a thread speedy started about adjusting the flow. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/220844-twsbi-nibfeederline-width-adjustment-film/

Edited May 8, 2012 by ticoun

[Zanshin]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

I can't remember exactly where, but speedy has mentionned not to flush the TWSBI pens, as they're all tested and already clean, and that it is better to ink it right up.

Also, here's a thread speedy started about adjusting the flow. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/220844-twsbi-nibfeederline-width-adjustment-film/

 

I haven't seen that, thanks for pointing it out. Even so, I can understand how that might removed the need for cleaning before using, but cleaning it shouldn't make it perform so badly. If so, what would happen when you wanted to change inks and flushed it clean?

[StipulaLamy]

My Vac700 EF was also dry and skipping until I used a razor to floss the threads a few times.

[Vshin]

My amber vac just arrived today and I can affirm that the colors on the pictures are accurate. It's a gorgeous warm orange amber that I prefer over the yellowish 540. The overall fit and finish of the Vac 700 appears pretty solid and I'm not getting a "cheap plastic" vibe from any of the pieces. Everything moves, slides, and screws on tight. My nib is medium with medium flow. If you prefer wet writers then I suspect you'll need to adjust the nib a bit but overall it writes smooth out-of-the-box for me. I did flush the pen with some water with a drop of dishwater detergent and let it dry completely before inking it.

 

Also note, this is a hefty pen. It does post but unless you are Andre the Giant, I think you'll want to leave the cap off for better balance.

[amberleadavis]

Only thing that gave me a "cheap pen" feeling was that the section unscrewed easily from the barrel when I got the pen (otherwise I'd never have opened that), and I got to see the little secret... it wants to be a C/C pen. No, a cartridge will not fit, but you can see the fitting down in there, showing that it's not a bespoke nib unit. OTOH, that you can unscrew the section without voiding a warranty or causing a leak does mean it's easy to clean, lube, or even eyedropper fill if you want to (2.1mL capacity).

 

FWIW, these pens are so large I wouldn't ever post the cap, even though you can.

Would you happen to have the TWSBI bottle? If you do I'd love to know if you can use the aluminum cap to fill it (with the section off). If you can, that would be absolutely amazing...

 

How? I have a TWSBI bottle....

[amberleadavis]

Has anyone else noticed this interesting but ugly view of the ink?

[fabrimedeiros]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

I can't remember exactly where, but speedy has mentionned not to flush the TWSBI pens, as they're all tested and already clean, and that it is better to ink it right up.

Also, here's a thread speedy started about adjusting the flow. http://www.fountainp...djustment-film/

 

I haven't seen that, thanks for pointing it out. Even so, I can understand how that might removed the need for cleaning before using, but cleaning it shouldn't make it perform so badly. If so, what would happen when you wanted to change inks and flushed it clean?

 

 

 

I think speedy wanted to say there was no need to flush the pen with dish soap and water before load the pen ink. Just a recommendation. Of course you can flush your pen with a drop of detergent before use. It's not harmful at all. Probably, your pen would skip and write on the dry side, even if you hadn't flushed it. My only concern is about rubber pieces in piston pens. After I flush with detergent, I always add some silicone grease on these pieces, like on the piston head.

 

There are at least 3 tricks-techniques to increase the flow without enlarge the feed channel. Of course the feed is a limiting factor to the ink flow. Even if we tune the nib to increase the flow, Twsbi pens will not write very wet like Pelikans without change the feed.

[drav]

Has anyone else noticed this interesting but ugly view of the ink?

 

Yup, I get the same effect. I assume it is the silicon in the barrel. Next time I run out of ink, I will try to remove most of it.

 

Cheers!

 

Dan

[amberleadavis]

Thanks!

[Dr.Midnight]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

 

Zanshin: I had the exact same experience you did. I would highly encourage you to get in touch with Phillip at TWSBI because it is very likely that he will work with you to get your pen going. He's sending me a new nib to start with, so I'll let you know how it goes.

[Zanshin]

Mine arrived today and I was looking forward to it after the 540. I filled with a washing up liquid solution a few times, then flushed thoroughly with clear water before filling with Diamine Majestic Blue. And it was dreadful.

 

Very thin and dry (I have the medium nib) and appalling ink flow, drying up in the middle of words and not restarting. I have flossed the nib with two thicknesses of brass shim which has improved the ink flow although it hasn't cured the skipping and it's still a very poor starter, never starting on the first few strokes.

 

I shall persevere but my first impressions are unfortunately not good ones.

 

Zanshin: I had the exact same experience you did. I would highly encourage you to get in touch with Phillip at TWSBI because it is very likely that he will work with you to get your pen going. He's sending me a new nib to start with, so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks for that and I hope you get yours working. It's too late for me now with the Vac, it played up too many times in the course of writing one page after a bad weekend. Anybody want an empty Vac 700 box, complete with spanner and silicon grease?

[NKessler]

Zanshin: If I were you, I'd still try contacting Phillip. Even if the pen isn't still in perfect shape, I'm sure you'll at least get some helpful suggestions if not some replacement parts or a replacement pen. The Vac 700 is a seriously great pen and it'd be a real shame if you get robbed of experiencing it even after purchasing one.

[Koyote]

Zanshin: If I were you, I'd still try contacting Phillip. Even if the pen isn't still in perfect shape, I'm sure you'll at least get some helpful suggestions if not some replacement parts or a replacement pen. The Vac 700 is a seriously great pen and it'd be a real shame if you get robbed of experiencing it even after purchasing one.

 

Looks to me like Zanshin may have chucked it.

[IWantThat]

Received my Vac 700 last night and inked it up this morning. Love that whoooosh!

[Zanshin]

Zanshin: If I were you, I'd still try contacting Phillip. Even if the pen isn't still in perfect shape, I'm sure you'll at least get some helpful suggestions if not some replacement parts or a replacement pen. The Vac 700 is a seriously great pen and it'd be a real shame if you get robbed of experiencing it even after purchasing one.

 

Looks to me like Zanshin may have chucked it.

No, I still have it, just put it away for a while to regain my composure. It was tempting though. Not had a nib that bad since the early 80s when a Cross Century did end up being mashed into the desk and tossed in the bin. The TWSBI didn't end up in the bin but I just need to move on to a couple of old English Duofolds needing attention. I like them. They just, well, work.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Zanshin