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My Eco Journey (So Far)


inkeverywhere

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In early May my daughters asked what I may like for my upcoming birthday, they knew the answer would be a fountain pen, but as always leave the buying to me. I had wanted a Twsbi Eco for some time and this was to be the gift.

 

An Eco in the US appears to be about $30, unfortunately here in Australia the price is much steeper. The best I found was $58 from seller "MY Hearty Timber Box", no affiliation just a very satisfied customer. The pen was delivered promptly and was given the customary clean out and filled.

 

I found the nib, I had chosen a fine, to be boarder than the fine on my 580. I found the pen very comfortable in hand. My ink of choice is normally Diamine and I filled it with Florida Blue. I wrote a few words and then the problems began, ink started to drip out onto the paper I was testing it on, the feed was saturated under the nib and the portion of the feed inside the section was swimming in ink. The writing was extremely feathered and bleed through was very bad. Further cleans, and much reading of this part of the FPN for advice did not resolve my problems.

 

I contacted the seller who in turn contacted Twsbi for me. After a number of emails to and from Rebecca at Twsbi I was supplied with a new feed and barrel for my Eco. Again the new barrel and feed were thoroughly cleaned and the pen put back together. I paid special attention to how far the nipple on the feed goes into the barrel, as I did when it first arrived. I have used the Eco a few times since and still find the feed to be very saturated with ink, although feathering has stopped and bleed through is not as bad, drops leaking onto the page have also stopped.

 

I have tried Diamine, Pelikan, Aurora and Lamy inks in the pen all of which give the same results. I really like writing with the pen but I fear it is just "too" juicy for me.

 

Today I emptied the ink and cleaned the Eco, I have now put the Eco nib into a Monteverde Artista, which I bought with a medium nib, a pen I did not enjoy using with the nib it came with. The Twsbi has transformed this pen into a joy to use.

 

My thought is to purchase an extra fine nib for the Eco and give it another go. All in all an Eco is a complicated little fountain pen.

 

 

Greg

 

 

 

 

 

 

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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I haven't had any problems with my Ecos, but there's no doubt (in my mind) that the looser fit between nib and feed makes them somewhat wetter than the Diamond Mini and 580. If the nib is working well in another pen, that (probably) eliminates it as the culprit in this scenario - I just find it strange that changing both barrel and feed hasn't resolved this for you. *Maybe* an EF nib will help, if you can source one - but it's a bit of a puzzle!

 

FYI, the only place I know that sells bare TWSBI nibs for the ECO is fpnibs.com, who are based in Spain.

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Thanks Jamerelbe, I neglected to say the second feed and barrel did indeed have a tighter fit, although not as firm as some Pilots, for example, I own. FPnib was going to be the source for the extra fine nib unless there is a supplier somewhere in Australia.

 

Greg

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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Thanks Jamerelbe, I neglected to say the second feed and barrel did indeed have a tighter fit, although not as firm as some Pilots, for example, I own. FPnib was going to be the source for the extra fine nib unless there is a supplier somewhere in Australia.

 

Greg

 

If you find a source of Eco nibs in Australia, please let me know! I'm not aware of any, unfortunately...

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I have four TWSBI Eco - two EF and two 1.1mm - and have had nothing of the troubles you describe. One nib was a bit scratchy out of the box, but with guidance from this forum I fixed it and have had no trouble since.

 

I have a birthday coming up and have requested another TWSBI Eco because I like to have many different inks on the go and these pens are among the few that don't dry out on me.

Will work for pens... :unsure:

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I have only one Eco (with medium nib) and only have tried two inks in it so far (KWZ and Lamy) but I don't have the issues the OP describes. In fact, no problems with the pen or nib at all. It writes smoothly, flow is fine.

I'm surprised the barrel/feed exchange didn't resolve your issues. I'd consider contacting TWSBI for one more try with a full pen exchange.

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It is interesting that they send you a replacement barrel for what some people would think is just a feed and nib issue.

 

I anticipate that when you fitted the new barrel that you applied some of the silicon to the piston, did the piston look to be perfect without any unevenness or irregularities?

 

 

Do you dry the feed and nib after filling the pen with a tissue and, finally, does the problem occur when you only put a very small amount of ink in the pen.

 

I have 2 Ecos and they are the best performing pens with a very even flow, neither too wet or too dry.

 

Suggest you park the Diamine, for the time being, until you reach a resolution on the problem.

