Pens and Ink: It's clearly TWSBI and Teal today!

Last week in the Hague I stopped at one of my fave stores again and you don't have to be a genius to guess that it's Akkerman! I was finally going to get my long awaited TWSBI ECO clear model with the 1.1 stub nib and it did not disappoint! I definitely love the look and feel to it. And it looks GREAT in between my Diamond 580 and Mini demonstrator models as well. I just love seeing ink slosh in clear pens, it's so pretty!

I'm really happy I decided to keep my mini because it does make a pretty collection this way :) The kind lady at the store asked me if I wanted my Eco filled with ink (from the Akkerman line) and I took the opportunity to take one I haven't gotten round to testing yet; Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen. It's a gorgeous teal color. I bought another bottle of Private Reserve Blue Suede (hey, it was on sale!) and filled my mini with it. It's a gorgeous blue green color (dead ringer for J. Herbin's Emerald of Chivor base color) but the focus of this post is going to between the ZBG and the ink I've chosen to fill my Diamond 580 with; Diamine Teal.

Ink swabs on maruman word card paper. From left to right: private reserve blue suede, Akkerman zuiderpark blauw-groen and Diamine teal.

Right off the bat I thought the latter two inks look so much alike when I wrote with them and seeing the ink swabs side by side, well there is honestly not much difference at first glance! But there are a few subtle differences in writing though. A couple of example pages from my loving kindness written meditation journal.

TWSBI Eco with Akkerman Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen - a nice looking teal color. But the swab makes the ink look more interesting to me than the writing sample does. There is a bit of shading but not a lot. Also it writes a bit dry. Maybe I have to reset the nib and feed and give it a good cleaning, The lady did fill er 'up right out of the box...

TWSBI Diamond 580 with Diamine Teal - Found this ink flowing better also this ink is darker and has more shading. Granted it could be the nib that does make the difference. The 1.1 on the Diamond 580 is a number 6 vs. the number 5 on the ECO (and mini) has a broader width and writes a lot wetter.

Comparison shot of the 1.1 stub nibs on the 3 TWSBI's. The nib on the ECOand Mini are the same. The section of the ECO is smaller than the other two pens which is just a little on the small side for me, but not uncomfortable.

The 1.1 nib definitely have differences among each other in writing. My fave writer of the 3 remains the Diamond 580, I just like the line width a little better. Also look at the shading in the Diamine Teal!

I am very pleased with the newest member in my TWSBI collection though I am still on the fence if I want a whole bottle of either ZBG or Diamine Teal. I'll need to write a bit more with them first to decide. See reviews from Ana's of The Well Appointed Desk on Diamine Teal and Akkerman ZBG for more info on the inks. Which of these would you prefer?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Namasté