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Help With New Pen - Sailor Lecoule Vs Twsbi Eco


Kanenas

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Hi Everyone,

 

I am looking to buy a new pen and would appreciate some guidance from anyone who has experience with both pens and/or brands.

First some quick background. I am a doctorate student and a trainee psychologist. Therefore, I often write quick notes.

I want a relatively inexpensive pen as there is always the risk of losing it or someone asking me to use and damaging the nib.

I already have a TWSBI Eco with a medium nib, and while its good I want to buy a finer nib.

I have narrowed it down to another Eco with a fine nib or a Sailor Lecoule.

Other pens I tried was the lamy safari but did not like it and faber-castell loom which is an amazing writer but not ideal for the settings I use it.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Many thanks in advance.

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What in particular makes the loom not ideal for your usage requirements? It's a snap cap that posts deeply, resists drying out and has a firm, smooth, highly regarded nib with great fit and finish. the snap cap in particular makes it quite ideal for quick notes and the pen is tough as nails. Losing it would suck, but it uses a standard #5 nib replacement so anything by knox or JoWo or bock will fit in there easily. Its nib is rock hard, so it's not going to be bent by someone else using it unless they're an idiot. I let a six year old use one of my pens the other day and he didn't hurt anything.

 

If you need a "quick note taker" pen that goes everywhere, does everything, has a snap cap, posts, is balanced, and replacement nibs cost less than a sandwich (and if you buy them on ebay, less than a coke at the vending machine) and the whole pen is less than 40 bucks, my vote goes hands down to the Lamy CP-1. Get an EF nib, and replacement nibs in every size are on ebay from chinese vendors for like $0.50-$1.25. I personally find the chinese made nibs to have better, more consistent, finer lines than the proper lamy ones.

 

And if you decide you love the pen (like I did) you can spend $70 later on and just buy a gold nib for it!

 

If you don't like how slim the CP1 is (it really feels like an ultra premium pencil in the hand, thin and light and balanced) then a lamy safari or al star might fit the bill

 

The Lecoule is just a nice little plastic body pen. the MF nib is great. But replacement nibs are not buyable.

 

If you're taking quick notes, you should look at snap or slip caps and a pen that posts.

 

A chinese made option would be the wing sung 601, it's $14, you can buy replacement nibs, it holds a gallon of ink and is tough as nails, a pretty much perfect clone of the parker 51.

 

If you can afford a little more, look at the pilot capless "special alloy" which is just a pilot vanishing point (identical body) with a steel F or M nib for half the price. Replacement gold nibs are sold if anything's damaged, and they're about $75.

 

If you need something that can be tossed around, I like the delike alpha. I also like that once I took a gentle sandpaper to the lacquer of the brass model, it's now raw brass, develops a patina, and raw brass is inherently antimicrobial.

 

Another option could be the karas kustoms starliner. $55, but super robust, small, convenient.

 

A pilot metro could fit the bill, cheap, well made, convenient.

 

The wing sung 698 is stellar, but can't be posted, so if that matters.

 

Kaweco sport if you want a plastic small pen that is very cheap and versatile

 

The muji aluminum pen is under $15 and very good.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Hi Honeybadgers,

 

Many thanks for your thorough and detailed response.

The loom's cap is too tight and that can be an issue when taking quick notes. Other than that its an amazing pen.

Regarding the safari, I find the grip uncomfortable and the nib quite dry. I believe the CP1 will be too slim as well.

However, the wing sung 601 and 698 look really nice. Thanks for the suggestion. The pilot metro also looks nice but unfortunately I cant find it in the UK.

Between the wing sung 698 and a twsbi eco, which one would you say is the better writter? Also would the 580al offer much of an upgrade over the eco?

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I would recommend a Pilot Vanishing Point. It is a retractable fountain pen which is very useful when writing quick notes. You may also want to check out the Pilot Decimo. If you don't want to spend that much then check out the Pilot Metropolitan.

 

I would not recommend the Eco as it is not very durable. I don't know much about the Sailor Lecoule, but if it is just a plastic pen, I also would not recommend.

