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  1. As the title says. I realised that my nib was running a little dry and, as with a lot of vacuum fillers, I went to unscrew the piston knob at the top to break the seal so more ink could flow through. However, upon trying I literally could not move this piston knob no matter how hard I try. Granted, I don't go to the gym every single day, but damn. This is ridiculous. I've never had this problem before. Any help? Edit - I used it yesterday with absolutely no problems and I have had the pen for ~2 weeks. I unscrewed the piston knob yesterday and I didn't screw it on with a stupid amount of force. Edit 2 - Even with silicon grease this thing won't budge.
  2. Driften

    Vac 700R Or Vac Mini?

    With the Vac 700r being released soon I am wondering if I should get that or the Vac Mini. I expect the nibs for the Vac Mini to be more like what I am used to with the ECO. The larger nib on the 700 from all reports would write a little wider. I expect getting a F or EF in the 700 would be fine, but the 1.1 stub might be too wide for my writing style. If I get the Mini I think I will order the 1.1 stub. I like it a lot on my ECO. Other then line width. I wonder if one is more comfortable to write with then the other. The step down on the 700 seems to be bigger. The grip/section diameter is almost the same 10.0mm vs 10.1mm. I am not sure I would the difference. I normally don't post my pens. I expect I could use the Vac Mini unposted and could always post if I had to. Its not that much shorter then my Pelikan M215. The 700r would be just fine unposted. I like the looks of the 700. It seems to have a nice gradual taper in the body from the section to the tail. The size of the Vac Mini would be a better pocket fit of the two. But that would only matter for a shirt pocket. I guess the biggest decider would be knowing how comfortable people think the two are in hand. I have medium size hands.
  3. Hi All I currently use an undetermined diamine blue colour (kind of blue black), and as I move the ink around in my VAC700 demonstrator, droplets and smudges are left behind. I know the interaction between barrel material and ink chemistry is complex, so I’ll address my question only to TWSBI owners. Does any TWSBI demonstrator-owner happen to have a blue black or similar colour ink that does not leave such droplets behind? (Does that even exist?) Please share your pictures! Thanks! Bart
  4. PIF: TWSBI Vac 700 in translucent blue - actually it's a frankenpen, as the nib is a smooth Jinhao medium. The new owner has to order replacement rubber seals (the two rubber thingies at the end of the plunger rod, which are essential for filling the pen and for the shutoff function, keep coming loose), which can be had at postage cost from TWSBI (whatever the problems with their pens, the customer service is exemplary in my experience). I'm going to send the pen on Tuesday, so please send a PM if you are interested by Monday, explaining in brief the reasons for your interest. Please remember to PIF too when you are done with it, not sell it.
  5. Hello, I recently got back in to fountain pens and have been conflicted as to my next fountain pen. My first pen was a crappy jinhao, which was quickly followed by some other unknown Chinese knockoff of a lamy, and then shortly by a borrowed blue-gold waterman expert (it's my mom's. I love writing with it but want my own pen because she'll get mad at me if I damage it because it was really expensive at the time and is no longer available). and before anyone says anything, I personally don't like the more inexpensive Lamys, I don't find them to be comfortable. More recently I have also tried out a rOtring 600 (currently discontinued) which I like, however the lack of a knurled grip on the model I have, the cap, and terrible balance when posted are huge put-offs. I have come down to a somewhat wide list and can't decide on what to get: The Noodler's Konrad (probably one of the ebonite or acrylic ones) The Kaweco Sport (basically any of them, but most likely one of the non-metal ones as they cost less) Any of TWSBI's pens (basically all of TWSBI's pens fit my criteria, however I can't pick one over the other) As you can clearly tell these are relatively inexpensive pens. I am a student right now, which is why these pens are all pretty inexpensive. I want to bring the pen around with me to my classes. I walk between all my classes up and down a 3-story building and it's pretty long. I store my pens more diagonally or horizontally when not in use (when they are in my bag, as my backpack rests at a diagonal angle across my back). I like to be able to post my pens, as it means I don't need to keep track of the cap as I don't like holding the cap in my other hand, however most times I post my fountain pens or someone else's I find it to be either unbalanced or just uncomfortable as the edge of the cap irritates the side of my hand (this is especially the case on the