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I am new to the FPN. I stumbled here scouring the net for inexpensive, quality fountain pens. The "India and Subcontinent" regional sub-forum proved a goldmine. Never before had I heard of Indian Pen Masters like Ratnam, Ranga, Gama, ASA, Guider, Kanwrite. The reviews of some of their famous pen models, and their contacts posted here, motivated me to buy a few pieces myself. Thanks to everyone who has posted those very detailed and helpful reviews and pictures. This is my first post on the forum. Recently, a new model appeared on ASA e shop. Teacher. It is a handmade pen in acrylic. There are only two photos of the model on their website. Here is one of them. There is another similar photo of the same pens with flat top. I got interested immediately and tried to find out more on the net. No other photos or reviews of this model could be found anywhere. Satisfied with my previous purchases from ASA, I went ahead and ordered the one in blue, the 4th from left in the picture above. Soon enough, the pen arrived packed in an attractive, very usable (and appropriately) handmade cotton pouch. The pen looks a brighter blue in my photos, but the actual shade is closer to the manufacturer's photo above. It is a standard cigar shaped pen, 150 cm long. There is no branding or embellishment anywhere except the ASA logo on the clip. The entire pen is smooth and polished to high gloss. The tear drop clip is well fitted with a barely perceptible groove of the cap finial. The cap opens in three turns to reveal a very comfortable hourglass section. The cap threads are quite smooth and do not bother the hand. The cap seemed loose and wobbly when posted. I did not force it further down. With this size, who needs to post the cap anyway? The nib is a gold tone Jowo threaded unit. It is absolutely bare except for a little "M" on the side to indicate nib width. Several Nib sizes are available. The feed is plastic. The barrel takes eight turns to unscrew from the section to reveal a standard Schmidt converter. The fit to the section is tight, it can sure be eyedroppered. There is no O ring. Silicon Grease or Rosin Castor Oil paste should seal the threads well. The nib unit is flush fit to the section. It needs eight turns to come out. The barrel is quite thick and looks robust. The cap has a smooth polished dome. Overall, it is a very pleasing and satisfactory package. I haven't inked the pen yet. With Jowo nib unit, and Mr. Subramaniam's fabled nib tuning, there is little doubt that the pen shall perform well. At INR 3500.00, for me this pen is a steal.

Dear FPN'ers, Ranga Handmade Pens wishes you Very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!!! This Offer is for RANGA Handmade Pens Bamboo, Thin Bamboo and Giant Bamboo Model in Classic Ebonites and alluring Acrylics .This is Japanese Style Pen with extensive craftsmanship. It is unique writing instrument with carrying lot of Art. Ebonite is highly beautiful , Durable, evergreen ,long lasting , Classic and favorite material for Pen lovers. It has Vintage Characteristics. Premium Acrylics are very attractive ,looks Gorgeous and appeals Visually very much. Bamboo and Giant Bamboo caps in less than 1 turn. Thin Bamboo Caps in 2-3 turns Bamboo Dimension: Capped Length - Approximately 6 Inches Cap Dia - 16mm, Barrel Dia - 16mm, Section Dia - 12.5mm at Thickest part and 11mm at thinnest part. Thin Bamboo Dimension: Capped Length - Approximately 5.75 Inches Cap Dia - 14.5mm, Barrel Dia - 14.5mm, Section Dia - 11mm at Thickest part and 10mm at thinnest part. Giant Bamboo Dimension: Capped Length - Approximately 7 Inches Cap Dia - 19mm /17.5mm dia based on availability, Barrel Dia - 19mm /17.5mm dia based on availability.Section Dia - 14.3mm at Thickest part and 12.5mm at thinnest part. Making Time : 2 -3 weeks Price: 1. Base Price for Ranga Regular Bamboo Pens with Ranga Screw in nibs and German Converters: Premium Ebonite & Premium Acrylic :85USD,Regular Ebonite & Regular Acrylic: 75USD, 2.Base Price for Ranga Giant Bamboo Pens with Ranga Screw in nibs and German Converters: Premium Ebonite & Premium Acrylic :105USD,Regular Ebonite & Regular Acylic : 85USD 3 Base Price for Ranga