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During this post I'll be referring to the pictures in this dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/11qy002u9zm30q1/AAD85vSlKVXkNeYE37ZG_GyRa?dl=0 While browsing some antique shops I stumbled across this interesting set. After a bit of googling, the jumbo pen matches what many threads are calling a 1950's jumbo tourist / souvenir pen from Japan. The big guy is in pretty good shape and functions fine. The clip says "New Clip" and the nib says "Special Ideal Pen". The body feels almost like it's made of wood. The painted details have major cities in Japan labeled in English. What really caught my eye is the tiny, gourd-shaped pen. It seems to be a part of a set with the larger one, since the painting style is very similar. Has anyone seen this thing before? A cursory google search didn't help. Of course, there are also no real "brand" markings on the pen itself. The only marking is on the nib which seems to say "WHiNPER" (really looks more like "WH|NPER", with the bar being about half-character height). That's the only brand marking I can see. (It does also say "IRIDIUM"). The body also seems to be made of the same material as the larger pen. I tried to figure out the filling mechanism for the small pen. The nib and collar could rotate about 90 degrees and there are two orange dots that can line up. After trying for a while, something snapped and the whole nib section came out. I then fished out some rotten rubber from inside the pen. I think I may have also broken a plastic piece connected to the collar? I can't really tell very well. Does anyone know how this little thing probably used to be filled? Also, if there are any ideas for how to maybe repair it (if at all possible), I'd quite appreciate it. I'd really like to see it functioning.

Here's an YouTube Review of KIM ACR Jumbo Double ended pen by Bryan Marsh

I found this hilarious old thing on eBay, which is just what the doctor (in my case, a hand surgeon) ordered. It's got a Conklin Cushion nib, but is it really a Conklin? I've seen a few of these, but they're mostly Japanese. Any clues?

Gama is the house brand of the Gem and Co, an exclusive pens store in Parrys corner, Chennai. South India. You can read more about the shop here: link. Gamas are typically short, thick pens. My grandpa and particularly my uncle had told me about the gundu (Tamil word for fat) Gama pena when I used to pester them with questions about the pens that they used in their days... I think the name Gama has also come from the common word for strong, after the undefeated Indian wrestler Gama Pehelwan. link The pen in the review is called the Supreme and its construction befits the name Gama. It is a very big and strong pen and is very well engineered IMO. Available in two colors: Green, brown Ripple: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9117.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9119.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9123.jpg ED pen: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9126.jpg Well made in-situ inner cap: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9124.jpg Thick construction for long life: Barrel walls: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9127.jpg Section walls: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9128.jpg The names are deep engraved on the barrel, perhaps by using old pantographic machines... http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9129.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9130.jpg The pen comes with a Standard Indian no 10 (35mm) IPG nib, I switched the nibs out with my favorites, Indian no 10 on one and Indian no 12(40mm) on the other. http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9131.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9132.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9133.jpg Some comparison of the Supreme with other Indians and one German in the stable: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9134.jpg L-R: Brahmam, Deccan White MP, Gama, Gama, the puny 149. With some foreign heavyweights: http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9135.jpg L-R: Gama, Gama, DT Sho Genkai, DT Mikado and the 149. I know, this pic makes the 149 seem like a 144. The writing: The pen is very well balanced, i have used it for fast jotting during review meetings as well as extended writing over the last week. It has performed really well for me. http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9136.jpg http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/GamaSupreme/IMG_9138.jpg Dimensions: Capped: 158mm Open: 148mm Posted: 180mm Cap Dia: 19mm Barrel Dia: 17.5mm Section Length: 22mm Section dia: 15.5mm tapers to 13.4mm Nib exposed length with the stock no 10 IPG: 22.3mm These are fully handmade pens and I have observed some piece to piece dimension variations. Cost, and most important answer to the question which most of you ask me, where to buy this from: The pen is sold by Gem at a very reasonable price considering the workmanship, materials and the size. If you cannot visit Gem and co personally, Chennai based ASAPENS (link1 link2) are doing an excellent service of making Indian brands available at Indian prices widely. My several transactions with them have been flawless. NAYY. I hope you enjoyed this review. Cheers! Hari