Waterman, where when I post it the edge of the cap digs into my hand slightly). in case it matters, I use purple/violet ink, currently I am using the J. Herbin scented Violet ink (I love this stuff), however I am considering switching to something like Waterman's Tender Purple or some other purple/violet ink (suggestions?) I really like the look and design of the Kaweco, but the use of a converter is a bit of a put-off as I would prefer I be able to fill it once and have it last me a while. I like the look and design of the Noodler's a lot too however I worry it may require fidgeting with which is something I really would rather not do (and if I don't like the flex nib I could always replace it with some other nib, but then I need to do that... Again with the fidgeting). And on the topic of the TWSBI pens, they basically all fit my criteria, they appear to be a safe bet but I can't pick one in particular (580 vs classic vs mini vs maybe the vac700 or vac mini) I just can't decide. Help would be very greatly appreciated.
  6. Over time, I observed that the 580 could not find much use, primarily because my writing preferences have graduated towards softer and larger nibs along with time. So here comes the saviour from TWSBI - The Vac 700, with a bigger nib of #6 size, and a vacuum plunger mechanism. Personally, I prefer the concept of an ink shut off valve. If you are looking for a review of the 580, here it is. If you like the blog view along with pictures, just click below: TWSBI VAC 700 with a VAC 20 Review TWSBI TWSBI (pronounced Twiz-Bee) refers to San Wen Tong, i.e TWS spelled backwards and it means ‘Hall of Three Cultures’ and if you wish to know more, the information is available on their website. BI at the end. refers to writing instruments. Ta Shin Precision has manufactured a range of things starting from toy lego parts to high-end writing instruments, for several luxury brands (both American & Japanese) for well over 40 years. So that’s plastic, metal & precision, precisely what’s required to make and sell a good looking writing instrument, under a brand name. Which luxury brands? They don’t reveal those due to privacy agreements. I have reasonable doubt from various reviews that one of them is Levenger. Also, the shaft mechanism inside Pilot Custom 823 seems similar to the one in the Vac 700. TWSBI sources its nibs from JoWo (earlier it was Bock & Schimdt), Germany (same as for Faber-Castell Stock Steel nibs). PRESENTATION Clean, clear and minimal packaging! A transparent pen lying inside a clear plastic case, encased within a brown cardboard box with adequate cushions of foam. There is an instruction sheet on filling & disassembly of the pen, highlighting the pen parts. Below the white pen-holding shelf, you will find the 7mm TWSBI wrench, couple of O-rings for the filler collar and a vial of silicone grease in two push slots. Neat! DESIGN - TAPERED TRANSPARENCY (4/6) The VAC 700 used to come in four transparent colours - Sapphire, Amber, Smoke & Clear. Now TWSBI has retained the production of the clear model only. I was looking for a clear model, since I already have a few other coloured demos. The build of VAC700 is sturdy and it seems that a substantial amount of acrylic has been used. Honestly, it never felt cheap nor does it feel luxurious. I think this pen endorses practical utility rather than art, with which you will probably associate a Visconti. More of an industrial look, for which I like this pen. Plastic & Acrylics economise both cost and weight of fittings. Most of it is visible engineering & the use of a steel plunger rod along with rubber piston and valve seals can be seen from the outside. The barrel and cap are made of thick polycarbonate, with a protective heat treated layer to increase resistance to scratches & abrasions, thus preserving the crystal transparence. The blind cap and the section exhibit translucence with smoky hue and I strongly fill that its takes out some beauty element out of the equation. But then, I wanted the clear one to enjoy the ink colour itself. The cap feels substantial and unscrews with one and a half turn, revealing a nicely sized steel nib. There is a metallic collar for the nib unit, supplying necessary chrome accents for the aesthetics part of it. The smoky translucent blind cap has a rather broad ring making the mark for usage and disassembly. The barrel is smooth and rounded with a decagonally cut blind cap, which fails to prevent the open pen from rolling away. The pen rolls on the broad steel ring below the blind cap. The acrylic orchestrates light well and dazzles the ink inside the barrel. The cap has a widish chrome band carrying a laser engraved TWSBI on one side of it and VAC 700 TAIWAN on the other. The finial carries a vibrant red & silver TWSBI logo of three pillars within a dome of transparent acrylic. The clip has a frosted aluminium feel and finish and is spring-loaded within a visible system with a chrome tassie. The cap has a geometrical decagonal cut, though