Pen review: TWSBI 540 Diamond (Amber barrel, fine nib)
This folks, is the big one.
After really enjoying my Lamy Al-Star I wanted another nice fountain pen. After reading many good reviews of TWSBI pens I feel in love with the Amber barrel 540 at Cult Pens. Last November they had a 10% off sale on fountain pens and ink, so I jumped in and got it cheaper than the list £42.
Description
The 540 is a piston filler pen. There is a knob at the rear which unscrews, pushing the piston down the inside of the barrel like a syringe. The nib is dipped into the inkwell and the knob reversed to suck ink in.
The barrel is made from translucent amber colour plastic. It's quite dense and feels good in the hand. There is an aluminium band with “TWSBI” etched in one side and “Diamond 540” on the other. The matching cap end has the TWSBI logo and the plain, smart pocket clip. The cap is a screw fix to the barrel. It can friction post on the rear but the weight of the metal fittings throw the balance off completely.
I went for a fine nib but others are available including stub options. Nib sections can be purchase separately and are interchangeable. The nib is steel with the TWSBI logo and some scroll work etched on it.
It comes in a plastic presentation case. Included in the case are a wrench and silicon sealer plus a manual so you can totally disassemble your pen. Although most experts say DO NOT DO THIS!!!
Ink
To go with the pen I bought some Cult Pens Deep, Dark Red which is made for them by Diamine. In the barrel it looks a bit like blood in a Victorian syringe; very goth steampunk! It dries to a blood like maroon colour. It is not waterproof so if I have some soft drink condensation on my hand it can get smeared. Okay for work notes but not if you want to write in a personal journal.
Writing
This is the most lovely writing pen I own. The nib is really smooth and reliably puts down a sharp line when it touches the paper. There is no pooling at the end of a word like I get with some rollerballs. It is a real delight.
Summation
I've had this pen around 9 months and apart from bringing it home for this review it has been constantly in rotation at work. This model is still available but is out of production as it has been superseded by the Diamond 580. Apparently this new model fixes some of the potential problems of the 540 including cap breakage when over tightened and possible leak issues. None of these I have had but I'd probably steer people to the 580 instead.
I'd heartily recommend this as a second pen after starting with a Lamy Safari/Al-Star. It is an affordable quality step up.
