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I request all fellow users to show off the Ebonite only pens here.... Show us your ebonite beauties here .... Would really love to know what all we have....

The pen I’m about to review to review always amazed me by the looks. It has been reviewed by Hari here on FPN ) So following is my review of the pen with my inputs and writing samples and close up images. DESIGN : One of the most beautifully designed pen I’ve come across. Very slim profile pen. Easily fits in the pocket. Long cap rounded at top with gold plated clip which really complements the pen color. Made of ebonite, comes in 5 colors shiny black, matte black, green rippled, brown rippled, and light brown rippled. This pen comes with stock gold plated nib which again complements the design. I believe brown and gold color really go along very well. The pen cap opens with 5 turns just like many Indian ebonite pens. The clip is bit flexible and as mentioned earlier is good plated with no inscriptions, looks wonderful. The top of the cap is rounded and the bottom of the barrel of pen tapers down to sharp narrow rounded profile. The pen size is comparable to Pilot Metropolitan in length but in thickness this pen is of slim profile. Below are the images of pen compared to metropolitan and Gama Kuyil. I would say I love the design of the pen. For more details and handwritten review and handwriting sample. Please follow my blog LINK

Daytone Olive Brown I received few Ink bottles from one of my friend in Indore which are Daytone Inks, manufactured by Daylight industries. They are into ink manufacturing since 1956. More information can be found about the company here: Daytone Webpage Apart from Inks, they manufacture a lot of other stationary items. But this review is about one of the fountain pens inks that they manufacture. The inks that they manufacture ( 15 Nos. – increased from 8 Nos.) are as follows: Blue-Black Emerald Green Brilliant Red Crimson Turquoise Blue Deep Black Royal Blue Bright Violet Havana Brown Mauve Dark Grey Dark Brown Olive Brown Rose Red Yellow Ochre Also, I would like to add that I got these inks from my friend Daman who was kind enough to lend me the additional 7 colors for review. This review is about OLIVE BROWN ink from Daytone. These come in 60 ml plastic bottles and is priced at Rs. 20 Each (Indian Rupees). I hate their ink bottles it is most of the times next to impossible to insert the pen and fill ink in the pen. I have seen that on certain online marketplaces like Amazon, they are selling 1000 ml plastic bottles too. The properties of the ink are similar to Havana Brown though the color is different. The color is exactly like Greenish Brown Olives. To me, it is quite an unusual color it writes brown when wet and dries towards the green olive color. I love the color of the ink but it ain’t that saturated and feels faded. Also, I found out that the ink is more fluidic as in more watery. INK SPLASH Daytone Olive Brown – Ink Splash on JK Cedar 100 gsm The color is exactly like green olives which are like a greenish brown color and it is more towards brown where there is ink pooling. INK DROPS IN WATER Daytone Olive Brown – Ink when dropped in Water Daytone Olive Brown – Color of Water after dropping and stirring ink COLOR MATCH Daytone Olive Brown – Color Range INK SWABS Daytone Olive Brown – Ink swabs with cotton ear buds Daytone Olive Brown – Ink Swab (From top to bottom – 3 swabs, 2 swabs, and 1 swab) WRITING SAMPLES Daytone Olive Brown – Writing Sample on JK Cedar 100 gsm The ink Performs best in Bold and wet medium nibs and looks faded in stub and fine nibs. I believe wetter stub nibs will suit this ink better. Ink also subtle shading. BLOW-UP WRITING SAMPLES Daytone Olive Brown – Blow Up writing Sample – 1 Daytone Olive Brown – Blow Up writing Sample – 2 WATERPROOF TEST Daytone Olive Brown – Waterproof Test (Drip Test on Left and Rub Test on Right) Ink is not at all waterproof or resistant almost everything gets washed out but yes there are still some lines visible. It also fades away if continuously exposed to sunlight for a longer duration. COMPARISON WITH SIMILAR COLORS Daytone Olive Brown vs Daytone Havana Brown vs Sheaffer Skrip Brown vs Waterman Absolute Brown From above samples, it is evident that the green is more towards the green side like green bottled olives which have certain brown tinge. CONCLUSION The color is beautiful. It has no feathering (barring the closeup with medium nib) and has lovely flow. Lubrication is okay. There is not much shading which is visible. Ink drying times are around 12 seconds. Following are the summation of ink properties: Feathering: NoSheen: NoShading: LittleLubrication: ModerateFlow: Very GoodWater Resistance: BadDrying Times: Very GoodNib Creep: NoClogging: NoneOdor: None The ink can be bought from Amazon and Snapdeal. One of the links is given below. LINK 1: AMAZON My other ink reviews can be checked here: link

Indian Fountain Pen market has lately seen a lot of new entrants and among them, Lotus Pens is one of them. They initially made a lot of prototypes before actually taking a plunge in the market. Lotus Pens is based out of Mumbai and they make custom pens and handpainted pens also. They caught my eye with the simple looking elegant pen, Shikhar (seems to be inspired by Sailor KOP). And I approached them for buying one of the Shikhar’s as it comes in various ebonite options. Ebonite they use is Japanese Nikko ebonite. So today I am showing the glimpse of the new pen that arrived a few days back. comes in a faux Leather cover box which is protected by the cardboard sleeve the pen comes with a velvet sleeve Shout out to Tarun Durga for letting me write with his Lotus Shikhar which actually spurred me to get this beauty. Below are the few more images of the pen and my pen comes with black JoWo Broad nib to match with the black coloured clip: Shikhar in navy blue coloured Nikko ebonite The review will be coming soon after I have had enough to say and write about this pen.

