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I would like to come back, should I?


sparkyhx

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I was an early adopter of the TWSBI, but my first two pens cracked, which at the time appeared to be relatively common, and I kind of put it down to the teething problems of a new manufacturer.  I then got a couple more later generation pens, and both these broke on the cap, with the silver collar section snapping off.

 

Cue a few years later and I pulled the trigger on a couple of Vacuum fillers, again thinking the quality issues were a thing of the past.  These have lasted longer admittedly, but this week, one of them stopped filling and on closer inspection has a crack at the top of the piston chamber.

 

I love the demonstrator design, being able to see how much ink is in the pen, the various colours of pen/see thru means I know which colour ink is in, the greater capacity, and in my experience they have always written superbly, but I am just so disillusioned by the quality problems.  I have NEVER had another pen break on me, and now 5 out of 6 TWSBI have all cracked.  I've pretty much replaced them now as daily writers with cheap Lamy Safari (£20) ones, which I absolutely love and the various colours available in these means I can match pen to ink.  The Lamy Safari may not be classy and interesting to look at and use, but they get the job done with no fuss and I like how they write. 

 

I'm looking for another pen to replace the now broken vacuum filler and was wondering if it's time to return or just give up, get something else, or just stick with the Lamy.  

 

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  • Dillo

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If you like Lamy and Demonstrator pens maybe try the Lamy Vista, basically a clear Safari shape and grip wise.

Mark from the Latin Marcus follower of mars, the god of war.

 

Yorkshire Born, Yorkshire Bred. 
 

my current favourite author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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  • 3 weeks later...

buy a clear jinhao 9016, the best $5.00 fountain pen on the market today.

ali express

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Asvine pens give a good piston fill or vacuum fill option and seem to be very sturdy for the long term. 

PAKMAN

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        My Favorite Pen Restorer                                            

 

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Well, I can't say it will never happen, but I have yet to have an issue of any kind with my six TWSBI pens. I love them so much I kick myself for buying other brands because I am usually disappointed in comparison. 

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None of us can offer guarantees, but I own a silly number of TWSBIs and have yet to have a problem with any of them. I always have at least one or two of them inked up. I find them super reliable. I managed to misplace one for 2 years and it wrote without hesitation when (joy) I found it again. Their nibs are so much more reliable than Lamy in my experience (if you exclude the 2000) and I won’t touch Lamy any longer for this reason. From what I can tell the general build quality has improved in recent years - though no guarantees of course. 

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I have two, neither see use. I owned another, the section became cracked, it went to twsbi for repair and they refused to repair it. The two that I have are troublesome, one has a loose fit in the feed and nib, the other blobs ink without warning. neither have seen much in the way of use.

 

As others have suggested, you can do better. 

 

 

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My experiences with TWSBIs: 

580-AL and 580-ALR -- the piston doesn't extend all the way to the back of the feed, leading to air bubbles blocking ink flow at times.  Additionally, when soaking the 580-AL in ammonia solution, the metal section became discolored; the 580-ALR (with its ribbed section) is hard to clean because the ink tends to lodge in the ribbing.

700-Vac -- Takes FOREVER for the barrel to dry out and I really do NOT want to have to be constantly pulling the nib and feed to be able to swab down the insides.

I keep looking at the Indigo Bronze AL mini one, but then keep reminding myself that the problem with the piston will likely be the same -- that the piston rod is too short to extend all the way to the back of the feed.  

Mind you, I read all about the cracking problems that people experienced early on.  I didn't have that happen, but I've also pretty much decided that I'm not a fan of clear barrels in general (with the possible exception of my Noodler's Charlie pens which are eyedroppers).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Just now, inkstainedruth said:

My experiences with TWSBIs: 

580-AL and 580-ALR -- the piston doesn't extend all the way to the back of the feed, leading to air bubbles blocking ink flow at times.  Additionally, when soaking the 580-AL in ammonia solution, the metal section became discolored; the 580-ALR (with its ribbed section) is hard to clean because the ink tends to lodge in the ribbing.

700-Vac -- Takes FOREVER for the barrel to dry out and I really do NOT want to have to be constantly pulling the nib and feed to be able to swab down the insides.

I keep looking at the Indigo Bronze AL mini one, but then keep reminding myself that the problem with the piston will likely be the same -- that the piston rod is too short to extend all the way to the back of the feed.  

