A Few Wee Cracks

[Beechwood]

It would be interesting to see if anyone who has not removed the nib and feed has still seen cracks in the section.

 

I am certain that the inexpert refitting of my nib and feed caused the section to crack, I hadnt appreciated that there is a precise place on the feed, a recess, where the nib must fit.

[Karmachanic]

Post 39 explains the cause of cracking TWSBIs. The fault of the manufacturing process is not the fault of the user.

[Beechwood]

Post 39 explains the cause of cracking TWSBIs. The fault of the manufacturing process is not the fault of the user.

 

I had owned my Eco for 2 years without any cracking, I removed the nib and feed and next day saw cracking in the section, if there was no user error ( as in my case) would the section still suffer cracking?

 

It would be interesting to see if anyone who has not removed the nib and feed has still seen cracks in the section.

[jhataway]

As I’ve said previously, the cracks are most likely stress cracks which can often occur in injection molded parts, especially when the part has uneven surfaces such as the TWSBI section. This is why cast resin is preferable, but then the part has to be machined which is more costly. To discuss stress cracks in detail would require a long explanation at the molecular level. Some resins are more prone to stress cracking than others, and part design is very important if one is to reduce the tendency to crack.

[Beechwood]

The fact remains that if the cracks occur only after the user has incorrectly refitted a nib, as in the case of my pen, then the blame for the cracking, if that is the right word, cannot be 100% Twsbi.

 

To be clear, I am not defending Twsbi, in my opinion, they have wrongly encouraged users of unknown abilities to take apart pens that are better left untouched, just because you can take a pen apart doesnt mean that you should.

[jchch1950]

The fact remains that if the cracks occur only after the user has incorrectly refitted a nib, as in the case of my pen, then the blame for the cracking, if that is the right word, cannot be 100% Twsbi.

 

To be clear, I am not defending Twsbi, in my opinion, they have wrongly encouraged users of unknown abilities to take apart pens that are better left untouched, just because you can take a pen apart doesnt mean that you should.

+1.

[Karmachanic]

The fact remains that if the cracks occur only after the user has incorrectly refitted a nib, as in the case of my pen, then the blame for the cracking, if that is the right word, cannot be 100% Twsbi.

 

To be clear, I am not defending Twsbi, in my opinion, they have wrongly encouraged users of unknown abilities to take apart pens that are better left untouched, just because you can take a pen apart doesnt mean that you should.

 

Hmm. The pen is designed to be taken apart. TWSBI supplies the tools to do so. If, having taken the pen apart, reassembly causes cracking in 100s of cases, I would say the blame lies squarely with the manufacturer for providing a pen barrel, so delicate, that does not survive the reassembly process.

 

Non of my eight non-TWSBI pens have this problem.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Karmachanic

[Beechwood]

 

Hmm. The pen is designed to be taken apart. TWSBI supplies the tools to do so. If, having taken the pen apart, reassembly causes cracking in 100s of cases, I would say the blame lies squarely with the manufacturer for providing a pen barrel, so delicate, that does not survive the reassembly process.

 

Non of my eight non-TWSBI pens have this problem.

 

 

I have been buying and repairing pens since 1970, I havent known a pen to crack around the section in all that time. There is a right and a wrong way to reinsert the nib and feed into the section, if you do not fit the nib correctly into the recess in the feed you risk causing cracking into the section. It is easily done, the nib and feed will go into the section both in and out of the recess but my experience is that if you fit the nib incorrectly and then try and bed the assembly into the section then you may cause cracking.

 

I would suggest that there is little point or benefit in removing the nib from a Twsbi, as I suggested above, just because you can remove it doesnt mean that you should, especially without a very good reason.

 

Still interested to hear if anyone has had a cracked section from normal use of the pen and who hasnt removed the nib.

 

I am sure that there must be parallels in the auto mechanic world.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Beechwood

[NewPenMan]

Nemosine singularity, barrel crack after a few days, Pilot prera barrel and cap cracks.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

It would be interesting to see if anyone who has not removed the nib and feed has still seen cracks in the section.

 

I am certain that the inexpert refitting of my nib and feed caused the section to crack, I hadnt appreciated that there is a precise place on the feed, a recess, where the nib must fit.

That would be me!

[amper]

Since October 2017, I have purchased five ECOs. Three of them are inked and in constant use, two of them have had the nibs swapped, and not a single one of them has a single crack. Only the two which had the nibs swapped have been flushed clean. One of my daily writers has been filled and refilled with the same ink for over 2.5 years, another was filled once about a year ago. The other daily writer is one of the ones that had its nib swapped, so I guess it's been about 9-10 months since it was filled, and has been refilled since then.

 

I am wondering if the people who are experiencing cracks are cleaning their pens with unsafe chemicals or subjecting them to thermal stress with hot water. The ECO is made of acrylic, which is not the most durable plastic in the world, and that is why TWSBI includes a little tag warning users not to let alcohol touch the pen.

 

Pens do not need to be frequently disassembled and cleaned, particularly if you are using the same ink in them, so maybe a little less obsessing over them would be helpful.

 

Also, my everyday ink is a pigmented ink. Over 2.5 years of use, filling and refilling without cleaning, and never a single clog.

Edited May 5, 2020 by amper

[Beechwood]

Quite an old thread and I think we have covered many of the issues.

 

I took the nib and feed out of my Eco because there was staining from ink, I hadn't realised that there was a precise place for the nib to fit on the feed, the sction was found to be cracked next day, I blame myself.

 

Another Eco had a really loose fit in the section, the ink would blob very badly, just dripped through. I fixed it with a dab of shellac above the nib, no more blobs, nib and feed feel secure.

 

My advise to any Eco owner is to leave the nib and feed alone, I don't care that the factory designed the nib to be removed or not, if they had really wanted you to be able to remove the nib they would have fitted a screw thread.

[max dog]

 

I had owned my Eco for 2 years without any cracking, I removed the nib and feed and next day saw cracking in the section, if there was no user error ( as in my case) would the section still suffer cracking?

 

It would be interesting to see if anyone who has not removed the nib and feed has still seen cracks in the section.

I've had my TWSBI ECO since 2016, never removed the nib and feed, nor had a reason to take the pen apart. Piston remains smooth enough. No cracking or any issues.

[max dog]

On another note, I've had piston filler Montblancs and Pelikans for years and never had a reason to take the pen apart nor pull out the nib feed. I just run some good lubricated inks like Montblanc Royal Blue, and only use water to flush the pens out (no soap). I do regular maintenance on my TWSBI like my other pens, which is just flushing it with luke warm water regularly to keep things clean, and avoiding crappy inks, and it works just fine. Is there a reason, other than because TWSBI provided a wrench, to take apart a TWSBI pen and risk putting it back together incorrectly and cracking something? Just curious if people take the pen apart just because it can be taken apart because TWSBI provided a wrench.

Edited June 14, 2020 by max dog

[LibertyPrime]

I'm interested in buying a Vac or AL580, do these pens still crack in 2020?

[stauffert]

My Vac700R cap from 2017 cracked into 2 pieces in March. $10 and a week later a replacement cap arrived from TWSBI.