Indian Lever Fillers

September 19, 2009

Friends,

Continuing the sequence of lever fillers from Indian pen companies I present the little Mico Delux Fountain pen. I had never heard of the Mico company till I bought this pen in 1980, and by that time it had long since gone under. Parts of these pens can be seen in Lucknow’s “Nakkhas” flea market on Thursdays, if you’re keen to browse between stalls selling live birds adjoining those selling textiles and bric a brac. Though some very good bargains of all kinds are to be had here. But back to the pen in question…

Appearance – this is a black pen with yellow chrome trim, which is shining through at places. The barrel end is flat and the clip ring is held to the cap by a prominent pointed tassie. It is a very conventional shape for a pen, nothing unusual at all. The clip is shiny and firm with a ball end. There is a double cap band with the lower band wider than the upper. The cap lip tapers towards the barrel. The barrel is cylindrical except for a slight taper at the section and a prominent flare above the nib, a very classical shape. The lever sits beyond the halfway point toward the back end of the barrel, the barrel has a groove under the lifting end of the clip to get the finger nail in. The clip is inscribed “Made in India” I an eventually going to discover which company mass produced these in Lucknow. The section is the same colour as the pen. The Barrel imprint says “Mico Delux” in white letters.

Size and weight – the pen is small, 4 3/4 inches capped and six inches posted. Barrel diameter 0.4 inches. It weighs 20 grams. The balance is good whether posted or not though it is better to use the pen posted.

Filling Mechanism - the lever, J bar work perfectly, the pen takes a small sac and holds reasonable amounts of ink. There are no blobs or accidents with this pen.

Nib and performance – the Mico has a gold plated steel extra fine nib inscribed “Mico Tipped Fine” probably a stock nib engraved by the company. It is a wet line writer, as smooth as an extra fine point can be. No startup troubles and no hiccups. It has not seen regular use with me due to the other “workhorses” being preferred especially two black wooden pens waiting for subsequent reviews.

Overall – Well as an example of the pen making history of Lucknow, this is a star, but otherwise a very conventional pen, it is not a particular favourite of mine, but I have kept it preserved as one of the few intact pens available from this company today.

Here are the pictures to enjoy - http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031/Mico%20Delux/

Regards

Ashish

September 19, 2009

Thanks Ashish for documenting this pen. India made quite a few lever fillers upto the end of 70's like the Plato, the Clipper, Wilson and many more. I usually dont buy the lever fillers since they are tough to convert to ED filled.

Best,

Hari

October 21, 2009

Do you find Indian made pen in the current market? I went looking for pen in Mumbai, but most stores sells Parker. Just curious. I have started using FP after a long time. Recently purchased Phillias, Parker IM, and Flighter. Looking to add some other pens in my collection and usage.

October 22, 2009

Hi,

thanks for your interest, go here - http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031 for pictures of some currently popular Indian Pens and here - http://www.pentrace.net/PenMarket.htm on page 1 and 2. I have a range to enjoy, PM if you have any questions.

regards

Ashish

October 22, 2009

Do you find Indian made pen in the current market? I went looking for pen in Mumbai, but most stores sells Parker. Just curious.

Have a look at this post on Mumbai pen shops here. You will find a lot more than just Parker. Best of luck!

October 22, 2009

Do you find Indian made pen in the current market? I went looking for pen in Mumbai, but most stores sells Parker. Just curious.

Have a look at this post on Mumbai pen shops here. You will find a lot more than just Parker. Best of luck!

Hari,

Thanks for the link. Although the link didn't work in your response, but when I choose to reply it I got the complete URL. Very nice pictures. Remind me of my old days in Mumbai. I don't live in India anymore, however, I visit every few years. Earlier this year, my family had visited India, and I had asked my wife to buy pens for me. I know we have good number of FP users in India. She didn't get a chance to go to Fort area, so she end up looking at the Suburb store, which I mentioned was not very fruitful.

Next time I visit India, I will certainly be in Mumbai, and you bet I will be visiting these stores.

How much of these vintage pen costs there? Could you give me a range in Rs?

I used no-nonsense pens in my school days and I miss them. Now I have purchased few pens here just now and getting back to my old interest after almost 25 years.

October 22, 2009

Hi,

thanks for your interest, go here - http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031 for pictures of some currently popular Indian Pens and here - http://www.pentrace.net/PenMarket.htm on page 1 and 2. I have a range to enjoy, PM if you have any questions.

regards

Ashish

Ashish,

Very nice collections. I am sorry to tell you that I am jealous. I particularly enjoyed the Red Brhaman. Are these all Made In India? I am pleasantly surprise. How is the quality of the nibs?

Next time I am in Mumbai, I will be looking for such pens.

Thanks for sharing.

October 23, 2009

Hi,

The Brahman's, Guiders, Onyx, Anupam Bhartiya, Deccan, Ratnam are all purely Indian, most are eyedroppers, some lever fillers and some squeeze fillers. The Red Brahman is a particularly beautiful pen. I have been using them all, the steel nibs are fine, and I use them for everyday work, the gold nibs are a delight to write with. The only adjustment I have done was to deepen the feed grooves on one pen for increasing flow, otherwise all have been writing out of the box.

regards

Ashish