The TWSBI Eco Pen

by Vaibhav Mehandiratta

This is the first non Indian pen I have reviewed and I hope you all like the review and please leave your comments if you like. This pen actually took almost 4 months to come into my hand. Even though I already had a TWSBI 580 Al Orange, I was more excited about the ECO. This pen was bought from Frank of FONTOPLUMO. I reserved one as soon as it was launched and Frank was kind enough to hold the pen for me for more than a month. He was also kind enough to hand over the order to a visiting friend (Kapil Apashankar) in the Netherlands. The pen was held for me despite the fact that I had not made a payment. And in the end I bought not just the Eco, but a lot more pens for myself which will be reviewed here soon.

Let me take this opportunity to thank Kapil for offering to collect the pen and for sending it across to me from Pune.

So this is my review of the TWSBI ECO

 

TWSBI ECO 

 

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 DESIGN AND BUILT : 04/05

The pen came in a no nonsense plastic box and the pen and the accessories were well packed. I took the white color model. The pen currently comes in two colors: Black and White. However there are some other colors being proposed by TWSBI on their blog.

It's a well designed, elegant pen and even though it looks chunky when capped, it's a beautiful pen when inked.

 

Twsbi Eco - Beauty Shot

 

The barrel is clear acrylic which is again of good quality and is circular instead of the faceted design of the TWSBI 580 and the VAC. The grip section is also clear acrylic and you can see the ink flowing to the feed from barrel to section and feed. I kind of love the demonstrators. They actually take the color of the ink you put in them. Looks lovely.

TWSBI ECO - Capped

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The pen is actually one piece from grip section to barrel, only the knob being different.

Some people do not like the cap design but for me it's just okay and carries the design cues from the faceted design of  the 580 or the Vac. The cap and piston knob both have a faceted design. All the trims are silver chrome finish and the centre band of the cap has TWSBI and ECO imprinted on the band.

TWSBI ECO - Cap View

 

TWSBI ECO - Cap Clip View 

 

TWSBI ECO - Cap and Piston Knob - Faceted

 

TWSBI ECO - Cap Inner View

 

The best thing about the pen is the rubberized O ring at the joint of piston knob and barrel, which really helps in the secure posting of the Cap. One thing to be noticed here is that apart from the nib and cap clip there are no metal parts in the pen.  Also in addition to the O ring at the bottom there is another O ring at the front of the barrel which ensures the Cap doesn't slip off and is securely closed.

This image shows the pen capped and uncapped for comparison. The pen is just tad smaller than a TWSBI 580 when it is capped.

I love the pen and I believe there is no good quality piston filler demonstrator in this price range.

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Below are a few images showing a comparison of the pen with others.

TWSBI ECO vs Parker Sonnet vs Pelikan M200 Cognac - Capped

 

TWSBI ECO vs Parker Sonnet vs Pelikan M200 Cognac - Uncapped

 

The pen is similarly priced as the Lamy Safari and I believe it is a better buy.

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BALANCE : 05/05 

The pen is very well balanced whether the cap is posted at back or not. It's a sizable pen and it is just a tad bit longer than the 580 when posted.

The pen posts really well and securely but for me it's amazing when writing with the cap not posted at the back, but that's my personal preference.

The pen is 139 mm long when capped and 168mm long when cap is posted at back.

Below are images showing the comparison of writing with cap posted and cap unposted.

TWSBI ECO - Writing Unposted

 

TWSBI ECO - Writing Posted

 

 

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 NIB & INK FILLING MECHANISM: 05/05

The pen I am reviewing comes with a friction fit 1.1 Stub nib and, boy, it writes so amazing! I love the nib and the ink flow! The 1.1 Stub gives you crisp writing with lovely welcome feedback. I love it.

Yes the nib is friction fit and is easily removable. Nib is #5 steel nib and options of EF, F, M, B and 1.1 Stub are available on ECO.

TWSBI ECO - Nib Unit Side View

TWSBI ECO - Nib Unit Top View

TWSBI ECO - Nib Unit Bottom View

 

The ink filling mechanism is by a piston, which I consider the best ink filling mechanism. The pen holds a little less than 2 ml of ink.

TWSBI ECO - Piston Filling Mechanism

 

The piston knob is easily removable with a plastic wrench that is supplied with the pen. There is also silicone grease supplied with the pen.

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Below are the images of my handwritten review and the writing sample:

TWSBI ECO - Handwritten Review - Page 1

TWSBI ECO - Handwritten Review - Page 2

TWSBI ECO - Handwritten Review - Page 3

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CONCLUSIONS: 

I am totally in love with this pen and my Iroshizuku ink looks stunning with this pen. The pen actually takes any color you want with the ink you put in the pen.

Buy it - that's my advice.

Beautiful quality product at surprisingly low price (25 Euros) with TWSBI lifetime warranty.

 

 

 

© 2015 - Vaibhav Mehandiratta

Gurgaon, Haryana, India

Vaibhav's Blog

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