What a way to wrap up 2018! This Galen Leather Writing Box is a thing of beauty, and I’m glad to be able to give one away to readers of the blog. And the winner is:
Congrats Dustin! I’ve sent you an email to collect your shipping address.
Huge thanks to everyone who entered my giveaways this year, and keep your eyes peeled for 52 more in 2019!
(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.)
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(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.)
Kokuyo has another new model for their lineup of innovative pen cases: The Shellbro, a horizontal zipper case that opens like a clamshell. It has a high capacity and interior mesh pocket, but I don't think it lives up to the same design standard as some of the other Kokuyo cases available.
To be fair, this is a perfectly decent case. It does the holding pens thing just fine. But we have a million options for decent pen cases, so when I ask myself "why would I pick this one?" The answer is, I probably wouldn't. There isn't anything about it that stands out, either in terms of innovation or functionality. Some of Kokuyo's other cases push design boundaries and explore some new pen case frontiers (sometimes even too far, in my opinion), but this case doesn't have that same excitement.
The case is made of lightweight polyester canvas that comes in both muted neutrals and bright colors. There's either a contrasting or matching zipper that opens from one back corner to the other. The top opens and stands upright fairly well as long as there isn't something too heavy in the interior mesh pocket. When open, it's a lovely trough of pens with a mesh pocket above. The layout and capacity does mean that you'll have to dig to get to pens on the bottom--not everything in the case is visible. The case holds a LOT of pens, so the ones on the bottom will be well buried.
A downside to the construction is that the mesh pocket doesn't really contain items that well, so they can easily slip out as the case is carried around, and then those items swim around in the pool of pens. A large or heavy item, like a roll of washi, may weigh the pocket down too much so that the lid of the case doesn't stay open on its own.
The zipper does have a double tab, which is nice, but the zipper itself feels a bit fragile, with shallow teeth and very thin fabric. It would hold up well enough with gentle use, but I don't think it would last long in a middle-school student's backpack.
While this case didn't win me over, there are a lot of other great cases from Kokuyo, most of them a buck or five cheaper than this one.
(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!
