TWSBI Eco - Fine or Medium nib?.

[kavanagh]

Dear FPN Colleagues,

 

I’m about to purchase a TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen, but I’m not sure if I should get a Fine or Medium nib?.

1) Does the medium write like a ‘western’ medium or like a Japanese Fine? ( or does the TWSBI Broad nib write like a western medium ).

2) Does the ECO nib suffer from the ‘starts off wet but eventually go dry problem’ like the higher end TWSBI’s?.

( shall I soak a new TWSBI in distilled water & soap before inking up )

3) Can I use a wet ink like Diamine Sapphire blue / Waterman ? or which well behaved wet ink would you recommend ?.

4) Any precautions to keep the piston and nib flow healthy ?.

Thanks guys.

[MuddyWaters]

I can only comment on the first. The nibs are made in Germany by Jowo and indeed they seem to be consistent with the line width of German mediums, whatever that means. My Faber castell fine nib is finer, and my faber castell medium nib is similar.

[Kenlowe]

My advice is.

 

Only take the pen apart if you have no choice, especially leave the nib and feed as it came from the factory.

 

Use a washable ink, especially Parker or Waterman.

 

If your handwriting size is average sized get a medium.

 

By all means give a flush through of water with a couple of drops of washing up liquid.

 

After filling the pen, dry the nib and feed with a tissue.

 

 

[irrigger]

In my mind the Eco Broad writes like a Western medium. I have had no issues with starting or flow with mine and I have used many different brands of inks. I added a comparison to a Lamy Fine just to give a ballpark on the width of the Eco's Broad.

[kavanagh]

7 hours ago, Kenlowe said:

My advice is.

 

Only take the pen apart if you have no choice, especially leave the nib and feed as it came from the factory.

 

Use a washable ink, especially Parker or Waterman.

 

If your handwriting size is average sized get a medium.

 

By all means give a flush through of water with a couple of drops of washing up liquid.

 

After filling the pen, dry the nib and feed with a tissue.

 

 

Thanks kenlowe, it looks like saturated inks like Diamine are out of the question.

 

4 hours ago, irrigger said:

In my mind the Eco Broad writes like a Western medium. I have had no issues with starting or flow with mine and I have used many different brands of inks. I added a comparison to a Lamy Fine just to give a ballpark on the width of the Eco's Broad.

 

Thank you irriger, it looks like the medium nib is a good compromise between the Lamy fine and Eco broad.

A seller at a pen show in London (quite a while ago), said to me that before sending a pen to a nibmeister, choose a TWSBI fountain pen for the same cost, and see if it satisfies your appetite for a smooth, wet writer - as they nearly always write that way straight out of the box. Now I understood what he meant.

[Aminah]

On 3/2/2021 at 6:27 PM, kavanagh said:

Thanks kenlowe, it looks like saturated inks like Diamine are out of the question.

 

Uww, I hope not!  TWISBI lover here (newbie FP user) and most of my inks are Diamine AND I go long periods with my pens sitting in a holder.  So far, no problem writing with them even after hiatus.

 

I have Diamine Marine in one (it is a medium nib)  Then I have Rachmaninoff in my other TWISBI with a fine nib.

[Aysedasi]

Get a broad.  You know you really want to....... 

 

As for inks, in my experience you can use pretty much what you like, including Diamine for sure.  I've used all sorts in my three Ecos.  

[mizgeorge]

Hate to say it, but the only TWSBI nib I've enjoyed is the 1.1 stub. It's not as wide as many, but has enough line variation to be interesting and it's nicely smooth.

 

Come over to the dark side

[kavanagh]

On 3/18/2021 at 10:42 PM, Aysedasi said:

Get a broad.  You know you really want to....... 

 

As for inks, in my experience you can use pretty much what you like, including Diamine for sure.  I've used all sorts in my three Ecos.  

Aysedasi, I did fancy a ‘broad’ ( but she’s already married 😉 )

 

Anyway, back to pens, I did have a broad nib Lamy fountain pen - very juicy and a pleasure to write, but could not use it for everyday writing.

23 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

Hate to say it, but the only TWSBI nib I've enjoyed is the 1.1 stub. It's not as wide as many, but has enough line variation to be interesting and it's nicely smooth.

 

Come over to the dark side

 

I’ve tried a Sheaffer Legacy with a 0.6mm stub italic nib - but your TWSBI sounds delectable

[Aysedasi]

12 hours ago, kavanagh said:

Aysedasi, I did fancy a ‘broad’ ( but she’s already married 😉 )

 

 

I'd best not tell my wife, I have a houseful of broads......   

[maclink]

The TWSBI Eco is one of my favourite pens in its price range.  The cap seals the nib extremely well.  I've had one inked for over a year with no dry out after many months without use.  I just got another with a M nib and it's performing as well.  I'd use these pens with any ink and highly recommend them for use with pigmented or other inks where you can't afford drying out. 

 

I've never had to tune any of the nibs on these pens and enjoy all of them except the EF and B.  They have all written well out of the box.  The mediums flow well and put down a Western medium line.   Admittedly, 'Western M' is a moving target, especially if you introduce nibs from Montblanc and Pelikan whose nibs run even wider than the ubiquitous Bock, Jowo and Schmidt nibs.  The F is towards Western EF with the jump from M being a bit more than I'd like.  It makes me wish for an F-M.

[Aysedasi]

I have three - all broads.  Love the way they write.  

[kavanagh]

Thank you maclink and Aysidasi - very useful.

It would be interesting to compare the performance of the TWSBI medium nib to the Faber Castell Loom medium nib ( but that’s a different topic ).