Posts filed under Fountain Pens

TWSBI PIPE - Is this really necessary?

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a TWSBI super fan but when the TWSBI PIPE was announced, I thought to myself, “Really, TWSBI? Do we really need this?” and “Don’t all fountain pen addicts already have (at least) one blunt tip syringe?” But as a devoted fan and now, TPA writer, I had to find out for myself, for you and of course, for science!

No surprise that I had to get the new TWSBI SWIPE Salmon (don’t ask me why they all-caps the model names, lol), but I also snagged the new TWSBI PIPE. I had to see for myself whether it was worth the $10/9 EU price tag.

The TWSBI PIPE comes in a plastic sleeve with little orange nubs to protect the ends and a sheet of illustrated instructions.

The instructions say that the PIPE is suitable for TWSBI piston filling fountain pens, their piston converter and spring loaded converter (both of which are included with the TWSBI SWIPE (check out the review for more info,) as well as “Euro spec standard converter”, aka standard international converter. The PIPE doesn’t actually work in all of their piston fillers though; TWSBI’s website says it “fits our Diamond series fountain pens”, which would be the 580 (regular/AL/ALR) and 580 mini. The picture in the instructions shows a Diamond-style barrel but that may not be obvious to most folks though. It does not fit the Eco/Eco-T because the grip section is not removable. I also tried it with the TWSBI Classic and Precision - both of which wouldn’t keep the PIPE in place. And for the heck of it, I tried it with the TWSBI GO and there’s no place it would fit, and it also doesn’t work with the Vac 700R or the Vac Mini, but I didn’t expect it to work for any of those 3 pens.

The PIPE itself is around 4”/10cm long, making anything you attach to it very long and somewhat unwieldy. I was eager to ink up the new Salmon SWIPE with J Herbin Corail des Tropiques which I only have in a 10ml bottle, so it took a lot of concentration to make sure I didn’t knock the bottle over. I can only imagine how much easier it would be to knock over a sample vial (good thing I have a LEGO contraption for that). It could come in handy for inking from an Akkerman bottle if you lost the marble or something, but otherwise, it’s excessively long in my opinion. It would’ve been neat if the PIPE fit into syringes, but again, that would make it even longer. One bonus though is that its length makes it easier to keep your hands clean because there’s so much of the PIPE that doesn’t touch any ink. Keep in mind, I was doing this one handed because I was taking pictures; it is a little easier and a bit more stable with two hands.

So, does it actually work? Yes … mostly. I first tried it in the spring-loaded converter that comes installed in the Salmon SWIPE and I got a pretty good fill. It wasn’t filled to capacity, but a bit more than half. If I wanted to get a complete fill with the PIPE, I had to put the tip up, very carefully press down on the converter “button” to avoid shooting ink everywhere and expel some air. Because there’s still some ink in the PIPE, I did get a little ink on my fingers. While still depressing the button, I reinserted the tip into the bottle and released the button. I got a bit more ink from doing that.

TWSBI SWIPE — *Press the button before inserting into the ink bottle (especially if your bottle is full, mine is not.)*

I had essentially the same experience with the TWSBI piston converter - about half full the first time, then a few drops while expelling air and getting a little more the second time. The standard converter takes just a wee bit of effort to fully insert the PIPE as it fits very snugly onto the converter; this isn’t a bad thing, just something to note since it was much easier to fit on the TWSBI converters. I couldn’t get more ink with the standard international converter even after expelling ink. I suspect the little piston in that converter is struggling to pull up more ink with just a couple turns from a top-off.

Now to try it with the models that the PIPE was designed for – the Diamond models. Would it perform any better? Nope. Both the 580 regular size and Mini got about ½ to ⅔ full from the first fill and neither was able to draw up more ink in subsequent attempts. The PIPE did not fit securely in the Purple 580 AL that I picked but it fit just fine in the Mini AL. I tried 4 different 580s ranging from long discontinued models to ones I bought last year and the PIPE just wouldn’t stay in securely. That said, if I held the pen such that the tip of the PIPE pressed against the bottom of the ink bottle, it would mostly stay in place while I twisted the piston cap and the ink got drawn up. So it does work, just don’t hold the PIPE away from the bottom of the bottle or it might fall out and possibly make a mess. I was also able to get the PIPE to work in the TWSBI Aurora (and Draco) as well though it’s difficult to tell how full the fill was. I suspect it would be about the same as filling the 580 - approximately half full.

