Search the Community

The Airmail/ WALITY 69EB is probably the only ebonite model produced today by the Airmail pen co. Bought when they were released, two colors were available. Green ripple and Brown ripple and probably an Olive ripple too but I dont remember too well. In its stock configuration, it is fitted with a steel F nib of the Indian no 8 size (28mm over a 6.35mm feed) and is ED filled. The 69 series models have very little space inside the inner cap ( EB has around 18.5mm only) so it is sometimes difficult for the novice to install third party nibs which are typically 35mm long and thence have to be set particularly deep in the section so that the nib's exposed length does not exceed the inner cap space( if the nib's exposed length is more than the inner cap space, the nib will be badly crumpled when you close the cap fully). Also if a nib unit is to be installed to allow C/C facility, even a European no 5 nib unit has a longer nib exposed length than what the 69EB inner cap allows. One workaround to this problem is to turn down the flared collar of the nib unit housing, allowing it to be set deeper into the section. This is the approach that I have taken on one of the pens. Here is the result with the Schmidt FH341. I have set the nib unit deep enough to control the exposed nib length to 18mm. Also shown is another EB where I have installed a KW 35mm factory B STUB nib over the stock WALITY feeder in ED mode. This nib is set extremely deep( nearly half of the nib is inside the section!). Along with some other currently inked pens: L-R: Lamy 2000, 69TS, 69EB, 71J The 69EB is a nice, very low cost introduction to the ebonite pen. Its quite well made with multistart threads fast open cap and an adequate stock F nib. DIY nib upgrades need application of some techniques. However, a very straightforward nib upgrade to obtain a wider point is to buy after market Indian size 8 (28mm) nibs from Ambitious or KW who offer F and M widths in this size. Cheers, Hari

The 71 is a family of large pens from the Airmail pen company of Mumbai, India. The pen is more or less semi streamlined with conical ends. From L-R:71JBRCC, 71JB, 71JT, 71J Nomenclature: J: Jumbo T: Transparent hand turned barrel B: Block with etched design cap band. Solid Colors. RCC: Regular+C/C filling. Being a jumbo sized pen, it lends itself to a variety of nib upgrades. L-R:M200 threaded in, Esterbrook Renew point threaded in, stock nib: Indian no 8, Bock 250 friction fit over NN feed, Conklin Bock Friction fit over ebonite feed, Schmidt FH452 threaded in. My personal favourite: 69TL Vs 71JT: cheers, Hari

Sometimes you have some pens just because they bring on pure nostalgia. This one is one of those for me. A pen by Airmail. Rather any pen by Airmail. We, 90’s kids of India, and also the kids before, grew up using this brand during our school days at least ones. Airmail Pen Company was established in 1951. Since then, they have been manufacturing some awesome pens, especially fountain pens. They are based in Mumbai, India. This review is about one of their offerings, Model 58C. I hope you will enjoy reading it. First Glance I personally don’t like huge pens. There are some exceptions of course. This, in my books, is a very big pen. But it is value for money. And when you have its value in mind, its a damn good pen. You get it in ₹180 (i.e. barely $3). I bet you wont get this quality fountain pen in a $3 pen elsewhere. You can compare it with the build quality of Noodler’s Pens. Looks The pen does not look that great for my taste. A very bulky but not at all a bad looking pen. How do you spot an Airmail from far is the steel band they have on the cap. It’s their trademark. Also this pen isn’t something you can flaunt in your shirt pocket. It is too huge for that. Finial and End-Cap The finial and end cap have a reflective, pointed dome made of steel which looks nothing but simple. The Clip is pretty tight but certainly useful with any type of shirt pocket. Simple steel clip. The Cap is Screw Fit & works great. The threads are all plastic as the pen is. Threads are not sharp at all. The only flaw (I would say) is the threads have 3 openings. This keeps the capped pens clip from aligning itself from the Airmail logo on the barrel. Small thing it is. And also something that you would not expect from a cheap pen. Filling Mechanism This is a eye dropper pen where you have to fill the ink directly into the barrel by using an eye-dropper or a syringe. The ink it should take is about (at least) two times of what a standard long ink cartridge can hold, though I have not measured it. Writing Experience I bought a Fine since it was the only nib option available with the retailer. I worked a bit on smoothing of the nib. There were very few fine nibs I have liked out of the box like my Lamy Safari’s. This nib was a bit scratchy for me. Now it has become somewhere between fine and medium since I worked on it. Posting Posting makes this pen top heavy. And it makes it so long that I could practically scratch my nose while writing General Info & Measurements Locking Mechanism: Screw fit Filling Mechanism: Eye dropper Posted: 17.4 cm Capped: 15 cm Uncapped: 13.2 cm My Ratings (after I worked on the nib) Nib: 6/10 Looks: 6/10 Pocket Looks: 1/10 Writing Experience: 6/10 Wetness: 2/10 Scratchiness: 3/10 Cost: 10/10 Line Variation: 7/10 Reverse Writing: 4/10 Overall: 5/10 ————————————— Disclaimer: This review is all about my personal views about a product especially the one I have used (for this review). You may come across a same model which you might find better or worse. Do let me know how you like the review. Follow my blog: https://pen5um.wordpress.com Thanks, 5umedh

I have been wondering whether Airmail 69t and 71 jt can be fitted with a plastic feed that comes with Kanwrite desire, Jinhao X750/x450 or Pierre Cardin President. I was thinking this because Sheaffer's NN feeds are unavailable and the plastic feed of the above mentioned pens have good number fins to prevent burping of 69t or 71jt . If this modification is successful then NN's feed unavailability problem would be easily solved.