ASA TranNauka - JoWo 1.1 Nib The review is simultaneously posted on my blog here : Link The pen I am about to review has sold in huge nos. and probably one of the best-selling pen of ASA. There was a time when I was after Mr. Subramaniam to make a demonstrator pen with screw in nib units from JoWo/Schmidt but somehow he was not able to procure the good material which could withstand the threading to be done for those units and then we gave up. Then one fine day he informed me that he had procured a new material and will be launching an already successful Nauka in the demonstrator version (which was named TransNauka) and I was too excited for the pen and I told Mr. Subramaniam it would sell in huge nos. and therefore I convinced him that we should do a group buy for the same on FPN (TransNauka Group Buy) and believe me, it was immensely successful. ASA TranNauka – In love with Rains The group buy was so successful that he had to stop taking orders on his website for a fortnight even after the Group Buy was closed because of his limited production capability. I have already reviewed a few pens from ASA as below: ASA Rainbow : LINK ASA Viraat : LINK (Absolutely love this fat pen) ASA Spear : LINK ASA Porus : LINK ASA Patriot : LINK ASA I-Can : LINK ASA Galactic : LINK It’s been three months since I have got this TransNauka and further below is my effort to do a detailed review of the pen. Design : 4.5/05 There is an old age saying: “Beauty lies in the eye of beholder” And to my eyes, this pen is the just pure aesthetic pleasure. It’s a beauty. TransNauka inspires awe when it is inked and I believe it one-ups the already existing Nauka. It’s simple, classic, sublime and is on the lines of Bauhaus Design movement which is a unification of art, craft, and technology. The design of Nauka was inspired by famousMORA STYLOS OLDWIN CLASSIC and in fact, one of the fellow fountain pen connoisseur Prithwijit was the force behind the development of Nauka. ASA TransNauka – Uncapped The pen without cap looks like it’s just one piece as the grip section merges with the barrel in such a form that there is no step down which is generally prevalent in many pens. The pen gradually tapers towards the bottom to an almost pointed end. Similarly, the pen tapers towards the grip section till it meets the threads at the top which holds the cap. ASA TransNauka – Comparative pic when pen uncapped and capped The pen comes only in the brushed matte finish and personally prefer the brushed version better than the polished version as the polished version tends to develop micro abrasions and smudges and also looses shine over the period of time. The cap of the pen unlike the bottom of the barrel is not torpedoed shape at the top rather it is like a hemispherical dome. The pen I bought comes with chrome finish ball-end clip and it also comes sans the clip. The cap is almost 3/4th the size of pen making it a very large pen. ASA TransNauka – Cap and Barrel ASA TransNauka – Cap is 3/4th of Pen when uncapped I found the pen very minimalist with no branding. One thing I believe can be improved is to reduce the gap between the cap finial and nib unit when the pen is closed. The pen is beautiful and is bang for the buck at the price and yeah this beauty is handmade. Built & Construction : 04/05 One look at the pen and you won’t actually believe that this pen completely hand-turned. It’s almost perfectly shaped and finished from the exterior. ASA TransNauka – Lovely Finish One thing I found that as much as the exterior is well finished and shaped, the interior of the barrel was not paid much attention. There are certain undulations in interior (1 or 2 places) of the barrel which result in the formation of O-rings like shape inside the barrel with ink. I received two pens, matte brushed finish and the clear polished one. The clear polished one was all over the places with regards to finish and thus it was not launched officially. This brushed finish is superb barring one area with regards to barrel interior area. The brushed finish is also better because of the fact that it hides the lathe marks and also is not smudge-prone. The quality of material used is quite good but is brittle in nature and thus one has to be careful with regards to handling (against falls). The acrylic used is the hard non-modified PMMA and apt thickness of the material are used in pen and is quite better compared to ones used in TWSBI. ASA TransNauka – Cap View showing material thickness and finish ASA TransNauka – Material thickness in Barrel and Grip Section The pen is quality finished one which needs to be handled carefully and if proper care is taken it will last you ages. I love my TranNauka but I care for every pen that I own. If you are the one who keeps throwing his/her pen here and there then I suggest you go for the ebonite version. Balance & Size : 04/05 The cap of the pen doesn’t post securely and that’s because of the design. But.. But… But… the pen is so big even uncapped @ 135 mm that there is no need for posting. The pen is little heavy towards the nib and I believe this could have been countered by providing solid crystal end at bottom of barrel. Nevertheless, this was no issue for me, it’s a minute difference and some of you won’t even notice. ASA TransNauka – Writing with it – Unposted and Posted Initially, I had trouble adapting to the grip of the pen because of gradual slope of grip section from barrel to top of nib unit but now that I am using the pen since 3 months I have gotten used to it. The grip might also be fat for some because of the design and might not be so good for people with small hands. Now for me, it was okay because I prefer big pens with good girth. The pen is big yet light in weight but one thing I noticed is that when uncapped it is lighter than Ranga Bamboo Demonstrator but almost 4 gms heavier when capped and both are equal in length when uncapped but when capped the TransNauka is larger of the two. ASA TransNauka – Weight – Capped and Uncapped Few specification of the pen are as follows: Length of pen (closed) – 160 mmLength of pen (open and unposted) – 135 mm (including nib)Length of pen (open and posted) – 176 mmLength of Cap – 78 mmMaximum Dia of Cap – 21 mmMaximum Dia of Barrel – 14 mmDia of Barrel ( Near Barrel Bottom) – 8 mmMaximum Dia of Grip Section – 13.5 mmMinimum Dia of Grip Section – 11 mmWeight of Pen with Cap – 27.9 gms (inked)Weight of Pen without Cap – 17.13 gms (inked) Below are the pictures of the pen in comparison with others : ASA TransNauka vs Pilot Custom 823 vs ASA Patriot vs Lamy Safari – Capped ASA TransNauka vs Pilot Custom 823 vs ASA Patriot vs Lamy Safari – Uncapped As clear from above pics its a bit fat compared to others. Nib : 3.5/05 The pen can be bought in a variety of #6 sized nib options from JoWo or Schmidt and in various point widths. The one I have here is JoWo Steel 1.1 Stub nib in Black Oxide finish. ASA TranNauka - Nib Shot in Rain The nib is a screw in nib unit and easily replaceable. The nib that I got was a lemon and was scratchy out of the box. I had to tune it and now it performs the way I want. ASA TransNauka – JoW0 1.1 Nib in Black Oxide Finish ASA Nauka vs Pilot Custom 823 vs ASA Patriot vs Lamy Safari – Nib Comparison Advice to people if you are buying the pen from ASA do avail the option of pen/nib testing this might delay the pen delivery but pen and nib will be checked for writing before dispatch and yeah there are no extra charges for that. Ink Filling Mechanism: 05/05 It can take international long or shot cartridges, international converter and can be used as an ED also. The pen looks best when eye dropper-ed and I applied silicone grease to the threads before using it as ED pen. ASA TransNauka – Using as an ED Pen Ink capacity as an eye dropper is 4 ml and will vary with every pen as it is handmade one. Below are the images of handwritten review of the pen sample writing: ASA TransNauka – Handwritten Review – Page 1 ASA TransNauka – Handwritten Review – Page 2 ASA TransNauka – Handwritten Review – Page 3 ASA TransNauka – Handwritten Review – Page 4 Conclusion : 21/25 The pen was bought at group buy price of Rs. 2200 and it was a steal at that price. And now the prices have increased yet it is a value for money option. Beautiful pen but I won’t recommend this to people with small hands. What I Like: Beautiful Design Handmade Quality Finish- Exterior Good Balance and Size Good Ink Capacity Well PricedWhat I don’t Like: Internal Barrel Finish Poor OTB Nib How to Buy: The pen was bought via group buy on FPN and there will be another group buy in near future for the same. Simultaneously who don’t like waiting for group buys can buy directly from ASA website : LINK. And the last I checked it's available on pre-order only with waiting for 4 weeks. For more reviews you can check my blog here : LINK

