TWSBI falling apart

After having been unused for a while, my TWSBI 580 and whatever the model before that was... are having the same problem. The clear plastic piece between the nib and main body seems to have expanded slightly so that it is not securely held on. I can remove those pieces now with almost no pressure from my hand. Am I right in thinking that these pieces should be tightly secured to the main body of the pen?

Has anyone else had this problem? Are the pens trash at this point?

I've never heard of this problem before, but I have had the threaded area of the nib section crack which may cause the symptom you're experiencing. You may want to remove the section and inspect the threads closely to see if they are stripped or cracked. If that doesn't help, post a few pictures and I'm sure someone here on the forum can help.

Thanks for the reply... I just took a look at it and the clear tube piece in question (in between the nib and main body) looks crackly, like the inside of a celadon glazed pottery bowl, but no crack clear through. It's so loose, though, that I can spin it with my finger while it is in place on the pen.

I have had my 580 since November 2014, in almost daily use ever since and no cracks. I wonder if sometimes people get so enamored of taking the pen apart to clean it that they sometimes inadvertently over tighten it and end up with a cracked pen. In all that time I bet I have only had it taken apart only 2-3 times at most.

On the 580 there isn't anything to stop that part rotating, it's round on the inside and only friction is stopping it spinning (or not in your case)
I remember early reports saying that some did and others didn't, presumably due to manufacturing tolerances.
My 580 will do the same thing if I don't quite tighten the nib enough and the solution for me is just to tighten a little more, but given the crazing you mentioned above, I'm reluctant to say to do that.

Best bet is to drop TWSBI an email and ask for advice. While their pens do indeed fall apart, the customer service is top notch. They'll soon tell you if there's a better solution or if any parts are needed.

Runnin_Ute said:

I wonder if sometimes people get so enamored of taking the pen apart to clean it that they sometimes inadvertently over tighten it and end up with a cracked pen.

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Just to clarify, this part was tight when I bought it... held the end nib piece securely... then sat in a pen tray in my desk drawer for about a year... I took it out today and the plastic was cloudy and the nib basically falling out. Had not touched it in the meantime.

You may want to talk to BrianW about the TSWBI, he has a great knowledge and a fine opinion about these pens....
Too bad that many report problems with them, significantly more than other brands.

+2 for contacting TWSBI, I believe many of the QC issues of their earlier pens have largely been resolved and they are supposed to have excellent customer support. My three TWSBI pens, all acquired in the past year, have had no QC or mechanical issues so far, so I have no personal experience with their customer support.

I have retired my TWSBI pens. Every part has been replaced at least twice. I'm done fiddling. They always send my replacement parts and it seems that something always breaks.

countrydirt said:

I have retired my TWSBI pens. Every part has been replaced at least twice. I'm done fiddling. They always send my replacement parts and it seems that something always breaks.

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Which TWSBI pens do you have and how long ago were they purchased? Just curious.

I have a 540, which is now more a 580. I've gone through the same thing as Troy. I'm done. How done am I? I put Bay State Blue in it.

I can't understand why people continue to purchase a product with such an abominable track record.

nemo said:

I can't understand why people continue to purchase a product with such an abominable track record.

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I recently purchased a mini-vac. I've had no problems (in my 6 weeks of ownership).
Not sure I would have purchased if I'd known of the issues, BUT in their defense it seems like the company has always been responsive to sending replacement parts.

Alejandro Salemandro said:

BUT in their defense it seems like the company has always been responsive to sending replacement parts.

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How long will Speedy be sending out parts to replace the cracked plastic? Ten years? Twenty? I have pens I use daily that are sixty years old and older.

Hopefully at least until they figure out how to make pens that don't crack.

I guess my question is, are there many recent failures of newly purchased (as in new production) TWSBI pens, or have I just been very lucky (so far)?

I've got 3 TWSBI 580's..2 purchased new, and 1 from Ebay. The two I purchased new have been been perfect. On the used one, I've had the threaded part of the nib section crack completely off. Maybe the previous owner was a bit overzealous in tightening it. I was able to get a replacement and have since had no problems. I think that they are great pens for the $. It's my understanding that the cracking issues were from the earlier versions like the 540.

Mine are 580s from early in the experiment. I love the concept but grew weary of the constant replacement parts. TWSBI was always excellent about making it right. I have plenty of pens that don't require monthly parts replacement to keep in use.

nortac said:

Which TWSBI pens do you have and how long ago were they purchased? Just curious.

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nemo said:

I can't understand why people continue to purchase a product with such an abominable track record.

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TWSBI, by Ikon.

TWSBI did respond quickly and are sending replacement parts for the cost of shipping. Information for anyone who is interested:

1) I asked about buying an aluminum replacement since I noticed they now have the 580AL on their website. They told me they do not sell the aluminum parts without buying the whole pen.
2) They told me the problem with the parts is due to users tightening the threaded parts of the pens too tight. I do know how tight I put those parts on and I can tell you that if you want your TWSBI pen not to break you should only screw the threaded parts on until they just barely catch and not apply one additional iota of physical pressure to it whatsoever.

That's all I had. Overall, good customer service from TWSBI... not sure that the products are built to last.