Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 472

I have two fellow Vancouver Pen Club members to thank for a recent purchase --- one who inspired me to buy this fountain pen, and the other for the discount code that saved me some money when I did so!

The pen in question?

My lovely new TWSBI 'Eco-T' in "Saffron":

(all photos by Maja, except where noted ~ click on images to enlarge)

Isn't the colour beautiful? I fell in love with the pen as soon as I saw the one that fellow VPC member John P. brought to our February meeting...

I already owned a couple of TWSBI 'Eco' models (I bought the 'Eco' in black--in the photo above-- from my fellow VPCer Stuart a few years ago), but I didn't own an 'Eco-T'. Being a big TWSBI fan, I thought I should own one....so I went ahead and placed my order with Blesket Canada, a family-owned business (online and brick & mortar) in Brampton, Ontario.

I used the discount code--DOODLEBUD22--- provided by another fellow VPC member (who has an excellent YouTube channel called --you guessed it-- Doodlebud) to get 10% off my online order...

...and shipping was only $3.00 !!

Now, there are lots of reviews of the 'Eco-T' online, so I won't be doing yet another one in this blog post...but I did want to point out the differences between it and its older cousin, the highly-popular TWSBI 'Eco' model.

The 'Eco' (black pen above) came out in 2015 and was *the* economical TWSBI model that everyone was waiting for (I remember the excitement building on The Fountain Pen Network before its release). It didn't disappoint -- for less than $29 USD, you got a well-made, piston-filing fountain pen that came in a variety of nib choices (EF, F, M, B, and 1.1 Stub). It was easy to use, it had a one-piece section/barrel unit that could be easily cleaned, and a nib that could be easily removed (by pulling it straight out). The 'Eco' was lightweight but chunky, so it felt good in the hand, even when unposted. The pen posted easily and securely, though, thanks to the O-ring between the barrel and turning knob (I found--and still find--it a bit too long to use posted).

The 'Eco-T' model came out in 2017 and is pretty much the same pen as the 'Eco'; at first glance, you might easily mistake one for the other. There are a few subtle differences, though....

The barrel ends are a slightly different shape---the black 'Eco''s has a hexagonal shape with six sides of the same length, whereas the 'Eco-'T''s hexagonal barrel end is comprised of three longer sides alternating with three shorter ones...

... and the same applies to the two cap tops.

Where the two models differ the most, however, is in their section shapes. I took some photos of the two sections, but it was very difficult to capture the difference on camera, so I borrowed this image from an article on thewritingdesk.co.uk :

(image source)

The 'Eco-T' has a rounded triangular grip (similar to the Lamy 'Safari') ---which is cleverly mirrored by the cap top and barrel end shapes---whereas the 'Eco' section is round. This is a subtle difference, but it makes the 'Eco'-T' fountain pen easier for me to hold, and more comfortable to use. Not that the 'Eco' has an uncomfortable grip----far from it--- but I prefer the 'Eco-T's'. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

My new 'Eco-T' came with a #5 size Medium steel nib that writes very smoothly. It's a joy to use ... and look at ---love that saffron colour! Many thanks to all who contributed in some way to my purchase of this beautiful pen :)

(~blog post by Maja~)