Camlin Elegante

[hari317]

Camlin is a very old stationery goods manufacturer based in my city Mumbai in India. The majority stake of the company was sold last year by the son of the founder, to the Japanese stationery giant Kokuyo. Speculation was rife about the future of Camlin, but it appears that under the Kokuyo management, Camlin is going to continue to make more fountain pens. The Elegante is the first new model to come out, and the Sharad Dandekar aka SD pen has also been re-issued with some price adjustments.

 

The Elegante is a cartridge converter pen, features a plated brass snap cap and can be filled as an ED in addition to C/C, thanks to the fine section threads. The nib is gold plated steel with a nicely finned modern plastic feeder.

 

The pen comes packed in a simple triangular carboard packing with a slide out cardboard pen tray. i immediately discarded the packing after taking pics

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8086.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8087.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8088.jpg

 

 

The Pen:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8089.jpg

 

Uncapped:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8090.jpg

 

Opened to show the slide converter:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8091.jpg

 

The GP steel nib:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8092.jpg

 

Finned Plastic feeder:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8093.jpg

 

Fine section threads permit use of the pen in ED mode:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8094.jpg

 

Glamour shot!

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8095.jpg

 

Writing sample:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/Camlin%20Elegante/IMG_8097.jpg

 

The pen is very well built in my opinion, considering the 180INR (3.5USD approximately) that I paid for it. The pen wrote consistently well from the first stroke itself. Superb achievement Camlin-Kokuyo!

 

Cheers!

Hari

[rwilsonedn]

Hari:

This seems to raise an interesting question. Can Kokuyo bring stronger manufacturing and marketing resources to Camlin while allowing them to continue making pens that have genuine Indian character? Or will the purchase mean that Camlin has to start making generic low-priced pens and will end up competing head-to-head against the Chinese?

ron

[pelman]

Great review Hari and as usual excellent photographs. Can't wait to try one!

[MKeith]

Thanks Hari. Great review and photos. This pen looks very promising at a very reasonable price.

[hari317]

Hari:

This seems to raise an interesting question. Can Kokuyo bring stronger manufacturing and marketing resources to Camlin while allowing them to continue making pens that have genuine Indian character? Or will the purchase mean that Camlin has to start making generic low-priced pens and will end up competing head-to-head against the Chinese?

ron

Ron, I hope it is the former and it looks like the former also. Earlier the pens like SD were not marketed adequately, there was shortage and not many shops were carrying the stock or even interested since the thinking was that no one would buy a 600INR Indian pen, they would buy a Parker instead... Kokuyo seems to have expanded the marketing and now many online retailers in India carry the pens, which is a good move. FP inks, the main product of Camlin in the school stationery business still continues to be made with revamped Kokuyo branded packing. Things look positive. I think Camlin cannot compete with the Chinese, the volumes and price points are very different. The costliest Hero pen that one would buy in India would cost just 60Rs for example. anything costlier than that would not move... The USP of Camlin would be reasonably priced, long lasting stuff, attributes that the Elegante should be able to deliver.

 

Best

Hari

[hari317]

Great review Hari and as usual excellent photographs. Can't wait to try one!

 

 

Thanks Hari. Great review and photos. This pen looks very promising at a very reasonable price.

Thanks Jayant, Keith.

[shrujaya]

Hi Hari...good pen, buddy...I was in two minds actually when I visited their site to place my order for SD...I actually placed an Elegante in my cart before taking it out...anyway, one of these days...your post has inspired me...yeah, coming to the pen itself, I thought there were some similarities with the Camlin Trinity...the triple filling system for instance...of course, for the Trinity, they highlighted the triple-filling system on the pack itself...and the packing itself...and the feeder is similar too, except that the Trinity has 8 stamped on the circular indentation and the Elegante has 13...maybe the feeder size number...just some observations...

 

The writing sample tells me that the pen writes well...and you have mentioned it too...enjoy using the Elegante...

