Pen Review: The TWSBI 580

As a brand, the TWSBI 580 and its predecessors, the 540 and the 530, personify the modern resurgence of fountain pens.  The pens themselves appear relatively simple; however, they are anything but, and to me, it’s nothing short of amazing that TWSBI can develop a product this good and sell it at this reasonable of a price point. For this reason, TWSBI pens are prominently featured on my list of Top 5 Fountain Pens under $75 as the first piston-filling pen that I recommend to new enthusiasts.   

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My TWSBI in its apple-esque white plastic packaging.  I save my TWSBI boxes for pen storage. 

TWSBI pens are manufactured by a subsidiary of Ta Shin Precision, a Taiwanese company with operations in both the United States and China.  Per the TWSBI website, after years of manufacturing products--including fine writing instruments--on a contract basis, the company decided to create its own line of fountain pens.  The design of the TWSBI 530—the first TWSBI pen was heavily influenced by consultation with members of the pen community via the Fountain Pen Network:  the first “crowdsourced” fountain pen, you could say. 

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TWSBI's "iconic" logo. 

From my perspective, TWSBI has accomplished its goal of creating an affordable piston-filling fountain pen with a large ink capacity and classic looks.  Additionally, I would go so far as to say that the reasonable price, the relatively widespread availability of the pens, and the fact that the nibs are interchangeable make them the spiritual successor to Esterbrook, though, as I’ll discuss further below, an argument can be made that TWSBIs won’t weather the test of time as well as Esties have.

Looks

For this review, I’ve used a TWSBI Diamond 580AL in orange, currently the only TWSBI in my collection.  At one time or another, I have owned a Vac 700, a Mini, and a couple colored 540s, but the 580 with the orange aluminum trim (now discontinued) is the pen that has stuck with me. Orange aside, the 580 sports a classic look.  It’s a fairly large fountain pen that fits comfortably in the hand without posting.  Many users have knocked TWSBI for designing pens with caps that don’t post (guilty!), but TWSBI’s recent designs (the Classic and the Eco) have offered an option for posting the cap, and in all honesty, the 580’s size would makes it uncomfortable to use posted.     

The TWSBI 580 is pretty big.  While I like to post caps, the 580 is so long and relatively heavy that posting the cap would likely make it unbalanced/unwieldy. 

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A comparison of the TWSBI 580 agains some similarly sized pens in my collection:  from bottom, the Delta Fusion 82, the TWSBI 580 AL, the Montblanc 146, and the Edison Herald. 

Build

TWSBI loses a few points in any discussion of build and manufacturing, simply because rumors of poor quality control have dogged the company from the beginning.  Like any reports that come via the internet, they started as valid criticism but, at least in my opinion, have “gone viral” to some degree, resulting in exaggerated claims of poor quality.  To its credit, TWSBI has responded well, and I haven’t heard of an example where TWSBI has failed to replace broken pen parts (or the entire pen) where a customer has reported a defect.    

The plastic used to manufacture the 530, 540, and the Mini is prone to cracking, particularly at the section, though caps have cracked as well.  TWSBI apparently has addressed the issue with the 580 to a degree—reports of cracking aren’t nearly as widespread.  With the Eco, however, TWSBI adopted a new round barrel (as opposed to the faceted barrel of the Diamond series), which may indicate that the early manufacturing issues had more to do with the faceted design of the "Diamond" pens than the materials used to make them.  Personally, I think a round barrel 580-style pen would be interesting, though the faceted “Diamond” motif has become something of a TWSBI hallmark.  The 580AL that I'm reviewing here has a section and certain other parts made of aluminum as opposed to plastic, presumably making that model more durable.   

For all the talk of cracking, however, and for all the TWSBI pens I have owned (and used heavily), I’ve only had the plastic crack on me once.  My TWSBI mini developed one small hairline in the section threads (probably caused by me over tightening the cap), which didn’t cause me any functional issues.  So from personal experience (with Minis, 540s, and 580s), TWSBI’s quality has been good.  You also can't lose perspective on what TWSBI has been trying to do:  manufacture a reasonably priced, accessible piston-filling fountain pen.  This is no easy task, and at the $55 price point you have to expect some sacrifices in the quality department.  Is this a tank-like Pelikan M800?  No, but it also doesn't cost $400.      

Pricing

TWSBI’s current pricing structure ranges from $30 to $75.  The ECO is TWSBI’s new entry-level model. Next up is the standard model Diamond 580, the Mini, the TWSBI Classic, the 580AL (featured in this review); and the Vac 700 (a vacuum filling pen).  TWSBI’s now-discontinued Micarta pen was priced at $100, making it the most expensive pen TWSBI offered.

