Twsbi 540 Saphire- My First Piston Pen

[hariharan]

I wanted to celebrate the receipt of an offer from a reputed academic institute. Most sensible men has a better way of celebration. But, I started looking for a fountain pen from my long wish list that begins with an MB 149.

I have been tracking TWSBI for long, felt an awe with the stunning demonstrators. Though it is often described as an economical men in global market, it is a very very expensive pen for Indian consumers. Since the occasion was special, I went to buy a TWSBI Eco- but when the shopkeeper opened the TWSBI box, I instantly fell in love with this 540 diamond sapphire blue. The price after discount was Rs.4800 , approx., $72 which was way above my budget.

There is no need to describe the beauty of the pen. The body with its nice barrel design yielding a different polygon in each section is wonderful. The cap is sturdy and the logo in red on the top blends perfectly. The clip is decent and holds to the shirt pocket nicely.

I felt a nice grip when holding the pen, the section is comfortable and ergonomic to hold for long writing sessions, which I need when taking notes. It was much lighter than it actually looks. Therefore, I was extra careful fearing it may crack. The barrel crack of TWSBI being a famous problem I handled it very gently.

This is my first piston filler pen and I was overall curious and very careful. To match the pen, I inked it with a pelican sapphire. Due to the longing, I didn’t wait to flush the pen, but inked it directly from the vial.

 

The pen with a medium nib wrote perfectly straight out of the box. I felt so happy. I finished a barrel of ink, which was a lot and cleaned the pen today. I was very careful.

Initially the piston pushing faced slight resistance, though the suction was smooth. After flushing, I felt that the pushing became slightly easier, or maybe its just a feeling. However, the writing experience was wonderful with it. The pelikan sapphire dried very quickly. The writing sample is enclosed below.

 

The first day when I wrote the journal with it, I noticed the blue reflection of the barrel in the paper, oh god, it was fantastic. I tried to click , but the image doesn’t justify the beauty. I wonder the amber barrel might probably give the effect of sunset when writing under light.

Overall, it’s a wonderful pen and I will recommend it. Well, its but too expensive. The sheaffer no-nonsense I use regularly writes better than this at one tenth of its cost. The price of the pen is one twentieth of my monthly salary.

The day I bought the pen, my wife didn’t serve me dinner after knowing the price.

So, is it worth 1.5 days of salary , 10 times the sheaffer pen of equivalent writing quality and most importantly a dinner ? Actually no. But who cares .

Edited September 5, 2016 by hariharan

[Aramis]

Hi hariharan !

 

Thank you for your great review !

I like the photo of the barrel to the sun, it should have been a great moment!

I can confirm the reaction of wives to freshly new fountain pen...

 

Have a good day !

[langere]

Oh, that is beautiful! Because it is a piston, yes, it is worth the price.

 

But do make up to your wife - it will be worth your while and then you can buy more fountain pens!

 

Erick

[hariharan]

Thanks for your response

 

It is satisfying to know that many ppl miss their dinner after FP purchase and i shall take the advice of wise men to cajole my wife to get permission for the next FP purchase.

 

 

Hi hariharan !

 

Thank you for your great review !

I like the photo of the barrel to the sun, it should have been a great moment!

I can confirm the reaction of wives to freshly new fountain pen...

 

Have a good day !

 

 

Oh, that is beautiful! Because it is a piston, yes, it is worth the price.

 

But do make up to your wife - it will be worth your while and then you can buy more fountain pens!

 

Erick

 

[jmccarty3]

It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

 

A good rule of thumb is, when queried by the wife regarding the cost of any purchase, to reply with a value 1/10th the actual cost.

[Gloucesterman]

if you continue to use it over many years you can think of it as an investment. Over a ten year period that would be $7.20 or Rs.480 per year...

or $.02 / Rs. 1.315 per day!

 

That is also a good way of saving money for your next pen... Rs. 10/day = 3650/year.

[Aramis]

Jmccarty3,

 

I actually use that 1/10th of the price quite a lot ! Ahahah !

[jandrese]

Thanks for the review. I just cracked the barrel of mine reinserting the piston mechanism. Not the most durable material. Was a good writer with large in capacity while it lasted.

[flummoxed]

Congrats on the offer and the pen!

[sannidh]

Thank you for sharing your feelings on getting your first premium pen. I have felt the same joy & little bit of guilt while buying my first premium pen

Then with time, you realize that 1.5 days salary has become too insignificant. It could graduate to months perhaps then yrs ....

Hope this hobby gives you both love & enjoyment over time.

[hariharan]

Thats a nice math not to feel guilty about the purchase. Thanks

if you continue to use it over many years you can think of it as an investment. Over a ten year period that would be $7.20 or Rs.480 per year...

or $.02 / Rs. 1.315 per day!

 

That is also a good way of saving money for your next pen... Rs. 10/day = 3650/year.

 

 

Am sorry about the barrel issue. I hope you are able to fix it soon. As you say, the pen writes well.

Thanks for the review. I just cracked the barrel of mine reinserting the piston mechanism. Not the most durable material. Was a good writer with large in capacity while it lasted.

 

Thanks a lot flummoxed

Congrats on the offer and the pen!

 

Ha ha , thanks Sannidh . While what you say of the budget graduating to yrs scares me, i have already started dreaming about namiki vermilion costing more than a lakh INR ... lol

Thank you for sharing your feelings on getting your first premium pen. I have felt the same joy & little bit of guilt while buying my first premium pen

Then with time, you realize that 1.5 days salary has become too insignificant. It could graduate to months perhaps then yrs ....

Hope this hobby gives you both love & enjoyment over time.

Edited September 24, 2016 by hariharan