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Thank you Maximan. Yes the piston was lubricated with proper silicone grease prior to inking. I have looked at the piston since your post and it appears to be in perfect order.

 

Like you I suspect the issue has to be in the feed or nib and yes both nib and feed have been dried after each and every fill, and trust me there has been plenty of those since I've owned it. The feed when inspected using a loupe seems also to be without fault.

 

I guess it boils down to just plain being out of luck and getting the one dud in the group. I love writing with the Eco, it feels very comfortable in my hand, but until I purchase a new extra fine nib the pen will rest in a velvet lined pen storage box.

 

 

Greg

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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No no no no no. If you have read TWSBI 's instructions it says when you fill the pen expell a few drops out so you dont end up with a blob on the page and an even better way is to expell some drops turn the pen nib facing up and draw the piston back as if you were filling it.

Sigh, nowadays who really reads the instruction manuals

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Thank you Needhelp for your reply. Surprisingly I did read the instructions prior to filling my Eco, meagre as they are. I obviously differ in my interpretation from yours as to what is said. That being said I took my Eco from it's slumber this afternoon to give it another try.

 

I took the nib out of the Monteverde, a pen where the nib performed perfectly, and put it back in the Eco. I filled it this time to half the capacity of the barrel and withdrew it from the bottle, once out of the bottle I turned the pen upside down and continued winding the piston to the full position thus drawing as much ink out the section as I could. After this I used absorbent paper to clean the nib and drew out as much ink from the feed as possible, to the point where the fins on the feed were clearly visible.

 

I then tested the pen, it did deem to write some what dryer than previously. What I did notice was in very short time the section fills with ink to the point where the fins on the feed are no longer visible. I compared it to a Pilot 92 (light blue demonstrator) I have in use, the Pilot fins are plainly visible when the pen is turned to a writing position. Again that important gap has been left between the feed and where the nipple on the end of the feed goes into the barrel.

 

I like the Eco very much and will persevere with it for a while longer to see the outcome of this latest experiment. The only draw back at this time is not filling a pen to a higher capacity.

 

As I said in my initial post - what a complicated little pen!

 

 

Greg

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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This is getting weirder by the minute. I didn't read the directions with any of my TWSBI - just sucked in the ink and have been writing ever since.

 

Here's the EF TWSBI I'm using today - it sounds the same as yours- invisible fins and a gap - I think.

 

post-132839-0-37807100-1499676664_thumb.jpg

Edited by AmandaW

Will work for pens... :unsure:

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Thank you Needhelp for your reply. Surprisingly I did read the instructions prior to filling my Eco, meagre as they are. I obviously differ in my interpretation from yours as to what is said. That being said I took my Eco from it's slumber this afternoon to give it another try.

 

I took the nib out of the Monteverde, a pen where the nib performed perfectly, and put it back in the Eco. I filled it this time to half the capacity of the barrel and withdrew it from the bottle, once out of the bottle I turned the pen upside down and continued winding the piston to the full position thus drawing as much ink out the section as I could. After this I used absorbent paper to clean the nib and drew out as much ink from the feed as possible, to the point where the fins on the feed were clearly visible.

 

I then tested the pen, it did deem to write some what dryer than previously. What I did notice was in very short time the section fills with ink to the point where the fins on the feed are no longer visible. I compared it to a Pilot 92 (light blue demonstrator) I have in use, the Pilot fins are plainly visible when the pen is turned to a writing position. Again that important gap has been left between the feed and where the nipple on the end of the feed goes into the barrel.

 

I like the Eco very much and will persevere with it for a while longer to see the outcome of this latest experiment. The only draw back at this time is not filling a pen to a higher capacity.

 

As I said in my initial post - what a complicated little pen!

 

 

Greg

Well you dont haveto fill it halfway you can just fill it completely and expell like 5 to 8 drops turning the pen nib up and draw it back and you dont need to wipe it completely just wipe of the excess and you are done.

So is the problem fixed or not? I think so by reading but no direct answer. If it did work then glad to hear that if not then(which i dont think so) .......ehhhh....i dont no.

Anyway i dont think it is the nib because when the feed is full then ink will of course come out a lot because it is not stuck. How can you sit on a place that is occupied? So you will either stand or get out. So the same goes for the ink.

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This is getting weirder by the minute. I didn't read the directions with any of my TWSBI - just sucked in the ink and have been writing ever since.

 

Here's the EF TWSBI I'm using today - it sounds the same as yours- invisible fins and a gap - I think.