I was perusing through the fountainpen forums the other day and came across @mehandiratta's review of the Airmail 71JT. He described how the pen was magnificent, but the nib it came with was a mess... literally, as it burped on first write... and he then swapped with a No.35(International #6 for anyone wondering) nib and now it's his daily writer. I was so astonished by the fact that you can swap a no.35 nib on an airmail pen which usually takes No.8(a stubbier version of a #6) nib. So being the curious and idiotic imbecile that I was, I started to find out how to fit a No.35 nib to my pen... Forgetting the fact that my pen is the smaller 69T instead of the 71JT(Which literally means Jumbo Transparent) that I bought from The Pen Hospital in my city (Thrissur) a while ago. At first I was surprised that the nib didn't fit as the diameter for No.8 and No.35 feed was identical... while I found a way to coax it in there, the cap wouldn't close properly... after about two days I got frustrated and abandoned the idea and planned to buy a 71JT... but then... While I was watching youtube, a channel called Penatomy appeared in my feed and I saw that he was able to fit a Kanwrite No.35 nib in an Airmail 69T... and I got my guts back... And I watched the video and found out that evenly scraping off the ebonite feed bit by bit until the nib fits in place... and voila... a No.35 nib on a 69T... And I have so much to say about it... Design And Build To be frank... this is one of the most beautiful budget pens I have (given that my pen collection only contains pens under ₹800/- at least for now). And it's the blend of a simple clear acrylic barrel that is hand turned with the randomness of the pattern of the plastic cap (that is made of the vegetal resin and it smells... but not as strongly as the converter in the Kanwrite PC was check that one here.), the chromed finish of the cap band and the simple clip to the clear crystal like portion on the back end... all come together to make a timeless and handsome looking fella... The build is also... for the price... reasonable. Yes you won't get the heft and the metallic build of a Jinhao... but this is an eyedropper pen and if it were made of metal... then it would have not been an airmail/wality wouldn't it (at least in my opinion). The pen is long enough to hold comfortably unposted and it's light enough to write without any fatigue for a long time... Posting it though... unless you have gorilla sized hands... don't use it posted... I have a very thin and long hands (like a canoe oar... if you will) and for me unposted is the way to go... and you might find the backweight a little too much when posted... The only sort of complaint that I have in regards to the looks is that for a pen with chrome trims, it comes with a sorta gold, sorta bronze type of plated steel nib (the nib shown above), and I'd rather have it a un-plated steel nib... thankfully the Kanwrite nib fixes that for me...(the picture shown below is of a Kanwrite No.8 swap that I did before I ventured into a No.35 swap)... As for size comparison here it is next to: Kanwrite Desire Hero 336 Pilot Hi-Techpoint V7(That I eyedropper converted) Nib, Inking And Writing As I mentioned, the standard 69T comes with a No.8 Steel Airmail nib... And I might have been one of the lucky ones from what I hear about Wality nibs because at first it was a bit on the toothy side, but a little polishing fixed that... to some extent... it had a bit of scratchiness in the leftward strokes and I wasn't experienced enough at the time to remedy it, so I bought a No.8 kanwrite nib and wrote with that for a short time... and it worked. Well... Kind of... You see... Since it is an eyedropper, I was expecting some burping... but not when the ink is 7/8th of the barrel... and that issue pertained with both No.8 nibs... I then read about heat setting the ebonite feed... and that worked to an extent... but still about half full before the pen starts to burp is a bit too early in my opinion... So as per the intro, I started to try and fit the No.35 nib into the 69T. And suffice to say that I shoehorned it in there is an understatement It took a lot of trial and error but after bit by bit sanding off the feed, I was able to fit the nib deep enough that the cap can open/close in 2 turns... which was enough for me and that is how much the cap turned to open/close initially. But was all that trouble worth it? In short... Yes... The nib I fitted was a Kanwrite No.35 Fine nib in a steel finish... and I think it suits the pen better than the No.8 nibs that Airmail uses. that extra flare in the shoulder and the increased length really sets the proportions right for me... And when we come to the writing... Fine and smooth with a hint of feedback... Just the way I like it because it allows me to write fast enough without being too fast that my hand gets out of control... so I prefer pens with a slight feedback. But the feedback isn't intrusive and the pen just glides along the page. And remember, the amount of feedback depends on the paper used as well. On standard 70gsm copier paper like the one used in the writing test, the writing feels more pencil like. But if used in a higher quality paper like a Classmate or Rhodia, the feedback becomes, near as makes no difference, unnoticeable and the nib just glides over the page while putting on a generous, wet, fine line. The line is fine by western standards and a medium when compared to nibs like that from Pilot. But suffice to say that this is an upgrade that you should do. and with proper heat setting of the feed, there is absolutely no burping until the ink gets critically low, and by that time I would've refilled it anyway... All of these combined made my Airmail from never carry to daily carry. And for me, that's a win. Conclusion To conclude this for about ₹400-450/- for the pen and about ₹75/- for the nib which overall costs around ₹500-530/-(around $8 USD) this is a pen that punches way above it's weight and is a recommend from me... if you are not feeling that adventurous then a No.8 nib swap from Kanwrite can make you love your airmail even more... Trust me, if you have a Airmail/Wality 69/71 series,and you want to have an enhanced writing experience (and you're a bit frugal like me), don't buy another pen... just swap the nib with a better one. Your love for that pen will be enhanced... Just like my love for my 69T

