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I recently bought a TWSBI mini Diamond. I also got a bottle of Monboddo's Hat. Right off the bat I noticed that after I filled it with the ink straight from the bottle using the piston, the pen didn't write immediately. Ok, then it started writing after doing some strokes. I noticed however that sometimes it hard started. Then I noticed that when I drew quicker longer lines it just didn't write at all. Then I noticed that it seemed to prefer reverse writing. I thought the tines were too much apart so I squeezed them together but there is still the same problem. I also flushed the feed and nib section with soapy water, nothing. I drew ink and flushed it multiple times, then drew water and flushed it multiple times. I don't know what is wrong, and I am asking for your help, being more experienced. I am disappointed, because I initially tried to avoid TWSBIs because of some bad things I have heard about them, and some other people convinced me that TWSBIs have improved and never had issues. This is my most expensive pen as of now, I got it as a little gift for myself after my Master's Thesis defense, and now I am thinking I wasted my money. Can you tell me how to fix this issue, why can't it keep up with quicker, longer lines, and why does it randomly stop writing? Thank you.

I have had my Mini for about a year and it worked fine up until a few weeks ago. Now when I start to write, the lines become increasingly thick as the feed puts out more and more ink. It gets to the point where a drop of ink will form at the nib if I hold it out for any time at all. The only thing I can think of is that I had greased the piston somewhat recently with the included silicone. Could that have affected anything? Here e a few pictures, I hope they are useful. And please keep in mind that this is supposed to be an EF nib. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9HPyXSrRO8qVlA1QzdrdFFJeUU/edit?usp=docslist_api https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9HPyXSrRO8qY0pqT0hVbFh4VEk/edit?usp=docslist_api Edit: The ink that I'm using is Noodlers 54th Massachusetts.

Are there any companies that make a leather pen sleeve to fit the TWSBI Mini? Thamks.

Hello everyone, So as my summer vacation is almost at a close, and my travels abroad are sadly coming to an end, I've realized that I have enough left over spending money in my budget for a new pen! 76 dollars, which may not seem like much to spend on a pen, but keep in mind that my small collection is limited to pens in the Lamy Safari range. I've decided to go from small price range, to medium sized (40-70 dollars) with my new purchase, but I'm not sure what to get, and was wondering if you all could help me out. Some things to keep in mind: I'm a student, and would preferably like to tote this to school, so something sturdier would be preferable I have rather big hands, so id like something that can be comfortably posted A piston filler would be nice, but it's not necessary I've been considering the TWSBI mini, but I thought it would be better to see if there are other pens out there that may be better. Thank you for the help!

I am not going to try and fully review the Pilot Namiki Custom Heritage 92 (PCH), Smoke Black, Fine Nib fountain pen. It has been reviewed extensively by others, as well as, other fine YouTube presentations. I will make the following observations, as a new user of the PCH, which might serve to verify comments made by others. And, also, here’s another thought on the relevance of purchase by Stephen B.R.E. Brown on YouTube, “Are Expensive Pens Worth It?”. I purchased the PCH pen at a substantial discount from a trusted website provided by Taizo Okagaki in Japan. I received updates to my queries, before and after the order was placed, with tracking to my package, which was appreciated. The pen arrived on time in a silver gray box with gold embossed lettering to the back and side, which indicated the type of pen. The front of the box has the embossed Pilot insignia. The inside lid has white silk backing with a centered gold Pilot insignia. The lower inner box is made of an exterior hard black plastic with an inner styrofoam, silver felt, and silver silk ribbon holder. A Pilot ‘Type S Fountain Pen’ instruction book was included with the pen retail tag on the pen clip, and silver ‘F’ sticker on pen barrel denoting a Fine Nib. The PCH and the TWSBI Mini Classic (TMC) both have #5 size nibs, which fit the profile and style of these pens. The PCH nib under my 10x loop is precision and beauty - See this Link on Pilot nib manufacture. The TMC offers several different sizes of pen nib assemblies, which are interchangeable. The fittings and appearance of both pens differ to style, and manufacturing techniques. They each possess quality products, but of a different nature. The PCH is extremely well balanced, even when posted, whereas, the TMC cap can make the pen feel top heavy, until one becomes accustomed to its use. The TMC is securely posted to the barrel by threads. I feel that this security is a positive factor in a busy world of perpetual motion. Visualize the flight attendant accidentally bumping your arm, and watching your pen cap fly down the aisle. For a man with medium size hands, the TMC needs to be posted. On the other hand, the PCH sits well in my hand, whether posted or not.The retail price for the PCH is about four times that of the TMC. The PCH features a 14k nib and the TMC has a steel nib (See ‘In Praise Of Steel Nibs’). The TMC is easily disassembled and cleaned with tools and silicon provided with the pen. Both of these pens are piston fillers. The PCH mechanism seems to be of a slightly better quality than the TMC, although the TMC has a double flap piston.Both pens represent a great value for the money, and neither will disappoint. I hope you enjoy the pics. Best Writings To You, coffeetoofull