the clip prevents any rolling away. The frosted look & feel of aluminium and somewhat stands out unevenly compared to the overall dazzling steel chrome trims. The cap is moderately heavy (@13g). You can also see a transparent inner cap, which prevents the nib from drying out. FILLING SYSTEM (4/6) As a plunger filler, it does have a good ink capacity around 1.8~2.3 mL (a full fill which is easy to do from an inverted Vac 20 bottle or repeated air removal filling). The smoky translucent blind cap unscrews with three complete turns. The rod is made of stainless steel and is resistant to most of the commonly used inks. For IG (Iron Gall) and Pigment Inks, care must be taken to clean the pen several times, to prevent clogging or deposit accumulation inside the ink passages. With the usual ink bottle, the pen fills to around two-thirds of its capacity, once the nib is completely dipped in ink and the plunger is pushed back in. This can give a good amount of ink inside with a comfortable volume of 1.5 - 1.8 mL. Sometimes, I have to repeat it several times to create a good vacuum, an issue I never had with the Custom 823 or the Homo Sapiens. The Custom 823 takes only a second vacuum to fill well. But YMMV. Cleaning the pen could be a similar ritual accompanied with some shake and I suggest you do it on a regular basis, for the ink stains if left may look ugly with time, and might require a light ammonia solution to go-off. Else you could just disassemble the shaft mechanism from the barrel and clean the transparent barrel with some a light dishwashing liquid water solution. And as mentioned in the manual, while writing with the pen, you would need to keep the piston-knob slightly unscrewed & pulled to the first stop (at a 4 mm distance) relative to the chrome ring. This will displace the conical valve rubber seal below the piston seal, to allow passage of ink to the feed. Given the high ink capacity of these pens with plunger filling mechanism, it has been introduced to prevent ink-leakage. And this is a nice thing to have, if you intend to carry the pen by air. The feeder hole looks like a channel to enable efficient ink suction. A problem I have landed up with this piece is that while filling it from a VAC 20 bottle, there are some ink drops coming out of the rear end of the filler collar. I emailed TWSBI Customer Service and Philip asked me to replace the filler O-ring with the spare one, which is actually thinner. However, this did not solve the issue completely and Philip was kind enough to have his factory send an immediate replacement of shaft mechanism. We both think that the inner O-ring of the shaft mechanism is the culprit. FILLING WITH THE VAC 20 INKWELL (INDEPENDENT RATING - 5/6) The VAC 20 inkwell comes within a small cardboard box. Unlike the well packaged Diamond 50 bottle, the packaging is pretty plain. It’s made of plastic and weighs around 20 grams without ink. Ink Capacity is 20 mL, of course (Thus VAC 20, but wait, what about VAC 700! ). The below bottle is around two-thirds filled. The bottle used to come in five simple variants - black, orange, red, green & blue top-caps and occupies a fraction of space taken by the Diamond 50 inkwell. The new one however is called VAC 20A and it has an additional insert for the VAC Mini. You have to remove the top cap for filling the VAC 700. The base cap has the threads of the VAC 700 pen inside, so as to fit the pen precisely. And with an inverted configuration you can pull/push the plunger to suck the ink to full capacity of the pen. And there is no need of cleaning the VAC700 after filling ink, as only the feed area is exposed. Cool ! The outer cap has a good sealing tube and I never found any ink leakage from the bottle itself even after keeping it inverted in my backpack for 2 days. Personally, I find it comfortable as a travelling inkwell since the dimensions are minimal and the base bottle offers the height of ink to completely immerse nibs of most pens with standard nib sizes. The only quibble I have is: when you fill ink in any other pen, the base cap (black) has to be unscrewed and it exposes the broader opening of the bottle. The secure bottle acting as a pen stand is now gone. The inner taper of the base cap block sections of most of the similar sized pens (except VAC 700 & a few slimmer ones). Besides it’s priced pretty decent (in US), and you do travel with 20 mL of your favourite ink. DISASSEMBLY (6/6) In cases where the piston has become stiff or there is any leakage of ink from the rear, it would require you to disassemble and self-service the pen. You can find two spare O-rings with the wrench and silicone grease. You can have a look at a 700 disassembly video. I like this one. Make sure you thoroughly flush the pen with water before disassembling it. Rotate the blind cap counter-clockwise, till it rotates freely. Pull out the blind cap till it comes to an end stop. The same thing you do while longer writing sessions. Fit the wrench below the blind cap on the area