Hi everyone, I'm a new registered member on the forum, although I have been reading anonymously for quite some time now. After searching high and low for years, I thought I'd ask if anyone here has been able to find the blue or white Elco Atlantic Clipper airmail paper (writing pad) lately? I know it is (sadly!) not produced any longer, and my stock has run out. If someone has seen this in a store, or has "overstock" they are willing to sell, I would be more than grateful to hear from you. Alternatively, if you know of another similar paper (unruled, thin and silky "airmail" paper, preferably A4), I'd also be interested. I have been writing on this paper for most of my life, and have yet to find another paper that compares to it. I know there is a growing chance that this paper is not sold or found anywhere anymore, but I thought I'd ask - just in case. I live in Scandinavia, so any physical stores in Denmark, Sweden or Finland would be of interest; but I'd be willing to order from anywhere, of course, as long as they deliver overseas. A big thank you for any advice!

Sharing some pics of my 58C. This is a students model and immensely popular in interior Maharashtra. Perhaps more popular than the bigger 71J. A Schmidt upgrade made the pen even more sweet. Compared to the 71J. Decided to post this since not many people know about this model. Cheers Hari

Maybe a year ago, I embarked on a journey to learn various finishing techniques for fountain pens owing to the fact that many of the Indian pens I own, weren't that well finished. Lathe marks, inconsistent polishing etc. Fast forward to now, I have worked on many of my pens and also on many friends's pens. I can now take a poorly finished pen to a mirror like polished pen and this is extremely satisfying on an ebonite pen. Over time, I also learnt how to do a baakul (rough tree like) brushed finish found on many black ebonite pens from India. Today, I present one of those pens on which I've done 'Baakulization' 😁 This is a Wality 71JT, that originally had a polished barrel. I don't have before photos unfortunately. Do let me know how you like it

My favorite pen made in India is the Airmail 67T. I plan on collecting more Airmail/Wality pens. I have noticed in my research that the names of the pens contain a letter code. The question is, what to the letters stand for? So far this is what I have been able to determine: A = AcrylicB = Bold (?)C = ?E = EboniteJ = JumboL = LongM = MediumP = PistonS = ?T = Transparent Any corrections or additions would be welcome. For example. Not sure if I have the "B" code correct. What would the word bold refer to in a fountain pen?In any case, thanks in advance for any assistance.

A few weeks ago I picked up an Airmail/Wality 69eb, marketed as the Airmail Ebo from Fountain Pen Revolution, because I needed some silicone grease and because I wanted to take advantage of FPR's 20 percent off sale. I only paid 16 dollars for this pen, and I have really enjoyed it. It has been a great workhorse these last couple of weeks and has earned a spot amongst my favorites. I really enjoy the pen's styling. Its cigar shape and ebonite body give the pen a vintage feel. Indian pens, specifically the handmade ebonite eyedroppers, have always invoked nostalgia. This pen is no different. The Airmail 69eb is a large, but not oversized pen. Here it is next to a Metropolitan, Al-Star, and Ahab. It is a comfortable pen to use posted or unposted and is very comparable in size to the Ahab, just slightly thinner. I have read mixed things about Wality/Airmail nibs. My nib gives decent feedback but is not at all unpleasant. Sometimes it feels like writing with a nice pencil. Sometimes I enjoy the feedback on a workhorse pen as I am usually writing quickly and the feedback helps keep my writing more legible. The nib is marked "Special Wality, Tipped Fine" It writes a very fine line with Pelikan Royal Blue. The only other eyedropper I have experience with is an Asa I Can and that is a rather wet pen. Royal Blue tends to be a dry ink so I thought it would be a good choice. The Airmail 69eb does not seem to be a very wet writer and with Royal Blue is a great choice on cheap, absorbent paper. I scrubbed the nib and feed before I inked it and I haven't had any flow issues, hard starts, or skipping. It writes a consistent fine or extra-fine line. The build quality of the pen is good. All of the threads are nicely cut, the nib and feed were nicely set, and the clip works fine. Mine has some small fit and finish issues. The cap band extends below the ebonite material of the cap and is fairly sharp. Sometimes it gets caught on my pen case when I try to slip it in and I am afraid it is going to ben and scratch pen's body. Also, the threads, though nicely cut, must have a sharp edge or bur because they gathered some paper towel material when I wiped them. That is really not a big deal because they feel fine on my fingers. Moreover, while I have read that the pen is handmade, the section is not made of ebonite. It has the feel and odor of vegetal resin. I am not sure how much of this pen, if any, is hand turned. It was only 16 dollars. I do wish the section was made of the same ebonite material as the body. Overall, I really like the pen. For 16 dollars, something like the Pilot Metropolitan gets you a pen with nicer fit and finish, a smoother nib, and a lot less character. I really enjoy Indian pens. Perhaps it is an unfair association, but they evoke feelings of nostalgia and adventure. I bet Indiana Jones used something like the Airmail 69eb to document his travels *This is my first pen review. I apologize for the bad picture quality and the sloppy handwriting.*