Mind you, I read all about the cracking problems that people experienced early on.  I didn't have that happen, but I've also pretty much decided that I'm not a fan of clear barrels in general (with the possible exception of my Noodler's Charlie pens which are eyedroppers).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

ETA:  Maybe if I used the same ink in them every time, so didn't worry quite so much about cleaning/flushing them, I'd like them better (I do like the trim colors on mine: pink on the 580-AL, purple for the 580-ALR, and the rainbow variagated metal on the 700R.

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • 2 months later...

I was an early adopter as well. And my Twsbi cracked. Maybe I’ll give it a whirl again. All the Lamys have been good to me, but I might try a Twsbi again. Surely some of the cracking problems have been solved. Thanks to the original poster I may try again.

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  • 1 month later...

With TWSBI pens, many of their pens including the Mini, 540, 580, and Vac700(r) are made of polycarbonate which is highly impact resistant but is also susceptible to environmental stress cracking. What this means is that even though they can withstand drops and strong impacts, constant stresses over weeks, days, and months from things such as overtightened parts can cause them to split. The Eco is made from acrylic and is also susceptible to some environmental stress cracking, but not necessarily quite the same way as polycarbonate.

 

One thing I do when I get a new TWSBI is that I take the wrench it comes with and loosen the piston unit or filling mechanism then gently tighten it until it just stops. Basically you want it just tight enough so that it does not unscrew in normal usage. Think basically "just finger tight." I do this with the grip sections and nib units as well. The other thing is that when I cap them, I screw the cap down just enough so it stops and does not unscrew. Overtightening the cap can cause the caps and grip sections to sometimes split. I own now over 15 TWSBI pens that are a mix of Eco, Vac 700R, Vac Mini, and Diamond Mini pens, and ever since I started doing this, I have not had any cracks whatsoever, and aside from these things, I don't baby my pens. They go into my pencil case which I toss in my bag then they go to work with me and I write pages and pages with them then they go home with me. As a side note, this loosen then tighten until "just finger tight" also works well on the Pilot Custom 823 and prevents it from splitting. I've seen quite a few of them split on the barrel because someone took the pen apart and overtightened the grip section or the filling mechanism. This is exactly why Pilot now forbids people from taking apart the Custom 823. The seal on the Pilot, just like with the TWSBI is done through O-rings, not through the tightness of the screwed-in parts. The tension of the screwed in parts does not directly compress the O-rings.

 

As a side note, the Lamy 2000 is also made of Polycarbonate, but the material they are using has a fiberglass infill that does help protect it against some of these environmental stress cracking issues. That said, I've seen quite a few older 2000s with cracked and split hoods when they got overtightened when reassembling the pen. The earlier 2000s had mostly plastic hoods with a stainless steel overlay on the nose of the pen. Occasionally I've seen some cracking on the nose of the hood as well, but I've seen it much less often. Newer Lamy pens from the past decade have a hood that is predominately made from a highly corrosion resistant stainless steel and there is a decorative plastic ring on it. This mostly eliminates this problem, although I've seen some 2000s with the nose of the barrel broken off. Basically, don't overtighten parts on pens. It does not end well.

 

The last thing is that taking pens apart for cleaning or pulling nibs for cleaning is something I strongly advise against. Doing this puts an incredible amount of wear and tear on the pens. On any of my TWSBI pens or other piston fillers including my Lamy 2000s, Aurora 88, and Optimas, I don't take apart the piston mechanisms when I clean them. I do have tools for taking apart piston mechanisms for most major piston filled pens, but unless there is a serious issue or lubrication is needed, I don't touch the mechanism. I have skills and experience in disassembly and reassembly of most of these, but if there is no need to, I don't touch it. I'm glad that TWSBI includes tools, but I see it as a "nice thing to have" in case of a serious situation when things need service. After the first loosen and retighten, I almost never touch the pistons on my TWSBI pens unless I absolutely have to. Pelikan's M2xx, M4xx, and M6xx pens have mechanisms that can't be disassembled at all without replacement parts on hand, and most of those pens are still working fine. (I don't like the snap in system they use, but that's for another day. The sleeve piece is a one-use part that must be replaced each time the piston is pulled to ensure proper fit. I've had pens where the piece was not replaced and you could pop the piston mechanism out or the mechanism was loose). I find that people have a really hard time judging the amount of torque they are applying when screwing things back in and may people err on the side of overtightening. I have even seen Aurora 88 demos with cracks in the barrel because someone took out the piston for cleaning and overtightened it on the way back in. These joints are plastic into plastic or metal into plastic and overtightening can cause a lot of damage. As far as cleaning nibs go, for pens that are cartridge/converter, a few minutes in an ultrasonic cleaner, and a flush with a rubber bulb repeated a few times will often clean things much more thoroughly than a full disassembly. You only really need a full disassembly if there is particulate or solids stuck in the nib that does not come out with an ultrasonic cleaning, but these things are comparatively rare if you are using regular fountain pen inks. If you are using shimmer inks, I recommend sticking to a particular pen and just being willing to accept that it's a high wear and tear ink. You may have to replace parts or the entire pen eventually. Don't put it in something you can't get or buy parts for. For some TWSBI pens, you can unscrew the grip or nib unit and ultrasonically clean that. Don't bother pulling nibs if you don't have to.

