Pen Review: TWSBI Mini

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Pros: Awesome design; high ink capacity; screw to post; portable/pocketable; comes with wrench for disassembly and silicon grease
Cons: EF nib was dry for my taste

Admittedly, I am a fan of "modern-looking" pens.  TWSBI definitely fits that description.  Their packaging is widely considered "Apple-like" with its white base and clear lid with the pen suspended on clear stands.  The pen itself is very unique, as most TWSBI pens are.  It is essentially the tiny version of the TWSBI 540 and 580.  The "Diamond" name assigned to the 540/580 also fits this pen, though from what I can tell they don't market this as the "TWSBI Diamond Mini."

I love the TWSBI logo

I chose the EF nib for my Mini based on indications from others that the TWSBI nibs are around the same size as Lamy nibs.  My Lamy F nib was VERY bold for a F, so I assumed the EF would be perfect.  However, it wrote incredibly dry, even for an EF.  I ran a brass sheet through the tines which didn't seem to help.  I looked up a video on TWSBI's YouTube page which showed them squeezing the fins on the nib to widen the nib slit.  I did that, and it got better, but was still not quite we enough for my taste.  Next, I went over to Stephen Brown's YouTube page (SBREBrown) and watched his video on doing a waverly bend on a nib to make it write wetter.  That did the trick.  My boyfriend bought a TWSBI Mini with a F nib, and in comparison, my slightly waverly EF writes identical to his F.  So ultimately, I think I just undershot the nib size for my taste.

Aside from those issues, the nib itself is buttery smooth.  TWSBI's quality always impresses me, especially for the price.  The piston filling mechanism is very nice, and allows for a very large ink capacity.  What's great about TWSBI is they give you the tools you need to take your pen apart and do your own maintenance on it; underneath the Apple-esque packaging you'll find a TWSBI wrench and a tiny bottle of a fairly liquid-y silicon grease to grease up the piston ring.  One other great feature is that the cap screws to post, unlike the 540/580.  I normally don't post my pens, but with the mini the small size and the perfect balance of the pen posted lends itself to posting.

At $50 from Goulet, or $55 shipped from TWSBI's Amazon page, you can't afford not to grab this awesome pocket pen.

Ink Review: Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku

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Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku Goulet Ink Drop March 2015
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

The final color in this month's Goulet Ink Drop is Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku (peacock).  It is probably my second favorite in this group.  Iroshizuku inks aren't cheap, but they have a glowing reputation of being some of the most well-behaved inks out there.  Many folks I know say that it makes their pens feel smoother on the page.  They're generally well lubricated and are pH neutral making them great for archival.

Ku-Jaku is a nice blue-green teal color with moderate to high shading.  No feathering, bleedthrough or ghosting are present on my Rhodia pad.  The best part about this ink is the amazing red sheen you get with a wetter writing pen.  The only time I've seen a sheen like that is on a letter I received from Stephen Brown (SBREbrown) where he used Private Reserve Electric DC Blue.

SHEEN!

Ku-Jaku is definitely a great ink with a lot of character.  Add it to your Iroshizuku collection for $28 at Goulet Pens.

Ink Review: Noodler's Purple Martin

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Noodler's Purple Martin Goulet Ink Drop - March 2015
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

The 4th ink sample in this month's Goulet Ink Drop is Noodler's Purple Martin.  It is a very well behaved ink, no feathering, bleedthrough or ghosting.  Purple Martin is a medium purple with low to moderate shading.  I probably would prefer a little darker purple than this; it is a medium purple that leans towards the redish pink side rather than the blue end.  For just a regular no frills ink, this is just the ticket.  

You can pick up a bottle of Purple Martin for $12.50 from Goulet Pens

Ink Review: Noodler's Bad Blue Heron

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Noodler's Bad Blue Heron Goulet Ink Drop - March 2015
Pen: Lamy Safari EF
Paper: Rhodia Dotpad 80gsm

Noodler's is a fairly young brand in the fountain pen ink realm, but it's popularity has grown astronomically.  Nathan Tardiff, the lone man behind the Noodler's brand, has attracted attention (both good and bad) for his politically charged ink labels and bold ink colors and properties.  Noodler's inks are always the subject of discussion on forums - usually for Baystate Blue - but in my experience, the inks are spot on and have more variety at a better value than a lot of brands out there.  Nathan always pushes the envelope in regards to his ink properties and coined the term "bulletproof" to refer to his fraud resistant inks.  Head over to gouletpens.com and check out their spreadsheet of all the vast properties of the Noodler's inks.

This ink is by far my favorite ink out of the March 2015 ink drop samples.  It is a deep saturated blue ink that puts a very flowing and thick line on the page.  In my Lamy EF, this gives a line that is slightly thicker than a lot of other inks that I've used.  I would guess that it's more lubricated because of the high saturation.  A lot of people complain about nib creep with this ink, though in my experience most all Noodler's inks have a little bit of nib creep in certain pens - the Lamy nibs especially.  Though I'm not surprised they would say this one is worse because it does appear to be more lubricated than others.

One of the best things about this ink in my opinion (your results may vary) is the smell.  It took me a while to figure it out, but I've decided it smells just like those balloons that you made out of putty that you blew up with a straw. 

All in all this is a fantastic ink.  I got no feathering at all on my Rhodia pad, though I've seen others complain about feathering on less ink resistant papers.  Shading is moderate with no bleedthrough and minimal ghosting.

You can pick up a 3oz bottle of Bad Blue Heron for $12.50 from Goulet