of the filler collar which has two parallel cuts on the otherwise circular section. Rotate counter-clockwise till the collar comes out of the inner threads. There is an O-ring on the collar (at the end of those threads ideally) that goes inside the barrel, to prevent leakage of ink. (the same ring for which spares are provided) Then you can pull off the shaft mechanism along with the blind cap from the barrel. The nib unit can be easily removed by first unscrewing the grip section from the barrel Since, nib is friction fit, you may remove the nib and feed from the unit, in case there is some heavy cleaning required (in case of a bad flow, sometimes the feed is coated with grease which restricts ink-flow). Make sure you carefully apply adequate amount of silicone grease with a earbud/toothpick to the sides of the conical frustum like rubber piston seal/lip before reassembly. Don't use any grease on the conical valve seal, else the grease may block the section slit, thereby the flow of ink. NIB - ALL THAT MATTERS (6/6) This is a silver accented stainless steel nib from Jowo of size#6. It carries off the TWSBI traditional dagger-like design well. Across four stock widths - EF, F, M, B and two special widths of Stub 1.1 & Stub 1.5, this looks pretty industrial and minimalistic. The nib/feed unit can also be taken out of the sleeve after unscrewing the section. The tail end specifies carries the nib width, while the name TWSBI along with the logo rest above the tail. There is some simple scroll within the symmetry of its tines, reflecting the rather industrial look of the pen. A black plastic feed with a adequate feed channel for ink suction provides the inflow of ink. The thin fins ensure an acceptable buffer capacity, although I have always found better feeds in Pilot & of course the Pelikans. The feeds are said to be a bit brittle. So suggest you take care if you are replacing the nib. These are sourced from JoWo. Earlier, TWSBI used to source its nibs from Schmidt and then Bock, which is incidentally the nib-supplier for Faber-Castell smoothy nibs too. The nib being a medium is a juicy wet delight to write with. And it lays a line which runs a tad thicker than Japanese Medium/European Fine nibs. More of this in the last section with writing sample. PHYSICS OF IT (6/6) – RELATIVELY SPEAKING The pen even without ink, does have a good balance in terms of both weight and length. The pen is not meant to be posted for the likes of me. The grip is quite comfortable for me, with a girth of 1 cm for me. The weight of the pen is mainly due to the steel/aluminium metal parts along with the steel rod used in the shaft mechanism. Uncapped Length ~ 13.2 cmCapped Length ~ 14.4 cmNib Leverage ~ 2.4 cm #6Overall Weight ~ 32 g (Cap Weight ~ 13 g)Max Ink Capacity ~ 2.3 mL Capped and uncapped comparisons with a Pelikan m805 and a Pilot Custom 823, run below for your reference. An uncapped vac 700 along with others. ECONOMIC VALUE (5/6) The VAC700 retails at around Rs 9,500 ($ 141 @ 67 INR/USD) here and I got it from Manoj (of Manoj Pen Mart) at around Rs 4500, in exchange for another sparsely used TWSBI. The pen retails at USD 65, in the US and cheaper in other countries. A major problem with ordering it from TWSBI’s website is the heavy FedEx shipping charges, and also un-calculated duties to be paid for. Thankfully, Pradeep (FPN@Prads) arranged an exchange of the 580 with Mr. Manoj, I had to pay a fraction of the Indian MRP for the Vac 700. I bought it from Mr. Manoj (of Manoj Pen Mart, Fort, Mumbai). OVERALL (5.2/6) This nib is wet and smooth with most of the inks. Since, I am used to a few large pens, I did not find a problem with either the heft or the balance of Vac 700. Many people don't find the heft/weight comfortable. There is no noticeable line variation but the #6 nib does render some spring, which can cushion your writing. The medium nib lays a line which runs a tad thicker than Japanese Medium/European Fine nibs. The pen feels balanced for my hands both with or without pressure and given the tapered profile of the section, it has a good grip. I have used single fills of Waterman Florida Blue & Sailor Yama Budo inks in rotation, and the pen nicely in the case of Sailor ink. Being a wet writer out of the box, the Medium nib puts up a nice juicy line, which takes around 22-25 seconds to dry a Sailor Yama Dori ink on MD Paper. The spring and length of this steel nib reminds me of the fact that a good steel nib can always be of joy. However, if you ask me to compare the Custom 823#15 nib with this steel nib, I would say it’s great but the 823-14k nib wins in terms of cushion, softness and additional spring by a fair margin. REFERENCES TWSBI 580 Diamond Review FPN TWSBI History Disassembly - Removing ink shut off valve (Warranty might be voided) Thank you for going through the review. You can find some more pen and paraphernalia reviews here.
