The Platinum 3776 Century demonstrators in Chartres blue (below) and Bourgogne (top).

Pen Review: The Platinum 3776 Century: Chartres and Bourgogne

March 24, 2016

I've really gotten into Japanese pens over the past year. Sailor and Pilot are quite possibly my two favorite brands at the moment, and now Platinum has caught my eye. I have very little experience with Platinum's offerings--I owned a preppy or two when I was first starting out, but only recently tested their higher-end pens. Overall, I'm very impressed.

First Impressions

The packaging on Platinum pens is unremarkable. The pens arrive in a blue clamshell box with white satin interior. It's functional, but that's about it. What's inside the box is a different story. Platinum's flagship pen is the 3776 Century (apparently the number is a reference to the height of Mt. Fuji), and I opted for the colored demonstrators. Over the span of a month, I picked up both the "Chartres" blue demonstrator pen, as well as the "Bourgogne" red demonstrator. These are gorgeous pens: they are translucent, but only slightly so, and the color is incredibly deep and not cheap-looking at all. You can tell the pen is solidly built. For those of you not familiar with French history/geography, Bourgogne is a reference to a wine varietal/region, and Chartres blue is a reference to the unique color of the stained glass in the Chartres Cathedral.

Bourgogne Fountain Pen Unposted.  These pens are large enough to use without posting.  Here, you can also get a sense of the material.  It's a demonstrator, but the translucence is only slight.  This gives the pens a higher-quali… — Bourgogne Fountain Pen Unposted. These pens are large enough to use without posting. Here, you can also get a sense of the material. It's a demonstrator, but the translucence is only slight. This gives the pens a higher-quality feel than your ordinary plastic demonstrator.

In a perfect world, I would have purchased the blue pen with rhodium trim, but I wanted Platinum's "Ultra Extra Fine" specialty nib, which only comes in the gold. The Bourgogne pen also only comes in gold trim, which looks very nice. Again, the clip strongly resembles the hardware on Nakaya pens.

Bourgogne pen posted.  The cap posts pretty deeply, — Bourgogne pen posted. The cap posts pretty deeply,

One pet peeve, however, is that these pens don't come with a converter. It irritates me to no end when pen companies do this: anytime you are spending over $50 on a pen (much less the $200+ these pens command on the U.S. market), the converter should get thrown in free of charge.

Nibs

The nibs on my pens turned out to be a mixed bag. The UEF nib had some flow issues, and while I've been able to increase inkflow on my own enough to make the pen usable, it will need to be tuned at the Atlanta Pen Show. The UEF point is tiny, however, and you can write as small as you could ever possibly desire with this nib. Once it's tuned properly, I imagine that I will like it quite a bit.

On the other hand, the medium nib in my Bourgogne demonstrator was exceptional out of the box. I might say that it writes even better than the medium nib on the Nakaya I once owned. (That's not a coincidence--Nakaya uses Platinum nibs.) I have not experienced a single skip or hard start with this pen. Platinum uses a patented "slip-and-seal" internal cap that keeps the pen from drying out for up to a year of non-use. I don't plan on testing this feature anytime soon, but it's nice to know about, I guess.

Value Proposition

This is where things get tricky. Platinum pens apparently are much cheaper in Japan than they are here in the U.S. For example, the Chartres blue demonstrator retails for approximately $228 at U.S.-based retailers, while those based in Japan (or who import directly from Japan) sell this pen at a much lower price point. While I typically try to support U.S-based retailers where I can, it's too much to expect customers to pay $150 extra on the basis of loyalty alone. I would note, however, that if you purchase from Amazon or eBay, you might get stuck addressing nib issues, etc. on your own, or experience long wait times returning the pen. For this good of a deal I'm willing to take that risk, but others may not want to deal with it.

Takeaways

At $75, the Platinum 3776 is an excellent value proposition and moves itself into competition for the "best first gold-nibbed pen" list (subject to the potential-lack-of-actual-customer-support qualification I mentioned). For a little more than a TWSBI Vac Mini or a 580 AL, you get a 14K nib that's pretty much the same as you would find on a Nakaya. I am withholding judgment on the UEF nib for the time being, until I get the issues sorted out, but I can strongly recommend the stock (F,M,B) Platinum nibs. The medium I have is one of the best mediums I've ever written with.

