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Hello FPNers, I just received my pens from Fosfor Pens. Wanted to share my first impressions with all of you! This review will not have any ratings. All I can tell you is, I simply love these pieces of art and highly recommend Fosfor Pens... Pen #1: - Parker Duofold style flat top pen with roller clip - Material : Vintage Mazzucchelli Cebloplast - Length : 138 mm capped, 128 mm uncapped, about 170 mm posted - Width : 13.6 mm at the barrel-cap threads - Nib : Jowo steel, Extra Fine The pen is beautiful, just magnificent. You can keep staring at the material, the depth is so amazing. Pictures taken by Manoj- Well, this pen, in a matter of seconds, became one of my favorites. Manoj has cut very smooth triple start threads and the cap takes just 2 turns to disengage from the barrel. It's polished so well. I asked him for a Jowo Steel EF nib and it had feedback, not scratchy, but just feedback. I smoothed it out and it is a joy to write with. It's wet and smooth, but puts down a precise line on the paper. It's a cartridge/converter filling system, but can be used as an eyedropper too. I am not used to writing with Extra Fine and Fine nibs, so I find it a bit difficult to get used to. Pen #2: - Parker Duofold style flat top pen with roller clip - Material : SEM Black Ebonite with Himalayan Cedar inlays on the cap and barrel ends. - Length : 138 mm capped, 128 mm uncapped, about 170 mm posted - Width : 13.6 mm at the barrel-cap threads - Nib : Jowo steel, 1.1 Stub (my all-time favorite) Many may brush aside this beauty thinking this is just another boring black pen...but hold on! There is something interesting, the cap finial and the barrel end have Himalayan Cedar inlaid to them. And the wood looks beautiful, it's a very good contrast. I contemplated about the inlay work, looked at some plastics with interesting patterns, but nothing enticed me more than the organic feel of the wood. But picking the type of wood to use was a challenge, because we have a very small surface area to show the grain. Manoj suggested that we use Himalayan Cedar which has good grain, some yellows, browns, pinks and reds. I am glad to have followed his suggestion. The pen is very beautiful. This has the same triple start threads like the other one has, but the threads don't feel as smooth, may be because it's ebonite. I just put some silicone grease and it helped a bit. Filling system is the same as on the other pen. Pictures taken by Manoj- This pen has my favorite Jowo steel 1.1 Stub nib. Its a great nib, smoothing it a little bit only helped. Usually the 1.1s have a scratchy diagonal upstroke (at least my experience with many of them). So I used some micromesh and it now writes like a dream. Writing Sample: My thanks to Manoj...he is an awesome penmaker, and his patience is remarkable. A lot of care has been taken while polishing, attention to detail is excellent. All my requests to him till now take numerous phone calls and emails, but he has been very patient and is always open to suggestions and challenges. If I could change something, it would be to increase the length of the cap and barrel by a couple of mm, in all make it about 145 mm. Hanging around together- Will post a review of another pen soon. Thanks for reading! Regards, Raghuram.

Fosfor pens is a reputed custom pen maker in India. Manoj Deshmukh (Mr. fosfor) has built up a reputation as a master craftsman and high quality pen maker. I had put my name in his order book for a few pens some time back inspired by fellow FPNersPrithwijit's and Vaibhav's commissions from Fosfor. The package arrived today by courier. I am posting some pictures of the unboxing. Will post detailed reviews later (at least that is the plan) The package Opened package Fosfor wooden presentation box and telescopic boxes Fosfor Rajendran in Woodgrain Ebonite. Polished to a mirrorlike finish With No.6 size medium Schmidt nib Islander in Lava Explosion Acrylic The depth in the material is awesome Again with a silver colored no.6 medium schmidt nib I liked the bluer section. The blue-green Tikona. This pen is larger than I expected. Heavier also. Now, all three brothers coming together in a huddle From a lower angle. The total experience was very pleasant and I will be ordering more from Fosfor in the future. I planning to photograph the pens with better equipment and in better setting later. Will talk about the writing experience as well when posting those pictures. thanks, Dinuraj