Has anyone here got examples of Airmail 55, 70 and 90? I was just wondering about the diameter of the section on each pen and which size nib they use. I was wondering if the 55 is a compact pen for a small hand. I have not encountered the 70 or 90 and was hoping that they had the #5 or 5.5 nib. Well, you know how variable Wality nibs can be. Sometimes a nib swap is the better solution.

Wality or Airmail is a brand that is most popular and well known brand from India among fountain pen users. However this model 67T, I have seen is not seen or discussed much. Most of the FP users are more concerned with the more popular 69T or 71JT and similar (ie. bigger) variants. Well, I must admit that I had bought these FPs over a year back. Used it for few days and I felt the nib was not up to the mark and then it went to closet. The more springy and smoother wality nibs - the dual tones are of bigger size and dont fit in this 67T FP. So the nib out of box may seem a let down. But the magical swirls kept this pen inside my head - and initially I would fit other nib in this pen. But that did not work out. However in past few months, having gained a much better understanding about the nibs - and their smoothness - I gave this only a one minute rub (in uninked condition) over the backcover of notebook (the soft - roughish surface usually found over the back side of notebooks). And behold - the nibs felt even more smoother than Lamy or Pilot ! What distinguishes this FP is its beautiful heavenly swirls. Its a transparent barrel FP. The section and cap is coloured acrylic. I have three of its colours. One of the pic of the orange pen I had posted many months back on FPN (and not able to locate it). Regarding feed, in general I have found Wality FPs have a very good feed (at times I have even replaced my Gama feed with Wality feeds). A good feed for me means: 1) The feed fits properly inside the section 2) There is no scattering / spalshing of ink on jerks (this happens with many other ED FPs) 3) Flow of ink is good. Of-course being friction fit EDs, one can adjust the feed and nib to make the ink flow as per ones own desired wetness. Today I took pics of the Green and the Red FP and thought I might as well share it - as good FPs are meant to be discussed ! Wality 67 T - The Pen Wality 67 T - the swirls Wality 67 T - the swirls Wality 67 T - the nib Wality 67 T - the writing

I recently got an Airmail Ebo pen from Fountain Pen Revolution (Ebonite eyedropper for 20 bucks? how could I resist?) and the pen seems to built pretty well for it's price. However, I'm having quite a number of issues with ink flow and severe ink starvation. Initially, the pen flows really well and wet when first inked (I think because the feed is primed), but as soon as I've written about a paragraph or so, it starts writing faintly, begins skipping, and then stops writing entirely. Beyond this, when I put a finger over the slit and breather hole, there is no ink that comes off it, whereas most pens I own will typically slather my finger with ink when I do that if they're working properly. The problem is so bad to the point that, when I put the nib up to a light I can see directly through the slit when it should be full of ink. I've washed the nib and feed with dish soap several times and am at wit's end about it. I also am not being able to pull out the nib and feed even though they seem friction fit, so I don't know how to even inspect the feed for defects. Any suggestions on what I should do or what the problem might be? If it's of consideration, I've tried it with Pilot Black, Noodler's Black, and Waterman Black and all have suffered the same issues, and the issue's actually gotten worse the more I've written (I could go a full page without it drying out a few days ago, now it's about 4 lines).

I bought this pen just exactly a week ago. That's right one week from the order to the delivery. From India. I hope this bodes well for the two other Wality pens from the same seller. After photographing it for you I inked it with some KWZ IG Aztec Gold. I took the usual precaution of a very light smear of Silicone grease on the thread of the section. It is now standing nib down in a pot while the ink works its way down the feeder. The Wality nib does not have the greatest reputation. I have had one Wality nib where the tines were way out of alignment, but this one is OK. Quick writing sample on a Rhodia No14 notebook.

Quick Review - Wality 71JT Wality 71JT is a gorgeous pen with a solid build, the pen is a bit top heavy but the balance improves once the pen is inked. The only major flaw that I see, is the nib; Don't get me wrong, it's not a particularly unpleasant nib, the nib is rather smooth with little (audible) feedback HOWEVER the nib is extremely rigid and "resists" movement, I would have perhaps liked this nib on a small Camlin pen BUT the 71JT is no small pen, the girthy section and a (relatively) heavy body, together make this nib a major flaw, this is one of the few nibs that make my terrible handwriting look even more horrendous because of the extra effort I need to consciously put while writing; before I denounce the Wality nibs altogether, I need to ink my second 71JT. This might just be a bad nib !! If you're buying this pen online, particularly from Asapens, I would recommend contacting Mr. Subramaniam Lakshminarayanan for a nib upgrade. I repeat, the nib is not necessarily bad; some might even like it in it's current state, (IMHO) it's just not suited for a large, heavy pen such as the 71JT. Hope this was helpful - Aashish

