(Please Vote) Has Your Twsbi Cracked?

[FOUR X FOUR]

I haven't owned the 530 or the 540. I own some of everything else. Of the rest, all of my 580s have cracked, either in the plastic or the feed / nib assembly. My classics and my Micartas, I'm pretty hard on, and they have shown no signs of material fatigue. Same goes for my 700s. I baby them but they haven't broken either. My guess is that the 30s 40s 80s have been the most troublesome, with some 700s thrown in. I'll bet that once they put out another numbered series pen, the plastic will be stronger than previous models. I'm one of the few unfortunate ones who have gotten poor customer service. They were happy to send any replacements but they were also gonna charge me. I wound up swapping parts around to get a solid pen. Some of is probably my fault. I mouthed off at speedy a few years back and he's disliked me since. I'll still buy his pens. I'll just buy them knowing that if they break, they're not gonna show me any love.

[KaB]

Had to delete and change my vote. After 18 months of on and off use, the caps of my vac broke at the place where it enters the silver ring. Just like that at closing the pen.

[glorfindel]

Bought my 540 amber demonstrator in Jan'14. A year later it developed several cracks - one near the nib assembly which did not look nice but the pen was still working. However, it also developed a crack near the piston knob which made the piston assembly pop-up when twisting the piston down. For the past year I could still manage to use the pen by pushing the knob down while twisting, however a couple of days ago it completely broke. Also, the connecting rod popped out of the piston... The pen didn't even see that much use as I constantly rotate about 15 pens, so this one has seen about 20-30 fills tops.

 

 

 

[amberleadavis]

The popping out of the piston happens when the piston isn't lubricated often enough. The cracks at the top near the metal band are a problem with the 540s. The newer models do not have the metal bands. I do love my amber TWSBIs, but I don't miss the cracks.

[Flaxmoore]

Bumping to change my vote from no to yes. Over the last year, Vac700, feed holder twice, cap cane unglued today.

[marcelo]

What about the VAC Mini alternatives? 😉

[AmandaW]

I voted 'no' for my TWSBI Eco, but really need five votes because I have one of each colour and all are good.

[Scylax]

I don't know exactly how to vote about my classics because although I can't see any 'cracks', two of the three developed horrendous leaks (As in pouring out an entire fill) within a couple of short writing sessions, which could not be cured by tightening the section. The first time I got in contact and was sent a part very quickly. When I reported the second, I was asked to send photos, which I did, but haven't heard back in several weeks now.

[Flaxmoore]

22.2% cracking in the Vac 700s. That's insane- most fabrication shops I know would allow a hundreth of that, no more than about 2 in a thousand.

[Runnin_Ute]

My 580 I had the cap crack and had it replaced, but haven't had cracking issues with my Eco.

[ErrantSmudge]

I voted "no" for my TWSBI Eco that is about six months old.

 

I'm interested in a 580 or a Vac 700 at some point, would really like to see a comparison between the 700 and the 700R in terms of cracking.

[max dog]

I think TWSBI would do well to abandon their clear demonstrator theme and produce the same pens in opaque plastic. These failure stats are shameful to say the least.

 

I had some hope that with the ECO they resolved the cracking issues that plagued their other pens. but at 8% failure rate (12 out of 150 cracked), it is unacceptable. It should be down around 0%. You hardly ever hear of Pelikan M200s cracking.

 

Maybe offer clear plastic pens as a small option for the die-hard who enjoy them but focus on reliable opaque plastic pens. Clear plastic production process requires more care, and frankly TWSBIs' track record with producing trouble free clear plastic pens is not there, and I don't think TWSBI will be around too much longer with it's current failure rate. Maybe 30% to 8% failure rate is OK for $2 Preppies and Varsities, but not for $30 to $80 pens.

Edited November 15, 2017 by max dog

[ErrantSmudge]

While the numbers are indeed quite high, this poll is not a controlled study. For instance, those who have experienced cracking might be more motivated to respond to this survey, producing skewed results.

