TWSBI ECO Fountain Pen
Why a Fountain Pen?
I enjoy an illustrative look when working in sketchbooks; particularly my watercolor sketchbook. With pastels, I tend to go for more of an impressionistic vibe but with my watercolors, I sometimes want a bold ink and wash effect. I got a fountain pen instead of a regular pen or marker for various reasons.
Line Variation
With one pen I can achieve a variety of line widths depending on how I hold the pen and the amount of pressure applied. This allows for more expressive lines and a sketchy look. Dip pens can do this as well but do not allow the same level of ink flow control.
Portability
A dip pen is not very portable. Regular pens obviously are. However, with this pen, I can see exactly how much ink I have left and it can be topped off before I take it on a trip for travel sketching.
Less Waste
This will be my pen for a long time. I can refill it as needed. You can also take it apart to clean it and change ink colors. No need to throw away empty pens. Most ink even comes in recyclable glass bottles. To refill it just submerge the tip in the ink and twist the knob on the end to suck up ink.
It’s Cool!
I mean come on! It is really fun to use a fountain pen. It provides a completely different tactile experience.
Custom Ink
You can choose any ink you want. You can even mix different colors if you want to make something new. My priority was simply a waterproof black ink that I could paint over.
Why TWSBI ECO?
TWSBI ECO Pros
When you start looking into fountain pens it would seem that the number one recommended pen is the Lamy Safari. The Lamy Safari just wasn’t doing it for me.
I like that the ECO is clear and it is easy to see the ink level. The Safari just has a tiny window.
I didn’t like the shape of the grip on the Safari. I tend to hold my pens in various positions depending on what I’m doing.
The ECO is known to have a more airtight cap that prevents ink from drying out for longer. This is important if you may not be using your pen every day.
The Safari is priced a few dollars cheaper but if you want to be able to refill the chamber instead of buying cartridges you need to buy a cartridge converter. After that purchase, the Safari and ECO are about the same price.
The biggest deal breaker for the Safari, however, is that with the cartridge converter installed, it only holds .8 ml of ink. The ECO on the other hand holds 1.8 ml of ink. That is a big difference! This is because the ECO is designed to only be refillable and does not accept cartridges. Since I want to travel with this pen, the capacity is very important.
I’m very happy with the ECO and appreciate the little touches that it has added to the line work in my sketches.