Cleaning the PIPE is pretty easy. You can put it under running water, which should clean it out pretty easily. You can also blast water through it with a bulb syringe; just be aware that you may get some backspray because it’s not a tight fit. The upper tip has a concave “lip” which can cause a little bit of spray if you squeeze that bulb syringe too hard. You may also get a little bit of ink in the lip where it connects to your converter/piston so you have to rinse that top bit too. While not difficult to clean, ironically, I found that the best tool to clean the PIPE was to use my trusty blunt-tip syringe.

Pros:

Fairly inexpensive
Sturdy metal construction and not likely to break
Works pretty well if you don’t already have a blunt-tip syringe
Easy to clean

Cons:

Length of PIPE makes it awkward to use.
Did not consistently fit the 580s
Doesn’t work in all pens
Very difficult to get a full fill

After all this, would I recommend the TWSBI PIPE? Only if you really had to have one cuz you’re a TWSBI nut like me and if you didn’t already have a blunt-tip syringe. And if you don’t have one, please do yourself a favor and get one because they are (1) cheaper, (2) allows you to get as full a fill as you’d like in pretty much any pen (including ones not supported by the PIPE) and (3) have other uses like cleaning out converters/cartridges, etc. In all honesty, I would have preferred to use the syringe to fill up all of these pens/converters instead of the PIPE. So while it breaks my TWSBI-loving heart not to be able to wholeheartedly recommend it, at least it’s not a total bust. If a completely full fill isn’t a requirement and you want to have a sturdy backup for a blunt-tip syringe (maybe for traveling…hmm…), I think the TWSBI PIPE would be an acceptable purchase. But if money is tight or full capacity fills are a priority, then save the $10 and get yourself a blunt-tip syringe in a couple different sizes instead.

(I bought my TWSBI PIPE (and Salmon SWIPE) from LemurInk during the LA Pen Show.)

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under TWSBI, Fountain Pens.

Faber-Castell Design Ambition Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I've had my eye on the Faber-Castell Design Ambition for ages, watching lovely limited editions come and go, but never at quite the right time for me to snag one. So I was thrilled to finally get the chance to play with one in this lovely shade of blue. I know, from the Neo and the Loom, that I like Faber-Castell nibs, though the Loom body didn't work well for me. I loved the Neo, but wanted more fun colors. This model seems to deliver on all my wishes.

Faber-Castell Design Ambition Fountain Pen

The cap and finials are a chrome finished metal, and the body is wrapped in a resin sleeve with the OpArt Sky Blue guilloche pattern. While from a distance it looks like a pale blue, up close you can see that the grooves are an almost lavender-grey color, or maybe a putty color, depending on the light. In any case, it's very visually interesting and the grooved texture makes it easy to grip.

Faber-Castell Design Ambition Fountain Pen Nib

That grippiness is an important feature, as the pen lacks a defined grip section. There's debate, in the pen world, about whether or not one is supposed to try and hold it by the wee metal nub that holds the nib housing. And you could, but I doubt it would be very comfortable. It's very small, slick, and would force your fingers onto the fairly sharp step in the resin. Holding the pen further back on the resin body works much better for me, and the texture still gives me good control of the nib.

The cap snaps to close and has a nicely springy clip that pivots into the cap itself, so it clips firmly and easily onto pockets or papers. The cap is etched with a faint "Faber-Castell" that doesn't intrude on the sleek design. The cap posts, but only loosely on the shallow metal end and doesn't click in place, so it may wobble or topple when writing. There is no decoration on the finials. It is all simple elegance.

As I have experienced with all Faber-Castell pens, the steel nib is great. This one is an extra fine, and it writes with the perfect balance of fineness and wetness. It flows enough for me to enjoy the ink, but is fine enough to write in small grids or fill pages with copious class notes. It's been the pen I reach for first for school these past few weeks.

In short, this pen was worth the wait, and at $100, it's also worth the price. As pen prices are creeping up around the globe, this price starts to look better and better. It's a good quality pen for a price that's low compared to its peers. I wouldn't recommend it to folks who must post, or who hold their pens right at the nib base, but to all else, I say it's a gem.