If You're Interested in Further Reading...

Check out Azizah's review of the Bourgogne demonstrator at GourmetPens, as well as Junee from Alt. Haven's review of the Chartres pen.

Pelikan advertises its Stola III fountain pen as a "starter" pen for the business world.

Pelikan Stola III: A New Entry Level Contender?

March 16, 2016

The Pelikan Stola III has a very professional, understated look. With this pen, Pelikan clearly is trying to step away from the playful look of the lower-cost Pelikano, Future, and Twist and offer a pen with the same inexpensive quality that won't look out of place on the desk of an office professional in more "traditional" settings. Pelikan markets this pen as "a modern writing device for a successful start into the business world." If that's their goal, Pelikan has largely succeeded, though the relatively short barrel, inability to post, and the lack of any variety in nib size will probably limit the size of the audience who can use this pen for a true daily writer.

Presentation and Build

Starting with the packaging: very nice and appropriate for the pen's price point. It won't win any design awards, but the cardboard clamshell box holds the pen nicely and offers better protection than the simple cardboard sleeve used by Lamy for the Safari and the AL-Star.

The packaging on the Stola is appropriate for the pen's price point:  simple and understated, yet still sophisticated. — The packaging on the Stola is appropriate for the pen's price point: simple and understated, yet still sophisticated.

Inside the box, the Stola looks solid and well-made. The body of the pen is entirely crafted from metal: according to Pelikan, the cap is crafted from aluminum and the barrel from brass, topped with silver lacquer and a black coated metal clip. For a metal pen, it's not unduly heavy and is fairly well balanced. The section is plastic.

If you like to use your pens unposted, the Stola should work fine for you.  Unfortunately, it's a touch short for me to use comfortably for longer writing sessions. — If you like to use your pens unposted, the Stola should work fine for you. Unfortunately, it's a touch short for me to use comfortably for longer writing sessions.

The one concern I have about build quality on this pen is the "inner cap", which is an insert (typically plastic) fit inside the cap of a fountain pen to create an airtight seal and help keep the pen from drying out. The internal cap on the Stola appears to be a piece of clear molded plastic friction-fit into the cap, which creates a decent seal when the pen is closed, but won't permit the pen to post easily. You can jam the cap down onto the barrel, but it will work itself free after a few seconds of writing. My concern is that posting the pen repeatedly will crack the inner cap and/or cause it to come free--it just doesn't look all that sturdy. For that reason I would recommend not trying to post this pen.

Capped in the hand, the Stola is a medium-sized pen.

Filling system

Again, for the entry-level market, Pelikan bills the Stola as a cartridge pen, but I had no problem inking it up and using it with a Schmidt converter. Curious Side Note: like other people who received this pen for review, the Pelikan cartridge that came with the pen exploded inside the pen barrel. This is probably due to the fact that these pens passed through an area still experiencing below-freezing temperatures in transit rather than any underlying quality issue with the Pelikan cartridges, but I do find it curious that this happened to multiple people.

Nib

Pelikan makes very nice stainless steel nibs, and the Stola III is no exception. I don't know whether the nib is made in-house at Pelikan or not, but it's quality, and I haven't experienced any hard starts or skips. A big drawback for me personally is that the pen is only available in a medium nib. Due to sturdy build on this pen, it would be a perfect candidate for a "bag" or "car" pen, that I leave inked up for daily writing here and there. For those kinds of pens, though, I typically prefer a fine or extra-fine point to minimize bleed-through on the cheap paper you inevitably have to write on during the day. The Stola, at least in its current incarnation, is too broad for me to use consistently.

The Pelikan Stola only comes in a medium stainless steel nib.

Pelikan Stola III writing sample.  The medium nib leaves a moderately wet line.  I had no skips or hard starts. — Pelikan Stola III writing sample. The medium nib leaves a moderately wet line. I had no skips or hard starts.