Hello everyone, We all remembers our first fountain pen we started writing with. We have always cherished that pen and the company. For me, Airmail has been and will always be close to my heart. From school days to 2012 have been loyal to Airmail. However, when I misplaced them in 2012 it broke my heart. Since then searched a lot for them. Always thought the company might have closed. However , a month back noticed that Airmail has started selling the pens on Amazon.in It was a surprise and ordered couple of 70 and & 71JT. Each costing about 350/- INR which seemed very resonable. Will be reviewing Airmail Wality 70 with few pictures. Online order experience: 1. Ordered four Airmail 70 pens of brown colour. The very next day received a call from the representative informing that brown colour is not available and if I may wait for a week or order mix colours. Could not wait and ordered the mix colours(brown, red, blue and green) . The person was courteous and simple to talk to. No typical business-wala talk but very humble gentleman. The package was shipped within 2 days, shipped by BlueDart and received in 9 days. 2. They were packed in a A4 size envelope, which could be better packed for added safety. I was expecting them to be packed loose bound together and scratched/ damaged. However to my surprise each pen is packed neatly in a box with foam cut for the pen, with an eyedropper and a spare two-tone medium nib. It was something unexpected and does get a smile on you. Compare it with the Parker packed in a cheap cardboard and plastic covers. 3. It would make a nice gift for someone who loves FPs. Pictures of the Beauty A Classic look The box Foam cut to safe the pen from any scratch with a eyedropper Spare nib Slim profile Comfortable to hold. Light weight. Rests nicely. Well balanced when writing without the cap posted. Even with the cap posted the pen is well balanced due to the light weight. Either way , with or without the cap it is comfortable to hold and write for long duration. The nib with the pen is fine. It is equivalent to 0.5mm. A bit fine than Luxor 0.5. Depends on how much pressure one puts on. There is no flex to it at all. The nib has been smooth to write with. Had to tweek a bit for wet writing which I prefer. The feeder is a flat feeder unlike few who have a thick feeder. The feeder is of good quality and surely is not a cheap hand made one. The grooves to screw in are nicely made and it screws in smoothly. The feeder has grooves for ink flow. They are not cut by hand. Precise neat and deep cuts which has ensured nice steady ink flow throughout. The grooves are well cut ,both in and outside the barrel. Translucent slots to see the ink level. To see the level one needs to hold it vertical for few seconds, let ink to flow and against a bright light. Quality of pen: 1. Extremely well made. Impressive. Construction of the pen is top notch quality- comparable to any pen one can think of. Feel it to believe it. 2. Elegant looking. Does catches the eyes of people around, writing or be it in pocket. 3. Light weight. Does not mean its cheap material!!! 4. It is nealty made, well designed for long duration writing. Have not felt tired holding it. Ink Flow: 1. Out of the box, filled and it started writing straight away. Used it for couple of days but seemed dry for my liking. A bit of adjusting the feeder for wet ink flow and working like magic since then. 2. Have not had any sudden ink blobs flowing out till now. 3. Kept it uncaped for 15mins, picked up and it wrote straight away. ( I dont think anyone would keep their FP uncaped for so long!) 4. Takes 3ml of ink. Thats more than enough one needs to fill in pages! Conclusion: 1. It is an extremely serious contender to many FPs which cost more than twice! For VFM it beats Parker hands down!!!! 2. The colour, the design all along catches the eyes of beholders around. Rather than discussing the papers to sign- the topic always came to the FP. 3. With the pretty decent cardboard box, neat presentation can be a gift. 4. For daily use its a beautiful, quality FP and pleasure to write with. 5. Many would want to change the nib. I am satisfied with the nib it has, been smooth so far. 6. For extreme VFM for a student who would want a ED pen- Trinity is lot better as it costs 100/- as compared to 350/- for Airmail. Anyone who has been using it, would like to hear your experience. Thank you

Bonjour - Barb Marshall of WriteWhileUCan posted that September 1 is World Letter Writing Day. The founder would like to receive letters from different countries. http://www.ritewhileucan.com/september-1st-world-letter-writing-day/ Merci, et bon journée!

I thought I would start a little thread on the Airmail 69t. This is a pen from India, and is my first foray into that particular area of manufacture. I have had it for a day or so, and filled it with Robert Oster Crimson ink after unpacking and cleaning it. This is an eyedropper, and mine is a demonstrator with a clear body. So far I am very pleased with the performance of this pen. It has a nice heft, and does post (this is important for me, as I tend to lose caps). My purpose for this pen was as a cheap note taking pen for class. I can say that it fills the bill admirably on the price point, but it does not have the feel of a cheap pen. For a hair over sixteen dollars, I ordered this from Fountain Pen Revolution, and I love the semi-wet line that it puts down. For notes I use a fine point, and I have had a lot of trouble finding one that was not scratchy or had a lot of feedback. I prefer a smooth nib with minimal feedback. This little pen has done wonders in that department. I am attaching a couple of photos. Please forgive the penmanship. I have been writing quite a bit today, and my arthritis has started acting up. I write with my weak hand as well, since arthritis has made my thumb pretty much useless on my strong hand. I hope this helps folks looking for a reasonably priced daily user.

