Twsbi Barrel Crack

[Vincenz]

Few days ago, i took my TWSBi 540 out my pen pouch and i see that the ink was near the section grip. I clean the pen and i haven't noticed nothing. In the next days, the pen have ink losses again and agian.

After a more accurate inspection, i see the section barrel cracked near the grip.

I think that TWSBI pens look so cool, but i'm very disappointed about the quality of the materials used: my pen have some rust on the clip, cracked feed (replaced), cracked grip (replaced) and now cracked barrel. Never experienced a barrel crack before with other pens, I have some pens that have more than 60 years and have no issues.

Have they improved the quality or is it exactly the same thing?

Have someone had the same experience?

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

We have 6 Ecos in the house. Yesterday I found a small crack in the collar/section of one of them. I contacted TWSBI and we are working on getting a replacement part. The other five pens are fine

[Fermata]

I would be interested to know if the cracks have occurred only after the nib and feed has been refitted.

 

In other words, is the cracking due to the manufacturer or the owner?

[Vincenz]

I think the material used is very sensible because i haven't forced any part of the pen. I repair vintage fountain pens as hobbist and never forced the pieces togheter orapply force to assembly them; also i know that the collar near the feed have some linear pins that have to be alligned with the grip before twisting them on the barrel. a misalligned collar could result in a crack

[Fermata]

Twsbi say that the cracks in the section are caused by the owner when they refit the nib and feed.

 

I would be interested in knowing if anyone has a crack in the section for pens where the nib and feed have not been removed.

[tim77]

Twsbi say that the cracks in the section are caused by the owner when they refit the nib and feed.

 

I would be interested in knowing if anyone has a crack in the section for pens where the nib and feed have not been removed.

 

I've repeatedly had TWSBI pens crack after just a few weeks use. These are pens bought within the past year, without any rough treatment, and no disassembly (except when installing replacement parts sent by TWSBI - which also cracked). If anything was over-tightened, it was at the factory.

 

TWSBI claims to have solved their materials problems (see statement of their website), but this is not consistent with my experience.

 

I really like their pens and I'd buy some more if I thought they had genuinely fixed the problem. Maybe they will, but finding out is an expensive exercise.

[Freddy]

Few days ago, i took my TWSBi 540 out my pen pouch and i see that the ink was near the section grip. I clean the pen and i haven't noticed nothing. In the next days, the pen have ink losses again and agian.

After a more accurate inspection, i see the section barrel cracked near the grip.

I think that TWSBI pens look so cool, but i'm very disappointed about the quality of the materials used: my pen have some rust on the clip, cracked feed (replaced), cracked grip (replaced) and now cracked barrel. Never experienced a barrel crack before with other pens, I have some pens that have more than 60 years and have no issues.

Have they improved the quality or is it exactly the same thing?

Have someone had the same experience?

I have many different TWSBI fountain pens including the first one made {530}.....All without any issues whatsoever......

 

All I can say is: I must be one lucky son of a beach......

 

Take care, stay safe and healthy.....

 

Fred

[CAG_1787]

Every single TWSBI I have had, with the exception of the Eco, has cracked. I went through the rigamarole of getting parts replaced by TWSBI and then the replacement parts cracked. At that point, I was done. There are too many good, reliable pens out there.

[WLSpec]

Every single TWSBI I have had, with the exception of the Eco, has cracked. I went through the rigamarole of getting parts replaced by TWSBI and then the replacement parts cracked. At that point, I was done. There are too many good, reliable pens out there.

Huh. I didn't have this problem with my two TWSBIs, but I didn't have them for years. Maybe I won't be getting many more.

[Freddy]

Huh. I didn't have this problem with my two TWSBIs, but I didn't have them for years. Maybe I won't be getting many more.

Had the 530 for at least nine/ten years without any issues along with many other models of TWSBI fountain pens...

I'm one lucky sob.........................................as noted above in post number seven..............

 

Fred

[Fermata]

Thanks for the comments all. I have two Twsbis, one is just used and never cleaned or taken apart. It has been perfect.

