(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
I own several TWSBI fountain pens, from the TWSBI Mini to the Eco to the 580, and all of them have been excellent. I’ve enjoyed the different colors that TWSBI offers (usually leaning towards the blue ones, of course), but I don’t think I would have considered the TWSBI Diamond 580 in Smoke and Rose Gold for myself. The photographs I’ve seen didn’t make the color combination look all that interesting. I am so glad JetPens sent the Smoke and Rose Gold for review, because this is a gorgeous fountain pen in person. I hope my photos can do it justice.
The pen arrives in typical TWSBI packaging--a brown outer cardboard box and an inner plastic display case. (Um . . . the pen doesn’t really arrive already inked--I forgot to take pictures of it before I inked it!)
Nestled beneath the white plastic stand you’ll find a TWSBI branded wrench (for removing the piston mechanism for cleaning and lubing) and a tiny bottle of silicone gel.
The 580 is a medium-sized pen, measuring 5.5 inches/140 mm capped, 5.1 inches/130 mm uncapped, and 7 inches/177 mm posted. The grip diameter is 10.4 mm. Un-inked and capped, the pen weighs 30 grams. Unposted and inked it weighs 18.2 grams, so it’s a fairly heavy pen due to the metal piston and trims. I find it well balanced and comfortable unposted. Posted it becomes too unwieldy.
The pen is quite beautiful with rose gold trims from top to bottom--even the inner piston mechanism is rose-gold plated.
The cap, grip, and piston knob are translucent smoke colored--and this is really what makes the rose gold stand out. The faceted barrel is clear allowing your ink color to show through.
The only thing that detracts from the beauty, in my opinion, is the red TWSBI finial on the cap. There’s just something about bright red that clashes with rose gold, but I realize that changing the finial color to please me probably isn’t a priority for TWSBI.
The 580 is a piston filler that holds a glorious 1.8 ml of ink. Originally, I inked my pen with Robert Oster Sushi, and I loved how the ink complemented the rose gold on the pen. I switched over to Bungubox 4B for this review to test the pen with a wetter ink.
My pen came equipped with an extra fine nib. I’m more of a stub/italic gal, but this EF nib writes smoothly and I’m enjoying using a much more delicate nib point. The nib is steel with rose gold plating. It is decorated with some scrollwork, the TWSBI logo, the TWSBI name, and the nib size.
Although I haven’t had any problems writing with the nib, my macro shots reveal tines that look misaligned--almost twisted.
Maybe this is just due to some extra tipping left behind on the top of one of the tines, making them look misaligned. I’m not sure.
Inked with Bungubox 4B, the nib writes a smooth line, obviously without any line variation due to the fineness of the nib.
Writing long passages was pleasant and trouble free. I encountered no hard starts, scratchiness, or skipping despite the strange looking tines.
The EF nib was perfect for creating this delicate mandala (pictured also in last week’s review of Robert Oster Sushi ink).
As I said at the beginning of the review, I have not experienced any problems with my TWSBIs so far. I think these pens are a terrific value for the price, and they are built solidly. However, I know from reading other reviews and discussions on fountain pen forums that quality control can be an issue for TWSBI fountain pens. Some customers complain about cracks in the plastic, poor nib quality, scratches, and other issues (such as unhelpful customer support). I hope that most TWSBI customers have a positive experience with the brand, as I have.
You can purchase the TWSBI Diamond 580 in Smoke and Rose Gold from JetPens in EF, F, M, B, and 1.1 stub for $87.00. As of this writing, JetPens is currently out of stock in all nib sizes, but you can ask for a restock notification.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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