The clip is definitely the Swipe's serious weak element. I haven't broken the cap yet because I only clipped it to a shirt pocket, but after a day or two the pocket itself was damaged because the clip is extremely tight and the clip edges are almost designed to wear even thin material over the short term. Most pens have only a small point of clip contact, but the Swipe clip has aggressive contact for over two inches, or 5+ centimeters. I don't clip it any more at all.
The $4 is for mailing. It is so interesting that my Swipe is not all scratched up. I do cap my pen most times. With the clip so tight on the Swipe pen, I would never strain the clip to clip it to some thick denim. Bad move.
The Swipe was my first new fountain pen when I rediscovered these writing instruments. It's cheap and writes quite well and smoothly but that's about it. The main threading and the thin brittle plastic used will most surely not stand the test of time. We won't see good examples say 40 years from now unless they stayed unused in the box. The plastic just feels extremely cheap. It just oozes cost-cutting. They shaved away every possible mikrometer of excess plastic that they possibly could get away with. I gave mine away almost immediately. It won't become a heirloom for the future generations. Buy something that will last and don't cheap out. For double the price you'll get something with way better longevity, a pen you can use and keep for years on end. Even the average giveaway ballpoint pen has much better materials and will endure quite a bit of use and abuse. The BIC M10 is much more durable but costs next to nothing. Seeing it like makes me realise that it actually is overpriced for the actual quality one gets. Look at cheap fountain pens from yesteryear, they have mostly not disintegrated after a few years. You know I am right. My daughter's 1 USD Chinese color markers are constructed out of better materials.
Interesting. Yeah, it's unfortunate that the TWSBI Swipe isn't more durable. You also have to be kind of careful with TWSBI Ecos. The Lamy Safari is around the same price and very durable.
After my two TWSBI ecos I went from wanting to own one of each Nib size and a vac700r to being Less interested in this hobby. The broad eco-T I got cracked and the purple eco also hard started just like the broad. Both have terrible nibs. The M feels really cheap and feedbacky and hard starts a lot The feed also chokes on air a lot. It keeps getting dry randomly The only things I love is the design and the INCREDIBLE cap seal! I kinda am dissapointed by twsbi
Sorry you have had such a negative experience! Don't give up on the hobby though! There are amazing pens out there at a similar price point, or even cheaper.
@@DowntheBreatherHole I guess I could still try the new inks! And I'll just take it slower and stop accumulating pens :) I've mentioned this pen so many times on your channel because it's been such a big deal to me xD it's a long story
Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I had a big problem with my TWSBI GO, the piston wouldn't come back up no matter how much I lubricated it. Chinese-pens-wise, I prefer Jinhao and Wing Sung, both of which are much cheaper than TWSBI.
Bummer of a design flaw. This next comment is not meant to blame you! That clip is so stiff that I’m genuinely surprised that it’s ever used for anything except a roll stop. I could never actually clip it to anything. Were it not for the clip shape, I’d almost think TWSBI intended it only as a roll stop.
liked and subscribed. i like the looks of the clip and would only use in shirt pocket. the pants pocket reserved for occasional pocket knife carry. anything in my pants pocket has to be very durable anyway. i'd rather it crack than fall out in the grocery store.
I got this pen for my wife, and she used the clip and the cap broke. I hoped it was a fluke so bought a replacement. Same thing happened. We wrote TWSBI who have agreed to send a replacement cap. She will not be using the clip. Definitely a design flaw.
This will be a minority opinion- After looking at the pen, it obviously was not designed to clip to thick items. A lot of pens are that way. The Swipe is really versatile in the ways it can be inked and used. It just is not made to be worn in a jean pocket. Most of my pens are the same way… The Tombow Air Press has a spring clip that clearly is designed to work on thick materials. That is the pen to put in a jean pocket. It isn’t a fountain pen, but it is a pen you can rely on when treated roughly.
Regarding the TWSBI "warranty" ~ Yes, it's BS. However, you could theoretically lie to them about a bad nib and just get a whole new nib size for $5. I mean considering they send parts to pens for just the cost of shipping is amazing, especially when they ask ZERO questions about it!
Good that I waited and did not pick it up. I wonder whats the point if the clip is not durable. I think twsbi is shifting the production to China to reduce the cost of production. Thanks for the update.
The clip is both cool & useless, at the same time. I've never clipped it to a pocket, feeling how tight the clip is, so it sits at my work desk all day. It has started to develop a hairline crack in the same place as yours. A shame, since it writes nice & hold plenty of ink.
Thanks for the follow-up review. That looks like a serious design flaw. BTW, glad to see the Noodler's AirCorps in action. Awesome color.
Thanks! Yeah, I really like that ink, especially since it's permanent.
The clip is definitely the Swipe's serious weak element. I haven't broken the cap yet because I only clipped it to a shirt pocket, but after a day or two the pocket itself was damaged because the clip is extremely tight and the clip edges are almost designed to wear even thin material over the short term. Most pens have only a small point of clip contact, but the Swipe clip has aggressive contact for over two inches, or 5+ centimeters. I don't clip it any more at all.
The $4 is for mailing. It is so interesting that my Swipe is not all scratched up. I do cap my pen most
times. With the clip so tight on the Swipe pen, I would never strain the clip to clip it to some thick denim.
Bad move.
I feel like making a bad move here and there is part of the fountain pen hobby, at least if you are a tinkerer like I am.