Note:  the 580AL in orange is no longer offered.  The 580AL is, however, available in standard aluminum.  I wonder what color they will issue next?  The long-rumored "Vac Mini" should also arrive this year. Note: As of April 2021, you can purchase select TWSBI Products, including the TWSBI 580, directly from the T.G.S. Curated Shop.   

Nibs

TWSBI nibs are generally of high quality, especially since they switched to custom JoWo nibs a few years back.  Apart from a Vac 700 I owned a few years back, none of my pens have required adjustment to the nibs, though I have had some custom-ground to cursive italic and architect's points.  Actually, one of my favorite things about TWSBI pens is the ability to swap nibs.  You can save a lot of money by purchasing one TWSBI pen with some spare nib units and having those nib units customized--depending on how many spare nibs you carry, it's like four pens in one! 

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Note that the 580 nibs are interchangeable among all models in the 580 series, and sold separately as spare screw-in “nib units.”  You can purchase additional Mini nib units and Vac nib units for those pens as well, though they aren’t interchangeable with other models.  While I’ve never done this, I understand that you can swap the nibs on the Classic and the Eco by pulling the friction-fit nib—there’s no “nib unit” that’s sold separately and easily switches out.  (Rumor has it you can also "hack" the entire TWSBI line to make them accept all sorts of nibs.  Proceed at your own risk here!) 

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A writing sample using my TWSBI 580AL with a Masuyama-ground Architect's Nib (Medium). The brown ink I'm using for this review is Franklin-Christoph's Dark Chocolate (thanks to Lori at FC for the sample!), which I'm really enjoying. 

Accessories
      
In addition to spare nibs, TWSBI also makes products such as ink bottles and notebooks, both of which I own, but which are beyond the scope of this review because I haven’t used them that much.  I will add, however, that the ink bottle has a proprietary nozzle that lets you fill the 580 completely (though you can remove the lid to fill other pens by dipping as you typically would). The notebooks contain fountain-pen friendly paper (probably sugarcane), which appears similar to the paper used in Franklin-Christoph notebooks.  

DISCLAIMER:  I purchased the items featured in this review with my own funds (except for the FC ink sample).   

Weekend Update: This Week's Travel Kit

Apologies that the blog's a bit light on content--I just finished a long, work-related travel weekend that saw me make a run from Nashville to New York City on Thursday, from New York to Chicago on Friday, and return home from Chicago on Sunday.  Multiple cities on a short itinerary exhausts me; hence this brief recap.  An inveterate tinkerer and gear nut, one thing I aways do after a trip is evaluate my "travel kit" that I carry.  My kit from this trip:  

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From left:  Kum-Palomino long point two-hole sharpener; Tombow Sand Eraser; Uni Kuru-Toga Mechanical Pencil (0.5mm); Tombow 2558 (B); Palomino Forest Choice Pencil; Pilot Hi-Tec-C in orange (.4mm); Baron Fig Confidant; and Baron Fig Apprentice.  Not Pictured:  Lamy 2000 Ballpoint, review on the way.  In the background:  a couple Kum single-hole magnesium long-point sharpeners I picked up at Kinokuniya.  

Trying to figure out how to work pencils back into my life, I didn't travel with any fountain pens this time.  Pencils are great for travel:  no need to worry about leaking, spilling, blobbing, etc.  I've never had many problems traveling with fountain pens, but sometimes it's just nice to not have that nagging thought in the back of your mind.  My travel gear may be pencil-heavy for the foreseeable future.  Oh, and if you're in the market for a ballpoint pen, I will be reviewing the Lamy 2000 ballpoint soon.  For those situations where you find yourself in an overcrowded hotel conference room having to write in a pocket notebook balanced on your knee, the ballpoint pen is perfect, and the Lamy 2000 is among the best I've used.

But all work trips have some downtime, and during the Thursday afternoon lull in my itinerary I walked down to the Lower East Side to grab 20 minutes or so in C.W. Pencil Enterprise, where I picked up a few things: 

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From the top: Viarco Desenho B (No. 1); Tombow 2B triangular pencil (mini jumbo); Viarco Eco HB (No. 2); Tombow Mono 4B; and Triangular Mitsubishi Penmanship Pencil (4B).  Yes, I exercised some self-restraint. 