[Scylax]

While the numbers are indeed quite high, this poll is not a controlled study. For instance, those who have experienced cracking might be more motivated to respond to this survey, producing skewed results.

 

Of course this is true, and I'm sure the problem isn't as great as a poll like this might make it seem, but still - For me I had the best luck with my TWSBIs for a long time, but now I have a problem with about 20% of them - and problems that basically render them useless - and that seems rather high.

[andyk]

Hi,

 

Only have one Diamond 530 never been used and sat in it's box for several years. Looked at it a couple of days ago and when I tried the piston it broke (part 11 whatever its called).

 

Unfortunately TWBSI no longer have spare parts, didn't really look to see if any other cracks but looks like the whole pen, basically new and unused will be consigned to the bin.

 

Pity as it is a nice looking pen.

 

Andy

[IndigoBOB]

Eco - No

 

Had for about 6 Months, as been through numerous cleanings, nib swaps, has been in my daily rotation, and still holds up well. I hope it holds up. I like it.

[Cipolla18]

Yes!!!! I had one in my Vac700R cap last week what turned into a broken cap band... The cap simply poped on my hand after taking it from my pen case... the capband kept threadedon the pen but I had already talked with Twsbi and theyre sending me a new cap!

[Aysedasi]

One Eco, three 540s, and one Vac 700R. No cracks.

[Gloucesterman]

Just went to use my 580 with the Pendleton stub. Low and behold, the piston would only withdraw half way up the barrel. Looking closely I noticed that there was a crack at the top of the barrel. I emailed TWSBI about both issues and went to my back-up 580 - stored empty. I figured I would swap out that nib (an 'ef') with the stub. Okayyyy, now I notice that the second 580 has a crack at the top too. I screw the piston up and that stops about 1/2 inch from the top. Again I emailed ("TWSBI/Philip) with the additional situation.

 

I don't know what's going on with these pens. I did have a cracked barrel problem with a 540 quite a while back and then another cracked cap too. All of these were remedied by TWSBI very quickly and free of charge (thank you very much).

 

More recently I had a 530 that the piston shaft disconnected from the plunger part and I could not open the twister with the wrench as the part where the wrench goes was rounded off). The communication with TWSBI was basically, "sorry, we don't have any replacement parts for that model so you have a pen that can't be repaired."

 

I am waiting to hear back from them (I literally just emailed them about 15 minutes ago) before I make a further judgments about future TWSBI purchases.

 

Overall I have been very happy with this brand of pens and hope to keep using them. Will keep this thread posted on responses and updates. Thanks for listening

Edited February 2, 2018 by Gloucesterman

[Gloucesterman]

Just went to use my 580 with the Pendleton stub. Low and behold, the piston would only withdraw half way up the barrel. Looking closely I noticed that there was a crack at the top of the barrel. I emailed TWSBI about both issues and went to my back-up 580 - stored empty. I figured I would swap out that nib (an 'ef') with the stub. Okayyyy, now I notice that the second 580 has a crack at the top too. I screw the piston up and that stops about 1/2 inch from the top. Again I emailed ("TWSBI/Philip) with the additional situation.

 

I don't know what's going on with these pens. I did have a cracked barrel problem with a 540 quite a while back and then another cracked cap too. All of these were remedied by TWSBI very quickly and free of charge (thank you very much).

 

More recently I had a 530 that the piston shaft disconnected from the plunger part and I could not open the twister with the wrench as the part where the wrench goes was rounded off). The communication with TWSBI was basically, "sorry, we don't have any replacement parts for that model so you have a pen that can't be repaired."

 

I am waiting to hear back from them (I literally just emailed them about 15 minutes ago) before I make a further judgments about future TWSBI purchases.

 

Overall I have been very happy with this brand of pens and hope to keep using them. Will keep this thread posted on responses and updates. Thanks for listening

Holy molly!! Just got a response from Philip @ TWSBI that they will be sending replacement barrels soon. He just needed my shipping address! Can't ask for more than that, especially online!!

 

Thanks again Philip & TWSBI for an excellent support experience.