 

My work requires me to carry several very durable pens, as I am often in the field taking notes. My preferred work pen is the Lamy Al-Star. It is lightweight with a secure but easily opened cap and a reliable nib. The Al-Star is the aluminum version of the Safari. A few months ago, I accidentally dropped one of my Al-Stars from a 200 foot ledge onto hard packed soil below, hiked down and found it and it was not damaged. Thankfully, I had capped the pen before I dropped it. I am a true believer in their durability.

 

But if you are working in an office or clinical environment, I would suggest the Pilot Vanishing Point. It also looks very professional.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Hi Honeybadgers,

 

Many thanks for your thorough and detailed response.

The loom's cap is too tight and that can be an issue when taking quick notes. Other than that its an amazing pen.

Regarding the safari, I find the grip uncomfortable and the nib quite dry. I believe the CP1 will be too slim as well.

However, the wing sung 601 and 698 look really nice. Thanks for the suggestion. The pilot metro also looks nice but unfortunately I cant find it in the UK.

Between the wing sung 698 and a twsbi eco, which one would you say is the better writter? Also would the 580al offer much of an upgrade over the eco?

 

 

The loom's cap breaks in pretty dramatically within a few weeks of use. Within a month it settles in to a nice firm but not overly tight snap.

 

I still would say get the loom. The cap will get softer (it never grows mushy, it just settles in to a nice firm click) and even if you find it firm, unless you've got really debilitatingly weak fingers, you'll grow used to the firm click and appreciate its really beefy clip, ease of posting, and robust build quality.

 

I'd say the eco is a slightly better pen than the 698 (if the 698 posted I'd argue the 698 was better, so if you're going for a pen that doesn't need to post, get the 698.) so if posting matters, but if you already have an eco, try branching out? the nib on the 601 can be swapped for a couple bucks with a mini fude that writes like a nice architect nib, the included one is very nice as well, and it holds a boatload of ink, and while not flashy, it's beautifully balanced and writes great.

 

 

the 580 is nice but does not post.

 

If you're in the 580 price range, look at the platinum procyon. it has a super fast 3/4 turn uncap and a VERY nice firm steel nib.

 

 

 

The pilot metro is called the Pilot MR in europe. It's there.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Honestly, I used to recommend TWSBI. I no longer can do that. I have 2 580's and an Eco. Both 580's had their caps break and one of the 580's section just went to pieces.

Peace and Understanding

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Honestly, I used to recommend TWSBI. I no longer can do that. I have 2 580's and an Eco. Both 580's had their caps break and one of the 580's section just went to pieces.

 

+1. Even though their customer service is fantastic, the pen is out of commission until I get the parts, or I have to send it back to TWSBI and wait for replacement.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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The pilot metro also looks nice but unfortunately I cant find it in the UK.

 

Don't be misled into thinking the "Pilot Metropolitan" (or "Pilot Metro") is the name of the product. The Metropolitan is one of three ranges in the Pilot MR product line: MR Metropolitan (equivalent to Cocoon in the Japanese domestic market), MR Animal (which is sometimes referred to as MR2, depending on the market locale) and MR Retro Pop (which is sometimes referred to as MR3). Even in the United States, which a lot of the fellow hobbyists on FPN are from, it's officially the Pilot MR Metropolitan:

http://pilotpen.us/images/catalog/category433.jpg

Source: pilotpens.us

 

Pure Pens in the UK has at least one MR Animal model listed; functionally and technically it's exactly the same as a Pilot MR Metropolitan, and the differences between them are only cosmetic. I see quite a number of listings for Pilot MR models on eBay.co.uk between £13–£14 including postage, which if I'm not mistaken, falls below the threshold of £15 and thus attracts no customs duty and no import VAT.

 

One advantage of the Pilot MR is that it has a slip (or snap) cap, as oppose to a screw cap on the Sailor Lecoule. The major disadvantage of the Pilot MR is that, in my experience with half a dozen of them, they're apt to dry out when properly capped and unused for a while; I've had no such problem with any of my few Sailor Lecoule pens. If you're writing with the pen every day and consuming ink at a high enough rate, it won't be an issue. Otherwise, regardless of whether you encounter hard starts when picking up the pen to write after a fortnight of disuse, undue loss of ink volume through evaporation still occurs. Whether you mind the heft or the step-down between metal barrel and plastic section on the Pilot MR is going to be highly subjective; the weight and balance are fine for me, and the step-down only bothers me kinaesthetically once in a while.