The Mitsubishi 4B Penmanship pencil could become a new favorite.  Time will tell whether it sticks in the rotation, but for a 4B pencil, smearing is minimal and it's quite possibly the smoothest writing pencil I have ever used.  I also have a thing for thick cores in a normal-sized pencil, especially with quality graphite that can sharpen to a long point.  This one fits the bill. Thanks to Caitlin and everyone else in the shop who makes stopping there such an enjoyable experience!  

DISCLAIMER:  All products reviewed in this post were purchased with my own funds, for my own use. 

The Perception of Scarcity: Is it Worth Chasing “Limited Edition Inks” anymore?

This question rears its head now and then, in some version or another.  Dr. Deans’ recent posts over at Fountain Pen Economics on the perceived bubble in the market for Field Notes Colors editions, and the difficulties faced by boutique Japanese retailer Bung Box in satisfying demand for their Special Edition Sailor Inks, got me thinking.  (From a consumer’s perspective, of course, not an economist’s.)  

Why do we continue to chase these “limited edition” lines of ink?  Montblanc started the trend of regularly issuing "limited" or "special" editions several years ago.  In late 2011-early 2012, Alfred Hitchcock Red came onto my radar, and I was smitten.  This particular color—a dusky, “blood” red that didn’t feather and bleed all over everything—was exactly what I’d been looking for in a red ink but had been unable to find elsewhere.  I purchased three bottles.  Over three years later, I’ve not yet finished one.   I fell hard for the “buy-as-much-as-you-can-afford-of-this-ink-now-because-you’ll-never-see-it-again” marketing strategy, and ironically, even though I had a healthy supply of Hitchcock, I reluctantly used it because, in the back of my mind, I felt that I should save "rare" ink for something special rather than the mundane everyday writing tasks for which I use most of my pens.   

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Montblanc has continued to issue “limited edition” inks in its “Writers,” “Great Characters,” and “Meisterstuck” series.  Among the most popular have been the Hitchcock Red, Dandy Turquoise (Honore de Balzac), Winter Glow (a seasonal red ink), and, more recently, the JFK Navy Blue and “Blue Hour” inks.  Pelikan entered the game, with its Edelstein “Ink of the Year” series. Anecdotes of “ink hoarding” now litter the pen blogs and forums, with readers talking of purchasing as many as seven or eight bottles of a special or limited edition ink, terrified that they will run out (at some point in their life).  Users and collectors pay as much as $100 per (30ml!?!) bottle on the secondhand market for discontinued editions.  It begs the question: is this rational behavior?  

At some point, it probably was, but now, I’m not so sure, and suspect that it's now based on a false perception of scarcity.  I periodically search the internet for comparisons of Hitchcock ink to the other red inks on the market, dreading the day when my supply dries up.  At the time I bought my Hitchcock, there wasn’t much in the way of alternatives (or, I didn’t know of much). But the market has changed.  More companies have begun making and selling ink.  Some stick around; some don't.  Just five or six years ago, when I re-entered this hobby, Iroshizuku and Edelstein weren’t around, and Diamine wasn't readily available in the U.S.  If you wanted a wide range of colors, Noodler's and Private Reserve were the main options.  Far fewer online shopping options existed, much less tools such as the Goulet Swab Shop where you could pull up ink samples and easily compare colors.  (Goulet Pens launched a month or two after I picked up my pens following a long hiatus.)  In short, alternatives to these limited editions exist, and they’re easier to find than ever.  Today, if my Hitchcock ran out, Diamine Oxblood could probably serve as a "close enough" substitute, and there are enough inks out there to make the hunt for a new favorite enjoyable.   

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A bottle of Bung Box 4B in the coveted tall bottle, which is now being discontinued in favor of the "Regular" Sailor bottle.  Presumably, this will allow Sailor to produce more inks for Bung Box, but will it cause the brand to lose it's cachet? 

Others have commented that the recent trend/fad has shifted from pursuing “Limited Edition” inks to seeking out hard to find, rare lines of ink exclusive to small boutique shops.  First it was Akkerman in the Hague, Netherlands; the latest darling is Bung Box in Hamamatsu, Japan.  Both inks carry a steep $35 per bottle price tag.  While this pricing likely reflects the cost born by these smaller retailers in having the ink made as opposed to the effect of supply and demand for the product, it remains to be seen whether these inks can remain as popular as they are in light of an increasing number of competitors offering cheaper and near-equivalent alternatives. For example, at last month's D.C. Pen Show, I considered purchasing three bottles of ink directly from Bung Box (who was at the show), but ended up with a few bottles of Kobe-Nagasawa Ink from Vanness instead after realizing that the price for 3 bottles from Bung Box would be $100.  Both inks are made by Sailor exclusively for these retailers, but the price difference is fairly stark:  ($35 per bottle for Bung Box vs. $19--regular Sailor pricing--for the Kobe).  Kobe is a larger operation that has 50 colors available, either from Vanness or via eBay.  Since Sailor makes both lines of ink, what's the chance that you can't find that Bung Box color you've been coveting (or a close equivalent) somewhere in the Kobe line, and have money left over to buy something else?  I finally got to the point where I personally couldn't justify the extra expense, no matter how cool the old Bung Box bottle is.             
  