Hi, I saw a gorgeous photo of the Airmail/Wality 58SL. I also saw that it was being sold cheap on FPR. Very tempting! And the nib and feed are interchangeable with my Jaipur (which is pretty good, compared to a Wality in my Ranga) However, the gold components are gold-plated. Would anyone have a 58SL (or similar) and would like to comment on how the plating on the clip and the cap band has held-up with use? I know we can't expect a lot given how affordable the pen is, but I'm thinking of whether I should settle on the 58C (silver) even if I like its looks less, if those lesser looks will stay even with age. *Comments on the good buy-ness of the 58 is also appreciated!

Walitys or Airmail are one of the most sought after Indian fountain pen manufacturers. Both brands are manufactured by AIRMAIL PEN COMPANY based out of Mumbai, India. And they have a good lineup of fountain pen and most of them are Eyedroppers and few of them are Piston fillers. My previous review of the two other Wality Pens I have reviewed are as follows: Wality 52 PD Wality 69 A The pen that I am reviewing or we will be discussing about is one of the sleeker version of the Wality/Airmail pens and is named as WALITY 70AM or AIRMAIL 70AM. (A = Acrylic and M = Medium). DESIGN & BUILT: 5/5 Made out of premium acrylic in brownish orange marbled and swirled finish, this is one of the best designed pen Wality pen. And it comes only in one color and that is orange brown swirls with pearlescent effect and in actual it feels really premium. The cap is made of metal in silver color and has guilloche design pattern in matte finish. The cap bottom or the lip has an extension which is made of the same acrylic material of which the pen is made of. Actually it seems the metal cap is bonded to the acrylic cap through some process. The cap top is in shiny chrome finish which is in dome shape. and even the clip is in shiny chrome finish. The pen clip is sturdy and stiff and will fit even shirt pockets and not slide. The section of the pen is small and when i try to hold the pen in my hands my fingers touches the threads which actually are smooth and not that sharp and they actually provide the grip to otherwise slippery hands. The pen easily opens in 1 and 1/2 turns which actually is not seen in Indian handmade ebonite pens. The pen actually tapers from lower half of the barrel towards the section gradually. Its slender well-built pen. The built quality of pen is far above acceptable, the only glitch remains is the Nib and the feed placement and alignment which we will be discussing later in “Nib and Ink Filling Mechanism” section later. As you can see in the image below the thickness of the acrylic in the barrel, its evident the quality is okay. Below are the few images which shows the comparison with few other pens to get the idea for size of pen. (From Left to Right ) ASA I.Can , Jinhao X750, Pilot MR, Wality 70 AM (From Left to Right ) ASA I.Can , Jinhao X750, Pilot MR, Wality 70 AM The pen is well built and well designed just one or two quality finishes you might encounter which are not noticeable to human naked eye. For Further detailed review including handwritten sample and review. Kindly visit my blog here : LINK

Finally managed to visit the Wality factory in Mumbai and bought two demonstrator pens - the 69T and the 71JT

