TWSBI Eco nib not quite as good as wished

[Scriptum est]

I bought a TWSBI Eco as one of my first ever fountain pens when the bug first bit and I was really pleased with the way it looked, the capacity of ink it held and the way it felt in my hand. However, I have never been 100% satisfied with the way the nib writes. It's OK for the odd quick note, but it seems to dislike most writing papers I use for letter-writing. It's a fine nib, and maybe I should have got a medium. Should I have a go at smoothing it a bit with micromesh (and where can I get that?), take it to a nib meister, or swap it? (I have read somewhere that all TWSBI nibs are interchangeable with the exception of the Ecos! Is this so?). Or should I just retire the pen and get a new one, as they are relatively cheap? Suggestions, comments please!

[Karmachanic]

Can't solve a problem until the problem is clearly identified.  I suggest digging around in the nib section of the forum, starting here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/281780-nib-info-references/#comment-3228532

[Doc Dan]

34 minutes ago, Scriptum est said:

I bought a TWSBI Eco as one of my first ever fountain pens when the bug first bit and I was really pleased with the way it looked, the capacity of ink it held and the way it felt in my hand. However, I have never been 100% satisfied with the way the nib writes. It's OK for the odd quick note, but it seems to dislike most writing papers I use for letter-writing. It's a fine nib, and maybe I should have got a medium. Should I have a go at smoothing it a bit with micromesh (and where can I get that?), take it to a nib meister, or swap it? (I have read somewhere that all TWSBI nibs are interchangeable with the exception of the Ecos! Is this so?). Or should I just retire the pen and get a new one, as they are relatively cheap? Suggestions, comments please!

First, Eco nibs are interchangeable. They are the same nib as on the Go and Diamond Mini. 

Second, when did you buy the pen? If it was recently, you can ask the shop where you bought it to change the nib. If not, you can buy a new nib and replace it yourself. There are videos on YT showing how. It is just a press/friction fit and there is a way to slide it in so it is oriented properly. 

 

I have an Eco with a fine nib that I like so much I am going to buy another in a different color. I'm sorry you haven't had that satisfaction, but it is easily solved. 

[Scriptum est]

Many thanks! That is useful to know. I'll try swapping the nib for a different one and see if that makes any difference. I am at the London pen show this time next week so maybe I'll be able to pick up a new nib there. Failing that, a new TWSBI Eco!

[mge01park]

I'm sought of in the same boat with an Eco Royal Jade F which has the gold-plated. I'm unhappy with it as the flow seems stingy and it's a little scratchy. The first nib I've not been happy with in 11 years of buying these. I seated and re-seated the nib, cleaned the feed, and tried various inks. I'm using Private Reserve Infinity Violet in it now. 

[Scriptum est]

That's exactly how I felt my TWSBI Eco nib was - restricted flow and too scratchy. (I don't mind a bit of feedback, but there is a point where it becomes plain scratchy!). It's only human but that experience can put us off the brand forever. It was my first TWSBI and I am reluctant to buy another. However, I did get some micromesh out of the incident and learn how to open up the tines a little and I have done that with a couple of other nibs which weren't quite where I wanted them to be, so it has been a positive experience in the long run!

[mge01park]

Sometimes, I'm just expecting too much perhaps. It's a fine nib and a #5. It's not going to be like a Sailor F or EF or even Opus 88 Koloro Demo, which are both also #6 nibs in the ones I use. I usually go with B on Twsbi, so perhaps I'm out of reality a little. It's performing fairly well I guess. 😀

[Scriptum est]

I think the one I bought had a medium nib on it. I tend to fight shy of broad nibs as I don't think that thickness of line suits my handwriting and if I wrote larger to accommodate a B then I'd use up much more precious writing paper (another can of worms there!).

 

 

[Doc Dan]

I am not belittling people's experiences, but usually such issues are the feed and not the nib. Manufacturers get gunk in them when they make pens, or ink can clot and gunk up in the bottle and is then sucked into the pen upon filling. Some pens don't like some inks, too. There are other reasons, too. I just went through this with two Lamys, a Safari and an Al-Star. They suddenly started writing dry and scratchy, whereas they had been great before. I soaked them in dish soap and water, then flushed by the mechanism and by running purified water. Then, I put paper towels around the feed to draw anything remaining out. Now, if anything, they are too wet! Hahaha! 

[mge01park]

Quite valid and the thing I do first particularly in a MB 147, that I gave trouble with from time to time. The tiniest dried ink point can clog it. In my case, I received a new F nib for my Royal Jade and it definitely was something with the nib as this is now performing like a dream. It’s amazing. 

[Scriptum est]

I do regularly clean out my pens and that of course includes flushing the nibs and feeds. In most cases I allow the section with nib and feed, or just the nib/feed if easily removed, to soak in tap water overnight - and even longer if I am still getting a little ink colour when I wipe them clean. I have not tried soap and water yet, though.

[taimdala]

On 12/21/2024 at 12:09 PM, Scriptum est said:

I think the one I bought had a medium nib on it. I tend to fight shy of broad nibs as I don't think that thickness of line suits my handwriting and if I wrote larger to accommodate a B then I'd use up much more precious writing paper (another can of worms there!).

 

 

SAME!

OMG I **FEEL** thiis! 

I go even tinier with the nibs, preferring EF for the thinness of the line. I recently discovered Kirk Speer's most excellent grinds at the Raleigh Pen Show and have since taken my EF TWBIs to get ground to UEF and Needlepoint size. TWSBIs are so well made that even an EF can accommodate a Needlepoint grind and still write. TWSBI certainly give you enough tipping material to work with. 

The upside to this is I can write even tinier and get more lines of writing on my expensive paper. Cost of paper will probably always be an issue with me. Unlike with an infinite number of ink refills amortizing the cost of a fountain pen over time, there is very little amortizing you can apply to paper, as there is only a finite amount of any given sheet you can write on before you *must* reach for another. 

So the ability to write tiny is a plus for me and TWSBI accommodates this through after-purchase custom grinds.

[Scriptum est]

You are quite correct and this thought has occurred to me too. Getting a pen is a one-off cost but you need a constant supply of writing paper - what's the term we used to use in the office? A 'consumable' - you're always consuming it! Wouldn't it concentrate the mind of you threw away a pen every time you finished a letter! 😨

 

Up to only very recently I would have fought shy of buying an extra-fine nib but at the recent London pen show I bought a Santini pen with just such a nib. I tried it out and it was so smooth I couldn't resist! I have to confess that I still flip-flop between medium, fine and sometimes even broad, but I suppose it all comes down to what you are writing. Sometimes a broad is needed, maybe for notes on a scrap of paper rather than in a letter.

[mge01park]

On 1/13/2025 at 7:27 AM, mge01park said:

Quite valid and the thing I do first particularly in a MB 147, that I “have trouble” with from time to time. The tiniest dried ink point can clog it. In my case, I received a new F nib for my Royal Jade and it definitely was something with the nib as this is now performing like a dream. It’s amazing. 

Corrected from gave trouble per original post to have trouble. Fat fingers. 😥. 

[Doc Dan]

I really like TWSBI fine nibs, but that's where I draw the line (hahaha!). I don't usually like fine nibs. I like broad and stub nibs the best. And, except for one medium nib (a Pilot gold, which is like a TWSBI fine), I don't care for mediums. To me they are not enough and too much...sort of bland.