Hello! I am fairly recent to fountain pens, but developing what I believe will be a lifelong obsession. I have a TWSBI Mini EF and love the little fellow. I'm looking primarily for a permanent professional black, black/blue, or dark blue for school and work, where the majority of paper I deal with is fairly cheap. My benchmark so far is Noodler's 54th Mass, which has performed flawlessly on everything! I really love it. However, I don't want to miss out on some spectacular ink I just haven't tried. The problem is that the TWSBI EF seems to run kinda dry, so dry that the original Noodler's black doesn't run smoothly through it on nice paper (which I use when not at the office.) Note, Mass 54 does perform well on both cheap through 90 gsm in this pen, but the original Noodler's black doesn't like nicer paper in this pen/ink combo. In short, does anyone have any suggestions for a permanent black, blue/black, blue that'll run well through a drier nib, particularly if you use it in your TWSBI ef?

I like my Vanishing Points, but they tend to feel heavy! So, for taking notes (and doodles when I'm not writing) I want an extra fine nib that will not feather on cheap paper, and on a pen that feels light and has good balance. So far, my contenders are the Pilot Prera (the solid colored ones) and the new Platinum Cool (aka Balance), both with fine nibs. Argh, I just can't decide!! This is what I'm not liking from each of the pens: Pilot Prera: -Too small (I guess even for my petite girl hands) -I worry that posting the pen will scratch the plastic, and that with the cap's clip, posting will add weight & may not be balanced Platinum Cool: -Don't like that they're demonstrators and have limited colors to choose -Doesn't have interchangeable nibs like the cheaper Pilot pens Like I said about the Prera, I worry about how the pen will feel when posted. I used to own the TWSBI Mini, and I disliked posting because I felt that the clip made it a tad heavier and it felt unbalanced to me, especially as I'm an overwriter and tend to write from different angles. I love the design of the Prera, but I'm hating how similar it is to the TWSBI Mini size-wise (using the Goulet's Pen Plaza tool). If I saw either the Prera or Platinum Cool offered used at a lesser price, I wouldn't mind buying one of them for the sake of trying them out, but no such luck. I'll have to pay the full price, and that's what scares me too, since I'm looking for an inexpensive pen to take to the university (and possibly hospital rounds) By the way, I used to have the Noodler's Ahab (another cheap pen with nice nib), and I didn't like it, despite the size and clever filling system. The reason why I mention the Ahab is because it's an expensive pen of a good size and has a fine nib, but not as fine as I'd like it to be. I'm contemplating the brands Pilot and Platinum, since they offer good converters and cartridges (the type with a ball inside; these are awesome for refilling if I need more capacity). I've exhausted my Google-ing powers. Can you help alleviate my doubts and give me ideas, my FPN friends? EDITED: for reading purposes

Hello FPN. I just started up a etsy shop that makes hand made fountain pen cases. The current ones I have will fit larger pens like the Vac700 and the M800, but I want to make sure what I create caters to the fountain pen community at large. With that in mind I have decided to take a page out of TWSBI's book and take a look and see what kind of needs are out there in the community. I am thinking of making a smaller case to fit the TWSBI Mini and the Kaweco Sport, and woudl like to know if the need is there. Here is a link to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/quillquivers Take a look and let me know what kind of items you would like to see in future, or suggestions to improve what is already there. Cheers, Phil