Basic fountain pen questions .....

Vacumatic

Testy
I am on pen forums and ask the question 'Can anyone who has had the misfortune to have a cracked section tell me that they have not removed the feed and nib'.

As far as I can remember, no one has put their hand up. This suggests to me that the nib is pushed in too far on reassembly causing a stress crack or that people have not fitted the nib into the recess in the feed, I am guilty of both. It would have been better, I think, if Twsbi had spent a little more and fitted a Pelikan style removable feed and nib unit. they might also have sold a few extra spares with people trying different styles of nib as benefitted Esterbrook who had a range of 20 or so nibs, everything you can imagine.

I don't know if you have made use of the kit that comes with the twsbi Eco, they supply a spanner, although it is easy to splay the jaws and silicone oil for the piston, a better lubricant would be the grease.

I quite like the Twsbi but suggest to others that they are better off leaving them just as they left the factory and you should consider the Pelikan M200 for not too much more..... and if you are as mercenary as I am you may find that the Pelikan has kept its value better than the Twsbi if you come to sell the pen.
 
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SweeneyTodd

Forum GOD!
I am on pen forums and ask the question 'Can anyone who has had the misfortune to have a cracked section tell me that they have not removed the feed and nib'.

As far as I can remember, no one has put their hand up. This suggests to me that the nib is pushed in too far on reassembly causing a stress crack or that people have not fitted the nib into the the recess in the feed, I am guilty of both. It would have been better I think if Twsbi had spent a little more and fitted a Pelikan style removable feed and nib unit. they might also have sold a few extra spares on people trying different styles of nib as benefitted Esterbrook who had a range of 20 or so nibs, everything you can imagine.

I don't know if you have made use of the kit that comes with the twsbi Eco, they supply a spanner, although it is easy to play the jaws and silicone oil for the piston, a better lubricant would be the grease.

I quite like the Twsbi but suggest to others that they are better off leaving them as they left the factory and you should consider the Pelikan M200 for not too much more..... and if you are as mercenary as I am you may find that the Pelikan has kept its value better than the Twsbi if you come to sell the pen.
I guess the rationale behind the TWSBI nib/feed arrangements is that they can be tinkered with, in similar vein to the adjustment of Noodler's flex nib pens, but without being able to heat-set nib to ebonite feed.

As I recall, I don't think I've ever cracked or damaged the external body of the section by working on the nib/feed/sleeve assembly (as opposed to the sleeve itself). However, I have replaced a number of nibs on various pens with Bock nibs. The Bock nibs, as supplied by Beaufort, come as a complete screw-in unit, similar to Pelikan and as supplied in Namisu pens, and have to be dismantled into nib, feed and sleeve. The target pen then also has to have the feed unit removed and dismantled, the nib swapped for the Bock nib, and the original feed/sleeve plus new Bock nib lined up, reinstalled and so forth. I have had a couple of mishaps with the original sleeves, which has caused problems when the unit is unique to that brand or model of pen.

It's also possible to cause serious damage if the mating feed and sleeve flats (where units have them) aren't too prominent, leading to the nib plus feed being pushed into the round, and not flat, part of the sleeve. That can split the sleeve.

I have used the TWSBI tool, mainly for endlessly adjusting the piston travel to get it exactly right, and it wouldn't be easy to work on the pen without it. I have bought silicone grease in 70g tubes, for non-pen uses, but I get through quite a bit greasing the threads on eyedropper pens. Where appropriate, I put some on pen moving parts. Thinking about it, I also shove it on the threads of my razors.
 

Vacumatic

Testy
In terms of razors, for TTOs I spray some silicon lube from an aerosol down the mechanism, especially if I hear from others that there is an issue.
 

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
I quite like the Twsbi but suggest to others that they are better off leaving them just as they left the factory and you should consider the Pelikan M200 for not too much more.....
I too have considered the Pelikan M200, is it not a fair bit smaller than the TWSBI though?

I love the TWSBI line and so far have had no problems with either Eco, but unfortunately owing to the number of bits I've had crack, I'd struggle to recommend one to a newbie which is a pity because I enjoy mine and think they're interesting pens. I bought a 50g tub of WRAS-approved silicone grease from eBay for about £3, I think that'll last me a lifetime.
 

SweeneyTodd

Forum GOD!
I too have considered the Pelikan M200, is it not a fair bit smaller than the TWSBI though?

I love the TWSBI line and so far have had no problems with either Eco, but unfortunately owing to the number of bits I've had crack, I'd struggle to recommend one to a newbie which is a pity because I enjoy mine and think they're interesting pens. I bought a 50g tub of WRAS-approved silicone grease from eBay for about £3, I think that'll last me a lifetime.
The M200 is 125mm capped, the TSBI Eco is 140mm, and the TWSBI Classic is 135mm capped. The Pelikan M400 is also 125mm capped, the M120 is 130mm, and my M805 is 140mm. In terms of length capped, the Eco and M805 are by far the larger pens. I have all of these, and personally don't have any problems with the different sizes. In the Pelikan line, the M120, which is a sort of throwback repro LE and only in blue, is perhaps my current favourite.

This bulk silicone grease can be a problem. I decided to decant some into small containers, and chose some empty 1 1/2" diameter lidded plastic pots which kind people send soap samples in. Confusion ensued, and that grease isn't easy to wash off.
 

DamianJ

Forum GOD!
I too have considered the Pelikan M200, is it not a fair bit smaller than the TWSBI though?