  7. This is an addendum to a more elaborate review of the TWSBI VAC700 fountain pen with a stock nib. You can find the VAC700 along with the VAC20 Inkwell reviewed here. If you like the blog view along with pictures, just click below: MOD FOR TWSBI VAC 700 - BOCK#6 TITAN (Ti) NIB Perhaps like many fountain pen lovers, I was quite overenthusiastic to try the Titanium nib before buying it along with an expensive body. Given the mixed reviews of T-flex & Titanio of dryness, hard starts among others, I was a little averse to make a bigger investment. With some research you can find that Bock is the sole known manufacturer of Titanium nibs. They supply their titan nibs to all OEMs including Stipula, Delta and now of course Conid. For some of the usual sellers (beauforink, namisu etc) the price shoots up after shipping charges, which should not be that much IMO, given it’s just a nib unit. Then I found Will Hodges’ rather excellent webshop (http://www.tactileturn.com/). He is the one magical turner who makes the beautiful Gist fountain pens from almost all materials - Polycarbonate, Brass, Copper, Bronze, Steel, Zirconium & Titanium and Will also stocks spare nib units in his webshop. At the time of my order, Will had kept even international shipping free and offered those Bock#6 Ti nib units@$59. I asked him if he tests those nibs before dispatch and he confirmed that everything is tested before dispatch. Happiness! Order placed immediately. Believe me, it does not get much better than this! The nib unit comes with the stock housing for CC fillers. VAC700 earlier used to have these narrower Bock#6 steel nibs, before TWSBI switched to JoWo for their nibs. And my guess was that, the nib and feed should fit the VAC700 section perfectly. Since TWSBI was earlier shipping JoWo nib replacements along with VAC700s inserted with stock Bock#6 nibs, I thought it should not pose much of a problem. Will sent the nib unit bubble wrapped & tested inside a cuboid plastic sleeve. It arrived to my address in 10 days time via USPS!STEPS 1) You need to pull out the nib/feed unit from the black housing, to replace the corresponding JoWo parts with the new one. The feeds don't match as the Bock#6 is narrow compared the Jowo#6, so make sure none of these feeds is damaged. The JoWo nib is a beautiful writer, by the way.2) The nib/feed has to be inserted in the right slot, so don't pressurise those in. If they are not getting in easily, look for the more spacious semicircle to face the nib. Else it will damage the unit. As in the Bock collar and the VAC700 front section, you can see that there are two subtly different semicircles on the cross section, where you insert the nib/feed. The higher radius arc faces the nib and the lower radius one faces the feed. This is the most IMPORTANT walkthrough, thanks to Brian Goulet!The nib shines with rather with a dull graphite lustre, characteristic of the metal itself. It carries an imprint of BOCK beneath their logo of a leaping antelope in a mountain background. There is titan mentioned in lower case beneath the imprint. The tines-shoulders carry some scroll work, but there is no mention the nib width anywhere (perhaps to economise both time & efforts). The Bock company is managed by Otto and Wolfgang Bock and they also produce gold and steel nibs units with these threaded housing.The black plastic feed with a adequate feed channel for ink suction provides the inflow of ink. The thin fins ensure good buffer capacity.This nib is juicy with a remarkably different sort of graphite smoothness (say 2B pencil) with the present sailor ink. It kind of reminds me of those old graphite wooden pencils, which we used during primary school days. Not butter smooth like say a Faber Castell gold nib, but the nib does run with graphite feedback, if you remember the feedback you felt while using those HB, 2B lead pencils . The nib opens up its tines, flexing with even a moderate pressure and the ink flow does increase dramatically. The variation is evident with moderate pressure levels and the feel is amazing. The key point being, its elastic range is less than a 14k/18k gold nib. So once the nib starts giving a stronger reflex/reverse-pressure while flexing, you know that it’s because of pushing the tines beyond their elastic limit, a point of permanent bend. Then you have to bend it the other way and it could be a pain to align titanium tines. This is where I personally exercise a bit of caution. Finally it’s not an inexpensive nib to damage. Being a juicy wet writer out of the box, the Fine nib puts up a real shimmering line, which takes around 45 seconds to dry a Sailor Yama Dori ink on MD Paper. The earlier JoWo medium nib lines were thicker and took 25 seconds to dry the same ink on the same paper. The longer verticals are with moderate pressure.Writing sample JoWo stock nib in MediumThank you for going through the review. Hope this short post is helpful for people who wish to try out Titanium nibs without spending too much.You can find some more pen and paraphernalia reviews here. REFERENCE VAC700 nib replacement
  8. stephanos