The Swipe was my first new fountain pen when I rediscovered these writing instruments. It's cheap and writes quite well and smoothly but that's about it. The main threading and the thin brittle plastic used will most surely not stand the test of time. We won't see good examples say 40 years from now unless they stayed unused in the box. The plastic just feels extremely cheap. It just oozes cost-cutting. They shaved away every possible mikrometer of excess plastic that they possibly could get away with. I gave mine away almost immediately. It won't become a heirloom for the future generations. Buy something that will last and don't cheap out. For double the price you'll get something with way better longevity, a pen you can use and keep for years on end. Even the average giveaway ballpoint pen has much better materials and will endure quite a bit of use and abuse. The BIC M10 is much more durable but costs next to nothing. Seeing it like makes me realise that it actually is overpriced for the actual quality one gets. Look at cheap fountain pens from yesteryear, they have mostly not disintegrated after a few years. You know I am right. My daughter's 1 USD Chinese color markers are constructed out of better materials.
Interesting. Yeah, it's unfortunate that the TWSBI Swipe isn't more durable. You also have to be kind of careful with TWSBI Ecos. The Lamy Safari is around the same price and very durable.
After my two TWSBI ecos I went from wanting to own one of each Nib size and a vac700r to being Less interested in this hobby. The broad eco-T I got cracked and the purple eco also hard started just like the broad.
Both have terrible nibs. The M feels really cheap and feedbacky and hard starts a lot
The feed also chokes on air a lot. It keeps getting dry randomly
The only things I love is the design and the INCREDIBLE cap seal!
I kinda am dissapointed by twsbi
Sorry you have had such a negative experience! Don't give up on the hobby though! There are amazing pens out there at a similar price point, or even cheaper.
@@DowntheBreatherHole I guess I could still try the new inks! And I'll just take it slower and stop accumulating pens :)
I've mentioned this pen so many times on your channel because it's been such a big deal to me xD it's a long story
Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I had a big problem with my TWSBI GO, the piston wouldn't come back up no matter how much I lubricated it. Chinese-pens-wise, I prefer Jinhao and Wing Sung, both of which are much cheaper than TWSBI.
if you're good with metal work, you can modify the clip to be like the aftermarket kaweco clips that hugs the entire cap body.
I am definitely not that good with metal work. haha
Bummer of a design flaw. This next comment is not meant to blame you! That clip is so stiff that I’m genuinely surprised that it’s ever used for anything except a roll stop. I could never actually clip it to anything. Were it not for the clip shape, I’d almost think TWSBI intended it only as a roll stop.
Yeah, it's a strange design to be sure.
Loved this pen, but the same thing happened with both of mine. I do not even use the clip. Not good at all.
Sorry to hear that, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. Haha
liked and subscribed. i like the looks of the clip and would only use in shirt pocket. the pants pocket reserved for occasional pocket knife carry. anything in my pants pocket has to be very durable anyway. i'd rather it crack than fall out in the grocery store.
Thanks for being my 660th subscriber!
I got this pen for my wife, and she used the clip and the cap broke. I hoped it was a fluke so bought a replacement. Same thing happened. We wrote TWSBI who have agreed to send a replacement cap. She will not be using the clip. Definitely a design flaw.
Sorry to hear that!
This will be a minority opinion- After looking at the pen, it obviously was not designed to clip to thick items. A lot of pens are that way. The Swipe is really versatile in the ways it can be inked and used. It just is not made to be worn in a jean pocket. Most of my pens are the same way…
The Tombow Air Press has a spring clip that clearly is designed to work on thick materials. That is the pen to put in a jean pocket. It isn’t a fountain pen, but it is a pen you can rely on when treated roughly.
You're probably right about the Swipe. It wasn't meant to be clipped to large things. I still think it shouldn't have broken so easily though.
And then God looked at the TWSBI Swipe pen and said that it was good
Whats a good alternative i need good ink capacity
The TWSBI Eco! I've had mine for a long time, and I love them.
@@DowntheBreatherHole idk bcus im just new to the fp community and eco seems complicated to clean
@@duckity4320 I get that. The Swipe has a great ink capacity, and it's a great pen overall as long as you are careful with the clip.
@@DowntheBreatherHolek tysm
@@DowntheBreatherHole i settled on the eco bcua ppl saying it writes smoothly and it looks pleasing astethic whise
I keep liking the design look of TWSBI but keep finding out new things that make me not want to get one.
That's a bit of how I feel. I love the TWSBI Eco, but I don't trust them to last more than a couple of years.
Regarding the TWSBI "warranty" ~ Yes, it's BS. However, you could theoretically lie to them about a bad nib and just get a whole new nib size for $5. I mean considering they send parts to pens for just the cost of shipping is amazing, especially when they ask ZERO questions about it!
1:40 so, he had something in his pocket that shouldn't have been there? Hmm. That's what SHE said!
It was the thickness of the material that broke the cap on my TWSBI Swipe.
Good that I waited and did not pick it up. I wonder whats the point if the clip is not durable. I think twsbi is shifting the production to China to reduce the cost of production.
Thanks for the update.
what to buy then?
Pay a few dollars extra for a twsbi eco!
The clip is both cool & useless, at the same time. I've never clipped it to a pocket, feeling how tight the clip is, so it sits at my work desk all day. It has started to develop a hairline crack in the same place as yours. A shame, since it writes nice & hold plenty of ink.
Yeah that's too bad. It's a great writer. I just wish it was tougher.
The clip is not functional. It's just there as a roll stop, if not for display purposes.
If that really was TWSBI's intent, then I just think that's silly of them.