 

attachicon.giftwsbi.jpg

Well that might be that you have filled it a bit fast leaving an air gap so the feed is not fully filled.
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Well that might be that you have filled it a bit fast leaving an air gap so the feed is not fully filled.

 

Sorry I was misunderstood. My TWSBI works very well. I just checked my other pens and they all have that gap. I was trying to let the OP know that my pen looked as he described and re-assure that it might be normal.

Will work for pens... :unsure:

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Sorry I was misunderstood. My TWSBI works very well. I just checked my other pens and they all have that gap. I was trying to let the OP know that my pen looked as he described and re-assure that it might be normal.

Its all right anyway no harm done to anyone and even on my Lamy al star it has a gap as said.

Also no one is always right

Also you checked "other pens" meant the demonstrators right? Looks like you have quite a few demonstrators.

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Its all right anyway no harm done to anyone and even on my Lamy al star it has a gap as said.

Also no one is always right

Also you checked "other pens" meant the demonstrators right? Looks like you have quite a few demonstrators.

 

Yes four TWSBI Eco. They all have the ink gap that inkeverywhere was describing. (If I'm interpreting correctly, I could be completely wrong - this would not be unusual.) They all work perfectly.

Will work for pens... :unsure:

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Yes four TWSBI Eco. They all have the ink gap that inkeverywhere was describing. (If I'm interpreting correctly, I could be completely wrong - this would not be unusual.) They all work perfectly.

 

By my observation i think that the air gap is the ink being absorbed by the fins of the feed.

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About a week on from my last post. Tried the recommendations from fellow FPNers and what have I found?

 

During the week I used the Eco for writing small notes and the like, just a few words or a couple of lines. As the week went on I became a little more comfortable with the pen and even entertained the thought my problems were over. Sunday morning I took the big step, using the Eco to write in my daily diary. I wrote five lines with it and then the "gusher"started. I just got the pen clear of the dairy before it dripped ink every where.

 

Again I will use the same phase - "what a complicated little pen". I love writing with it but at this point have given up on it. I have read a number of posts on the forum whereby owner's of Ecos have complained about how dry they are, other posts have had similar issues to mine, how can one pen be so many things. The other Twsbi pens I have used have all given stellar performance right out of the box.

 

I am sure some will say contact Twsbi, but paying for postage for new parts, one lot paid for already, each time the pen fails is no longer an option for me. I have used my money to buy a Wing Sung 698, supposedly a "knock off" of the Eco in the hope a Chinese pen may work better.

 

 

Disillusioned Greg

"may our fingers remain ink stained"

Handwriting - one of life's pure pleasures

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About a week on from my last post. Tried the recommendations from fellow FPNers and what have I found?

 

During the week I used the Eco for writing small notes and the like, just a few words or a couple of lines. As the week went on I became a little more comfortable with the pen and even entertained the thought my problems were over. Sunday morning I took the big step, using the Eco to write in my daily diary. I wrote five lines with it and then the "gusher"started. I just got the pen clear of the dairy before it dripped ink every where.

 

Again I will use the same phase - "what a complicated little pen". I love writing with it but at this point have given up on it. I have read a number of posts on the forum whereby owner's of Ecos have complained about how dry they are, other posts have had similar issues to mine, how can one pen be so many things. The other Twsbi pens I have used have all given stellar performance right out of the box.

 

I am sure some will say contact Twsbi, but paying for postage for new parts, one lot paid for already, each time the pen fails is no longer an option for me. I have used my money to buy a Wing Sung 698, supposedly a "knock off" of the Eco in the hope a Chinese pen may work better.

 

 

Disillusioned Greg

 

Well that is pretty bad experience

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Have you tried CLEANING the feed AFTER using soap?

Any soap film in the feed will make the feed write wetter than normal.

 

The other possible culprit might be the silicone grease. All you need for the piston seal is a TINY bit on the seal. Too much and the excess could be carried into the ink channel of the feed. The problem with silicone grease is that is it VERY HARD to remove from whatever it gets onto.

 

IF the piston seal has a nick on it, it could be letting air into the back of the ink chamber, and that would cause ink to drip from the nib.

 

Another though is temperature.

The Eco is similar in concept to an eyedropper. Eyedroppers are know for burping ink.

What happens is the air in the ink chamber expands when warmed, by the hand or a rising ambient temp, and the expanding air will push ink out of the pen as it is being used (the burp).

The standard recommendation for eyedroppers is to not let the ink level fall below half, as then you have a larger volume of air that will expand and push out ink.

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