Thin Bamboo Pens with Ranga Screw in nibs and German Converters: Premium Ebonite & Premium Acrylic :80USD,Regular Ebonite & Regular Acrylic: 70USD, . You can upgrade it to plenty of nib choices with extra charge Shipping charges: Through Courier (Quicker delivery-4 to 9 days) .USA : 19USD, Central Europe : 15USD, Singapore/ Malaysia: 15USD. Rest of the world: It varies from country to country from 15USD -19USD. Kindly note that Shipping charges are very high, we bear the 50% of shipping charge and collecting the rest from customers. (Charges published above) Payment Details : Paypal id mpkandan@gmail.com .This offer Price is Valid till 31-January-22 To book your pen, Please fill the below form . all details are included in the form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0o_xxc0vrLXV27Wvp1FRvnH-qDbBVl8_1WgD50g3xb4DsyA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0 Take care Regards, Kandan.M.P Ranga Pen Company

Sharing some pics of a recent purchase. Its from a new brand from Hyderabad called Woodex. This is a steel jacket cap ebonite ED filled pen. The cap is also lined with ebonite. The stock nib was a Baoer fitted over a 5.1mm ebonite feed. I thought a M200 nib unit might be a nice upgrade. So I decided to call this pen my Woodex 200. As you can see from the pics, the pen is built very well and looks lovely ( at least to me ) Enjoy the pics. Best Hari

I do not know if SYAHI pens is still operating but they make beautiful wooden pens. There is also Lotus Shikhar in Sandalwood and I know Lotus also makes sandalwood pens in other models. It will be great if there is someone like Ryan Krusac in India, who makes pens in different types of woods.

RANGA DEMONSTRATOR BAMBOO - Regular size The review is simultaneously posted at my blog here : Link Ranga Handmade Pens is a brainchild of M.S. Pandurangan who himself is a master pen turner and all pens and pencils are made by him only. His son M.P. Kandan is doing great deeds by taking care of the business part of Ranga Handmade Pens. I must add that both him and his father are very humble and polite. I have organised few group buys on Fountain Pen Network for Ranga Pens and every-time the dealing with him have been very professional. He has never lapsed on the dates as far as his commitment and deliverables are concerned. But yes thats what my experience has been till date and I hope he continues do to the same. Ranga Pens make use of ebonite and acrylic for pens and in-fact they are the first and one amongst two pen makers in India to offer Premium Ebonite. They have a dedicated eBay store where they sell not just Ranga Pens but also pens from other manufacturers from India like Wality, Oliver, Fellowship etc. which are all machine turned. The pens from Ranga are also stocked by Teri of Peyton Street Pens in USA with also some exclusive models. The group buys on FPN have helped in acquiring lot of Ranga Pens. They have more than 10 models in their line-up : Model 4C Bamboo Model 3 Model 4CS Model 5 Model 6 Model 8 Model 2c Model 2d Zeal And I have already reviews one of the model which is Model 4C but this review is about one of the unique model in their line-up which is Bamboo. Ranga Bamboo – Doing Rain Dance Ranga Bamboo – Braving the Rain Design : 05/05 The pen design resembles the natural bamboo with forged joints acting as nodes and parts between the two nodes acting as inter-nodes. The pen in review is the clip-less demonstrator in brushed version with polished finials. Natural Bamboo Ranga Bamboo – In Demonstrator version Ranga Bamboo – Asymmetrical inter-nodes provides it Natural character All in all there are 5 nodes with smaller inter-nodes at cap and to me that provides it natural character. The finials, both top and bottom, are polished and are in conical dome shape. Ranga Bamboo – Polished Conical Dome Shaped Finials Once thing to be noticed is that the cap finial is smaller in length as compared to the barrel finial and the reason for that is to provide balance to the pen when writing so that it does not become top heavy. Ranga Bamboo – Different Length of finials with Barrel one being longer The inter-nodes in the cap are smaller than what is on the barrels in length. The cap also has