    Vac700, O-Ring Problem

    I bought my Vac700 in late March 2015 (i.e. just over a year ago) and it has seen moderate use. The large ink capacity makes it ideally-suited for use at conferences or on longer trips, and I enjoy writing with it. The pen has probably been fully inked-up and subsequently cleaned out about half-a-dozen times, perhaps as many as ten times since I got it. There is now a specific problem with the pen, and I have a few questions for you: 1) Have you experienced a similar problem? 2) Is my diagnosis correct (could there be something else causing it, and if so, what?) 3) Any suggestions on how best to proceed? Here's my problem: When I last tried to fill the pen, it would not fill - it somehow failed to make the necessary vacuum, and couldn't get more than a dribble of ink into the barrel. I disassembled the pen for the first time, made sure everything was properly clean and lubricated and properly reassembled. Of course, the problem persisted. So I took it apart again and looked at everything under a loupe. I discovered that there are actually two O-Rings on the end of the barrel (the part that screws in). The larger O-Ring is the more obvious, and the smaller O-Ring is easier to overlook. The problem seems to be with the smaller O-Ring. It actually seems a little flimsy, and it has become a little 'floppy' or stretched over time. That is, it no longer makes the necessary tight fit with the thread. See picture. (Image: end-of-barrel unit, with O-Rings highlighted) I was surprised to see this part failing so quickly, particularly if it is crucial for the pen's operation. I don't know why a problem with that O-Ring should cause the vacuum to fail - the larger O-Ring is fine, and should be sufficient by itself. But in the absence of any other obvious cause, I'm assuming that the perished smaller O-Ring is indeed the problem. I am therefore looking to replace it. It's only a small part, and I can probably find it cheaply at my local DIY/hardware store, but that's a hassle (the store is not all that local). Also, I'm wondering whether this is a potential issue for others, and whether I should approach the company I bought my pen from. Any thoughts in response to my questions? Have I missed something? Thanks!
  9. The review is a part of the larger TWSBI VAC700 review. You can go to the original post here. I thought that this review could be useful for people, who like me are searching for an inkwell, that's okay for travel, holds a fair amount of ink and does not exactly make a hole the wallet. The full review is also live on my personal blog. Click below if you enjoy pics in a tablet/mobile optimized view: TWSBI VAC 700 with a VAC 20 Review I was looking for an inkwell at a decent capacity & price (that's why skipped the Visconti Travel Inkwell), which could fit comfortably inside the visiting cards slot of my laptop backpack. So here goes the review. The VAC 20 inkwell comes within a small cardboard box. Unlike the well packaged Diamond 50 bottle, the packaging is pretty plain. It’s made of plastic and weighs around 20 grams without ink. Ink Capacity is 20 mL, of course (Thus VAC 20, but wait, what about VAC 700! ). The below bottle is around two-thirds filled. The bottle used to come in five simple variants - black, orange, red, green & blue top-caps and occupies a fraction of space taken by the Diamond 50 inkwell. The new one however is called VAC 20A and it has an additional insert for the VAC Mini. You have to remove the top cap for filling the VAC 700. The base cap has the threads of the VAC 700 pen inside, so as to fit the pen precisely. And with an inverted configuration you can pull/push the plunger to suck the ink to full capacity of the pen. And there is no need of cleaning the VAC700 after filling ink, as only the feed area is exposed. Cool ! The outer cap has a good sealing tube and I never found any ink leakage from the bottle itself, even after keeping it inverted in my backpack for 2 days of travel. Personally, I find it comfortable as a travelling inkwell since the dimensions are minimal and the base bottle offers the height of ink to completely immerse nibs of most pens with standard nib sizes. The only quibble I have is: when you fill ink in any other pen, the base cap (black) has to be unscrewed and it exposes the broader opening of the bottle. The secure bottle acting as a pen stand is now gone. The inner taper of the base cap block sections of most of the similar sized pens (except VAC 700 & a few slimmer ones). Besides it’s priced pretty decent (in US), and you do travel with 20 mL of your favourite ink. So, I give an Overall Rating of 5/6 to the VAC20. The VAC20A has an additional insert, so it would stand a bit taller compared to the VAC20.
  10. dauodwa