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

I enjoy discovering new things and hubting for hidden treasures. That's why I'm always eager to try new ink brands. Glare is an indian fountain pen and ink manufacturer. They offer a line of fifteen inks sold in plastic 60 ml bottles. As indian post office makes sending inks difficult it's not that east to try them outside India. Glare inks on the other hand can be easily ordered through ebay. Mine bottle was sent in styrofoam and described as "rubber part" I used this ink for some time and I'm ready to share plenty of scans and my thoughts on it. Packaging Ink comes in cardboard box. The label is mainly black and red and rather nice. What I find interesting is the fact that there's MSRP of the ink printed on the box (275 rupees). I haven't seen it on other inks. The bottle is made of plastic and is quite functional. Color of the lid doesn't harmonize with the color of the ink. What's pretty cool and definitely useful is the use of plastic Inner cap to stop leakage and spills. Similarly to Stipula inner lid it's quite hard to open it without getting ink on your fingers. All in all I think the packaging is rather functional but somewhat aesthetically challenged. Ink Olive Brown is in the color range that's simply mine. I like most of the inks that are somewhere between brown and green or yellow. The hue of this one is very nice but it needs wet pen to make you appreciate it. The flow is very good and consistent. I'm usually interested to see if the ink starts after I leave the pen uncapped for a while and Olive Brown starts even after two minutes (a try made with Lamy Safari). It didn't cause any feathering or bleedthrough even on cheap copy paper. That's good. It doesn't offer any useful water resistance but, on the other hand, if you accidentally spill water on the text it shouldn't blur instantly. The thing that could be much better is lubrication - it's nowhere near Sailor inks. On most papers and in wet pens you won't feel a discomfort however on bad quality or "harsh" paper you may feel too much feedback. Additionally this ink is rather subdued and subtle, the saturation is medium, especially if youe every day choice is dryish fine nib. In wider nibs the inks has enough saturation to make you reread notes comfortably in both ambient and sun light. After trying this one I'm not in awe but I like it, especially in Perun stub nib. I will be interested in trying other colors in the future. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Tomoe River, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Leuchtturm 1917, Perun, stub 1,1 Oxford paper, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Cheap copy paper, Perun, stub 1,1 Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Maruman, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib + last two lines Perun with 1,1 stub