I love the TWSBI line and so far have had no problems with either Eco, but unfortunately owing to the number of bits I've had crack, I'd struggle to recommend one to a newbie which is a pity because I enjoy mine and think they're interesting pens. I bought a 50g tub of WRAS-approved silicone grease from eBay for about £3, I think that'll last me a lifetime.
Interesting, I'm considering getting a TWSBI eco and haven't heard of the cracking issues. I fancy the clear one with the stub nib.
 

Vacumatic

Testy
Interesting, I'm considering getting a TWSBI eco and haven't heard of the cracking issues. I fancy the clear one with the stub nib.
I have an Eco with a stub nib, unless you really know your handwriting and have some experience of using a stub then you need to consider that it might not be right for you, mine doesn't get used much but that may be my fault.

Stubs work at the their best when the == tips can be kept in line and parallel to the page, your hadwriting also should not be small. My problem is that I tend to rotate the pen a little, about 15 deg anticlockwise and my arm is not parallel to the page, therefore an oblique nib, looking like a more gentle / , works great for me.

Apologies Damien, i don't know if you are experienced with pens or not but my advice would be that for most people a Medium nibs works best, possibly a Broad if your handlwriting is large or Fine if your handwriting is small or you are using certain notebooks that show bleeding through the paper such as Moleskine or Leuchturm.

My Eco stub was also a little sharp on the corners, getting towards an Itallic, so it needed the corners smoothing off.

Having said all that, they are not so expensive, if you want a stub and it turns out to be not for you then you may be able to send it back to the seller and try a different nib.
 

DamianJ

Forum GOD!
Thanks for the info @Vacumatic , I've got experience with fountain pens and italic nibs so the stub nib should be fine.

Your post does hit some good points regarding handwriting size though, I started with a couple of medium nibs.
 

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
Interesting, I'm considering getting a TWSBI eco and haven't heard of the cracking issues. I fancy the clear one with the stub nib.
The cracking may be a thing of the past and I’m not sure if the Eco was ever affected by it, I’ve certainly had no problems with my two and they’ve been used a lot. In the case of the ones where I did have cracking problems I’d bought from The Writing Desk and they took care of me.
 

SweeneyTodd

Forum GOD!
The cracking may be a thing of the past and I’m not sure if the Eco was ever affected by it, I’ve certainly had no problems with my two and they’ve been used a lot. In the case of the ones where I did have cracking problems I’d bought from The Writing Desk and they took care of me.
It is some time since I've seen reports of these problems, and, as you say, it may well have been an earlier issue.

If anyone wants an Eco, or any other model, buy one, but from a reputable supplier. I can also recommend The Writing Desk, not least because they're in my county.
 

SweeneyTodd

Forum GOD!
@DamianJ My Eco, turquoise and so far unproblematic, has a 1.1 nib, which I would consider to be a stub, as it is "not sharp", writes smoothly and has a rounded or semi-pelleted underside to the tip.

Without wishing to muddy the waters, I see that The Writing Desk describes the 1.1 nib as "italic", but a couple of other UK suppliers (Cult Pens and Pure Pens) offer a 1.1 "Stub". The TWSBI website describes the 1.1 nib option as "stub", and I'd say that is what the nib is, at least for the Eco model.

I wouldn't dare to get into the 1.1 nib descriptions for those in other TWSBI models, as they are, put mildly somewhat anomalous.
 

Vacumatic

Testy
This is a personal opinion.

Itallics have a crisp corner to the nib, the idea is that they produce a broad downstroke on each letter and a very fine horizontal stroke. To make best use of this your writing needs to be quite large and you have a purpose for your writing, if that makes sense.

A Hebrew nib is the opposite, fine down stroke, broad horizontals to suit hebrew letters, I have no idea how they work in regular cursive writing.

A stub is an itallic with the corners rounded off a little to make it more accomodating towards cursive writing but still gives a broadish downstroke.A stub has some tipping to the nib whereas an itallic is often just two flat blades.
 

SweeneyTodd

Forum GOD!
This is a personal opinion.

Itallics have a crisp corner to the nib, the idea is that they produce a broad downstroke on each letter and a very fine horizontal stroke. To make best use of this your writing needs to be quite large and you have a purpose for your writing, if that makes sense.

A Hebrew nib is the opposite, fine down stroke, broad horizontals to suit hebrew letters, I have no idea how they work in regular cursive writing.

A stub is an itallic with the corners rounded off a little to make it more accomodating towards cursive writing but still gives a broadish downstroke.A stub has some tipping to the nib whereas an itallic is often just two flat blades.
That's pretty much my understanding of it. I guess much of the confusion arises when "stub" and "italic" are used interchangeably, and perhaps considered synonymous.

With TWSBI, the maker sticks to "stub", apparently throughout the range, and I'd concur with that designation for the 1.1 nib in my Eco. The Classic 1.1 is also called a "stub". Looking at it with a loupe, the corners are slightly rounded, and although it has no tipping, the underside is slightly chamfered, and it thus merits that description. They are both "soft" writers, and as expected, don't dig into the paper at the corners, even using some unusual writing angles.

Other pens I have with italic, stub and oblique nibs, Italix, JoWo and Bock, are very plain in matching their attributes to the nib type, and some of the italics are almost able to scalpel their way through paper if the corners are used like that. Thinking about it, one of the best nibs in this arcane field that I have is a gold Sailor "Music" nib, which differs in that it has but two tines and one slit, rather than the usual music 2-slit, 3-tine nib; wet, great line variation, endlessly smooth.
 

Grarea

Forum Plod
I was just sitting here appreciating it.
I am still well enjoying my little bamboo pen.

It is my main pen.
I am not at all happy when I have to use a biro.
 
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