Posts filed under Fountain Pens

The TWSBI Eco T: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The TWSBI Eco T is a pen made especially for beginners--whether those beginners are new fountain pen enthusiasts or children who want to emulate their fountain pen addicted parents. The grip of the Eco T has a rounded triangular shape to assist beginners with proper finger placement. It is a very comfortable grip (much more comfortable than the Lamy Safari), and even experienced pen users will enjoy a grip that helps them position their fingers properly.

*You can see the shape of the grip here*

The Eco T is a transparent demonstrator. It has a stainless steel clip and cap ring. The cap ring is engraved with the words “TWSBI Eco T Taiwan.”

The cap finial is red with a raised TWSBI logo. You’ll notice that the cap has the same triangular shape as the grip.

Inside the cap is a plastic sleeve that keeps the nib from drying out.

The Eco T is a piston filler, so it is very user friendly. It pulls in a good amount of ink (1.5ml), and the ink is easy to see in the demonstrator body.

You can post the cap by pushing it over the rubber O-ring near the piston. I find posting makes the pen unbalanced, however.

The pen is a medium size (5.5 inches/139.7mm capped; 5.2 inches/132mm uncapped; and 6.3 inches/160mm posted) and should be comfortable for most users. The body weighs only 12 grams without ink.

I thought my pen came with a medium nib because the model number on the box started with an “M.” But I quickly realized that it’s actually a 1.1 mm stainless steel stub. It writes very smoothly and with generous ink flow. I had no difficulties with hard starts, skipping, or scratchiness. In fact, I am impressed with how beautifully this pen writes. The stub nib gives the lines character and a bit of shading (with the right kind of ink, of course).

One cool thing about TWSBI pens is that you can completely disassemble them for a thorough cleaning. Included in the box is a special wrench to unscrew the piston and silicone grease to lube it.

In addition, you can remove the nib unit to clean out the ink that collects in the grip area.

I’ll be honest. When I realized that the Eco T was a “beginner’s pen” I thought I would be disappointed with it and find it “toy-like.” I was wrong. This is one of the most comfortable TWSBI pens I’ve used. The triangular grip keeps my fingers in an ideal position for writing, and the 1.1mm nib is fantastic.

*The ink used in this review is Kyo-no-oto Adzukiro*

I highly recommend the TWSBI Eco T whether you’re just beginning to use fountain pens or you’re a pro user. The price point is really great for a piston-filling demonstrator. You can purchase a TWSBI Eco T from JetPens for $31.50 in EF, F, M, B, and 1.1mm Stub.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under TWSBI, Eco, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Franklin-Christoph Pocket 20 Fountain Pen Review

I’m going to use a term to describe the Franklin-Christoph Pocket 20 fountain pen that I don’t use often enough in product reviews: Useful. This pen is useful, for many reasons I’ll get into below. Useful is a positive term in my mind, although some may not consider it very exciting. Stationery goods being useful is what keeps me coming back to them time after time.

My first F-C Model 20 was the full-sized Marietta, which was launched before this pocket-sized version. It has a classic, clean, shape and design, with its main feature being a slip cap, as opposed to the more common threaded cap. For those who don’t like threaded acrylic barrels, this keeps the grip section clear of any interference from threads while allowing for secure capping and posting.

My first thought was how secure could this be? The last thing I need is the cap of my fountain pen popping off and getting ink everywhere. I have to say, this slip cap design is as secure as any threaded cap I own. I’ve never grabbed any of my Model 20 pens from a pen case, backpack, or pocket and felt even the slightest bit of looseness in the cap. It has proven to be rock solid, and even unique when compared to most of my other fountain pens.

That uniqueness doesn’t come without surprises though. One main feature of Franklin-Christoph’s fountain pens - and a big reason why I like them so much - is their ability to be used as an eyedropper barrel, as opposed to using a cartridge or converter. With a little bit of silicone grease, the ink capacity of the pen can be increased exponentially.

With either of the F-C 20 models, that can be an issue. Out of habit, I want to twist open most of my pens. Hand this pen to a friend, and they will want to do the same. The slip cap requires you to pull the cap off the barrel. If you - or anyone else - gives it a good twist, you will unscrew the grip section from the barrel. And if the pen is eyedroppered, guess what? Ink everywhere.