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

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Posted on February 24, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Faber-Castell, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Wancher Primo Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's an exciting time when there are new stationery companies appearing so often, and especially when they have really interesting designs and ideas. I've heard about Wancher several times, but I've never had the opportunity to try one out until now. When the Primo came across my desk, I was stoked to ink it up and see how it performed.

When you browse Wancher's website, it's really difficult not to get sucked into all the different categories they have to offer. The Urushi and Maki-e look absolutely amazing, but they have several more modern designs that also fit more budgets. The Primo is one of more budget-friendly pens that Wancher offer, but that doesn't mean it's cheap or lacking in quality. At a retail price of $250, it will definitely be outside many budget comfort zones, but this is also a really interesting price zone in the market. When you're willing to let go of $200+, your options open up quite a bit, and it can be really difficult to make choices.

The Primo is a modern and sleek design that looks similar to a cigar tube with an intricate pattern of crackly metal on the body and cap. It's made of a combination of titanium and aluminum, so even though it's a fairly large pen, it's actually pretty light in the hand. I was a little surprised when I first picked it up when I realized it wasn't as heavy as it looked. If this pen was made of steel, it would be a chunker that might put a hole in your pocket.

Not everyone prefers a large pen, but there are plenty of people that enjoy a larger pen diameter and/or length. For me, the length is just right, and the diameter is on the max side for my writing comfort. Despite being long, it balances perfectly in my hand. The majority of the weight in the pen body is concentrated on the nib/grip end, so that contributes to the comfort and balance. If the back end of the pen was heavy, it would create an awkward writing feel.

The cap doesn't post on the back of the pen, and that's probably for the best since the pen is long enough already. The cap has the same weight and feel as the pen body, but doesn't have a clip. Since it tends to roll around on my desk, I just hold it in my other hand while writing. It has a nice warm feel and fits my palm perfectly, so I rather enjoy holding it. That being said, it does roll incredibly easy, and I wish it had some kind of roll stopper built in.

In fact, the whole pen tends to roll since it's perfectly round. Without a clip or roll stop, it tends to roll quickly. Let's just say I know which of my desks and tables aren't quite level after using this pen for a few weeks.

The main aesthetic focus of this pen is the unique finish on the body and cap. To me, it looks like metal that's boiled and cracked in an unpredictable and beautiful way. According to Wancher, they use a color treatment during the anodizing process to create a thin oxide film on the titanium surface. This bonds to the titanium and creates some really interesting effects in different light. Wancher say they also use a blast-polish finishing technique to make certain parts of the pattern matte and others shiny. I don't understand the alchemy behind it, but the finished product is gorgeous. It's unlike anything else I've seen so far, and I can't help but keep looking at it. Even better, it morphs and changes with different light and angles. It really something unique and special.

The Frosty Silver version I have is just one of the four options. You can pick from Amethyst Purple, Russet Brown, and Midnight Blue as well. In my opinion, the purple and blue are fantastic.

So, the pen looks and feels great, but how does it write? Well, this was a pleasant surprise for me. The fine nib on this unit is exceptionally smooth and consistent. The ink flow is plentiful without being too wet, and the nib flexes just enough to remain comfortable at any writing speed or pressure. It really is a treat to use. According to Wancher, this is a JoWo stainless steel nib, but I have to wonder if they've tuned each nib prior to shipping out. It's really good.

The pen comes in a nice gift box that includes a converter, a couple of cartridges, some documentation, and a custom pen sleeve. Keep that pen sleeve handy because it's great for storing the pen on the desk and ensuring it doesn't roll away! The unboxing presentation is nice, and I think I'll be able to repurpose the balsa wood box for something else, which is a nice change from the plastic boxes that other manufacturers use that really serve no purpose after the unboxing is over.

Obviously, $250 (or $225 when they're on sale) is a lot of money and opens up your options to a lot of high-quality pens. I have pens in my collection that cost the same amount of money, and some of them even came with gold nibs. Still, I think the price is more than fair due to the level of craftsmanship, fit and finish, and the excellent nib tuning that comes out of the box with this pen. Ultimately, this will come down to a personal preference for what you find aesthetically pleasing. If this pen fits your interests, I can whole-heartedly recommend it. I really look forward to trying other offerings from Wancher in the future.

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

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