This is my second review of the ink from the another popular brand in India, CAMLIN KOKUYO whose presence is pan India. Camlin used to manufacture 4 colors of ink in India under brand name CAMEL as follows: Scarlet Red Royal Blue Green Permanent BlackBut lately they have stopped manufacturing the Green and there is a rumor in the market that Scarlet Red might also go of the shelves. This CAMEL Scarlet Red ink , which I will be reviewing today was procured from local market in Delhi for meagre Rs. 15 for 60 ml glass bottle. Camlin Scarlet Red It is a dye based ink and it has turned out to be one of my all time favorite inks. Its bright shocking red ink. Love it. Camel inks or Camlin inks are currently the most used inks in India because of their pan India presence. INK SPLASH Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Splash on Bilt Matrix – 70 gsm Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Splash on JK Executive Bond Paper – 100 gsm DROP ON PAPER NAPKIN Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Drop on Paper Napkin COLOR MATCH Camlin Scarlet Red – Color Match WRITING SAMPLES Camlin Scarlet Red – Writing Sample on Bilt Matrix (70 gsm) using 3 pens of varying nibs widths Camlin Scarlet Red – Writing Sample on JK Bond Paper (100 gsm) using 3 pens of varying nibs widths Camlin Scarlet Red – Writing Sample on Camlin School Notebook using 3 pens of varying nibs widths The writing makes it clear that this ink offers no or very little shading. But still i love the brightness of this ink, the red brightness it has to offer. So in to your eyes. The ink does not feather at all even on the normal school notebooks and is a very well behaved ink. INK SWABS Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Swab Sample on Bilt Matrix (70gsm) – 3 swabs, 2 swabs and 1 swab from Left to Right Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Swab Sample on JK Bond Paper (100 gsm) – 3 swabs, 2 swabs and 1 swab from Left to Right Camlin Scarlet Red – Ink Swab Sample on Camlin School Notebook – 3 swabs, 2 swabs and 1 swab from Left to Right WATERPROOF TEST Camlin Scarlet Red – Waterproof test Its not waterproof at all. Just one run of tap water and all gets washed away. BLOW UP WRITING SAMPLE Camlin Scarlet Red – Writing sample close up on JK Bond paper (100 gsm) Camlin Scarlet Red – Writing sample close up Bilt Matrix (70 gsm) CONCLUSION: I like the shade of Red thats offered by Camlin. This ink is nice wet ink and has a normal dry up time. It does not clog up the pen even if kept in the pen for a week or two. One more thing is that doesn’t stain the Pen if you are using any demonstrator. Moreover i find it better than other inexpensive red inks in India and some international inks. Must buy if you are in India and love the Red Color Ink. For further details and entries, please visit my blog LINK