The review is simultaneously posted on my blog which is the detailed review with handwritten sample. LINK Wality 71 JT – Close up Wality or Airmail are one of the most sought after Indian fountain pen manufacturers. Both brands are manufactured by AIRMAIL PEN COMPANY based out of Mumbai, India. And they have a good lineup of fountain pen and most of them are Eyedroppers and few of them are Piston fillers. My previous review of the two other Wality Pens I have reviewed are as follows: Wality 52 PD Wality 69 A Wality 70 AM Wality Pens are generally not easily available in northern part of India, I actually can to an extent of saying that they are not even available in that part. Reason could be poor marketing or poor sales. Surprisingly Wality pens are manufactured in Mumbai and even in Mumbai you will find them only certain parts not everywhere. This particular pen i.e. WALITY 71 JT was bought from ASA Pens. Amazing, passionate pen man Mr. Subramaniam behind the store. He actually has enabled lot of people in around the world. Best part is even if i have certain issues with pens he offers to replace or service them which is his forte. Though this only happened once with ASA Spear. Wality 71 JT gave me lot of troubles which will be covered in detail review below and how it became one of the best writers i have today. And surely it is #inexpensive. Wality 71 JT DESIGN & BUILT : 4.5 / 5 Oooooh that look ….. Beauty. This pen is gorgeous. One gorgeous demonstrator pen. Lovely. What not. One look at it and I am sure you will love to grab this pen. Wality 71 JT – Beauty Shot Wality 71 JT (Jumbo Transparent) is a reasonably large pen when capped. The barrel is transparent and is amazingly polished inside and out. Its crystal clear, and rest of the pen i.e. cap and section are made of solid swirl acrylic and it comes in various colors like Blue Swirl, Green Swirl, Purple Swirl and many more. Wality 71 JT – Uncapped The trims are chrome silver finish. Cap top is like a conical dome as you can see from the picture above and the silver colored clip is trademark Wality sturdy stiff clip. There is a big silver center band in the cap with circular ring pattern all over and engraving at the bottom “Mfg. by Airmail Pen Co.” The thing that i don’t like is that the silver center band easily rotates in this model and is not fixed and that is the reason why I have deducted half point out of built. Wality 71 JT – Cap The cap has a breather hole which like many of the Indian pens it has which can be clear from image above and below. Wality 71 JT – Breather Hole. There is a inner lining of the same acrylic material also provided which is slightly visible from the image below. The cap opens in 3 turns. Wality 71 JT – Cap Inner View The grip section of the pen is small in size and people who hold the pen a bit higher might encounter the the threads but the good thing is that these threads are not the sharp threads and in actual they provide more grip to otherwise slippery hands. Wality 71 JT – Small Length Section The pen (without the cap) is thickest at the center of the barrel and it tapers down towards both the ends. Also the bottom of the pen which is solid crystal also has the same conical domed shape similar to cap top. Wality 71 JT – Thickest at Centre The quality of the acrylic used in this pen is far better than the other wality pens like Wality 52 PD, Wality 69 A etc which all give you a certain pungent odor, which is not the case here. Built quality is top notch only issue being the loose center band which keeps rotating and thats the reason for deduction half of the point. Below are the few images showing comparison of Wality 71 JT with other pens. Wality 71 JT vs ASA I-Can vs Jinhao 159 vs Pilot 78G – Capped Wality 71 JT vs ASA I-Can vs Jinhao 159 vs Pilot 78G – Capped Side view Wality 71 JT vs ASA I-Can vs Jinhao 159 vs Pilot 78G – Cap Posted Wality 71 JT vs ASA I-Can vs Jinhao 159 vs Pilot 78G – Cap Posted Side View Overall its an amazing beautiful looking pen which had one issue in looks department , that this pen came with Gold Color Monotone fine Wality nib which was replaced to Ambitious Chrome nib. Wality 71 JT – At Top BALANCE: 4.5 / 5 The pen is Large Pen. The pen is 152 mm when capped and 135 mm when uncapped including the nib. The pen as a whole is thickest at the lip of the cap which is 14 mm and the barrel is thickest at center which is 12mm. The pen is very well balanced when writing uncapped and unposted. The length is perfect and feels really good and balanced and lightweight in your hands. Wality 71 JT – Writing Unposted However when you post the cap at the back the pen really becomes long and uncomfortable even though the cap postes quite securely at back. Wality 71 JT – Writing Posted Therefore, I beleive there is no requirement of posting. NIB & INK FILLING MECHANISM: 3 / 5 This is what i was not at all happy with. The whole charm of the pen died in a moment when i inked it and started writing with it. First of all the nib was scratchy and then second thing was that it burped. it was a leaky pen. Nib it came with was stock gold colored monotone fine nib which first of all did not go well with chrome trims. I did lot of tinkering with the pen. Pushing the nib deep and heat setting the nib and changing the nib to dual tone wality nib even putting iron balls inside the barrel to prevent burping, but it did not work there was always a air gap in section which was leading to burping and none of the Wality feeds was proper match to it. Then in last attempt I changed the nib to monotone chrome finish Ambitious #6 Nib and voila … it did wonders to my pen. I was extremely happy. Wality 71JT with Ambitious Nib replacement The nib set deep inside the section and is a big #6 size nib which looks small as it is set deep inside section. Now it writes medium and wet, just the way i like…Smooth. Love it. I bet you will also love it. Wality 71JT with Ambitious Nib – Top View Wality 71JT with Ambitious Nib – Side View Wality 71JT with Ambitious Nib – Bottom View Wality 71 JT – Nib porn The feed is made of ebonite and this resulted in proper setting of nib by heat setting. Images below shows clearly the ebonite feed heat set with ambitious nib and also the ebonite feed bottom view ink channel. Wality 71JT with Ambitious Nib – Section View after Heat Setting. Wality 71 JT – bottom Feed view – Ink Channel Ink Filling mechanism is through eyedropper and it takes approx 3.5 to 4 ml and being demonstrator love the ink sloshing in the pen barrel. Wality 71JT – Taken Apart Wality 71 JT – Ink Fill Wality 71 JT – Threaded Section Barrel Top View So all in all I am quite happy now with Ambitious Nib and love it. I keep picking this pen again and again as my edc pen. I have finished two barrels of ink completely without any burping now. For more details and images and Handrwritting sample and ink drying times please check my blog : LINK

