Twsbi Naginata

Sailor, we all know by now, is focused on creating nibs, new and exciting and even experimental. But at the same time, this experimentation seems to be done at the expense of neglecting the filling system. Only two options are available—the piston of the Realo models, and the clean and aseptic cartridge-converter.

On the other side, Twsbi follows the opposite strategy. The German nibs (either Bock, JoWo or Schmidt) are good and reliable in general, but all too predictable albeit with the exception of the series of italic units. Besides, Twsbi pens are easy to maintain due to the policy of the company, eager to provide tools and information to disassemble its pens completely.

Combining both worlds is not a new idea. I already installed some Pilot and Sailor nibs in a Twsbi Diamond 530 with good results. And many other stylophiles were successful with other combinations. After all, it is only a matter of try and error. And so did I try another possibility—the Twsbi Naginata.

The chimeric pen.

I attached a Naginata Togi nib (size big, 大型) to the Twsbi Vac 700 using the feed of the Taiwanese brand. The ink demands of the rigid Naginata are not high and can easily be met. Of course, this is not the only possibility. Any large size nib by Sailor would do the trick—from the ultra fine Saibi Togi to Nagahara’s specialty nibs. The only limit is the ink flow supplied by the Twsbi feed.

The Naginata Togi nib, more in detail.

A cross-music nib in a Twsbi Vac 700.

Needless to say, I would feel a lot more comfortable if I could use the Sailor feed on this Twsbi. Or it might only be that I respect Sailor work too much… but not enough.

The paradox is that nibs and feed are harder to design that filling systems, although Twsbi has made a very fine job –not to be underappreciated— with this plunger filler. This Twsbi Naginata is a frankenpen, a chimera, but also a doable chimera. And wouldn’t it be great to have a Naginata or a specialty nib in a vacuum filler?

Twsbi Vac 700, Naginata Togi nib – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, August 30th, 2013
etiquetas: Sailor, Twsbi, soluciones técnicas