The review is about a pen which was launched on Whatsapp Group of 20 members at that time and I believe was first of its kind launch for a pen. Approximately 50 odd pens were made and beleive me on this all got sold out within half an hour. So beautiful were they to look at first site. They were RAINBOW. The Rainbow is reviewed at my blog in detail : LINK This happens to be an ED model and the updated model with C/C mechanism is soon to be launched at ASA Pens on 23rd September. My other review of ASA pens are as follows: ASA Spear ASA Galactic ASA I-Can ASA Porus ASA Patriot ASA ViraatRainbow is first multicolored acrylic pen from the house of ASA Pens. DESIGN & BUILT: 4 / 5 It’s a simple classic cigar shaped pen with rounded bottom and top. Actually nothing is much happening on the design front. it though is a small pocket sized pen. It is actually the material which is doing all the talk. ASA Rainbow – Swirled Acrylic Material The pen will to begin with eventually will come in following colors when launched. Cherry Red (in pic above) Midnight Blue (Blue and Dark Blue swirls) Black Pearl (White and Black swirls) Fiery Orange (Orange and Black swirls) The color yellow with green swirls might be added later which is being reviewed. ASA Rainbow – Cherry Red and Yellow Swirl To begin with what i really like about this pen is its size and girth. It is small pen but not that slim. Lovely part is the grip section which is the thinnest portion in whole pen. It’s so wonderful to grip and write with this pen. ASA Rainbow – Capped ASA Rainbow – Uncapped ASA Rainbow – Rounded Top and Bottom The pen has silver trims. Actually the pen has only clip as a trim and a nib. No other metal parts were used. its a minimalistic design pen. The clip is sturdy and stiff and not springy at all. fits shirt pockets easily. The pen cap has no breather hole unlike many other Made in India pens. The cap finial is threaded and can be taken out easily also. ASA Rainbow – Cap View ASA Rainbow – Cap inner View ASA Rainbow – Clip Built is amazing and is well finished and polished pen. However I have to add one thing this pen is acrylic and requires maintenance and care to ensure no scratches just by throwing pen on desk or anywhere else. Below are the few images of the pen showing comparison with other pens. Gama Kuyil vs Pilot 78G vs ASA Rainbow BALANCE: 5/5 I love the fact that the small pens don’t have to be necessarily slim and this really goes down well with me. And I love ASA Rainbow also because of its girth too. Its very well balanced pen and feels amazing in your hand whether you write with cap posted or not at the back. ASA Rainbow – Writing Unposted ASA Rainbow – Writing Posted The cap posts very securely and also posting does not add to that much heft. This one is aptly balanced pen. NIB AND INK FILLING MECHANISM: 3.5/5 Our first feedback for this beautiful pen was to make it C/C mechanism pen because ink filled in barrel changes the color of the barrel and darkens it and thus it will be soon launched with C/C mechanism on 23rd September. The nib on the pen in question is Fine-Medium Ambitious 35 mm nib (#6) and is chrome finish. I love the ambitious nibs of size 35 mm and 40 mm. This nib writes with welcome feedback and writes wet. I love the way it writes. The nib has got certain springiness to it. ASA Rainbow – Nib Unit top view ASA Rainbow – Nib Unit side view ASA Rainbow – Nib Unit angled view Though the upcoming pen with C/C filling mechanism will come in following nib options: Schmidt monotone F NibSchmidt monotone M nibSchmidt monotone B nibThis pen has an eye dropper fill mechanism and hold good 3 ml of ink. The feed is made of ebonite and fitted very tight and securely. The removal of nib will require knockout block as the nib is friction fit. ASA Rainbow – Eye dropper fill I recommend people to buyers is to chose pen with option of fountain pen testing at checkout which takes time but you get the pen which writes good out of the box and this facility is being given by ASA pens free of charge. Below are the few images showing hand written review and also certain specification, ASA Rainbow – Page 1 ASA Rainbow – Page 2 ASA Rainbow – Page 3 Conclusion : This is a beauty and I am sure it will outsell any other model ASA pens has launched because this pen has it all going for it when its launched in C/C mechanism. However i would not recommend using this pen as ED as the barrel gets discolored because of the ink not that the ink burps. Go ahead save some money to buy this one. I recommend it. Please check my BLOG for other listings.

In Indian Fountain Pen industry or Circles, Dr. Sreekumar is quite known for his hand-turned fountain pens and almost 20 types of nib tuning. However recently he has shelved in to making fountain pen inks under the brand name of KRISHNA. I am really happy to see someone in India has taken initiative to standup and make good quality and non standard color Inks. These inks are sold for Rs. 100 (1.5 USD) each for 30 ml ink bottle plus shipping. The inks that are being produced are currently limited to 28 nos. : GOLD RUSH MEADOW GREEN BLUE MAGIC AFTER DARK SAPPHIRE BLUE LAKE BLUE BRONZE LEAF ORANGE CRUSH AUTUMN SINDHOOR GLORY VINE DARK ROSE NJAVAL WILD CHERRY PURPLE PEACOCK YELLOW VALLEY MELLOW BLUE VIVID VIOLET ORCHARD LILY DARK CHOCOLATE COOL BREEZE SILENT NIGHT SKY FORGET ME NOT SKY BLUE GHAT GREEN PUMPKIN GIRL PINK Krishna Inks – Color Chart 1 Krishna Inks – Color Chart 2 I will be reviewing all inks one by one.And I have reviewed the Bronze Leaf Ink Here : LINK Ink can be bought from : LINK (Ebay India Store)