Takeaways

There is probably a market for this pen, and judging from consumer reviews on Pen Chalet, buyers are generally satisfied. The $36 retail price places this pen at a slightly higher price point than the Lamy Safari and at about the same level as the AL-Star. That the Stola only comes in a medium nib, however, docks it a notch in my book. Also, the inability to post the pen makes it unusable as a true daily writer for me. That said, I found the section on the Stola very comfortable to use, so if Lamy's triangular grip doesn't work for you, or if you find the Pilot Metropolitan uncomfortable to hold due to the "step-down" from the barrel to section, you may want to give the Pelikan Stola III a try. On the whole, there wasn't anything about the Stola that nudged this into "great" or "excellent" pen territory, but it's certainly a good writing instrument, and if you're looking for a basic daily knockaround that you don't have to worry about excessively, you could do far worse.

If you are interested in the Pelikan Stola, it's available from our sponsor Pen Chalet for $36 in both fountain pen and rollerball versions. Pen Chalet offers a wide variety of pens and accessories, and it's where I do a large portion of my pen and ink shopping. Ron's prices are excellent, he runs regular promotions, and any orders over $50 receive free shipping. Importantly, Pen Chalet is an authorized retailer of all the brands they stock, and will stand by their products if you have any problems.

DISCLAIMER: I was provided this pen by PenChalet at no cost for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase a pen from any of the sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase a pen you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!

The TWSBI Eco, featured here in white, has a hexagonal cap with the red TWSBI dot.

Pen Review: TWSBI Eco

March 9, 2016

The TWSBI Eco may come closest to dethroning the Lamy Safari as the most popular pen you can buy under $30. With it's super smooth nib, modern design, and excellent piston-filling system, I can recommend the Eco to anyone, not just beginners. While not all pen people may appreciate its looks, this is a solid writer, and may even supplant the TWSBI 580 in my rotation.

Build. The Eco has two things to offer that distinguish it (in a good way) from other pens in its price range: a comfortable grip section, and a barrel length suitable for both posted and unposted use. First, the grip section (and the rest of the barrel) is round, and very comfortable to hold. The Lamy Safari (what I would deem the Eco's main competitor) features a triangular grip, supposedly to help students hold their pen correctly, but at the end of the day this mostly serves to limit the pen's appeal because many people simply can't use this grip comfortably. Also, by eliminating the faceted barrel, many people have speculated that the Eco will last longer and be less prone to cracking due to reduced stress on the plastic.

I regularly use the Eco both posted and unposted. Some people find that posting the cap on the Eco makes the pen unwieldy. The cap may not be the prettiest thing to look at, but it weighs next to nothing and I don't think that posting it renders the pen unreasonably long or uncomfortable to write with. Regardless, unlike the Safari, the body of the Eco is long enough to allow me to write comfortably with the pen unposted.

It's a bit longer than my personal preference, but I can still use the TWSBI Eco posted.

Aesthetics/Design. People either love or hate the Eco's design. I like it because it's different. True, there's a bit of a mismatch between the round barrel and the chunky, faceted cap and piston knob, but somehow the design works. The Eco is a modern, minimalist fountain pen, and looks exactly like what one would expect a modern, minimalist fountain pen to look like. To deliver a pen at the $30 price point, you pretty much have to use plastic, so criticism that the pen "looks cheap" is misplaced--the Eco is intended to be an inexpensive pen, and to knock it because it looks "plasticky" or because it has a less expensive clip than the TWSBI 580 strikes me as unfair.

The cap and the clip on the TWSBI Eco have generated

The Nib. If there's one area where TWSBI has improved by leaps and bounds over the years, it's with their nibs, which I believe are made by JoWo. Both the Eco and the Vac Mini (which I recently reviewed) feature a #5 stainless steel nib, and both of my pens are excellent writers. Like my Vac Mini, I picked up an Eco with a medium nib, I'd characterize it as a "true medium," slightly on the wet side. While the Vac Mini can occasionally hard-start or skip, due to the nature of a vacuum filling system and how ink is delivered to the feed, I have had zero flow issues with the Eco.

A shot of the TWSBI Eco nib and round, transparent section.  For some reason, I love the clear section on the Eco.  You can really see how the ink saturates the feed and works its way down to the nib. — A shot of the TWSBI Eco nib and round, transparent section. For some reason, I love the clear section on the Eco. You can really see how the ink saturates the feed and works its way down to the nib.