Recently there's been a lot of talk about Hero 616s here and so I wanted to share my experience with you. Not going to go into too much detail, I'm leaving for vacation in two days but wanted to get this out there in case someone would find it helpful. I ordered 3 616 Doctors from ebay seller 'mentag'. Three pens for US $12.90. When they finally arrived the first interesting thing was the packaging itself. See that there is no 'Doctor' mentioned anywhere on the package. I've contacted the seller and he explained that this is new packaging and that it does say Doctor on the back. I have translated what it says on the back and it does say, right above the barcode: "Big Hero 616 High Yijin Bi". So I guess that means it is a Jumbo. I was also assured that these indeed are genuine. Don't know if you heard but for example my Hero 9018 with fude nib that I got earlier this year had a QR code that redirected me to a Hero verification site that checks whether the pen is genuine. There is also a secret code which you can get to by scraping a little film or layer of protective paint (similar to that used on lottery tickets). My 9018 is genuine according to this Hero site. This one, though it does have a QR code on the back of the package and it does have the secret code couldn't be verified, because it redirected me to a nonsense site. When I typed the 616 code to where I verified my 9018 it wouldn't verify it either. The next images are of the pen itself. It does look OK. There are scratches on the pens straight out of the box but what can you do. The plastic is super cheap, not substantial in any way. Does have a hole in the back of the body. Filling system is ok, this is the bigger one, the 'Jumbo' size. It operates well, I was able to fill it easily, no problems there. Lastly the cap. It looks worse in real life than on the photos I think. There is not that much definition in the engraving/stamping. It's shallower than looks here and also there is less shine, much less shine than it seems to be the case here. That being said, writing is very nice, surprisingly so. I have only tried the black one so far with Noodler's Black (will test the others when I return from my vacation and post an update) but it writes beautifully and smoothly, it's wet enough and there are no issues with scratchiness or dripping, etc. There is just a tiny bit of line variation but I won't be pushing it at all so my tines remain aligned. All in all, it writes really well. No issues whatsoever. At least so far. Here is a quick writing sample. Make of it what you will but my impressions are that these are as genuine as they get and yet they are not great, aside from the writing itself - which admittedly is indeed great. The build quality is sub-par in my opinion and for example Jinhao X750 is far superior to these pens. Feel free to ask any questions, etc. and I hope some of you will find this post helpful. edit: scroll down to reply #8 for more pics and further facts

Hello, Today I found a listing for a variant of what I believe is a 616 Jumbo (hard to exactly say, the seller just calls it 'big size', but I did spend a bit of time looking from the picture to my current Jumbo and the sections seem about the same length in ratio to the overall length of the pen, so I'm pretty sure it's a Jumbo), and with a new gold cap. I have never seen the Jumbo with a gold cap, and as far as I can tell it looks like the clutch's two metal rings don't stick out past the body of the pen, something that always bothers me about my current Jumbos. The nib also looks to be at least gold-colored. Anybody know if these are a new form of Jumbo, possibly to complement the recent 616-2's, or have these been around and I've completely missed them during all my searching? Here's the listing I found, I've done lots of business with this seller, so I'm pretty sure they're not going to be fakes... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hero-616-Big-Size-Burgundy-Fountain-Pen-Golden-Cap/331457032219?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D34494%26meid%3D78d996d9eccf4105a44863fe175c59d7%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D331457020275 Thanks, jcreilley

I bought this from JK pen stores (Abids, Hyderabad) this afternoon. He has a got a new stock of fountain pens of all sizes and makes - ebonite and acryllic. There were some which looked exactly like The Gama Supreme Jumbo (flat top), but they did not have Gama engraved and he told me that it was Swarna manufactured locally in Hyderabad. This one, he told me, is from Swarna - black matte. Jumbo size. http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_170144.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_164919.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_175536.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_225306.jpg