As mentioned in my previous reviews for the inks, Bril inks are one of the most used and admired inks in India. Bril has been in existence since 1964 and are based out of Bangalore in India.The review is about the BRIL LAUREL ROSE which is my second ink review from Bril. This review is simultaneously posted on my blog which is more detailed. Link to blog is here : INK REVIEW Bril Inks can be purchased from their Webpage as they have launched the webshop recently with nationwide shipping. Bril inks come in following colors: Royal Blue Green Red Laurel Rose Turquoise Blue Violet Black My earlier Ink reviews are listed as below: BRIL ROYAL BLUE CAMLIN SCARLET RED CHELPARK BLACK Also I would like to add that i got the inks as a gift from one of my friend and fountain pen enthusiast, Rakshit Pai. Bril Laurel Rose Bril Laurel Rose is a wonderful color ink which comes in 60 ml glass bottle and is priced at Rs. 18 (USD 0.28). INK SPLASH Bril Laurel Rose – Ink Splash on BILT Matrix Paper – Angled View Bril Laurel Rose – Ink Splash on BILT Matrix Paper – Top View Angled view shows the the sheen ink gives apart from the variation in shades. DROP ON PAPER NAPKIN Bril Laurel Rose – Ink Drop COLOR MATCH Bril Laurel Rose – Color Match WRITING SAMPLES Bril Laurel Rose – Writing samples with three different pens on BILT Matrix paper Bril Laurel Rose – Writing samples with three different pens on Century copy paper Bril Laurel Rose – Writing samples with three different pens on Camlin Kokuyo Notebook INK SWABS Bril Laurel Rose – Ink Swab on BILT Matrix paper ( From top to bottom – 1 to 3 swabs) Bril Laurel Rose – Ink Swab on Century copy paper ( From top to bottom – 1 to 3 swabs) PEN SCRIBBLE Bril Laurel Rose – Pen Scribble on BILT Matrix Paper WATERPROOF TEST Bril Laurel Rose – Waterproof Test I felt that ink has decent water resistance. As ink did not fade away too much even after running the paper under tap water for complete one minute. Rather paper started to give away but not the Ink. Bril Laurel Rose – Waterproof Test INK DRYING TIMES Ink drying times were tested on the Bilt Matrix paper and pen used was Jinhao X-450. Bril Laurel Rose -Ink Drying test BLOW-UP WRITING SAMPLES Bril Laurel Rose – Zoomed in Writing Sample You can see from the above zoomed in writing sample that there is certain bit of shading in the Ink. CONCLUSION I like the pinkish color of Bril Inks. I have used this ink in lot of pens and have realised that this ink stains the converter but gets washed out after using ammonia flush. Still i recommend not use this ink in demonstrators. Must buy at the price.

DAYTONE BLUE BLACK INK REVIEW is simultaneously posted at my blog. Recently I received few Ink bottles from one of my friend from Indore and they are Daytone Fountain Pen Ink. Daytone Inks are manufactured by Daylight industries and they are in to ink manufacturing since 1956. More information can be found about the company here : Daytone Webpage Apart from Inks they manufacture lot of other stationary items. But this review is about one of the fountain pen inks that they manufacture. The inks that they manufacture ( 8 Nos.) are as follows: Blue Black Emerald Green Brilliant Red Crimson Turquoise Blue Deep Black Royal Blue Bright Violet Brown (In Process) My earlier Ink reviews are listed as below: Bril Royal BlueBril Laurel RoseCamlin Scarlet RedChelpark Black Also I would like to add that I got the inks as a gift from one of my friend and fountain pen enthusiast, Ricky Bhasin. This review is about BLUE-BLACK ink from Daytone. Daytone Blue Black Daytone BlueBlack comes in 60 ml plastic bottles and are priced at Rs. 20 Each (Indian Rupees). I found out that the ink is more of dark blue rather than blue black. It certainly is bit darker than Bril Royal Blue. But I was expecting something else from BlueBlack Ink. INK SPLASH Daytone Ink Splash on JK Cedar -100 gsm – Top View There is negligible sheen in this ink even if there is some massive ink pools on paper. DROP ON PAPER NAPKIN Daytone Blue-Black – Ink Drop COLOR MATCH Daytone Blue Black – Color Range WRITING SAMPLES Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on Tomoe River Cream Paper Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on JK Cedar 100 gsm White Paper Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on Bilt Matrix 70 gsm Off White Paper INK SWABS Daytone Blue Black – Ink Swabs on Tomoe River Paper (Top – 3 Swabs, Middle – 2 Swabs, Bottom – 1 Swab) Daytone Blue Black – Ink Swabs on JK Cedar 100 gsm Paper (Top – 3 Swabs, Middle – 2 Swabs, Bottom – 1 Swab) Daytone Blue Black – Ink Swabs on BILT Matrix 70 gsm Paper (Top – 3 Swabs, Middle – 2 Swabs, Bottom – 1 Swab) PEN SCRIBBLE Daytone Blue Black – Pen Scribble on JK Cedar 100 gsm Paper The ink flow is smooth and the ink looks bit faded for blue black. WATERPROOF TEST The ink was quite water resistant and it was pretty mush clear and visible even after running it under tap water for 5 min and then keeping it in water container for another 5 more minutes. I must say I am pretty impressed with this property of the ink. Daytone Blue Black – Under tap Water Daytone Blue Black – After Waterproof Test CHROMATOGRAPHY Daytone Blue Black – Chromatography INK DRYING TIMES Ink drying times were tested on the Bilt Matrix paper and pen used was Jinhao 165. Daytone Blue Black – Ink Drying Test BLOW-UP WRITING SAMPLES Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on Tomoe River – Blown Up Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on JK Cedar – Blown Up Daytone Blue Black – Writing sample on Bilt Matrix – Blown Up Close up Pictures show that there is no shading and also no sheen and also no feathering. CONCLUSION I don’t like this blue black ink too much but it has good water resistance. Manufacturer must take note of the fact that this ink needs to have more black character. My always goto blue black ink is Edelstien Tanzanite or Pilot Blue Black. Following are the summation of ink properties: Feathering : No Sheen : No Shading : No Lubrication : Acceptable Flow : Good Water Resistance : Good Drying Times : Medium