Takeaways. I can recommend the TWSBI Eco for anyone looking for a good daily writer that won't break the bank. It's certainly not limited to beginners or people looking to buy their "first fountain pen". That said, there are a couple reasons why the Eco won't dethrone the Pilot Metropolitan and others anytime soon as my recommended first-choice for an entry-level fountain pen. First of all is price. The Metropolitan is less expensive, and with the new Retro-Pop collection, the colors aren't necessarily limited to black, silver, and gold. The Eco sits at a slightly higher "next step" price point. As I've said before, I'm also hesitant to recommend a piston filler as a "first pen," since many fountain pen newbies are uncomfortable starting out filling from a bottle.

The TWSBI Eco does, however, sit appropriately near the top of my "Top Pens Under $75" list, and I'm considering moving it to the #1 slot. So far, it's that good, but I want to give myself a few months with it to be sure.

As of April 2020, you can purchase TWSBI Pens, including the ECO series, directly from The T.G.S. Curated Shop. The ECO starts at $30.99 for standard versions, and a pen with Rose Gold trim will run you $49.99.

Pilot's Custom Heritage 92 Demonstrator in Orange Acrylic

Pen Review: Pilot Custom Heritage 92

March 2, 2016

I'm really mad at Pilot (or maybe I should be mad at the U.S. Distributor, Pilot U.S.A.). Why? Because Pilot makes a pen that is nice-looking, and an exceptional writer, but is only available in the U.S. in one color with an MSRP set twice as high as in Japan. I'd go so far as to say that this pen could be a flagship offering for Pilot here in the States, yet it gets little love or attention, probably because of the price.

The pen that I am talking about, is of course, the Custom Heritage 92 demonstrator. The clear version is sold by U.S. retailers, including PenChalet. Pilot also makes three different colors of the demonstrator in the same transparent plastics as the Custom 74 line: Blue, Orange, and Smoke. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing, these versions are Japan-only, but are still easily accessible through Amazon and eBay.

General Build and Appearance

The Custom Heritage is a solid pen. Some colored plastic demonstrators feel cheap, but not this one. The barrel, cap, and especially the piston mechanism (discussed further below) all feel especially solid. It's a nice mid-sized pen: big enough to use comfortably posted or unposted, but not so huge that it weighs down the front of a shirt pocket or is otherwise inconvenient for daily carry.

As I mentioned, the color scheme on these demonstrators is substantially similar to the color scheme on the Custom 74 demonstrators available here in the US. One difference is that the end caps are transparent gray, which sets off nicely against the orange. I've always wanted a pen in Pilot's clear orange acrylic--now I just have to pick up a blue version as well, which has a sapphire-like quality and is also stunning.

The piston knob on the Custom Heritage is gray, which accents the orange nicely.

The Fine-Medium "FM" Nib

The Custom Heritage sports a 14K gold number 5 nib. Pilot's standard gold nibs are springy--they're not semi-flex nibs like the "FA" nibs and the nibs on a Pilot/Namiki Falcon, but you can squeeze out a touch of line variation. What's unique about the nib I have, though, is the width. Pilot makes a "FM" nib (or a Fine-Medium), which is the perfect width for me to use as a daily writer. On more absorbent paper, the FM nib leans more to the medium side; on Rhodia or Clairefontaine, the nib writes more like a Western fine. In terms of ink flow, the pen writes perfectly out of the box. It has just a hint of feedback.

You can definitely squeeze some line variation out of the Pilot FM nib--it's not a nail--but I wouldn't call it "flex" or even "semi-flex."

A Piston Filler that Fills Completely and Is Easy To Clean

I saved what I consider the best aspect of this pen for last. In my piece on pen cleaning that I published a while back, I lamented how piston fillers had fallen out of my good graces because they were more difficult to clean. Not so with this pen! The piston mechanism is smooth and extremely efficient, meaning that the pen will take a full fill of ink, and on the flip side, will take a full fill of water when you are trying to clean it. Many piston fillers will only fill the ink chamber 3/4 or 2/3 full, which not only fails to maximize the ink capacity of the pen but requires repeated flushing to clean it. I've been using this pen with red ink (among the most difficult colors to clean), and I've been able to flush this pen completely clean with only 3-4 cycles of the piston.

Flushing the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 when I received it for the first time. This pen is full of water. Notice that there is only one slightly visible air bubble in the upper left of the ink chamber.

