Twsbi 580 Thoughts

[Darth_Roo]

I bought a Diamond 580 a few weeks ago at a pen show

Filled it with some iroshizuku I'd bought there.

It was waaayy too wet so I emptied it this week and put some Lamy BlueBlack in and it handles better.

Cleaning was easy. Couple of flushes with hot water and literally as good as new

I loved the look and design but the nib was a let down. It's useable but not brilliantly cut and took a lot of smoothing.

 

I bought a fine nib and maybe should have went with a medium.

[AlexLeGrande]

I have the Diamond 540, Diamond 580, and the Red Gold Mini. All have suffered cracks in one place or another. TWSBI has quickly replaced the broken parts, at first, at no cost to me, and later, at minimal cost. Despite these issues, I still enjoy using the pens and am happy with my purchases.

[1nkulus]

Twsbi should bring back the micarta pens.

+1

 

It reminds me of the Lamy 2K. I prefer screw caps rather than push.

[1nkulus]

I have the Diamond 540, Diamond 580, and the Red Gold Mini. All have suffered cracks in one place or another. TWSBI has quickly replaced the broken parts, at first, at no cost to me, and later, at minimal cost. Despite these issues, I still enjoy using the pens and am happy with my purchases.

 

That is a lot of issues, very unfortunate. Glad CS was prompt and helpful.

[apple2gs]

I have owned a few TWSBI's. The 540, 700 Vac, and I think the 550 it was called. All had a problem with ink flow. Like after the section was used, the ink in the main barrel would not release more ink. I had to manually twist the plunger towards the nib to keep the ink flowing. Not a few years later, I am going to try the 580 ALR. Has anyone had flow issues with this new model?

[adamz712003]

I have a 580 that I love, it has survived grad school, and would get used more, but I prefer to carry my vac mini as the cap posts better

[Amaryllis21]

Dear all,

 

I find the TWSBI project super interesting, and I had an 580 AL Silver here - Say, is it an "official" clone to the Pelikan M805 Demonstrator - I see more similarities than I thought? Well, the nib seems a bit more elaborated with Pelikan, but that's a different price league (and collector's league I suppose).

 

Is there somebody who has a writing sample of the 1.1 stub nib? Would really appreciate!

 

Best, Stephan

[CMaurer]

I love my TWSBI 580 a lot! I've got the clear version, with a fine nib. It writes a lot like the LAMY LX, if you're familiar with that pen, and I haven't noticed it's particularly finer for being an asian nib. As for the cracking you've heard about, I have just one crack that occurred over time, in the threads where the cap screws on. Some other cosmetic annoyances for me are that ink can get trapped in the cap, and that the o-ring separating the body from the grip is getting loose and comes out a little(I'm sure you can find replacements if this happens to you, I've just been to lazy to find another) Overall, I really like how it writes, and it's a great pen for everyday use(Especially considering it's huge ink capacity!) But it does tend to acquire some cosmetic imperfections over time. I would definitely recommend it.

[Tseg]

I believe the 580AL has resolved all cracking issues the 580 may have had. I first got a 580AL with M nib... it would always start skipping after a page or two of use. I then got a B nib and it works to perfection (I love that TWSBI nib replacements cost <$25). The pen taught me I'm not a big fan of metal sections... cold and slippery. The pen does look great with bold colored ink in it. Mine currently is boasting Sheaffer Skrip Peacock. It is also really good about not drying out when going unused for periods of time.

[mauckcg]

I have around 10 TWSBI's now. The only crack is at the top of a cap where it landed when i dropped it. Otherwise they have been perfect and i couldn't be happier with them.

[Inksomnia]

No complains about my TWSBI 580. It is my most used pen, I bringed it with me to university everyday and now it is comming with me to work. No cracks. Only wear is on my cap band, there is little brassing showing thru the plating. But my Twsbi has seen lot of use, and never been on proper pen sleeve or anything. Usually in my pocket or in pencil case with my other pens. It has been nonstop use years now.

[BDarchitect]

I have both a 580AL and a Vac mini and love them both. I did have some hairline cracking in the barrel of the vac mini, but an email to the TWSBI US rep got a response in five minutes, on a Sunday night to boot, and for $4 thru Paypal to cover the postage he sent me a new barrel the next day. I believe the company has modified the composition either of the barrel plastic or its coating several times since launching the pens, and they are now much more reliable than earlier models. For a plastic pen you can entirely disassemble with threaded parts, you just have to be careful not to over tighten any of the pieces. You could email the US rep (it is on the TWSBI website) and he will surely give you the update on their changes. I love both pens, use them all the time, and have EF nibs in both. I am lefty with a size 10 hand, and fine the 580AL fits perfectly and the micro grooves in the grip are very comfortable for me. The vac mini is compact and great for travel, esp on planes, where the piston can seal the ink reservoir from leaking when the cabin pressure drops in flight.