Anyway, these are just my observations.  There's no "problem" in need of a solution here, but I do wonder where the market for "limited edition" or "rare" inks is going in the near future.  Now, excuse me while I go pick up that second bottle of JFK Blue.   

**You’ll note that I have “limited edition” in quotation marks at various points in this post.  Recently, it seems that these “limited” inks have been sticking around longer.  For example, JFK Navy Blue has been out for a while now, and it’s still relatively easy to find.  I personally would be interested to know whether this is a function of declining consumer demand for limited edition product, or whether it’s the result of Montblanc making more ink.**

The Pilot Kakuno: Another Excellent Option for Newbies

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a piece on the Best Fountain Pens for Beginners, and I included on that list a pen that I’d been resisting for some time: The Pilot Kakuno.  I’ve read rave reviews of the Kakuno, but until now I had never been able to bring myself to pick one up.  That’s probably because I’d only seen them in person at Kinokuniya in NYC, where they sell for about $17—making it more expensive than your typical impulse purchase.  

During my research for my “Best Pens” series of articles, I noticed that Amazon was selling the Kakuno for a little over $12 shipped (Prime Eligible). That brought the pen firmly into the sub-$15 “guilt-free impulse buy” zone so I dropped it into my cart when I was doing my weekly household shopping.  It’s been my primary pocket carry pen ever since, smiley-faced nib and all.  

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The Pilot Kakuno Nib, with the "smiley face" engraving.  That smiley face is a devil to photograph correctly, btw. 

The Kakuno features what looks like the same nib as the Pilot Metropolitan (plus the signature engraving).  I opted for the fine nib, and the nib on my Kakuno is even smoother than the one on my old Metro.  The nib has some slight spring to it, but I would still characterize it as fairly stiff (which is fine by me).  The pen ships with a cartridge, but I believe most Pilot converters (sold separately) will fit the Kakuno.  Pilot’s cartridges are convenient, in that they hold a lot of ink, and the ink is high quality, so I’ll probably just stick with the carts.

Some reviewers have criticized the Kakuno for looking like a child's pen. Other than the smiley, I don’t agree.  On the whole, find it much less childlike than other recommended “first pens” such as the Pelikano, the Pelikano Jr., and even the Pelikan Twist or the Platinum Plaisir.  Maybe it’s the smiley-face on the nib that sets people off, but the look is relatively understated and not something that most people would notice unless they were staring at the nib of your pen.  (I mean, how weird would that be?)  Plus, come on people, lighten up.  At the end of the day, there are not many pens on the market at $11-12 that write this well, and you need to make work fun when you can. 

Bottom line:  the Kakuno is an excellent option for someone looking for an inexpensive introduction to fountain pens, or a seasoned fountain pen user who wants a knockaround pen that will write as well as a pen that costs five times as much.  That said, if you want to get into bottled ink, or if you work in an ultra-stodgy corporate environment and require “ye olde black pen”, the Metropolitan is probably the better buy because it comes with a converter and certainly won’t turn anyone's heads.  It's also selling for around $12 shipped right now.  Me?  I’m keeping my Kakuno, and using it proudly.

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For some other great reviews of the Kakuno, read Brad's review over at the Pen Addict, as well as Maybelline's over at On Fountain Pens. 

DISCLAIMER:  I purchased the pen used in this review with my own funds, for my own collection. This post does contain 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!  

Masters Class: Buying Your First Fountain Pen Over $100

Crossing the $100 threshold is a big step.  Not only is it a lot of money, but many people question whether there's any real difference between a $20 pen and a $100 pen, or even a $500 pen.  Or even a pencil?  They all write, right? 

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The Lamy 2000 tops my list for your first trip over the $100 price point.  