 

A more lightweight alternative to the Pilot MR, also with a slip cap and slightly better (but far from perfect) resistance to drying out when capped, and has less of a noticeable step-down is the Platinum Balance (PGB-3000*) line of pens. They're not bad at all, although I personally feel a bit let down that the few I have will all allow a full converter fill of ink to dry out if unused for three months or so, but I trust that wouldn't be an issue for you. Cult Pens in the UK have the Cool range (i.e. the clear or coloured demonstrators models) in that line listed at £35 each before discounts. I'm thinking of offering one of my Platinum Balance pens as a giveaway on here, and I've even taken it to the post office to check how much it'll cost me to send it overseas. Given it's sold for £35 or less in the UK when new, as a gift sent from overseas it shouldn't attract import VAT. If you're interested in receiving it, let me know; but I won't be ready to dispatch it by post for at least a week. By the way, just to let you know, it has a custom inscription on the cap, which is not a name but a reference to a passage in the Confucian Analects (specifically, the one in the tenth bullet point). It'll be highly recognisable if someone pinches it from you. :)

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Hi the_writer,

 

I have a Sailor Lecoule and a TWSBI Eco in front of me in my work pen case.

Both are very good pens, reliable and adequately robust. Unless you need to create a professional visual impression or have small hands I would stick with the Eco.

The Sailor fine nib is a very good nib with a finer line (75% of the width maybe) than the Eco but is not especially superior for my usage.

The Eco holds more ink than the Lecoule. I like my work notes to be waterproof and I am happy to throw Iron Gall inks into the Eco without much thought. Also things like sheening inks.

The Eco is larger and better suits my large hands. If you are finding the Eco a little large then The Lecoule may be more suitable.

The Lecoule has a pocket clip which is not important to me.

Both of them are easy to clean The Lecoule is a twist cap which is less convenient for repeated cap-off, cap-on note taking.

Sailor does not sell additional nibs TWSBI does. This makes the Lecoule something I have more desire to protect from weird inks and dropping onto the floor. YMMV.

 

I use the ECO to hold permanent inks in rotation with a WingSung 698, a TWSBI Vac 700R, a Platinum 3776, and a Sailor 1911 Color. The Platinum and Sailor pens only use Platinum or Sailor nano particle black inks. The others use Iron Gall, nano-particle and Noodler's inks.

The Lecoule is an occasional visitor along with many other pens that I use to hold a contrasting non-permanent ink for ticking off lists, annotating drafts and anything else where I don't need permanence.

 

In my usage the Eco is a better experience than the 698. I find my Vac 700R a far nicer experience than my rose gold 580. When I say better experience I am including the non-writing aspects of workday pen usage - robustness, cleaning, filling, etc.

 

Enjoy whichever pleases you.

Edited by Steveg58
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I have a Sailor Lecoule and a TWSBI Eco in front of me in my work pen case.

_...‹snip›...

The Sailor fine nib is a very good nib with a finer line (75% of the width maybe) than the Eco but is not especially superior for my usage.

I thought the Sailor Lecoule only comes with MF nibs?

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I thought the Sailor Lecoule only comes with MF nibs?

"Fine" in the generic sense. Without a loupe I have no chance of seeing the actual markings on the nib. MF has to be one of the more confusing nib sizes.

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yeah, sailor really likes that MF. I have one on the profit junior or whatever it's called, and it's a spectacular nib, but it's a good western fine.

 

It's so ugly though. It really needs some scrollwork.

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, apologies for the delay in replying, I was in the process of moving to a new flat. Thank you all for your replies, they were all very informative. A Smug Dill has so kindly offered to send me one of his pens, a Platinum Balance. Therefore, I will spend some time using that pen and I will probably go towards the higer-end (i.e. Pelikan M400) when I graduate this year.

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