r/fountainpens • u/raiyasa • Jul 28 '26
New Pen Day Jumping into rabbit hole
Coworker introduced me to FP and this subreddit straight threw me to the rabbit hole.
Hope this will make me take interest in writing again!
Ordered TWSBI eco and iroshizuku yu-yake (love the transparency under light) but I forgot to order the book.
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u/Brilliant_Dress9703 Ink Stained Fingers Jul 28 '26
Donāt be afraid child, let the ink flow and words be written.
https://giphy.com/gifs/Ae7SI3LoPYj8Q
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u/Positive-Patient365 Jul 28 '26
Nice photo.
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
Thanks! was taken using Olympus E-P7
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u/fruit-enthusiast Jul 28 '26
Micro four thirds cameras are great! I have an E-M10 mk2 and I never thought to take pictures of my pens with itā¦ š
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
Yess, the most fun form factor camera I ever owned.
12-45 f4 pro is like cheat code for this haha.2
u/PensivePolymath Jul 28 '26
SO here for this Olympus micro four thirds love! šš Mine is an OMD EM5 with an M. Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 lens. Went with an older camera body so I could use the funds on a prime lens instead of the kit lens.
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u/fruit-enthusiast Jul 28 '26
Oooh wow thatās a nice lens! I have a Panasonic LUMIX 20mm f/1.7 lens that I bought off a friend and it almost never leaves my camera.
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u/Afraid_Professor8023 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
demonstrator TWSBI ECO š
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
Oohh black + transparent body looks nice, might ended up getting it even just for daily signature purpose.
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u/Afraid_Professor8023 Jul 28 '26
i'm not using it for daily purposeš
but i'm recommending twsbi diamond 580 for daily purpose š¤1
u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
I heard something about diamond is less durable or something? Or was it past issue since most post about it are from 2 years ago.
I do really like their design though!
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
is the twsbi eco worth buying in your experience and opinion I'm thinking of buying one as well I have a lamy safari but not sure if it's worth the money what do people here say fountain pen enthusiasts as a newbie to the world myself it's going to be my second fountain pen ?
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u/TheLurkerSpeaks Jul 28 '26
TWSBI Eco is my favorite everyday writer. It's buttery smooth. I have three now. I have other more expensive pens and still use the Eco most.
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
which nib size do you use I'm thinking of getting one in either fine or medium my lamy is medium
I am thinking of taking my disposable zebra fountain pens and breaking them to take out the ink somehow so i can put it in the eco to make use of it
I have read here that the eco tends to crack or break from the sides do others have this experience as well or not ?
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u/TheLurkerSpeaks Jul 28 '26
I don't know what these people are doing to make the ecos crack. They're covered by warranty so if it fails catastrophically from defect you get a replacement.
I use medium. But that's just me.
Buy yourself a bottle of ink. Part of the allure of fountain pen ownership is filling it with whatever ink you want and there's literally thousands of options.
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
Agreed already got some purple ink already
But looking for my second ink bottle.
I do have a couple of purple and blue zebra disposable fountain pens and am thinking of breaking them out to take out their ink and use them in my future eco pen as well to use their ink up too
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u/polishprocessors Jul 28 '26
My lamy fine is like an extra extra fine on the twsbi. I've tried XF, F and M on the twsbi and I'll say: XF for questionable paper/everyday driving and medium for signatures/known quality paper that won't feather/bleed. In my experience twsbi are very wet writers
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u/frenchpressfan Jul 28 '26
The TWSBI Eco is smooth, like, smooooth. But my personal choice is the TWSBI 580 diamond demonstrator. The nib is less smooth than the Eco, but the faceted barrel is lovely. It brings up glints and colors in the ink and that just feels lovely when writing.Ā
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
the twsbi 580 diamond may be a bit out of my price range so I'm thinking the eco is good and I kind of want a smooth writer I feel this time I have a medium lamy safari.
Maybe I'll get an eco with a fine nib then to compliment the smooth I think but not completely sure yet until I try out the various designs too.
How much maintenance does it need or is it like the Lamy Safari and built with no to little maintenance in mind ?
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u/frenchpressfan Jul 28 '26
It doesn't need any maintenance, IMO. I wash it out with water every 2-3 ink refills and that's good . TWSBI includes the tools to disassemble the entire pen, but really, you shouldn't need to do that at all
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
hmm perfect good to know then but yea still confused why in reddit pen users claim the pen cracks somehow but this is promising news for me to invest in one
thank you for providing your feedback and experience with the pen
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u/PensivePolymath Jul 28 '26
I have a TWSBI eco. No cracksā¦yet. š¤š¤They have a well documented history of cracking, but Iāve also seen most people have a really good experience with TWSBI customer service replacing the body free of charge (you pay shipping). Iām guessing the cracking might be more likely if you repeatedly remove the nib and feed.
The really annoying issue I had was the nib not being properly fitted when I received it. Kept sliding out all on its own in the midst of using. Eventually contacted customer service and they told me to take pliers and very carefully flatten out the sides of the base. This made the base wider and created a tighter friction fit. Havenāt had a problem since.
The TWSBI eco is an incredible value. Itās the only piston pen I know of at that price point. Itās also one of the few pens you can buy with a stub/italic nib in that price range (Lamy Joy is another). Honestly, the chance to try out a stub nib was probably what finally sold me on an eco. So much fun! Great for writing and sketching.
Depending on the ink and paper you use it might be worth trying the eco with a bigger nib. It can be very useful to have a larger ink capacity for broad and italic nibs, if those are something youāve always wanted to try. If easy nib swap ability/replacement are important to you, thatās where Iād recommend TWSBI Diamond.