The Pricing Conundrum

I'm not a huge fan of clear demonstrators, so I didn't have to decide between buying internationally through Amazon or supporting a U.S.-based retailer. It is, however, unfortunate that Pilot sets the MSRP on the Custom Heritage 92 at $275 in the U.S. (Retailer "street price" tends to be around $220.) That's too high for this pen, regardless of how nice it is, and I would think this makes it nearly impossible for U.S. retailers (at least those abiding by the distributors' rules) to compete on this pen. The Lamy 2000 typically sells at a price point between $120-140, and I'd pay that for the Custom Heritage in a heartbeat.

Takeaways

I love this pen, and it's jumped to the top of my queue since I received it a few weeks back. (I do a lot of copy editing, and there's something about writing with red ink in an orange demonstrator that I find incredibly satisfying.) Moreover, at the $110 price point, this pen is up there with the Lamy 2000 as an option for purchasing a first gold-nibbed pen, especially if you are looking for a piston filler. I purchased this pen off of Amazon, though they are also readily available on eBay as well, sometimes for under $100.

Some Extra Credit

A few other people have reviewed the Pilot Custom Heritage. Mike Dudek over at The Clicky Post reviewed the clear version with a medium nib, and Pete Denison has reviewed the blue version, also in a FM nib.

If you're interested in reading further on the reasons why pens are priced differently in various markets, I recommend to you this piece by Ian at Pens!Paper!Pencils! You can also check out PIlot's reply to Ian's piece, as well as this reaction by Dr. Deans at Pen Economics.

The TWSBI Vac Mini, with a medium nib.  The ink used in this review is Callifolio Equinoxe 6, from Vanness Pens. — The TWSBI Vac Mini, with a medium nib. The ink used in this review is Callifolio Equinoxe 6, from Vanness Pens.

Pen Review: The TWSBI Vac Mini

February 24, 2016

I'm prepared to eat my words on the Vac Mini. After a less-than-stellar experience with the Vac 700, the idea of a miniature version of TWSBI's vacuum filler didn't excite me in the least, and I dropped one in my Amazon shopping cart as an afterthought when I was stocking up on something else. I fully expected this to be a "review purchase," after which I'd resell the pen. I was wrong, and I'm pleasantly surprised by TWSBI's latest "mini" model.

A Recap of the Vac 700 and "Vacuum Fillers"

In 2012, TWSBI introduced the Vac 700, which at $70 was the most reasonably priced "Vacuum Filler" fountain pen available on the market. The vacuum filling system is cool. The technical niceties are better explained elsewhere, but in short you stick the nib into an ink bottle, depress a plunger rod, and at the end of the downstroke the negative pressure causes the barrel of the pen to fill with ink. The Vac 700 was admired for bringing a unique filling system to the masses at a favorable price point, but has been criticized over the years for its somewhat clunky aesthetics and early quality control problems with the nibs. I eventually sold mine after a couple of months, and haven't been tempted by another vacuum filler other than Pilot's higher-end Custom 823 (which is still on "The List"). [2021 Update: TWSBI has released a new version of the Vac 700, dubbed the Vac700R, which adjusted the filling system and valve to increase ink flow and solves many of the early problems I and others had with the pen. It’s definitely worth checking out, though the Vac Mini probably remains my favorite due to the pocketable format.]

Note: A "vacuum filling" fountain pen is not the same thing as a "vacumatic" fountain pen. Despite the similar sounding names, a "vacumatic" filling fountain pen uses a pump. I am working on my own video demonstrating these filling systems, and will supplement this review at some point in the future. For now, please check out Brian Goulet's video here on how to fill a vacuum-fill fountain pen.

The Build of the Vac Mini

The Vac Mini is not just a slimmed down version of the Vac 700: it's an entirely new design, and a good one at that. The Vac Mini has none of the clunky, mismatched styling that I disliked so much with its larger sibling (err, cousin?). It's much smaller, and works well as a pocket carry option for those days when you plan to be on the move and don't want to carry a full bag or pen case, but still have some serious writing to do and need a pen with a large ink capacity.

A shot of the Vac Mini's streamlined aesthetics.  Note the slight, yet noticeable, "step" from the barrel to the nib section. — A shot of the Vac Mini's streamlined aesthetics. Note the slight, yet noticeable, "step" from the barrel to the nib section.

