Experience With Twsbi Eco?

[thepiman]

Thanks to ac12 and Berrelleza for their replies. I don't think this has anything to do with the ink. I have been using the same ink from the beginning and got through about 30ml worth without any problems. Berrelleza's suggestion sounds more plausible. I will need to research how to disassemble the pen as I've not done that before and would worry that I break it. Any more suggestions gratefully received.

[majolo]

One possibility that comes to mind is: in pens where the body is the ink receptacle like a piston filler, when you're almost out of ink, a change in temperature can make the air in the pen expand, pushing out some ink. Was the ink chamber mostly full or mostly empty? Was the pen in a cool place and then warming up in your hand?

 

On disassembling the pen, I think Goulet's shop has some good videos showing how to disassemble and reassemble the Eco.

[DevrimJan]

In my experience the ECO has been a great, reliable writer. The medium nib runs a little narrow, and is a bit dry, making it ideal for poorer quality paper. The nib writes very smoothly with a pleasant feedback. The ink capacity is very nice, and coupled with the pen's relative dryness, allows it to go for a long while without needing a refill. And when you do need to refill, the piston mechanism is very well executed, being very smooth to operate, and doesn't squirt ink out of the nib during operation (like on my OMAS Ogiva). The seal when capping the pen is excellent. So good in fact that when the piston is extended while the pen is capped, the piston will be pushed back down due to the increase in pressure.

[prashant.tikekar]

I bought my first eco white F 2 days ago. After using for 2 days, I am totally in love with it. It has a very smooth and really fine nib, good balance, decent looks and easy filling system and very competitive price.

[AAAndrew]

Thanks to ac12 and Berrelleza for their replies. I don't think this has anything to do with the ink. I have been using the same ink from the beginning and got through about 30ml worth without any problems. Berrelleza's suggestion sounds more plausible. I will need to research how to disassemble the pen as I've not done that before and would worry that I break it. Any more suggestions gratefully received.

 

It's actually quite easy to take apart as there are few pieces. Check online as I'm sure there are plenty of sites to help you. The nib and feed are just friction fit, so that's why they can possibly come loose over time, but it also means that it's quite easy to fix. If it were me, I would dump the ink and just pull the nib and re-seat it. I'm sure that will fix the problem. Part of this pen's charm is its simplicity.

 

If you take the piston out, just make sure you have watched the video (I think there's one from Goulet pens, and others) on how to re-assemble the piston to ensure it closes up tight. There's a slight trick that's easy once you know how, but if you don't, can leave you frustrated because your piston which used to close tightly now stops before it snugs up to the body. (don't ask how I know this)

 

Good luck. It's a great pen.

 

Andrew

[Jamerelbe]

@thepiman, if the problem has to do with the seating of the nib and feed, you don't need to empty the ink reservoir or disassemble the body of the pen. Simply hold the pen nib up, grab the nib and feed between your thumb and forefinger (with a tissue to minimise staining of fingertips if you wish), and gently but firmly pull then straight out. Give them a quick rinse, carefully realign them, then gently but firmly press them back in, until they're recessed inside the grip section as far as they'll go. I'm guessing they've become a little loose over time - in which case, reseating firmly may resolve *all* your problems. (If not, more complicated measures may be necessary - but I won't be surprised if this fixes your pen...)

[graystranger]

The TWSBI Eco dissembles just like the 580. Brian Goulet has a video on this: http://blog.gouletpens.com/2013/03/twsbi-580-disassembly.html

 

Here is Brian's blog about questions they've received about the Eco: http://blog.gouletpens.com/2015/07/answering-your-twsbi-eco-questions.html

 

Mine has worked perfectly for 6 months now, the cap seals really tight, the piston is smooth, I love being able to remove the nib and feed for thorough cleaning and trouble shooting, especially while there is still ink in the pen. I just do what Jamerelbe does in his post above, works great. The piston works perfectly, it holds a lot of ink. A wonderful pen for switching inks often. If you just want to test an ink, then draw up only enough to fill the section, you can see it easily.

 

If you want to minimize the air in the reservoir to avoid expansion and ink dribbling, just hold the pen upright and carefully, slowly extend the piston driving out the air in the reservoir. Do this over a safe place, as some ink might come out of the feed when you do this.

[Aysedasi]

Just got a black one. I love it. I have the broad nib, but it doesn't write as wide as I would prefer. Superb service from The Writing Desk as always - for the pen and the three bottles of Ink I also bought.

[DanielleE]

I just ordered a TWSBI Eco demonstrator model, M nib, that I should have early in the week. I have not decided on the ink that I will use in it. On hand I have Waterman, Noodlers and Private Reserve inks. I am thinking of trying one of the Waterman inks first as I think they would be ones least likely to stain the demonstrator pen. After reading some of the posts about flow and leaking, I am questioning if I should have ordered this pen. On the other hand from this thread I get the impression a lot of people are happy with their TWSBI Eco pens.

 

Ink thoughts?

 

Happy with your Eco?

[BT_Summers]

I would only use Waterman and Parker inks.

