TWSBI DRACO - mini review

[markh]

Mini Review - TWSBI Draco

 

The pen:

 

Mine arrived a few days ago from Cult Pens in the UK. The first thing I noticed was that the photos on various web stores (probably provided by TWSBI) don’t do the pen justice. But then the photos on TWSBI’s site aren’t much better. The pen is a very striking combination of wine, cherry red and  black. The lighter reds have some nice reflective depth. I think it’s quite nice, which I certainly couldn’t tell from the pictures. But then I don’t have any additional pictures in this review because I probably couldn’t do much better. Some pens just don’t photograph well.

This is piston filler, with a clear ink window below the top of the section. The section has gold toned metal threads, and there is a cap ring at the end of the cap with internal matching told toned threads. The metal-metal threads seem smooth enough. About 1 ¼ turn to remove the cap. The plating – nib, threads, cap ring, clip, and rear ring are rose gold, which nicely matches the pen body.

TWSBI is engraved into the plastic on the cap just above the ring. But this isn’t colored and is quite subtle. The TWSBI circular logo is cut into the top of the cap, but also not that noticeable. The clip seems nicely secure, and designed to not shred you pocket.

The dimensions of the pen give a slightly wide look, relative to its length. (I’m not one to criticize this, as I also have a slightly wide look relative to my length… ahem…). I measure the length of the un-posted body at 128mm nib tip to tail. The thickest part of the pen is 15mm, just above the threads. The thinnest part the section, just below a flare out is 10.5mm. I tend to hold pens a little further away from the nib than some people, so my fingers sit right on the threads. I don’t find the step down (nicely smoothed) or the threads particularly noticeable.

The pen posts quite securely but quite high. But there is a reason that you are warned not to do this – the metal threads will scratch the turning knob. I have verified this (only in the interests of science of course) and then buffed out the minor scratches on a wheel. For me the unposted length is long enough to use comfortably, and I wouldn’t post the pen even if it didn’t have an issue. When posted the pen is overly long and back weighted.

 

The nib:

 

Some issues. The nib is a #5 steel plated with rose gold. My pen arrived with the tines out of alignment, enough to make it unpleasant to use. I have found this to be a common problem with pens at all price levels. In this case, off a little further than some. Maybe if you bought your new pen in a store in 1930, the clerk would make sure things were right before you left, but in today’s world, where most pens seem to be purchased on-line doing this tuning seems like a necessary skill. This took only a few minutes.

The nib slit was slightly off-center but I don’t think that really affected the writing. You might find this is more common than you think if you examined pens you owned under a good loupe.

I also modified the nib to reduce the feedback, or feel of the nib on paper. This is not a problem with the pen, I’m just very picky and like the pen to write a certain way. So I do some tuning on most nibs. This is an issue of personal taste, and the knowledge to get what I want.

When tuned, the nib writes very nice. Mine is an extra fine, and I would describe it as a true xFine – not as thin as a Pilot or Platinum xFine, but not as wide as many European xFine nibs. If it’s of help, I also got a Lamy Safari Terra from Cult with an xFine nib. I would describe the lines they make as identical.

 

The good:

 

I really like the pen. I think the color is quite attractive. It’s comfortable in the hand. The nib and feed are well behaved, with appropriate flow, and lay down a nice line. This isn’t a flex or soft nib, and makes no pretense to be so. Piston fill seems to hold plenty of ink. This pen would probably be better for people who like a little thicker body – the widest part of a Platinum 3776 (which was just at hand) is 13.25mm – compared to 15mm. This is a noticeable difference.

Pen comes with the usual tool kit of a wrench and silicone. Not that I’ve ever used mine on the TWSBI pens I have.

 

The bad:

 

Well, the nib was off. As I said, not uncommon, but still shouldn’t happen.

The posting issues seem like a design error to me. If the cap can post, it could have been designed to post without damaging the pen body. If not, it probably shouldn’t post at all. I have Nakaya pens where there is a warning to post gently or the urushi will be scratched. I don’t post those pens. But in this case, posting will scratch the body. I don’t understand this decision.

The nib is a number 5. Given the overall size of the pen I would have used a #6. I have a TWSBI micarta pen from a while back which is a similar size and has a #6 nib. That looks more appropriate for the size of that pen, and same for the Draco. This is not a functional issue – it writes fine. Just looks a little out of proportion to my eye.

 

Hopefully useful information.

 

=

 

[EmJ]

Thanks for the review - I've been seeing the pen advertised all over and was curious about it!

[langere]

Thanks so much for this review.  I'm still on the fence about this pen.

 

Erick

[Len Durham]

Thanks for the review. I received my new Draco yesterday and really like it. Very attractive to my eye and the nib is a superbly smooth EF with a consistent EF line.  I smooth the nibs on most new pens because I'm very fussy about no scratching and no feedback.  This pen has none of those.

 

I don't usually go for pens with long nibs (hooded, inlaid etc suit my small hands and small writing) but don't find that to be a problem with the Draco. My only criticism is the I find the nib to be very dry so will be testing other inks and/or finding a way to slightly increase the ink flow. 

[Honeybadgers]

I'v been curious about this, but like all TWSBI pens, it seems like it doesn't post properly, and that kind of killed it for me.

[Len Durham]

On 4/14/2021 at 3:47 AM, Honeybadgers said:

I'v been curious about this, but like all TWSBI pens, it seems like it doesn't post properly, and that kind of killed it for me.

The Draco posts OK in that the top fits snugly onto the body and it's reasonably well balanced like that. It's just that they advise against it because of possible scratches to the body. 

[Honeybadgers]

A pen that doesn't post properly pretty much never gets used by me. I have VERY few exceptions to that rule. I need to put the cap SOMEWHERE, and so many makers have shown us an easy way to do it - design the damn thing right. Pelikan and most vintage pens did it.

 

There are a few exceptions (mak-ie and other art pens, sure) but I kind of hate using my TWSBI 580 not because it has anything WRONG, but because it could so easily just be designed a TINY bit differently and have a cap that posts deeply and securely. Or the vac mini, which takes too damn long to unscrew and re-screw.