If you own a Model 20 or Pocket 20 I can guarantee you have either done this already, or have come perilously close.

Eyedropper filling a fountain pen is useful for ink capacity, and downright fun. You don’t HAVE to eyedropper the Pocket 20 pen - it takes short international cartridges - but I think you are missing out by not doing so. Look at the ink sloshing around the barrel! And yes, it is as easy to clean as any other pen.

The Pocket 20 is useful because of its size. It fits anywhere, and goes everywhere. That’s why I love small fountain pens so much. Toss them in a pocket and go. I primarily use this model unposted, but the slip cap posts securely on the back of the pen for a full-sized writing experience. I opted for the clip on this model, since I normally go clipless, to mix it up a bit. Plus, I preferred the aesthetic.

Nib choice is another area where I find this pen useful. I bought this now-discontinued model from Wonder Pens and was able to choose a 1.1 mm steel stub nib. I own many Franklin-Christoph fountain pens, and like to have many different nib sizes on hand to try out different things. Having options makes this pen more … useful.

The Pocket 20 exemplifies everything I love about Franklin-Christoph. It is well-made, works perfectly, looks amazing, and is fun to use. I can load it up with fun inks to play around with, and swap in a nib to match my needs at the time. I wish I could get this much usefulness out of every product I own.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Franklin-Christoph, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Pineider Snorkel Filler: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I saw the Pineider Snorkel Filler on the Goulet Pens website and thought, “What a great idea!” The purpose of this instrument is to make it easier to get the last drop of ink using the snorkel along with a fountain pen converter.

The Snorkel comes in a simple envelope. Inside there’s a diagram demonstrating how different converters fit on the top end of the snorkel. Pineider says that the snorkel will work with most fountain pen converters.

So, I gathered up several of my converter-fill fountain pens, and gave the snorkel a try. I always struggle to fill pens from nearly empty Iroshizuku bottles and Sailor ink bottles, so I was pretty excited about the snorkel.

I tried the following converters with the Pineider snorkel: Faber-Castell, Nakaya/Platinum, Sailor, Leonardo, and the Pilot Con-40.

The Faber-Castell converter fit loosely on the snorkel as you can see in the first two photos. When I tried filling the converter, it worked partially, filling to about one-quarter full. This was not encouraging.

The Nakaya/Platinum converter was very loose on the snorkel, and I couldn’t get it to work at all.

Similarly, the Sailor converter did not fit tightly on the snorkel. I tried pushing the lip over the rubber ring to get a more snug fit, but the Sailor converter was too small in diameter, so it wouldn’t go over the rubber ring. As a result: no fill.

I had better luck with the Leonardo converter. It fit tightly onto the snorkel. I had to fiddle with the snorkel and converter to get a complete fill, but it worked! Hurrah! A success!

Last, I tried the snorkel with a Pilot Con-40. The Pilot was wide enough to fit over the rubber ring, so I was able to get a good fill with the snorkel.

I tried the snorkel with a few other converters I had on hand. The Schmidt K5 piston converter (used in Karas Kustoms pens) fits snugly. However, the converters that came with my Shawn Newton and Franklin-Christoph pens fit loosely, so they won’t work with the snorkel.

Only three of the converters I own work with the Pineider snorkel: the Leonardo, the Pilot Con-40, and the Schmidt K5. All of the others in my collection (Nakaya/Platinum, Sailor, Faber-Castell, and whatever brand(s) Newton Pens and Franklin-Christoph use) did not. According to the Goulet website, other converters that will work with the Pineider Snorkel filler include Cross, Kaweco, Lamy, Parker, and Sheaffer. It does not work with Waterman, Montegrappa, or Jinhao. This is pretty disappointing, especially since Pineider claims that the snorkel “fits most converters.” Unfortunately, the brands that don’t work with the snorkel are the fountain pen brands I prefer!

The Pineider Snorkel Filler costs $15.00 at Goulet Pens plus shipping (so around $20 total). Honestly, I don’t think the snorkel is worth the cost, especially since you can use other methods to get the last drops of ink into your pens. For example, I pour ink vestiges into empty sample vials and fill my converters directly from them, though that can be a little messy. You can also purchase syringes ($5.00 for two) and transfer ink from the bottom of bottles into your converters that way.

(I purchased the Pineider Fountain Pens Snorkel from Goulet Pens with my own funds.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!