breather hole and this version is clip-less so it looks like one bamboo rod albeit in a different material. Ranga Bamboo – Clip-less with breather hole Ranga Bamboo Cap – Inner nib look and feel when pen is capped The cap closes to form a node and it actually flushes with barrel as can be seen from picture above. There is minute drop between section and barrel as the cap flares at bottom where it meets the barrel. The grip section is polished and not in matte finish. There is no branding anywhere on this pen. Below are the images of the pen showing pen capped and uncapped. Ranga Bamboo – Capped Ranga Bamboo – Uncapped It is superbly crafted pen with a very unique bamboo style pen like no other. And I believe the pen is worth the price it commands. The pen is also available in different ebonite and acrylic materials which must be around 30 plus in nos. So one has lot of options to get the pen in his particular colour and finish liking. Kudos to Ranga for the superb design. Built & Construction : 04/05 The pen has matte finish which is executed very well and transition from matte finish to polished finials is sublime though they are not perfect but its close. Ranga Bamboo – Matte Finish barrel to Polished Finials Earlier I thought that the finials could be made symmetrical in length but part of the reason to do that was to keep the pen balanced while writing without increasing the length of cap. But then I thought otherwise, this asymmetry is what gives it natural character. The cap opens in 4 turns and threads are very well crafted and are not at all sharp. The grip section as mentioned is also very well polished. Also I must add that the polished end of the finials are highly polished and very neat without any lathe marks visible. Ranga Bamboo – Polished Section with neat threads I applied silicon grease on the nib unit which you can see from the image above as I eyedropper-ed the pen. The finish, the grooves, the material quality are all top notch. However one thing i want to mention is the the material thickness decreases at the cap lip and must be handled very well as there is no band to protect any kind of crack. This is a handmade pen completely and is a “WOW” product at this price point. Balance & Size : 4.5/05 The cap posts but only just and that too not very securely. I think it is not required as it makes the absurdly large and uncomfortable also the pen itself is very long at 135 mm when uncapped. The pen is very well balanced with just a little more weight in front end of a nib unit. Ranga Bamboo – Writing with Cap Unposted Ranga Bamboo – Writing with Cap Posted The pen is light in weight with no metal parts used anywhere on the pen. Images below show the weight of pen with cap and without cap : Ranga Bamboo – Weight of Pen (inked) with Cap Ranga Bamboo – Weight of Pen (inked) without Cap Few specification of the pen are as follows: Length of pen (closed) – 145 mmLength of pen (open and unposted) – 135 mm (including nib)Length of Grip Section – 34 mmMaximum Dia of Cap – 15 mmMaximum Dia of Barrel – 15 mmMinimum Dia of Barrel Section – 12.5 mmMaximum Dia of Grip Section – 11 mmMinimum Dia of Grip Section – 10 mmWeight of Pen with Cap – 24 gms (inked)Weight of Pen without Cap – 18.75 gms (inked) Below pictures show the comparison of pen with other pens: Pen Comparison – Capped (Top View) : Pilot 78G vs Lamy Safari vs Ranga Bamboo Pen Comparison – Uncapped and Posted (Top View) : Pilot 78G vs Lamy Safari vs Ranga Bamboo Pen Comparison – Capped (Lateral View) : Pilot 78G vs Lamy Safari vs Ranga Bamboo Pen Comparison – Uncapped & Posted (Lateral View) : Pilot 78G vs Lamy Safari vs Ranga Bamboo One thing of worthy mention here is that the grip section long and comfortable and makes this pen as gem of a writer for long writing sessions. Nib : 05/05 The pen comes with variety of #6 size nib options like JoWo EF, F, M , B, 1.1, & 1.5 and Schmidt F, M, & B for CC mechanism which is a threaded screw in one and also can be used as an eyedropper too and other nib options are Ambitious and Bock (conklin imprinted) but these are only for eye dropper version of pens. The nib that I took was the dual tone Bold point JoWo nib which is screw in nib unit with plastic high