 

No problems with my Eco. Generally, they are well set up from TWSBI, try not to be tempted to take it apart.

[akrohn2010]

I have tried Noodler's and Diamine inks in my Eco with no staining or performance issues yet. So far Majestic Blue has been the winner for how it looks in the pen - a brighter/paler ink will look better in a demonstrator 99% of the time in my experience.

[DanielleE]

I would only use Waterman and Parker inks.

 

No problems with my Eco. Generally, they are well set up from TWSBI, try not to be tempted to take it apart.

 

 

I will try to remember: "Do not disassemble!" Wasn't that a line from a movie? I will start with the Waterman.

[DanielleE]

I have tried Noodler's and Diamine inks in my Eco with no staining or performance issues yet. So far Majestic Blue has been the winner for how it looks in the pen - a brighter/paler ink will look better in a demonstrator 99% of the time in my experience.

 

 

Interesting, I have used Diamine in the past, but see that I no longer have them after a move. Not sure why I got rid of them now.

[PaganArcher]

I just ordered a TWSBI Eco demonstrator model, M nib, that I should have early in the week. I have not decided on the ink that I will use in it. On hand I have Waterman, Noodlers and Private Reserve inks. I am thinking of trying one of the Waterman inks first as I think they would be ones least likely to stain the demonstrator pen. After reading some of the posts about flow and leaking, I am questioning if I should have ordered this pen. On the other hand from this thread I get the impression a lot of people are happy with their TWSBI Eco pens.

 

Ink thoughts?

 

Happy with your Eco?

Use whatever ink you want to. Even BSB hasn't stained the Eco I ran it through twice.

 

And I'm very happy with them. Currently own six, and have given at least 3 away.

[BT_Summers]

I have two Ecos, one has always been filled with Parker and MB inks, there is no staining.

 

My other Eco was filled with Diamine once, and it is stained.

[DanielleE]

I got the pen and put Waterman Blue Black in it. I like the pen. When I first started using it, it seemed I had to be careful with the angle of rotation, but that seems not to be an issue after a few hours use.

[Almu]

I've owned 3 Ecos, still own two of them.

 

The first one I got shortly after the release, black pen with an extra fine nib. That one was very scratchy even though the tines looked ok. Also the feed couldn't keep up if I wrote for more than 10 mins non stop. Had some problems with the piston too, it didn't really want to move even though I lubricated it... Eventually I ended up giving the pen away.

 

The next two I got just about a month ago. White 1.1mm and clear extra fine. Pistons working well this time, the 1.1mm nib is a bit scratchy and not all that fun to use, but the extra fine is ok if a bit dry, again.

 

I really like the screw cap (seems to seal really well) and the piston filler, plus the pens look pretty good too. I don't like the nibs/feed and ink flow seems a bit inconsistent. Good pens, I just don't enjoy using them.

[Venemo]

I have a lime green TWSBI Eco with Extra Fine nib. It's a good pen. Perhaps not the prettiest pen you will find, but it isn't ugly. And it performs very well, at least my EF nib is quite smooth, wet and works consistently well. That being said, the lime green variant came later than the black and white, so maybe I was lucky enough to get mine after they sorted out all initial quality issues. Anyhow, I use the pen regularly and enjoy doing so.

 

Interestingly and suprisingly, I was bit by the KWZ ink issue, whereby my KWZ IG Green Gold would eat the barrel of my TWSBI Eco.

Fortunately, this was sorted out fairly quickly by Konrad and the KWZ team: they sent me a new barrel and a new IG Green Gold (both free of charge) which should now work together.

 

All in all, I think the Eco is a nice pen, and worth its price.

[WillN]

I've got the big Vac, the MiniVac and the TWSBI Eco-clear demonstrator. I'm using the Eco more than the other two. The Vac function is cool, but after the first fill, you don't see much. The big Vac can't really be used with the cap posted, it's just too heavy (I'm an average guy with average hands). The MiniVac would've stopped Goldilocks poking around. I bought an Eco to get an EF nib. I installed an EF nib on my MiniVac and the ink flow seemed too high.... so liking TWSBI, and it's large ink reservoir...the Eco's a bargain.

The piston filling with the Eco works good, reliable. The sealed valve feature on the Vacs is nice, and if I went backing, air travel, up and down mountains... I might bring along the MiniVac, and the Eco, or I might test them with a drive up to the mountains to see if there's any difference and then decide which to take. (I've had no problems with altitude and air travel, but lots of weird leaks in most of my pens. Many from eye dropper conversions --btw the Platinum silicone caulking conversion is on week three and still working great, 3rd or 4th refill without having to re-caulk.)

I really like the Eco. Holds a lot of ink, easy to maintain, filling is a snap.

I think that TWSBI may have made a mistake with the Eco. It's a terrific pen at half the cost of the others. And TSWBI is a terrific company. I had a cracked MiniVac part and they sent me out a new piece. I think $2 for shipping.

[JulioPB]

IMO the TWSBI ECO is the Best 'affordable' fountain pen in the market, with the plus of being a piston filler,

Much better than pens much more expensive.

Julio MX