 

Jai

[ashwinsitaram]

Nice pictures and review Hari. I'm actually waiting for a Camlin SD in the mail after ordering from one of the 2 sites you had recommended.

[hari317]

Thanks Ashwin, Jai. Jai, I had forgotten that the trinity had a plastic feeder, this is a good chance for me to pull the trinity out and compare the parts. Now I am tempted to buy the blue and maroon Elegante too. But will resist for the moment, haha.

[abhishek]

i have got one of these.loved the finish ,packing.but somehow the nib is not that smooth.can u please suggest which ink to use(please only inks available locally and not to costly).I had tried camel and quink.

thanks

[hari317]

i have got one of these.loved the finish ,packing.but somehow the nib is not that smooth.can u please suggest which ink to use(please only inks available locally and not to costly).I had tried camel and quink.

thanks

 

Hi I have inked three Elegantes to date, one for me and two for my colleagues. All three were excellent writers thankfully, the nib is not buttery smooth but has a small amount of pleasant feedback. If the nib is scratchy, just look at the tip under a magnifying lens, pref 10x. see if the tips are lined up correctly. I think the ink will not make much of a difference. I am using Camel blue in it. HTH

 

Hari

[abhishek]

i have got one of these.loved the finish ,packing.but somehow the nib is not that smooth.can u please suggest which ink to use(please only inks available locally and not to costly).I had tried camel and quink.

thanks

 

Hi I have inked three Elegantes to date, one for me and two for my colleagues. All three were excellent writers thankfully, the nib is not buttery smooth but has a small amount of pleasant feedback. If the nib is scratchy, just look at the tip under a magnifying lens, pref 10x. see if the tips are lined up correctly. I think the ink will not make much of a difference. I am using Camel blue in it. HTH

 

Hari

 

Thanks.will try it.

[WDP4BAAZ]

Gr8 review and pictures ..

 

Its nice to see that Indian FPN manufacturers r coming with new designs .

 

I will get one soon ..

 

Regards ,

 

'BAAZ'

[hari317]

Baaz, following is a good source for these pens in India.

 

http://www.stationerynew.com/camlin-elegante-fountain-pen/p/2610

 

NAYY.

[Inky Tom]

Hari, have seen the pen and handled it in a shop - surprisingly well built for the price as you said. Been in two minds about buying it but now it seems I'll be Rs200 poorer tomorrow now that I've read your review .

[WDP4BAAZ]

Hi Hariji ,

 

Are Camlin nibs available in local Indian market for this pen ??

 

Pl.revert ,

Regards ,

 

BAAZ

[hari317]

Hi Baaz, Have not tried, my guess is that they are not available.

[bk123]

Hi Hariji ,

 

Are Camlin nibs available in local Indian market for this pen ??

 

Pl.revert ,

Regards ,

 

BAAZ

Camlin has stopped selling stock nibs for its fountain pens. However, if you wish to buy approx 50-100 nibs then you can contact Ambitious Pens Private Limited, Delhi. They used to manufacture nibs for Camlin. But I'm not sure for these days.

[hari317]

But I'm not sure for these days.

not in a long time, AFAIK.

 

I have also not seen spare Elegante and SD nibs on the Camlin website. Maybe if we send in the pen to Camlin, they might replace for a fee?

[kapilapshankar]

I got a new Camlin Elegante yesterday in Navy Blue. Looks very sleek and stylish, writes wonderfully well. Very close to a M nib, leaning on the F side. Nearly butter smooth out of the box with only a whispery rustle. Couldn't have been happier for the price.

 

Tried using it in the ED mode, and got my hands smeared in blue ink. It leaks from the tail end. Apparently there's a metal pin that goes at the tail and that is where the leak is. Not sure if that's by design - or a defect.

 

Has anybody else tried using this pen in the ED mode with success?

 

@Hari: Your original review seems to suggest that this pen does work in ED mode. Should I try exploring a repair route for the pen? I don't mind continuing to use it in the CC mode - as long as I can get a day's writing with it. (I am a heavy writer).

 

Cheers.

 

Kapil