finned nib and it performed flawless out of the box with welcome feedback. It is a juicy firm nib and writes wet. Ranga Bamboo – JoWo Nib – Bold Point Ranga Bamboo – Nib with Rain droplets I sometimes wonder why I need gold nib when this nib performs so well. Ink Filling Mechanism: 05/05 The ink is filled via converter and cartridge can be also used. But real fun lies in using this pen as a eyedropper and seeing the ink sloshing inside. Ranga Bamboo – Used as eyedropper Ink capacity around 4ml if used as an eyedropper. The converter that comes with pen is Schmidt K5 and has capacity of 0.6 ml. One thing to be noted is that before you use it as an eye dropper do apply silicone grease on threads of barrel and also on nib unit threads. Below is the handwritten sample and review of the pen : Ranga Bamboo – Handwritten Review – Page 01 Ranga Bamboo – Handwritten Review – Page 02 Ranga Bamboo – Handwritten Review – Page 03 Ranga Bamboo – Handwritten Review – Page 04 Conclusion : 23.5/25 I pen is available in group buy at FPN for US$85 which is a steal considering it is handmade pen and it is a unique design. The pen is more of an artefact from India and is recommended to users who want something more from a pen. What I Like: Unique Design Handmade Quality Finish Good Balance and Size Good Ink Capacity Nib Options Material OptionsWhat I don’t Like: Cap Material is thin at Lip Little expensive HOW TO BUYThe pen can be bought via occasional group buys organised at group buy and at the moment when I am writing this review the Group Buy is Active. LINK Pen can also be bought from following places : E-Bay : LINKAmazon : LINKPeyton Street Pens : LINKE-Mail : mpkandan@yahoo.co.in For more reviews you can check my blog here : LINK

It's hard for the central European to pretend that getting a fountain pen produced in India is easy. Such a fountain pen doesn't lie on the shelf in the first store with office supplies. In truth, collector's forums also treat writing instruments from India as... exotic ones. Sometimes you will find the opinion of a passionate who claims - and you believe only in his assurances - that these fountain pens represent such values as quality, good looks, pleasure of possessing. From a certain point of view, this is good, because fountain pens from India are "rare goods" - i.e. they are in possession of a relatively small group of users. The reviews published by the sites: Atelier Novotny, Mehandiratta and Peytonstreetpens are good inspirations. As you can see, Ranga 4c was not a "blind date". In addition, the visit of the Pen Show Day Poland 2017 event - and contact with Japanese ebonite pens - decided that when the opportunity arose (the Group Buy ), the purchase was obvious. The pen ordered in April last year was sent around May 20 and arrived in Poland on June 5. All customs and tax formalities have been reduced to a minimum. Blue premium ebonite. German system: JoWo two-tone color nib #6 B and Schmidt converter. Price fully acceptable - 75 USD. Ranga 4c looks great. It has been beautifully handmade. The color is indeed premium - the same as in the case of Japanese ebonite pens. The body has been thoroughly polished, although it is not the maximum polisher. Ebonite did not carry any imperfections. Small, irrelevant scratches was created as a result of manual processing. The solid structure of the material enables engraving - without any problems. My writing instrument was engraved on the Gravograph M40G machine - the text itself, deep, several dozen precise engraving angles, without enamelling. This way of personalization is effective and very nice. The geometry of the pen is perfect - which deserves to be emphasized because it is really big pen. Ranga 4c is properly balanced and comfortable in the hand. It is not heavy. The edges of the pen are machined straight, but the fingers do not encounter sharper edges. The clip is very easily deflected, among others for this, to wear a pen in a jacket or apron pocket. The thread of the pen is very long - which works well with an eyedropper (the pen is obtained with a tight, greased thread). The pen went to my daughter as a memorial of matriculation examination passed great. Engraver contains a dedication for her.