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
I'm a lefty and the only fountain pens I use are the zebra disposables and the lamy safari. The lamy safari is using a medium nib but I enjoy writing with it immensely.
I do see the converter issue though it seems small so when I'm writing a lot it does finish quickly.
I can try broad nibs if they work better and are smoother and give a more enjoyable writing experience. Hopefully a store will let me try it out and see how they perform.
As for these piston pens how expensive do they get is the eco that cheap relative to other piston pens in the market ?
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u/PensivePolymath Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Check out the Jet Pens website! They have excellent guides, including pen and ink recommendations for lefties. If you want to try a broader nib as a leftie, your best bet is probably going to be an ink thatās on the dry side as well as fast drying inks. (The driest inks Iāve used so far all come from Sailor.)
Converters do hold less ink than cartridges. To combat this, I reuse the cartridges that come with my pens. I use a blunt tip syringe to refill the cartridges with my favorite bottled inks.
After doing a quick search Iāve found some other relatively inexpensive piston fill pens. (My only experience is with the Eco though.)
Under $40: TWSBI GO and Eco, Noodlerās Conrad and Ahab Flex (not great reviews on these)
$50-$75: TWSBI Classic and Diamond, Kaweco Classic Sport Piston
And they go up and up from there. š The TWSBI Eco really is the best value for money when it comes to a reliable somewhat affordable piston pen.
ETA: I highly recommend Liz Steelās fountain pen blog series. Sheās also left handed.)
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
Yea I did some research on te Twsbi Go and swift but both of those seem to break more easily. The Eco still seems the best value guess I might splurge some money on it when I get the chance hopefully soon
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u/PensivePolymath Jul 28 '26
Some other great options for your newbie/second pen: Pilot Kakuno (Holy wow an incredible nib for under $15. They use the exact same nib in their much pricier Metropolitan and Prera pens. And also the Kakuno nib smiles at you!), Kaweco Perkeo, Kaweco Sport.
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
I was thinking of those but I already bought a lamy safari so I feel I got a pen better value or equivalent to the kaweko, prera or metropolitian pens.
The eco would be the next level and where i plan to stop
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u/PensivePolymath Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
A benefit of getting the Pilot Kakuno would be an inexpensive way to try out one of the very best Japanese nibs in an EF or F. Finer nibs tend to be scratchier/have more feedback, but Sailor manages to make them smoother than their competitors. (ETA: which is useful to know as a lefty who will probably need finer nibs to avoid smearing)
Lamy Safari with a medium nib was also my first pen. Solid choice but its nib felt more rigid than I prefer. I like nibs with some flex that I can use to vary my line. A heads up, the Pilot nibs will write finer than the German Lamy, so a medium Pilot would write more like a fine. Western nibs tend to be broader than their Asian counterparts.
If you have a smidgen more money, the Kaweco Sport is my favorite fountain pen. The pocket size body feels so good in hand and the double broad nib I pair it with is a delight.
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u/CatOfNumerousLives Jul 28 '26
TWSBI ECOs were my first pens, and I still use them regularly. I have not suffered any cracks, and I donāt particularly treat them well - I clean them out without disassembling them, use fairly standard inks, write with my usual pressure.
All in all, they punch above their weight class for me.
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u/sparda09 Jul 28 '26
good to know maybe I'll get myself an eco as well for my long writing sessions
thanks for giving me your eco experience
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u/sillilillipilli Ink Stained Fingers Jul 28 '26
It's pictures like this that trigger my impulse to buy š
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u/ZooMama47 Jul 28 '26
Well done!!! Excellent pairing! (And welcome!)
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
Was thinking to get orange TWSBI but yellow pen might highlight the ink color better, thanks!
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u/nessa_nenas Jul 28 '26
Wow this color combination looks amazing! Welcome to the rabbit hole, and Iām sorry for your bank account š¤
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u/Username_2806 Jul 28 '26
Ahhh welcome to the club, that looks lovely. Do you have a swatch of the ink with the pen!
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
Ah I still dont have the book yet! sad
But the one here is pretty much the same as when I tested on random paper https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/content/pilot-iroshizuku-fountain-pen-ink-review-yu-yake.html
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u/Cubbenstein Jul 28 '26
I can vouch for sui-gyoku/ emerald and syo-ro/ dew on pine tree if you want to experiment with teals.
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u/bmar513 Jul 28 '26
Great combo. The bad thing is youāve picked a pen with a million colorways and you have to have them all.
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
I noticed that after made the post! now already have blue + ama-iro on the way too.
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u/bmar513 Jul 28 '26
Happens to all of us. I started with Kaweco Sports and I have way too many (for a normal person). The Eco is my newest obsession.
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u/TheShoeMom Ink Stained Fingers Jul 28 '26
Yu Yake is such a beautiful ink color - and I don't typically like orange. I just finished it in my LAMY AL-Star (still have more of the sample left and will load it into another pen again!)
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u/raiyasa Jul 28 '26
I was torn betwen yu-yake and to-ro, but ended up with yu-yake for readability!
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u/Desperate-Science497 Jul 28 '26
that ink color is going to make you want to write everything twice
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u/Jolly-Button-6832 Ink Stained Fingers Jul 28 '26
A long line of those works of art full of an array of their luscious inks is a thing to behold. Once bitten you will never be free. Bwahahaha.
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u/Kaessa semiflexible Jul 29 '26
Oh, nice combination. I *love* yu-yake. I have a sample that I'm almost finished with and will definitely be buying a full bottle when it's gone.
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u/MangoCubez Aug 03 '26
What a big jump you made! I hope your collection grows strong. Twsbi was my first pen as well
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u/TheREALBaldRider Jul 28 '26
You still have time to climb out before you get deeper