A new pen….early Christmas present…. TWSBI Eco fountain pen with Extra Fine nib….with a black cap as they always get inky over time (see the Lamy cap below).
The previous UWA sketch is made with my new TWSBI Eco. I prefer to sketch with my pens un-posted (with out the cap on the end) but I’ve put pictures below of the pens I use most often above so you can see how they compare for size and line weight…(all pens below are filled with my favourite De Atramentis document black ink except the ball point).
This pen is really lovely to write with…very smooth when used the “normal” way and very fine and smooth when used upside down. It also feels very comfortable in my hand….some people really dislike the triangular grip of the Lamy pens – that has never bothered me -but the Eco somehow just feels “right”.
The Eco is a piston only fountain pen – it does not take ink cartridges – simply dip the nib into a bottle of ink and twist the end of the pen to operate the plunger and suck in the ink from a bottle.
I personally prefer bottled ink….in the long run it’s cheaper than buying cartridges, they don’t create landfill (most ink bottles are glass and can be recycled) and there’s a massive choice of ink colours to choose from or you can mix your own ink colours if using the same brand of ink (check with the manufacturer).
Lamy bottle ink = AUD 0.57 per ml
Lamy cartridge ink = AUD 1.16 per ml.
BUT….what really makes the Eco different is that it can hold a “bucket load” of ink in its belly….the Eco holds 1.7 ml of ink compared to 0.6 ml for the Lamy and Pilot = Fewer pit-stops for re-fueling!!!!
I think the TWSBI Eco may replace my much loved Lamy Safari….have to do lots more sketch to find out……..
sketchbookblue 