 

So, bottom line, aside from the loosen and tighten "just finger tight," I don't recommend disassembling TWSBI pens (and others) unless absolutely necessary. I've seen Lamy 2000 pens with stripped out barrel threads where the pen needed to go to Lamy for a new barrel. Someone kept taking it apart for "cleaning" and it didn't go well. When capping screw capped pens, screw the cap until it stops, again, "just finger tight" and no more. Finally, don't pull nibs unless you absolutely have to, and if you use shimmer or inks with particulates or dyes that attack the plastics in your pens, make sure it's something you are willing to get rid of or can get parts for easily. Those things put a lot of wear and tear on your pens, and if you don't mind replacing parts, you can have max enjoyment from those inks.

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

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The last thing I neglected to say is that the transparent plastics often have less protection and are more susceptible to UV than colored versions of the same plastic. If you look at the genuine Parker "51" demos, you will often find them with a lot of stress cracks and yellowing. The stress cracks are often concentrated around there the Vac filling unit screws in and around the diaphragm seat. You will also see some where the collector of the pen pushes in. What is interesting is that examining other colored Parker "51" pens of the same era often does not reveal the same sorts of cracks. Although the colored ones are mostly opaque, many of them have some slight translucency if you shine a light through them, and they often do not have the same degree of cracking (or in many cases, any cracking) that their clear demo cousins do. Many of them them are intact in fact. I collect a lot of demos of all kinds, and this is a vexing problem when collecting such things, especially older examples.

 

TWSBI pens are often clear plastic, and as demos, they do have some of the same issues. Keeping them away from excessive UV may also be helpful in ensuring their longevity. I haven't seen any significantly yellowed or crazed examples in my travels, but TWSBI hasn't been around long enough necessarily for this to become apparent in daily use.

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

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Dillo: your contribution is most welcome. I have some of the first TWSBI pens and I have never used the disassembly tool to clean them nor am I tempted to get a deep knowledge of how are any pens constructed as long as I don't have a problem. Some people think of pens as toys for grownups but luckily is not my case.

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On 10/28/2024 at 9:52 PM, Dillo said:

The last thing I neglected to say is that the transparent plastics often have less protection and are more susceptible to UV than colored versions of the same plastic. If you look at the genuine Parker "51" demos, you will often find them with a lot of stress cracks and yellowing. The stress cracks are often concentrated around there the Vac filling unit screws in and around the diaphragm seat. You will also see some where the collector of the pen pushes in. What is interesting is that examining other colored Parker "51" pens of the same era often does not reveal the same sorts of cracks. Although the colored ones are mostly opaque, many of them have some slight translucency if you shine a light through them, and they often do not have the same degree of cracking (or in many cases, any cracking) that their clear demo cousins do. Many of them them are intact in fact. I collect a lot of demos of all kinds, and this is a vexing problem when collecting such things, especially older examples.

 

TWSBI pens are often clear plastic, and as demos, they do have some of the same issues. Keeping them away from excessive UV may also be helpful in ensuring their longevity. I haven't seen any significantly yellowed or crazed examples in my travels, but TWSBI hasn't been around long enough necessarily for this to become apparent in daily use.

I had never considered loosening and then “finger tightening” the piston in my 580, that’s great advice. 
 

FWIW the 580 ALR was my first fountain pen and while it has been a solid workhorse I’ve not loved it enough to seek out any other TWSBI. Every so often I will have my interest piqued by an Eco in an attractive color but the small size nib on a large size body has always put me off getting any. The 580 has become my go to for inks that don’t play nice with my other pens because it has taken every single ink I’ve ever thrown at it and not flinched, however none of those are everyday inks so the pen gets used sparingly. Currently I have the Pelikan Golden lapis in it with a stub nib and I’ve had zero clogs or hard starts. Perhaps because I do use it sparingly I have yet to encounter any cracking issues (although I agree with Ruth’s point that the ridges in the ALR section are horrible to keep clean because ink swoops right in there and won’t come back out again). 

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” 
 

-Groucho Marx

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