Comments on: Fountain Pen Review: TWSBI Diamond Mini AL Grape – Limited Edition

By: David Buchalter

David Buchalter — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:08:09 +0000

The Kaweko AL Sport looks delicious. I must!

By: Jadielady

Jadielady — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:37:21 +0000

I love TWSBIs and I love purple so of course I had to get it. I filled it with Sailor’s Warning and the combination of sparkly purple and shimmery pink inside just makes me so happy.

By: Guilherme Atencio

Guilherme Atencio — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:06:01 +0000

Oh no. Purple is my kriptonite.
Pairing it with Murasaki shikibu is just perfect.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 04:10:31 +0000

I’ve got a TWSBI Mini in the mint colour (whichever they named it. I always forget because there was a TWSBI 580 limited in that colour, and I think they called it turquoise? And the other was mint. Or vice-versa! Regardless….)
It’s a pen that I forget how much I enjoy using it. The little nib on mine came out of the box writing so well for me. I’ve had Diamine Eau de Nil in it basically since I’ve gotten it, and the pairing is such a delight. I’m really jonesing for the grape, because the two colours are my favs! (Mint/teal and purple) But I just haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet. (And obviously you have to have colour coordination between the two, right??)
You are right thought, I feel like there isn’t a huge writing difference between this and the Eco. But I do find I reach for my Mini more than my Eco (though that’s less true after I got a custom grind on my Eco). I do tend to like the shape of the Mini in my hand, but both it and the Eco are comfortable writers for me.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 02:08:17 +0000

In reply to Mary Noreen Bucklew. See I'm this way about my Kaweco AL Sport collection (I'm up to 5 there...)

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 02:07:27 +0000

In reply to Debi Humphrey. Oh goodness if they had a good red one I'd probably end up buying too!

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 02:06:39 +0000

In reply to Kit. You are not wrong - I did like the section on the Diamond Mini!

By: Kit

Kit — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 23:56:04 +0000

I love TWSBI, but I’ve discovered I like writing with the minis more than the Eco. It’s about the section. I don’t mind a triangular grip at all – so it isn’t that. It’s the nib-end of the section on the Eco I like less. I hold a pen/pencil pretty close to the writing end, and the Eco has little… knobs, sort of… around that end of the section, and I’m constantly feeling them making indentations in my middle finger. The Minis don’t have that. Having said that, I still really appreciate all my TWSBIs. They do a great job of sealing air flow away from the nib when they’re capped, which is critical for me who maintains.. (ahem) several (coughtoomanycough) pens inked pretty much all the time, so they tend to have ink in them for a long time. I just got the grape mini, too. Haven’t had a chance to ink it up yet, but will in the next day or so. Anyway – thanks for your review.

By: Debi Humphrey

Debi Humphrey — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:59:53 +0000

I also recently bought the Grape Mini AL. I love TWSBI minis and have several of them. My favorite is my Rose Gold Mini, both for looks and because she has the best nib of the bunch (very slight differences). The Aqua Mini AL is a very close second. I’d love it if TWSBI came out with more colors in the Mini. Let’s see, my collection includes: the Classic Mini AL, Diamond Mini AL, Gold Mini AL, Slate Blue Mini AL, Aqua Mini AL, Rose Gold Mini AL, and the Grape Mini AL. I love their minis so much, I’d buy almost any color they came out with. I’d love to see a pink and/or red mini. I have B nibs on about half of them and 1.5 mm stubs on the rest. I have small hands and their minis fit me perfectly. I tried an Eco and a TWSBI Diamond 580, but for me, they are too large for comfort. Love my minis!

By: Mary Noreen Bucklew

Mary Noreen Bucklew — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 21:14:25 +0000

I have almost an embarrassingly large collection of TWSBIs and the majority of those are variations on the AL theme… silver and color du jour, demonstrators, both AL, AL mini and vac mimi and a few ECOs… I overwhelmingly prefer the skosh of added weight the ALs give me, the design elements, the aesthetic. I am NOT generally a ‘mini’ pen person, but if I need one, it will be the TWS before I look for my lone Kaweco. I have so many beautifully colored TWSbis, I group them like a flower bouquet! YMMV…