 

The other has been taken apart completely to clean some ink staining, including removing the nib. That pen has had a cracked section. Twsbi said that the staining was my fault because I had used a saturated ink and the cracking was also my fault because, it is alledged, I hadn't seated the nib in the recess on the feed and I must also have pushed the nib and feed too far into the section. The nib and feed had become very loose in the section, to the point that they would drop out. They had to be pushed well home.

 

I think that twsbi make too big a deal of owner maintenance, my advice would be to leave well alone unless repairs are unavoidable, this was my reason for asking if anyone had suffered cracks who had not done maintenance, I am surprised to learn that this is the case and my opinion of twsbi has gone down.

[Karmachanic]

That a cracking TWSBI Grommit!

[Fuzzy_Bear]

I have 2 Diamond 580's and an Eco. Both 580 caps broke. One 580 nib unit broke while capped in the barrel. Yes. While capped. I opened it to use it and the nib and feed fell out. The Eco barrel cracked. All were replaced, but will not buy another one.

[drwell]

My experience with TWSBI has caused me to give up on them after 6 months. Like you I did not take my 700R apart. When I did things went wrong in spades. The problem arose when I complained to them about a receiving a nib that looked different to my original (F) that is it was not fitted together the same as my original. This nib I had bought when I wanted broader lines. Their response was to tell me to take it apart into its three component pieces and put it back. Then they blamed me when it still did not fix the problem, that is, no change in fit/appearance. They also had me play with the main unit. Fortunately I had made a video that showed what I did but they were uninterested. So I agree with you they are inconsistent: (1) They supply an excellent tool, and grease, but very brief instructions; (2) They then find fault with self-conducted maintenance conducted in the absence of detailed instructions. It is a pity they havent sorted out the product weaknesses and the customer support because potentially they have a product that is ideal. Otherwise I would never have switched to Opus88. Some advantages of the Opus88 are that it is lighter, has even better ink capacity, and also my local supplier for Opus88 here in Sydney Australia (www.larrypost.com.au) gives excellent support.

Thanks for the comments all. I have two Twsbis, one is just used and never cleaned or taken apart. It has been perfect.

 

The other has been taken apart completely to clean some ink staining, including removing the nib. That pen has had a cracked section. Twsbi said that the staining was my fault because I had used a saturated ink and the cracking was also my fault because, it is alledged, I hadn't seated the nib in the recess on the feed and I must also have pushed the nib and feed too far into the section. The nib and feed had become very loose in the section, to the point that they would drop out. They had to be pushed well home.

 

I think that twsbi make too big a deal of owner maintenance, my advice would be to leave well alone unless repairs are unavoidable, this was my reason for asking if anyone had suffered cracks who had not done maintenance, I am surprised to learn that this is the case and my opinion of twsbi has gone down.

Edited April 11, 2020 by drwell

[chemgeek]

I have an Eco and a 580AL that have had no problems whatsoever, despite being used heavily and carried all over creation in my travels. So far, so good. The 1.1 stub on the Eco is a really nice writer out of the box, didn't need much tuneup at all.

[Runnin_Ute]

My understanding is that the earlier models (530 & 540) were much more susceptible to cracking than later models although it isn't unheard of with the 580 series either. I had to have the cap replaced on my 580 because it broke at the clip. Partly due to clipping it to a shirt placket. The plastic can't handle the stress.

[amper]

Since October 2017, I have purchased five ECOs. None of them have cracked. Two of them I swapped the nibs. Three of them are in constant use as my daily writers. Over 2.5 years of heavy use, plus nib swaps, zero cracks.

[chas0039]

I got a 580 in rose gold 5-6 years back. Cracking was an issue then. I'm amazed that they are still having issues. Very sad, they looked like such an interesting pen.

Edited July 9, 2020 by chas0039

[Rymesis]

I got a 580 in rose gold 5-6 years back. Cracking was an issue then. I'm amazed that they are still having issues. Very sad, they looked like such an interesting pen.

 

 

If it helps out any, I got the old 580 rose gold used. The barrel was fine, but the nib holder was cracked, and instead of getting a new nib holder, the previous owner superglued it; Aside from the glue, the barrel is in perfect condition.

 

I did get a new barrel and nib holder from TWSBI and it's fully repaired...well, aside from some of the gold plating coming off of the nib.