Camlin 11R

[comfortableshoes]

Camlin 11R Fountain Pen from FountainPenRevolution.com $9

I ordered this pen from Kevin a few months ago along with 3 other pens and an assortment of ink. Now that I’ve been using it consistently I’ve ready to do a review.

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Camlin 11R Fountain Pen by lessherger, on Flickr

First impression of this pen was, oh boy is this one ugly (&*^@##$(** pen. It’s the Bic Stic of the fountain pen world. The plastic finish is uneven and I assume meant to be a satin finish, but some areas are more matte than others and still other areas are more shiny. It has a large faceted ink window that looks as though it’s going to fall off the pen at any moment. This pen did not incite great confidence out of the box.

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Camlin 11R Fountain Pen by lessherger, on Flickr

Regardless I inked it up, first with some Camlin Permanent black, then Noodler’s Black, then Heart of Darkness and now with Pelikan Fount India. It has performed flawlessly with every ink I’ve thrown at it. It lays down a fine wet line that glides across most of the papers I’ve tested it on. I don’t use this pen for writing, well, not often, mostly it’s my go to pen for sketching. It gets abused. I’m not gentle with my sketches, I scribble and scratch and push down too hard and otherwise abuse it. It’s taken all that without a single complaint.

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Camlin 11R Fountain Pen by lessherger, on Flickr

At first it did start hard but I filled the breather hole with wax and that problem was solved. It wrote smoothly from the start. The nib is a stiff steel fine without any adornment. It’s as simple as simple can get. The feed is ebonite. It’s an eyedropper and does not require an o-ring, silicone grease will do just fine. It holds 2.5ml of ink. It is very light weight even when filled. It has that Noodler’s vegital resin smell, it’s faint but there. The brand is screen printed in white on the barrel, crooked. the brand is starting to wear off.

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Camlin 11R Fountain Pen by lessherger, on Flickr

Of the many GOOD things about this pen is that the nib and feed come out and are easily cleaned with a toothbrush and “floss.” This is good for when I, uh, forget to clean it as often as I should, or forget to clean it before loading with a new ink.

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Camlin 11R Fountain Pen by lessherger, on Flickr

All that being said, this pen goes everywhere with me along with a pair of Pentel Pocket Brush Pens one also inked with Pelikan Fount India and the other with J Herbin Gris Nuage. This trio makes an amazing sketching combination for portraits, buildings and other items. I have taken this pen with me everywhere for the last few months, it’s taken a beating in my bag and just keeps on flowing no matter what I do to it. I’m very impressed with how tolerant this pen is of abuse. Below are some images that I did the base sketch with this pen, then layered over it gray and then more black:

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Intimidation 1911 style by lessherger, on Flickr

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Lunchtime sketch by lessherger, on Flickr

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Waiting at atomic coffee aka getting stood up by lessherger, on Flickr

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This guy worked harder in a day than most of us in our whole lives by lessherger, on Flickr

 

As far as eyedroppers go I’ve used this pen quite low and not had it blob, but most of my pens are not prone to that as I have somewhat cool hands.

 

I highly recommend this budget friendly pen if you enjoy abusing a pen with a variety of inks and want something you can toss into your sketch kit and not worry about losing.

[Scribblesoften]

Great review and fabulous artwork. Thank you.

[akrishna59]

this is one of the entry level pens of camlin which is used by school children, the big ink capacity and window are a must for these kids who do a lot of writing.

 

camlin has consistently made good to very good pens and i am pleased that you like it. their pens are usually flawless and goes after more of function than form.

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

[comfortableshoes]

Great review and fabulous artwork. Thank you.

 

Thank you.

 

this is one of the entry level pens of camlin which is used by school children, the big ink capacity and window are a must for these kids who do a lot of writing.

 

camlin has consistently made good to very good pens and i am pleased that you like it. their pens are usually flawless and goes after more of function than form.

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

 

@Krishna I'm very pleased with this pen every time I reach for it, it simply works. I've also been pleased with the Serwex eyedroppers I've purchased. They are also quite pleasant to use.

[Uncle Red]

Wow, great review. Great drawings and pictures. How do you like the Fount India for writing? I love the medium format pictures, what camera are you using?

[comfortableshoes]

Wow, great review. Great drawings and pictures. How do you like the Fount India for writing? I love the medium format pictures, what camera are you using?

thanks.

 

These were all taken with the hipstamatic app on my ipod touch. It's a fun little app.

[Uncle Red]

Ah, fooled.

[comfortableshoes]

Wow, great review. Great drawings and pictures. How do you like the Fount India for writing? I love the medium format pictures, what camera are you using?

I really like the fount india in all aspects. It's got great flow and lubrication in all the pens I've put it in which include the TWSBI 530, Serwex Special, Serwex 77TR, Platinum Preppy, and the Camlin 11R. It's also cheap enough that I don't mid blowing through it with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and my Kuretake #8 brush pen. In the fine point pens it's nice and dark but with the brush pen it has a tendency to gray out. It's not waterproof but is water resistant. I should probably just go ahead and do a full review of it... :roflmho:

[senzen]

Very interesting, thank you! I don't think it looks that bad, maybe with a silver finish instead of a gold one...

[lovemy51]

very cool review! thx!

[comfortableshoes]

Very interesting, thank you! I don't think it looks that bad, maybe with a silver finish instead of a gold one...

 

I agree. It seems pretty common with the Indian school type pens to mix and match nib and trim colors.

[breaker]

nice review and pics!

thanks!

[kaushla]

@Krishna I'm very pleased with this pen every time I reach for it, it simply works. I've also been pleased with the Serwex eyedroppers I've purchased. They are also quite pleasant to use.

 

I hava had a couple of Camlin pens lying around since 2009. After reading your review about a very similar pen, I shall fill it with ink to write. Camlin is an old Indian stationery company which makes materials for artists and has now expanded its product range. Their red ink used to be a nice scarlet colour and their blue is quite good as well.

 

Chhayanat

[sitaram82]

wow.....this was my first fountain pen during my school days...over two decades ago.I remember having got one for Rs.10.

During those days Hero pens were the most sought after and cost thrice

as much as this camlin.

A hero pen costs the same today,but the quality has deteriorated.However

camilin has come a long way by making some excellent fps.

[SUNIL GARG]

It has nothing to do with Camlin Pens but with the Company itself.

Camlin Limited has been bought over by a Japanese Co. Kokuyo &

is now called Kokuyo Camlin Limited.

[panu]

Only Costs 1.0 $ In India.

Edited July 19, 2015 by panu

[cvk]

I remember this was my staple pen at School. Did not know it was called 11R then... And yes, it can endure a lot of rough handling!