TWISBI Question

[Deano]

I received my TWISBI VAC700 the other day, and just got around to filling it. While rinsing with water, I was surprised to see blue ink flushed into the barrel of the pen. It was very thin, like it was used and then rinsed out several times. Does TWISBI test their pens, or did I get a used one from the retailer?

[The Good Captain]

I've had new pens with a trace of testing ink in them. Rather that, than one that might have slipped through the net and need remedial measures later on.

[Deano]

I agree, and it does write well. I just had not heard that TWISBI did that, but then I'm new to the pen community.

[Deano]

I guess this may be the norm, I bought a Visconti Rembrandt for my wife today and it had a good bit of orange ink in it. Nothing in the converter. This was from a brick and mortar store.

[earthdawn]

Many pens are dip tested before they are shipped. Very very common.

What nib did you get on your Vac 700 ?

I got the Vac 700 when it first came out... a little dry. But when they updated the nib and feed I emailed Speedy and he sent one right out. Now the new broad nib writes really nice and wet but not too wet. I also took out the gasket that seals it down by the feed so i don't have to unscrew the plunger before writting.

[Deano]

I got the medium nib. It seems to write very well, and I like it better than the fine I have on the TWISBI 580.

[cwent2]

I got a fine nib - I bought mine after the change also - nice wet fine line - I have also taken out the shut off o ring or gasket - kept forgetting to tighten the end cap after use and was afraid I would pick it up by the end cap and the plunger would slide.

Cw

[Deano]

I fly a lot, so I think I will use the shutoff feature. I will test this pen in a plastic bag tomorrow to see if it leaks inflight.

[AndyLa]

You can see in a bunch of the twsbi YouTube videos that they use blue ink to test out their nibs... This one is showing how to adjust- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x0pNht6vsfE. Pretty sure I read they test them before hand.

[Petergly]

You can see in a bunch of the twsbi YouTube videos that they use blue ink to test out their nibs... This one is showing how to adjust- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x0pNht6vsfE. Pretty sure I read they test them before hand.

Oh wow. Thanks for that link. I've always thought that nibs needed to be treated alot more gently than demonstrated; but what they did certainly works.

Now, where can I get a pair of those pliers...? :-)

[TMac]

I fly a lot, so I think I will use the shutoff feature. I will test this pen in a plastic bag tomorrow to see if it leaks inflight.

Delano, how did your flight experiment work out?

[AndyLa]

No problem Peter, just make sure to use caution!

[Deano]

Delano, how did your flight experiment work out?

I now have three TWSBI (sorry about the misspell in the title) pens, 580, 700 VAC, and the Mini. I have used them all on multiple flights and have had no problems with leaks. With the 700 VAC, I made sure the pen was writing well with the end cap open. I then closed the end cap prior to flight. I would have no problem opening the end cap at altitude (once pressurization stabilized), but I would keep it closed for climbs and descents. The Mini was almost empty and it still did not leak, and it has a broad nib.