The review is posted at my blog with more images and handwritten pen samples LINK Islander – In the Wild Well this particular pen, ISLANDER from Fosfor Pens was love at first site when I actually saw it in person at Delhi Pen Meet. I had seen lot of Islanders in the Wood online but never saw one in polycast resin. And Rishminder was the guy at pen meet who had the pen made out of polycast resin in tri colors of Indian Flag and i must complement Manoj Deshmukh of the wonderfully executed job. And trust me friends, it was love at first sight. I ordered the pen that very day and waited patiently for 3 weeks while going through the process of selecting colors, clips and bands. It was an amazing experience dealing with him and thus it lead me to ordering few more pens from him. This review is about Fosfor Islander. (Islander being named because it was first commissioned by a person who lived on an island) DESIGN & BUILT: 05/05 Where shall i start ? Actually i was speechless when I first saw the pen. It’s such a beauty. It arrived in very nice cardboard package which actually is a nice case for this big pen. The pen box is the only area where the branding is done. and you won’t find the branding anywhere else. Islander – Glamor Shot The pen is made of polycast acrylic resin which Manoj Deshmukh of Fosfor pen casts himself and thus you have the flexibility of having the pen in any color mix you want. And I actually wanted something brownish orange with white as a base and Manoj has produced a beauty. Islander – Close Up And as far as finish is concerned, I can find not even a single fault. It’s supremely well finished not even a single lathe mark. I can even go to an extent of saying that the pen is the best finished pen of India. The quality of the resin is superb though I beleive that being acrylic it is brittle. So care is needed in that regards. Its an eye-candy for sure. As far as design is concerned it’s a beautifully designed and executed pen. It’s a straight cylindrical pen with barrel tapering at bottom. The cap top and barrel bottom have soft rounded edges. Below are the few images which might help in design understanding. Islander – Capped Islander – Uncapped The cap top and barrel bottom have sublime protrusion i.e. they are raised. Clip is springy and stiff and like the fact the bottom is raised for easy clipping. The band above the clip is above has intricate design and is made of pure Silver. Islander – Cap top View Islander – Cap Side View – Intricate Silver Band Below are the few images of the pen showing comparison with other pens: Fosfor Islander vs Ranga Model 4C vs Italix Parson’s Essential vs Pilot 78G – Capped Fosfor Islander vs Ranga Model 4C vs Italix Parson’s Essential vs Pilot 78G – Uncapped I love this pen and soooo beautiful. And this has taken place in my top 5 pens with steel nibs. BALANCE: 04/05 It’s a perfectly balanced pen when writing uncapped and unposted. But for me it becomes quite large and uncomfortable when cap is posted at back. Yes the cap posts quite securely. The pen length is 149 mm when capped and 133 when uncapped. Below are the images of the pen showing comparative of writing with cap posted and unposted. Islander – Writing Unposted Islander – Writing Posted Since it's a long pen I don’t think there is no need of posting cap. NIB AND INK FILLING MECHANISM: 05/05 There were lot of nib options like JoWo, Schmidt and Ambitious and I opted for Schmidt silver monotone #6 Medium nib which is tried and tested. Islander – Nib unit angled view Islander – Nib unit top view Islander – Nib unit side view Islander – Nib unit bottom view The ink filling mechanism is via converter and cartridge mechanism. It can also be used as eyedropper. Islander – Cartridge Filling Mechanism Islander – Can be used as eyedropper showing inner side of cap above and barrel below This pen writes beautifully and writes wet and is perfect for shading inks. Below are the few images which shows the handwritten review along with test of wetness and line variation. CONCLUSION: This pen is available starting from 70 USD. And is available in different materials like wood, ebonite, acrylic resin. It is my top favorite pen. No.1 in my top favorite followed closely by Ranga Model 4C. Just to tell you all that this is completely handmade pen. Kudos to Mr. Deshmukh. Thank you.

Here is the latest pen I just finished. I tried using the plain black cap to calm down the wild blank a little. I'm still deciding whether or not it worked.... Pen is almost 6 1/2" long closed 14mm cap to body 9mm section to body I'd be interested to know everyone's opinion good or bad. If it is awkward I can always make another one . Jeff.