Misfill, Year In Review Edition

Each week in Refill, the Pen Addict Members newsletter, I publish Ink Links as part of the additional content you receive for being a member. And each week, after 10 to 15 links, plus my added commentary on each, I'm left with many great items I want to share. Enter Misfill. Here are this weeks links:

— First Impressions Phidon Pens Robert Oster Campfire Ink (Gourmet Pens)

— Drawing Mech Designs and Futuristic Car Designs (Doodlers Anonymous)

— Graf von Faber-Castell: 25 Years of the Perfect Pencil (Contrapuntalism)

— 200 Years of Typography and Letters Found Online (Hyperallergic)

— 2018 Best of Bag Design (Core77)

— Saluting the Missing Gold Point: Wing Sung 103 Review (FrankUnderwater)

— My top 12 inks 2018 (Nick Stewart)

— Back to the Basics (Bullet Journal)

— Review: Edison Pearl (Striated Navy Stripe, Fine Nib) (Hand Over That Pen)

— My last 4 notebooks (José Naranja)

— 2018 - An Inky Year in Review (Looped Square)

— 2019 Planner Plans. (The Finer Point)

— State of the Union 2018: Fountain Pen Ink (Macchiato Man)

— Back in black: the Aurora Talentum Black Ops (UK fountain pens)

— What I Liked, Didn't Like, and Want to See Next Year — The Gentleman Stationer (2018 Annual Review)

— Year Roundup: My Favorites Of 2018 (The Pencilcase Blog)

— My Goals for 2019: Laura (The Well-Appointed Desk)

— Best comics of 2018: Batman, Black Panther, X-Men and more (Polygon)

— My 2019 Analogue System (Wonder Pens)

— The Unofficial Hand Lettering Society of Silver Spring celebrates the art of the word) (The Washington Post)

Want to catch the rest, plus extra articles, reviews, commentary, discounts, and more? Try out a Pen Addict Membership for only $5 per month!

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Misfill.

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.)

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