Maker: TWSBI
The Precision is in effect a fountain-pen companion to the mechanical pencil of the same name which TWSBI released several years earlier. While it shares the hexagonal cross-section and oddly retro clip– it looks very like an accomodation clip, which you can see on a Waterman 12 as well as the more recent Kaweco Sport, although in the case of the TWSBI it’s very firmly attached– it is substantially broader than the pencil, and lacks the highly-textured gripping area. As companion pen and pencils go, this is very much an odd couple.
The styling is even more aggressively modern than the rest of TWSBI’s line-up, drawing comparisons with Rotring, Caran d’Ache, and Lamy which are fair enough. I suspect, although it is too early to tell (writing in early 2019), that it will be as robust as the pens is it being compared to. The finish looks very like the brushed metal found on the Lamy 2000 or the “Silver Star” Pelikans, but it has substantially less texture to it. Whether this is a good or bad thing is probably down to individual skin sensitivity and, in the context of a Canadian winter, whether lack of humidity is making it harder to cling to everything.
The Precision appears to be built upon the works of the Classic, and share with that pen an odd foible, in that the cap has to be screwed down very firmly to get the facets to line up on cap and barrel. Since in this case everything you touch is metal, this process is a little less nervous than with the Classic. Also like that pen, the Precision has a pronounced step between barrel and section, which may put some users off, although I find the proportions and perhaps the bevelling of the barrel don’t present a problem for me. One final point of similarity between the pens is the presence of o-rings on the tail to ensure positive posting, and in the case of the Precision it may be that this is too successful– the cap clings to the tail very firmly indeed, and one must be careful when freeing it to avoid working the mechanism and squirting ink.
The writing experience with the Precision is very like every other TWSBI– a typical smooth, firm modern point with reasonable ink flow. It is a little heavier than the maker’s other pens, but not to the point of being oppressive.
Production Run: 2018 – present.
Cost When New: $80.00, $85.00 with the 1.1mm stub point. As with all other TWSBIs to date, there is a maintenance kit and instructions built into the packaging.
Size: 13.9 cm long capped, 16.9 cm posted, 12.8 cm uncapped.
Point: Steel.
Body: Metal. I’m not precisely sure which metal, as only the clip reacts to a magnet.
Filler: Piston, capacity approx. 1.2 ml. If you go through the necessary gymnastics to get all air out of the reservoir, TWSBI suggests 1.4 ml is possible.
TWSBI Precision in Gun Metal, which at least at the start of its run is the only colour it comes in.
I have read complaints about the look of the knob on the end– it’s worth comparing it to the actuator on the Vanishing Point, and of course not all things are to all tastes.
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