Dear fellow FP users After successful group buys of BAMBOO MODEL & RANGA MODEL 4C & Model 3 & Model 5 & Zeal & Model 8 & BAMBOO MODEL (ROUND 2) & DESIGNER. This is a group buy effort for - RANGA MODEL 3 and RANGA MODEL 3-C. This is the second time for Model 3 and the first time for Model 3-C. The Group Buy will be available until Dec 25, 2016, i.e. until Christmas only. Model 3 is with Flat top & Bottom (as per the image at top) whereas Model 3C is with Rounded Top and Bottom (as per the image below). Pen is approx 152 mm in length and Barrel Dia is 14 mm and Cap Dia is 16mm. Available Colours are as follows: A. SpecialRegular Ebonite Colours (SE Series) Solid Forest GreenForest Green - Black RippleForest Green - Honey RippleForest Green - Khaki RippleForest Green - Mustard Yellow RippleForest Green - Teal Blue RippleTeal Blue - Black RippleTeal Blue - Khaki RippleMustard Yellow - Black RippleKhaki - Black RippleSolid Cherry RedRose Red - Black RippleRose Red - Mauve RippleRose Red - Blue RippleRose Red - Forest Green RippleRose Red - Bottle Green RippleRose Red - Mustard Yellow RippleBrick Red - Khaki RippleBrick Red - Black RippleTeal Blue - Orange Ripple B. Regular Colours (RE Series) Ref 1 : Link Ref 2 : Link Solid Black MatteBrown RippleOlive RippleGreen RippleMottled BrownMottled GreenMottled Olive Brown C. Premium Ebonite Colours (PE Series) Solid BlueBlack Yellow SwirlBlue Pink SwirlSolid Pale GreenWhite Blue SwirlPale Pink Black SwirlGreen Yellow SwirlSolid PinkBlue Green Orange SwirlSolid Orange Prices are as follows: RANGA Model 3 & 3C (ED Version)REGULAR or SPECIAL EBONITE : US $28PREMIUM EBONITE : US $40RANGA Model 3 & 3C (CC Mechanism)REGULAR or SPECIAL EBONITE : US $55REGULAR or SPECIAL EBONITE without nib threaded to take JoWo/Schmidt : US $41PREMIUM EBONITE : US $70PREMIUM EBONITE without nib but threaded to take JoWo/Schmidt : US $56 Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul) Clip Option - Clip-less or Gold Clip or Silver Clip Nib Option : For EyedropperWality F Gold Coloured (included in price)Bock (With Conklin imprinted) M or B is available (extra @ 8 USD)Ambitious Nib 35 mm - Fine Nib - Dual Tone ( extra @ 3 USD)Kanwrite Nib 35 mm Flex - Chrome Tone ( extra @ 5 USD) Nib Option : For C/C mechanism (with Schmidt K5 Converter)#6 Nib Options (included in price) Fine Nib - Gold ToneMedium Nib - Gold ToneBroad Nib - Gold ToneFine Nib - Chrome ToneMedium Nib - Chrome ToneBroad Nib - Chrome ToneNo Nib - Threaded for Schmidt #6 No Nib - Threaded for JoWo #6 Shipping : Via Registered Post which is included in Price and takes 2 -4 Weeks.Making Time: 4 Weeks after payment In order to participate in the group buy just fill the Google Form (Link Below) and Reply in the thread with "Form Submitted". Link : https://goo.gl/forms/MmEqeNToJhVMSf0q1 Edit: now giving option for pen without Nib but threaded for Bock #6 Nib unit

Dear All This is a group buy effort for the Ranga Bamboo Model - 16 mm dia. Best Prices will be unlocked only after we reach 25 members. So kindly register for a group buy whoever is interested. Details of the pen in two options are as below: Ranga Bamboo (Eye Dropper Version): Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option - White or Gold Colored Clip or Clip-lessNib Option : Wality F Gold Colored, Wality M Chrome Finish, Bock (With Conklin imprinted) M or B is available Default settings: Wality Fine nib & Clip-less model penColors available: Mottled Brown, Solid Black, Brown Ripple, Green Ripple, Olive Ripple, Yellow Ripple, Blue Ripple,Pink Ripple. Ranga Bamboo Pen with German Screw in nib (Jowo/ Schmidt) and Converter: Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option - White or Gold Colored Clip or Clip-lessConverter : Schmidt K5 ConverterNib Option : JoWo Nibs ​​/ Schmidt NibsJoWo Nibs options : Gold Color Mono tone M or B nib, Silver Color Mono tone F or B, Dual Tone EF, F, M, B , 1.5 Italic (Steel Nibs)Schmidt Nib options: Gold Color monotone F, M, or B.Default settings: Schmidt Gold Colored monotone F nibColors available: Mottled Brown, Solid Black, Brown Ripple, Green Ripple, Olive Ripple, Yellow Ripple, Blue Ripple,Pink Ripple. Images are as below :

I recently acquired an antique ink tablet made in India. As this is the first time I have laid my eyes on it, I would like to ask you how to properly use it. I know I have to add it in water but how much water do I use? Also,could it pose any threat to the pen if I use it?