The design reminds me more of the Diamond Mini than the Vac 700, though the Vac Mini is more streamlined and foregoes the sharp facets of the Diamond 580 line (which probably lowers the risk of the plastic cracking). There is a noticeable "step" from the barrel to the nib section (see picture above), and depending on how/where on the section you grip your pen, this could range from being a non-issue to a deal-breaker. Similarly, this pen is not one that you can use unposted for long periods of time, though for short jottings I've found that it works fine.

The TWSBI Vac Mini unposted.  I've found that it works fine for short notes. — The TWSBI Vac Mini unposted. I've found that it works fine for short notes.

Which brings me to a second commonly heard criticism of the Vac Mini: to post the pen, you have to screw the cap onto the threaded end of the pen (the "end cap"). Some users have complained that this process takes too long, and makes this "pocket pen" too inconvenient to carry if you're someone who constantly caps/uncaps/posts/unposts the pen to take notes in short bursts. As I noted above, I've not had too much trouble in this regard, since I find the Vac Mini fine to write with unposted for brief periods of note-taking.

Many people will also have to pay attention to the orientation of the clip when you post the cap. The end cap is double-threaded, meaning that there's more than one way to screw on the cap, and as a result the clip can end up facing up or down. To some people, this means that the clip will end up "digging into your hand" or "not digging into your hand." My hands aren't large enough to make this an issue, but I can see how it could be extremely uncomfortable for some people. I've taken two pictures (below), attempting to demonstrate what people are complaining about:

At least on my pen, I've found that if you start threading the cap with the clip facing "down" (away from the top of the nib), you'll end up posting the pen with the clip facing away from your hand, and shouldn't have an issue with the clip bothering you as you write.

To ensure the cap posts "correctly", with the clip facing away from your hand, start threading the cap with the clip facing the feed, not the top of the nib.  Annoying at first but pretty soon it becomes second nature. — To ensure the cap posts "correctly", with the clip facing away from your hand, start threading the cap with the clip facing the feed, not the top of the nib. Annoying at first but pretty soon it becomes second nature.

The Nib

I purchased my pen with a medium nib. TWSBI's medium nibs are what I would call a "true medium"--not too fine, but also not too broad. This one is particularly smooth and wet, and one of the better TWSBI nibs that I've owned.

I've always liked TWSBI's nibs (now made by JoWo), and their logo engraved on the front. Unfortunately, I don't believe the Vac Mini nib units are interchangeable.

One thing to be sure to remember on a vacuum filler fountain pen: If you are writing for a long-ish period of time (as in, more than half a page), unscrew the end cap slightly. The metal rod that makes up the filler mechanism has a small O-ring at the end, which seals the nib and feed and prevents leaks when the end cap is closed all the way. It's a handy feature to have on a pen that holds this much ink, and makes this a good option for airplane travel, but you'll need to open the seal before writing to allow the ink to flow freely.

On the Vac Mini (and any vacuum-filling pen, for that matter) you should open the end-cap for longer writing sessions, to allow the ink to flow.

Takeaways

I purchased this pen a few weeks ago, and I love having it as a part of my carry. It's everything that I want in a pocket pen: it has a large ink capacity and writes reliably. I also prefer the more streamlined look of the Vac Mini to the sharp facets of the TWSBI Diamond 580 and the Diamond Mini. At its price point ($60), this pen will get a lot of use from me. In my opinion, TWSBI generally represents excellent value regardless of your level of experience with fountain pens. As of 2021, you can now purchase the TWSBI Vac Mini directly from T.G.S. via The Curated Shop.

I am not, however, going to add the Vac Mini to my list of Top Fountain Pens under $75. Why not? Risk of new user confusion. I think the filling system and the mechanism for posting the cap are too complex for most users to want to bother with. I'm a pen geek, and things like screw-on caps and vacuum filling systems are fun for me to play with. The average user, or someone looking to buy their first fountain pen, probably should not buy this pen over a cartridge/converter pen or a piston filler. The filling mechanism is more complex, and between having to unscrew the end cap for longer writing sessions, threading the cap to post, and paying attention to how the clip is oriented to prevent discomfort, that's a lot for a new user to have to deal with. If you are just getting into fountain pens, the TWSBI Eco is probably the better buy for a fountain pen newbie, at half the price.

AND....it wouldn't be a TWSBI without the famous red logo on the top of the cap!