Peacock pens

We are at the end of the month, so just time enough for a quick pen swap. This time I will replace my TWSBI Eco-T Royal Jade. This pen has been inked several times since 8/10/2023 with Montblanc Mystery black. Since the ink reservoir is quite large, it therefore takes a little longer to write it empty. I always try to empty my pens before I clean them. On the one hand, this is to be able to form a good opinion about the pen, and on the other hand not to waste any valuable ink.

My initial intention was to ink another pen, but because I won a bid on Catawiki this week, I would first like to introduce you to the Parker Duofold Centennial edition, an amazing pen that I received yesterday.

TWSBI Eco-T Royal Jade

Since I started my fountain pen hobby I did not know about the TWSBI company. The founder of the TWSBI company had some 40 years of experience in creating fountain pens before starting the TWSBI company in 2009. One has to admit that they are not doing a bad job. TWSBI has meanwhile become very popular.

The Royal Jade edition of the TWSBI Eco-T was introduced end 2022 and is in my collection since February 2023. The Eco-T is part of the TWSBI Eco line. The ‘T’ stands for ‘triangular’, referring to the shape of the grip. The price of the Eco TWSBI’s vary from 40 Euro to 95 Euro. The Royal Jade livery comes in a nice cardboard box that includes an 18 ml TWSBI Midnight Blue ink bottle. I paid 95 Euros. The package also includes tools for disassembling the pen for cleaning purposes. The package as a whole exudes quality. When I read some reviews about this pen, some reviewers say it’s a ‘special edition’ fountain pen, but for me, I can’t find any information from TWSBI confirming this. Some parts of the Royal Jade differ from the cheaper Eco-T’s, such as the colour of the piston filler system, nib, clip and trim. They are all in rose gold. That’s for sure the reason why the Royal Jade is more expensive.

The cap is triangular shaped with an inner cap. The inner cap prevents the ink from drying out. On top of the cap is the metallic TWSBI logo. The cap has a nice functional clip. At the opening op the cap is a rose gold trim on which the brand name, pen type, ‘RG’ and ‘Taiwan’ is printed. I don’t know what the RG means? Perhaps ‘Royal Green’ or ‘Rectangular Grip’, referring to the shape of the grip. The Royal Jade green is a bright green. To be honest for me it’s not the most beautiful green, I more prefer the darker ones. You can use the cap in a posted way and it really has no effect on the balance of the pen because the cap only weighs 8,2 gram. The pen only becomes very long when posted.

The TWSBI Eco-T has a clear barrel with piston filling mechanism. The plastic of the barrel, and other parts, feels really soft and is of good quality. It has a bit of a glossy look to it. The parts of the piston filler system are in matte rose. On both ends of the barrel before the grip and piston dial, there is a rubber strap.

As this pen is a piston filler, it’s quite simple to fill it up: unscrew the end cap, dip the nib into the ink. When you screw back the end cap the ink goes into the barrel. This barrel is huge so it takes a bit of time to empty it.

The TWSBI Eco T Royal Jade has a polished stainless steel rose gold nib. The nib is engraved with the TWSBI logo and is available in several sizes, such as EF, F, M, B, Stub1.1. The nib is not a TWSBI nib, but a JoWo nib. JoWo is a German based company among other things specialized in creating good quality nibs, even gold nibs.

I like it when you can remove the nib and feeder to clean them. Inside the box is a tool to unscrew/screw the piston filling mechanism. Actually, the entire pen can be taken apart, making it a breeze to maintain them.

Some bloggers refer to this pen as an ideal starter pen. I have my doubts about this. The piston filling mechanism requires some experience and is certainly not maintenance-free. Moreover, as a beginner, you should already have a bottle of ink and the necessary dexterity. I am rather of the opinion that as an absolute beginner it is best to start with a cartridge. If you already have some experience and want to get acquainted with a piston filler, then this TWSBI Eco-t can certainly be an option.

As far as writing with this pen is concerned, I can say that it went very well. I haven’t had any problems in any way. The ink flow is very good and the nib writes wonderfully softly. The nib is quite stiff, which means that variation in line width is negligible. Reverse writing is also very good.

As a general conclusion, I can tell you that I found this pen very good. You’ll pay a little more than a regular Eco-t, but a regular ECO-t will do just as well and a regular one costs only 40 Euro. If I may mention a downside: the molding lines both on the barrel and on the grip are visibly present, but in a fairly discreet way. Among the TWSBI customers, there are still a number who complain about the barrel and grip that crack. So far I haven’t had any problems with this. I do think that you should handle the pen with a certain care and not use extreme forces when assembling.

When asked if I would buy this pen again, I answer yes. What are your experiences with TWSBI? Do you like this Royal Jade?

Parker Duofold centennial edition

This pen has literally and figuratively made Parker history. The 18 carat gold nib works excellently. When I received the pen, I was actually very excited to write with it immediately. As soon as this pen is changed, I will bring you a nice review about it.