    Twsbi Vac 700 Reviewi

    Dear all, Here's my review of the Twsbi Vac 700 with M nib. I have seen another very comprehensive review on here since going to the trouble to write mine, but I feel that the more perspectives are available the better it is for all. Without further ado, here is my review of this pen. http://i.imgur.com/XD5TyEf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DYdgC9k.jpg http://i.imgur.com/D2e7yvE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Z0Scpqs.jpg http://i.imgur.com/s6ck6dA.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GQthaXW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/o9dD20G.jpg http://i.imgur.com/CvYIZkX.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DJWCn0b.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jjv83EY.jpg http://i.imgur.com/m1Q1iDW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BeLhFA6.jpg Some additional notes, I think I had the pen in the wrong way wrong in the case, but you get the idea. Nicely presented. Also you can write with this pen posted even with the shut off open as it posts to the barrel, not to the knob. Personally I feel it's a bit too top heavy to write with posted for prolonged periods of time, but you certainly can do it. Another little thing was that the nib tines were not aligned properly, but I checked this myself before inking the pen up and it was not big deal. I'm looking forward to getting some different nibs for this pen, and also the Vac 20 or Vac 20A ink well. That would really come in handy come exam time. Also the fact that they supply you with the wrench, spare o-rings and silicone grease is a really nice touch. Cheers! [/img]
  11. Portamenti

    Lubricating A Vac 700

    Good Morning Everyone, Sorry if this is covered anywhere else... I haven't found it anywhere in my searches. I have a Vac 700 that is getting stiff to plunge for refills. I'm wondering where exactly I should be applying the grease that came with the pen? Do I pull out the plunger, and lubricate the shaft? Do I need to lubricate the o-ring, and if so, how do I go about doing this? Thanks so much in advance, -Portamenti
  12. I recently sent my broad Diamond 580AL to TWSBI because it was skipping a lot of would not write unless I laid down quite a bit of pressure. Since it was sent back, the problem persists. Anyone have a recommendation for a good nibmeister to send my pen to? I had also sent in my fine Vac 700, which I now regret because I put quite a bit of work into it to get it to write well. I thought it could be tweaked to write wetter, but it came back drier and scratchier than before. But I'll just swap it out for my Goulet 1.5mm, which writes a lot better.
  13. CJ_ung

    Twsbi 580 Or Vac700

    Hello all, I was thinking of buying a new pen. After researching a bit, I settled on getting either a TWSBI 580 or a Vac700. The problem is deciding which one. I've read a lot of reviews and whatnot, but I want to hear from you guys on the topic. Any info/advice is much appreciated. Thanks!! -CJ
  14. suchan271

    Some Vac700 Love

    Just showing off my new VAC700 1.1mm with Apache Sunset. http://imgur.com/FuxG5SR I can't believe how nice this pen is for the cost
  15. I'm considering buying a TWSBI vac700. Seeing as I'm mostly using ink samples for my writing, the ease and speed of cleaning ink out from my new pen in order to use new inks is an important consideration. I certainly understand that the vacuum filling system of the vac700 would allow one to cycle water through the barrel and feed quickly. However, wouldn't the fact that you can only get a partial fill of water by depressing the filling rod result in more inconvenience than help for cleaning it since you can't flush water through the whole body of the pen? What are peoples' experience with cleaning ink out of the vac700? Thank you for any help.
  16. 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
  17. For those that are interested, the TWSBI facebook page has a post about a new bundle promotion- a Vac700 & Vac20 ink bottle for $85. TWSBI Vac700 &Vac20 ink bottle promotion





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