Dear FPNers and Fountain Pen tinkerers. I have something to show you today. As they say, an empty mind is the house of devil. And apparently, I believe in it! I cannot sit idle for more than 30 minutes unless the situation demands it. I am always looking for opportunities to learn something new. As it happened this morning. I was free and needed something to do. I thought about the options i had and remembered the spare Wality nibs lying around in the drawer. Waiting for a home. I had been seeing a lot of flex nibs in action on the internet and always wanted to try modifying one of my own. Just for the fun of it. I had seen the designs and thought, how hard can that be? However, i cannot say the same for what the nib went through in this whole process. The poor little thing sure took a hell of a beating! And let me tell you, this nib is the "Rocky Balboa" of nibs when it comes to taking a beating! Anyway, i got some metal files and a wire cutter from a hardware store and knew immediately that i was in trouble. Well, not entirely so! But, the metal files that i got were useless as the steel nib was apparently too hard for them. So, let me tell you that i added the flex to my Wality nib by using JUST the wire cutters and a pair of pliers. NOTHING ELSE. This proves that it is indeed possible to add flex to your steel nibs at home using a minimal set of tools. But how esthetically pleasing will the end result be is entirely a different matter! Because it will result in a crude looking nib that will appear more "Damaged" than "Customized". LOL! But that being said, the nib wote perfectly for me with a nice amount of added flex. No problem at all in that aspect. Here are the pictures of the end result. The pen body is Oliver Matrix. NOTE: This in NOT a how-to-do-it-yourself post. I just wanted to share it with fellow members that it is possible to modify nibs to your liking. And of course the finish quality of the end product will never be as good as any of the professional Nibmeisters, it is still worth trying on your inexpensive pens and get what you want. However, the responsiblity for the work you do on the pen is yours own and it will void any kind of warrenty (if applicaable). C360_2015-06-26-12-41-01-605_1 by Chintan Pandya, on Flickr C360_2015-06-26-12-42-29-797_1 by Chintan Pandya, on Flickr C360_2015-06-26-12-42-14-910_1 by Chintan Pandya, on Flickr NOTE the line variation above the word. I was finished with the nib modification in about 30 mins. Now, i enjoy a fun nib to play around with, whereas earlier it was just lying sadly in my drawer..thirsty for some ink! I hope you found it interesting and had a bit of fun. Thanks for your time in reading this.

The pen I am reviewing today and actually using for quite long is Wality 52 PD. And this is my every day carry (edc) pen. Th detailed review of same with the handwritten samples and size comparison can be found on my blog here. Wality 52 PD This is actually the second Wality pen I bought after Wality 69 A, because i liked the way 69 A wrote. Wality pens are manufactured by Airmail Pen Company based out of Mumbai, India. Like 90% of my pens this pen also was procured from ASAPENS also. It is also available at Fountain Pen Revolution albeit at Higher price. Design: This pen arrived along with my other Wality pens like 71JT, 70 AM and Pilot 78G BB Nib. This actually is my second Wality pen and it happens to be a piston filler. It comes in variety of colors like green, teal, burgundy, blue and black. Wality 52 PD - Uncapped Like my previous Wality pen this also gives a certain pungent odor and from what i have come to know is that they they have used a LDPE plastic, which smells a bit. I washed it with detergent water and also kept it overnight in detergent water but still a faint smell persists which now at the time of writing review has subdued. The pen is a classic design and has an amazing build quality for an inexpensive pen. Unlike many Chinese pens (no offence) this pen has a certain character and recall value. Classic Design with matte finished silver cap and clip inspired from the skyline series. And has that feel and character to it which makes it my EDC pen. Wality 52 PD - Classic Vintage Look The pen actually feels quite solid in hand and has certain heft to it. The cap top and bottom of pen are rounded and pen itself is quite straight without any tapering towards bottom or top. Rounded top and bottom The Nib is monotone gold colored and the cap has inner lining of plastic and actually the matte silver metal is molded with the plastic. Also there is a inner plastic lining to prevent ink drying. Metal matte silver finish cap molded with plastic cap Nib is Monotone - Gold Color The pen cap open in 2 1/2 turns. The Clip is also silver colored and quite sturdy and springy at the same time. No complaints whatsoever in those regards. Wality 52 PD - Close up of Cap Wality 52 PD - Clip Wality 52 PD - Inner cap lining There is an ink window on the barrel just below the threads which actually is beneficial to get the idea of ink levels. Wality 52 PD - Ink Window This piston filler mechanism at the bottom is separated from main barrel via a silver colored 'O' ring.This retro look classic design pen is built for lifetime and rough tough usage. Full marks to the build quality. Further details and images available here @ MY BLOG

Most stationary stores or pen stores in Bangalore do not seem to stock "Indian" FPs (they seem to sell a fair amount of Jinhao, Baoer, Pilot, Hero, etc.), I decided to check a few stores in Avenue Road today. It was quite unfortunate, as the stores that I was pointed to were shut today (I hope they were only having a really long lunch break and hadn't closed the stores!). When I did press a few storekeepers (only those which were manned by the gray haired men), they pulled out a few dusty boxes of the Click Ebonites and the Click demonstrators. My aim was to pick up a few ebonites or acrylics from one of the few older Indian manufacturers, I was quite surprised by my inability to find any of the other lovely pens discussed here on FPN. I guess I didn't ask the right questions or find the right stores today. However, I did stumple on this store called Meenakshi Stores run by one Mr. Krishna Murthy, who had a few Airmails. Unable to return empty handed, I succumbed and ended up paying Rs. 840 for the following for plastic, metal and acryclic Airmails. All of them seem to have the same Fine Airmail steel nibs with finned ebonite feed. I have just dipped them and used them so far, nothing more. Will review them soon. Given, this was a first time FP shopping attempt, can the more knowledgeable folk here chip in and let me know if I paid a premium for them? Does Airmail still manufacture these pens? Or are these new pens manufactured by a new entity under the Airmail brand? Or Are these pens just new old stock?