To me, there is a difference, and it lies in the writing experience.  While there are a few steel nibs out there that are excellent writers, I prefer the feel of gold nibs.  Gold fountain pen nibs are (mostly) "springier," meaning that they feel softer than a steel nib on paper; they typically write a wetter line and will show off the ink you are using to a greater degree.  I do agree, however, that beyond a certain price point (say, $250), with the limited exception of certain high-end pens such as Nakaya or custom pens purchased from a craftsman who tunes nibs, you are unlikely to see much more improvement in nib quality.  At the upper end of most manufacturers' product lines you are paying for design features (i.e., a limited edition design), branding (i.e., Montblanc), or a costly/rare material used to make the pen (i.e., celluloid).  So where to start?  Here are my top five fountain pens for someone looking to break into the "luxury" market: 

1. Lamy 2000.  My default recommendation for a "first really nice pen" has always been the Lamy 2000.  I've already reviewed the pen, and I own two of them, so consider me a fan of its minimalistic, Bauhaus-inspired styling.  The Lamy 2000 has a very wet, 14k gold nib that most consider soft and springy.  Be aware that the 2000 nib sizes run much broader than a lot of other pens.  I have both a custom stub (formerly a medium), and an extra-fine.  In my opinion, both the medium and the EF run one size broader than normal (i.e., the medium writes more like a broad).  In recent years, many bloggers and commenters have noted a prevalence of nib issues with this pen, such as scratchiness, misaligned or uneven tines, and even bent nibs.  While I wouldn't rule out some deterioration in Lamy's quality control over the years, I've not personally experienced any issues, and I sometimes wonder whether this is just a function of how popular this pen is, with some problems being inevitable once so many of them hit the market.  The Makrolon Lamy 2000 is the least expensive pen on this list, (from Amazon), or you can opt for more deluxe the brushed stainless steel model.      
2. Sailor Pro Gear.  At no. 2, you have the most expensive pen on this list, but it's possibly my favorite pen of all time.  Sailor's 1911 Professional Gear (dubbed the "Pro Gear") is a relatively compact fountain pen that sports excellent Sailor 21k nibs.  I promise that I won't go on about Sailor at length--you can read my reviews of my two Limited Editions here and here--but in short Sailor is a Japanese company known for its nibs.  To achieve maximum smoothness and perfection, I've had both my Sailor nibs tuned by Mike Masuyama (who worked for Sailor for 25 years or so), but all Sailor pens that I have purchased have written just fine out of the box.  Starting at $250 for the standard version at PenChalet, and if you have smaller hands the Pro Gear Slim might be a better option at $156.   
3. Pilot Vanishing Point.  The go-to option for a retractable nib fountain pen.  Of all the modern pen companies, I've found that Pilot nibs write the best out of the box, and the Vanishing Point is another easy recommendation with one caveat:  many people have a hard time with the clip.  Due to the fact that a retractable fountain pen needs to be stored nib-up, the clip ends up on the writing end of the pen, attached to the "section."  (Take a look at some photos of the pen, and you'll see what I mean).  I personally am not sensitive about grip sections, and the matte-black VP model is one of my most used work pens.  The Vanishing Point is available in a wide array of colors, and start at $140 pretty much everywhere (pre-discount code).   
4. Pilot Custom 74.  A pen that I don't personally own anymore, but that I enjoyed while I had it.  The Pilot Custom 74 is a full-size pen that features a nice rhodium-plated gold nib, and in the United States is available as a clear, blue, orange, smoke, or violet demonstrator.  The Custom 74 also comes with Pilot's high-capacity Con-70 pump converter, which is just flat-out cool.  Starting at $160 from most retailers.  NOTE:  I have not reviewed either the Vanishing Point or the Custom 74 for this site, but both pens have been reviewed to death, and you can easily locate reviews of both using the Pennaquod search engine.  
5. Franklin-Christoph.  Your "gateway" into custom nibs.  Franklin-Christoph has taken the fountain pen industry by storm in recent years, offering an array of unique designs that use JoWo interchangeable nib units, some of which have been customized by Mike Masuyama. You can purchase a Masuyama Ground cursive italic or stub nib for your pen at a slight upcharge.  For example, the Model 20 "Marietta" starts at $165, and comes in at $180 for a Masuyama nib.  Most will want to stick with a steel nib for their first Franklin-Christoph, but gold nibs are available as well.  Note that Franklin-Christoph checks and tunes all nibs before they ship, and they have excellent customer service if you are not satisfied.  I really like their demonstrator models, which look absolutely awesome when converted to eyedroppers.      

Again, this list contains just like, my opinion, man, so if you think I've left anything off, reach out through the "Contact Me" link or via twitter.  I've received some great suggestions following the prior posts, and haven't had a chance to get back to everyone yet.  I will try!  

DISCLAIMER:  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!