Pen Hack: Tinkering with TWSBI's

A few weeks ago I told you about my joy with writing with the TWSBI clear fountain pens and teal inks. When I was cleaning pens again last week I discovered a fun fact/pen hack I wanted to share with you here.

I recently pulled out the nibs from my Online Best Writer Campus Calligraphy set and I thought it looked quite similar to the nibs on the TWSBI mini and ECO. So I pulled those out from their housings too and yes, they do look the same size!

For size comparison: the online calligraphy nib flanked by TWSBI eco and mini nibs and the 0.8 width of Online is just as wide as a 1.1 width of TWSBI.

This opens up a whole set of new possibilities for my TWSBI's.

I switched the Online calligraphy nibs with the TWSBI Mini and Eco (keeping the feeds from the TWSBI pens) and it works like a charm! They write wonderfully and are less 'toothy' than the original TWSBI nibs. If you're interested in swapping out your TWSBI mini and ECO nibs you might be interested in this useful post on fountain pen network. A disclaimer: Be advised that tinkering with your pens/nibs is always at your own risk and might void your warranty at the manufacturer. That said, being able to tinker with your fountain pens makes then a lot more fun to use in my opinion :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Namasté 

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

Pens and Ink: Omas Blue Angel with Organics studio Nautilus Blue

On a recent trip to Akkerman in The Hague I was tempted yet again by a gorgeous LE Omas Alba. This time a stunning blue cocktail, named Blue Angel.

Blue seduction in a box.

But what had my heart racing even more was the fact it was fitted with a beautiful stub nib! I definitely could not pass this up.

The ink I chose to accompany this beautiful pen, is sadly now from a discontinued line. Organics Studio Jules Verne Nautilus blue, is the adventurous deep ocean blue that certainly matches the depth of the blue in the pen very well.

The nib writes excellent and is quite a looker too! I had to give it a good rinse with luke warm water to clean the feed from factory oils, but after that it just writes like a dream!

What is your current fave pen and ink combo at the moment?

Thanks for stopping by!

namaste