580ALR - What's the Appeal?

[MadamBackslash]

I have two TWSBI Eco, one 580 AL-R and one Precision and I like them all very much.

I fell in love with the looks of the Nickel Grey AL-R and bought one on the spot. It's now one of my favourite pens — substantial without being heavy, and modern without being silly. It's also a lovely smooth reliable writer. Total win, from my perspective.

Edited January 8, 2023 by MadamBackslash

[Checklist]

 

On 1/8/2023 at 4:16 PM, MadamBackslash said:

I fell in love with the looks of the Nickel Grey AL-R and bought one on the spot

 

That's the one I bought!  Jury's still out, but I do like the build quality.

[Zaptrax]

I own several TWSBI 580ALR pens. They write well, offer great flexibility in filling & cleaning, and they make changing nibs fast, simple and inexpensive.  I really love them.  BUT for me the 580AL is a better pen. Why? you might ask?  The design of the grip on the ALR pens, with that turned aluminum piece with the little ridges is awful.  It feels good to run your finger over it, true. But, if you try to rotate the pen in your fingers the pen slips. Ironically, the smooth grip piece on the 580AL is less slippery. I'm awaiting a shipment from Taiwan with 580AL grip pieces (just the cylinder, not the feed) to replace the ones on my 580ALRs.  In the meantime, I'm using the clear plastic pieces that come with the replacement nibs so I can have better control of my 580ALR pens.

[markofp]

On 1/16/2023 at 11:06 AM, Zaptrax said:

I own several TWSBI 580ALR pens. They write well, offer great flexibility in filling & cleaning, and they make changing nibs fast, simple and inexpensive.  I really love them.  BUT for me the 580AL is a better pen. Why? you might ask?  The design of the grip on the ALR pens, with that turned aluminum piece with the little ridges is awful.  It feels good to run your finger over it, true. But, if you try to rotate the pen in your fingers the pen slips. Ironically, the smooth grip piece on the 580AL is less slippery. I'm awaiting a shipment from Taiwan with 580AL grip pieces (just the cylinder, not the feed) to replace the ones on my 580ALRs.  In the meantime, I'm using the clear plastic pieces that come with the replacement nibs so I can have better control of my 580ALR pens.

 

I'm exactly like you. I enjoy TWSBI 580 pens and would have more of them, except I can't stand the ALR series because of the ridges in the section.

 

Now, you say that you are awaiting a shipment of AL sections. Are these generic sections, or are they providing you with color-matching sections that are smooth and not ridged? I asked both Phillip and Rebecca about getting smooth color replacements a while back, and they say it isn't possible.  Did they change their minds?

[langere]

For me, TWSBI was attractive because they were demonstrators with a piston fill and were very well priced, especially compared to European piston fillers.

 

I actually have two 540s, which at the time I liked a lot.  Then I got a Vac 700 and later, a Micarta.  

 

For me, the best of the bunch by far is the Micarta.  The one thing that I don't like about TWSBIs in general is that the nibs are about as unexciting as they can get.  They are straight nails and that's it.  Functional, but I have since found more pleasure in writing with other pens.  For Taiwanese pens, my favorite pen brands are Penlux and Opus 88.

 

Erick

[Zaptrax]

On 1/25/2023 at 2:59 PM, markofp said:

 

I'm exactly like you. I enjoy TWSBI 580 pens and would have more of them, except I can't stand the ALR series because of the ridges in the section.

 

Now, you say that you are awaiting a shipment of AL sections. Are these generic sections, or are they providing you with color-matching sections that are smooth and not ridged? I asked both Phillip and Rebecca about getting smooth color replacements a while back, and they say it isn't possible.  Did they change their minds?

I asked for "silver" and that was what they sent. It matches well with any pen.  Not sure if they would have sent other colors.