Hi All! Here comes a new "ruthless review". My ruthless reviews have a few peculiar features: Concise;Very strict. If a pen costs hundred of euros, no faults are allowed. - A good pen gets a 60/100, - A great pen an 80/100, - An almost perfect one a 90/100. - Only a divine pen can have above 90.Don't care about the box,Add a few peculiar criteria:Nib appearance;Usability in shirt pockets;Out-of-the-boxness, meaning to what extent a nib was perfect right after leaving the seller. Fosfor Sandalwood pen (Custom made) I don't have own pictures, but you can see an example here. Mine is the same, just with a red ebonite section. It's my first Indian pen and I'm really happy! 1. Appearance and design: 8/10 If you like a perfect, timeless minimalist design, this is great. No complaints here, just that the inner of the cap scratches a bit the section, which is not nice. 2. Construction: 10/10 Really sturdy, perfectly hand-crafted. Couldn't find a single contruction fault so far! 3. Quality of materials: 9/10 Genuine sandalwood, with a lovely scent to it. What else do you want? I remove one point because it's prone to staining, but that's the price to pay. 4. Weight and dimensions: 7/10 A bit too large for many hands, I'm afraid, but has the right length. Super-lightweight, also, which may be an issue for some. 5. Nib performance: 7/10 Nice standard JoWo steel nib: stiff, but reliable; a bit soulles, though. It can be a hard-starter on very dry inks, but it's not a major issue. 6. Nib appearance: 5/10 Meh.. Not exactly the most beautiful nib out there. It looks like this. JoWo could do a far better job, but it's not Fosfor Pens' fault. 7. "Out-of-the-boxness": 8/10 The nib needed a bit of tweaking to get the ink flow right, but it was easy. Good job here! 8. Filling system and maintenance: 6/10 Standard C/C system, nothing special. The converter looks well-built enough. 9. Clip and usability with shirts: N/A This is a desk pen, so this field doesn't apply. 10. Cost and value: 10/10 USD 100 + 12 for shipping. Considering it's hand-made, and Manoj of Fosfor Pens is a great seller to deal with, this is an excellent price. Final mark: 70/90, or 77.8/100 This is a very good pen indeed. If only it had a nicer nib, it would be a great pen. To give you an idea, at the moment it's at the same level as a Platinum 3776 with music nib, and very close to my Omas Arte Italiana. Enough said To conclude: go on Manoj's Fosfor Pens' website and get one now. No affiliation, etc. etc.: the guy is great and knows how to make really unique stuff.

I just want to share some pictures of my new Sandalwood (Chandan in Hindi) pen that I received today. I have already reviewed my flattop Sandalwood pen here. It is handmade by FPN member ManojD who has a pen making shop called Fosforpens. The fragrant Sandalwood is Indian. The rust red Ebonite is also Indian. The sterling silver clip is handmade by a Pune Jeweller for Manoj. The genesis of this second pen was during the recently concluded Mumbai pen event where I met with Manoj and saw his latest creations. He had got these sterling silver clips made and I liked them so much that I wanted one for my Flattop Chandan pen too. Manoj agreed to retrofit my existing pen and at the same time mentioned that he now able to make cigar shaped wooden pens with clips too. I placed my order for one more Chandan, this time in Cigar shape. I requested that the core of the pen this time be in this rust red ebonite material. I left the shape details to Manoj's discretion. Manoj started work on my Cigar and emailed me some pictures at each stage. Finally after some tweaking, my pen was ready. Here are the pictures: New Style Box: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0273.jpg The box opened: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0274.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0275.jpg To show you the woodgrain: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0276.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0277.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0278.jpg Opened: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0279.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0280.jpg Clip: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0284.jpg Side: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0285.jpg Top: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0286.jpg The nib: a standard Schmidt nib unit. http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0287.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0288.jpg Compared to my FT Chandan pen: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0281.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/ManojDChandan/Cigar%20shaped/IMG_0282.jpg Cheers! Hari