The Twsbi Mini Has Been Released!

[chiaroscuro]

I almost regret not having waited to order from gouletpens. I've been chomping at the bit to get a mini for quite some time, so I did order it elsewhere, but one day the stars will align and I'll finally be able to get a pen from the Goulets.

If you can wait and want the peace of mind of dealing with such a reputable business, go with them.

 

PS -- Apple unveils the iPad mini today (and maybe a 13" retina display macbook pro). I'm a happy consumer. October 23rd will go down in history as the day of Mini.

[51ISH]

I just don't seem to get on with "mini" pens, so I will be passing on this one.

 

 

Too small for me to consider. I have some mini pens and they are OK but I prefer bigger pens so will be skipping this one.

 

 

+1 on that ....nothing further to add really

[betsypreston]

I'm not getting one. I'm getting TWO! I chose to buy directly from twsbi.com cuz the shipping was less there for two than shipping for each on eBay (wasn't sure if they would combine and went with the known amount rather than risk paying for shipping for each pen). I ordered the clear in F and the classic in M.

 

I love my Sailor Sapporo minis, so I am very excited about the Twsbi mini. I hate slim pens, but love the short pens. Hopefully the Sailor and Twsbi are about the same size.

 

Given a choice, I prefer a pen where I can see my ink. I don't miss it when that's not an option, but I am not interested in the black when I can see the ink in the other two.

 

I like the EF in my 540, but I also like variety and I swear that thing will NEVER run out of its current fill of Sailor Epinard. So I went with F and M for the minis. Can anyone confirm that the MINI nibs are interchangeable? If so, I will probably grab an EF and a B, and maybe a stub or two, if/when nib-only become available.

 

Hopefully their experience with the 530 and 540 will have rubbed off on the mini so that I don't regret buying two of a new model right out of the gate.

 

Can't wait for them to arrive!

[PAKMAN]

Love the size of the 540 so probably no for me on the mini.

[wastelanded]

I was so looking forward to a black Mini. But are those diamond shaped windows on the barrel? Ugh. Massive disappointment. Never saw that in any of the pre-release photos.

[flight878]

Not impressed. I like the 540 better.

 

Perhaps I'm late into the game, but the Diamond 540 Clear in EF or F nib is sold out everywhere! Why? For how long? Restock? Discontinued? Even the spare nibs in EF/F are nowhere to be found! Are there manufacturing problems?

[nightwing]

I was so looking forward to a black Mini. But are those diamond shaped windows on the barrel? Ugh. Massive disappointment. Never saw that in any of the pre-release photos.

I'm pretty sure that's just the reflection.

[ThirdeYe]

I wouldn't mind it as a pocket pen, but I do wonder if the pocket clip is as useless as the one on my 530.

[MrsGouletPens]

Perhaps I'm late into the game, but the Diamond 540 Clear in EF or F nib is sold out everywhere! Why? For how long? Restock? Discontinued? Even the spare nibs in EF/F are nowhere to be found! Are there manufacturing problems?

It will return in a few months with some slight modifications (presumably to correct the cracking issues). The factory is working on producing these new ones right now. My guess is an end-of-the-year release? No official timeline yet.

[flight878]

Perhaps I'm late into the game, but the Diamond 540 Clear in EF or F nib is sold out everywhere! Why? For how long? Restock? Discontinued? Even the spare nibs in EF/F are nowhere to be found! Are there manufacturing problems?

It will return in a few months with some slight modifications (presumably to correct the cracking issues). The factory is working on producing these new ones right now. My guess is an end-of-the-year release? No official timeline yet.

 

I see. I guess there is a good reason for the wait. Thanks for update!

[chiaroscuro]

I ordered a black and a demo with XF and F nibs. When the cap is screwed onto the back end as designed (as in a MB Boheme) I am imagining that it will write like an uposted larger pen, which is my style anyWay.

 

One question for the group-how do like the appearance of the "classic" with a black cap, demo body and black piston knob, versus the cleaner look of the all black and all demo bodies? I can see the appeal of the classic but out of the gate I went with the all black and all demo, but if I like the pens overall when I've tested them I could see adding the classic (unless I make my own frankenpen out of the pieces of the all black and all demo)

 

From the product image on various retailer's sites, the classic was my least favorite, but a Google image search turns up some "real world" pictures where it looks fantastic (here's a really good one from FPGeeks); I ended up choosing it over the others. It looks especially good inked up.

 

Of course, like anything online, we won't really know what it'll look like until we see it IRL.

[duboing]

This one's got my name all over it. I've just ordered the EF clear. Yay!

 

And now I have definitely spent more than I can afford on pens this month

[legume]

I was so looking forward to a black Mini. But are those diamond shaped windows on the barrel? Ugh. Massive disappointment. Never saw that in any of the pre-release photos.

Well, it really wouldn't be a TWSBI Diamond without them though. Have you already found them to be bothersome in the 540? I've haven't read any complaints about them before, and was considering getting this one. Has anyone found the facets to be uncomfortable?

 

Edit: grammar

Edited October 23, 2012 by legume

[Renfield]

I would have expected it to be lower priced than the 540, since you are getting less pen.

 

And considering the nibs are not interchangeable, that's a down side.

 

are the vac 700 and 540 nibs interchangeable?

[Amandaa]

I'm gonna snag a medium black/clear. Been waiting forever on this one!

[MrsGouletPens]

I would have expected it to be lower priced than the 540, since you are getting less pen.

 

And considering the nibs are not interchangeable, that's a down side.

 

are the vac 700 and 540 nibs interchangeable?

No, they are not. None of the TWSBI nibs are interchangeable across different models at this time.

[wastelanded]

Well, it really wouldn't be a TWSBI Diamond without them though. Have you already found them to be bothersome in the 540? I've haven't read any complaints about them before, and was considering getting this one. Has anyone found the facets to be uncomfortable?

 

I don't own a 540, because I don't like demonstrators: I didn't know there were facets. I was waiting for the Mini because in all the photos of it up til now, it was a solid black body. I wouldn't mind a faceted body at all. I don't want big diamond-shaped ink windows that are the length of the body. I don't think those are reflections, although I hope they are.

 

Edit: Squinting further, they just might be reflections! Even so, I'll wait til the Goulets have it.

Edited October 23, 2012 by wastelanded

[Alohamora]

I've been waiting and waiting for this release. I've waited this long, I can wait a little bit longer for all the stars to align just right--

 

waiting for the first reviews to come out

waiting to decide on clear or classic (leaning strongly towards clear)

waiting to decide on EF or F, or maybe even an M to turn into a stub

waiting until I sell something on ebay so I have the $54 dollars in my paypal account

[Lloyd]

Since when is an iPhone a measure of length? Did they state the dimensions oof the iPad Mini in terms of TWSBI 540s?

[krbmsw]

Since when is an iPhone a measure of length? Did they state the dimensions oof the iPad Mini in terms of TWSBI 540s?

 

 

For over 250 million people, it's an instant frame of reference. I saw that photo and knew exactly how large it was. Granted, I saw the photo of it next to a 540 and knew how big it was, too.

 

If Speedy is trying to win over new customers, it's a nice way to demonstrate his product feature (read: size) to many people.