After the successful round of ambitious nibs group buy in year 2015 ... And request from lot of members I am starting a second round of group buy for Ambitious Nibs .... This time again I will be sending few complimentary nibs along with ambitious nibs as per image below..... You can check Taike post for the nibs he received and the review of the same as per the link : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/298071-group-buy-international-ambitious-nibs-made-in-india/?p=3498064 Below are the images of various nibs from ambitious From Left to Right - Ambitious 40 mm Gold Finish Steel Nib, Ambtious 35 mm Chrome Finish Steel Nib, Ambitious 35 mm Chrome Finish Flex Nib, Ambitious #5 Fine Stub Nib, Ambitious #5 Italic Nib Below are the images of the nibs on my pens that i have used 40 mm gold tone used with ASA Porus 35 mm chrome finish used with Wality 71 JT Below are the links to the review which shows you the writing sample also. ASA Porus Wality 71 JT And the prices are as follows: Chrome Finish Flex #5 - US $ 2.15 Chrome Finish Flex #6 - US $ 2.60 Gold tone #8 Med (40 mm) Nib - US $ 2.00 Chrome finish #6 FM nib - US $ 1.75 Dual tone #6 FM nib - US $ 1.85 Shipping through registered post will be chargeable at US $ 3 - US $ 6 depending upon location. For EMS please quote the prices separately.

Hi everybody... This is the second round of give-away for BRIL ROYAL BLUE I have 5 ink bottles (Plastic) - 25 ml filled with Bril Royal Blue. The review for the same is done here - LINK I am willing to give this to 5 people , only for International Friends as its locally easily available Kindly put in your names below and I will be choosing the people through random.org Below is the ink shot for your reference. Please check review for more depth.

Dear All After successful group buys of BAMBOO MODEL & RANGA MODEL 4C & Model 3 & Model 5 & Zeal. This is the 1st time that we are doing group buy for MODEL 8 (Torpedo Shaped) after we received lot of queries to do group buy for Model 8. This Group buy will be available till 10th June 2016. Kindly register at the earliest and minimum requirement is 15 nos. Details are as below: Length Capped - 146 mm approxCap Dia - 14 mmBarrel Dia - 12.5 mmHourglass shape Grip Section RANGA MODEL 8 (ED Version) REGULAR EBONITE : US $32 PREMIUM EBONITE : US $46 Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Nib Option :Wality Gold Color - Fine NibDual Tone - Medium NibAmbitious 35 mm Fine Nib at extra US $ 3Ambitious 40 mm Gold Tone Nib at extra US $ 4Bock (With Conklin imprinted) M or B at extra US $ 8.Clip Option Finish : Gold Color or Chrome Silver Color or CliplessDefault settings: Wality Gold Colored Fine Nib with Gold Color ClipShipping: Included and is through Registered Post. Takes 2 - 4 weeks for delivery. Price includes shippingPayment: Via Paypal to paypal account mpkandan@gmail.com RANGA MODEL 8 (CC Version - German Nibs & Converter) REGULAR EBONITE : US $63 PREMIUM EBONITE : US $77 Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option Finish : Gold Color or Chrome Silver Color or CliplessNib Option : JoWo Nibs ​​/ Schmidt NibsJoWo Nibs options : #6 SizeGold Color Mono tone F, M or B nibChrome (Silver) Mono Tone F, M, B NibDual Tone EF, F, M, B & 1.5 Calligraphy StubSchmidt Nib options: #6 SizeGold Color monotone F, M, or BChrome (Silver) Finish Monotone F,M & B.Converter : Schmidt K5 ConverterDefault settings: Schmidt Gold Colored monotone F nib & Gold ClipShipping: Included and is through Registered Post. Takes 2 - 4 weeks for delivery.Includes worldwide shippingPayment: Via Paypal to paypal account mpkandan@gmail.com COLOURS Regular Ebonite Colours (Images below are only for colour reference) Special New Ebonite Colours Pink Dark Green Ripple (not available) Green Pale Yellow Ripple Blue Orange Ripple Blue Red Ripple (Not Available) Yellow Black Ripple Blue Yellow Ripple Pink Yellow Ripple Blue Olive Ripple Red Black Ripple Green Yellow Ripple Pink Olive Ripple (Not Available) Green Pink Ripple (Not Available) Blue Black Ripple Regular Rippled Ebonite Colours Brown Ripple Green Ripple Solid Black Polished Olive Ripple Bright Green Ripple Burgundy Pink Ripple Yellow Ripple Blue Ripple Regular Mottled Ebonite Colours Mottled Brown Mottled Green Mottled Olive Brown Black Bakul (Matte) Premium Ebonite Colours (Images below are only for colour reference) Imported Premium Ebonite Colours Solid Blue Black Yellow Swirl Blue Pink Swirl Solid Pale Green White Blue Swirl Pale Pink Black Swirl (Not Available) Green Yellow Swirl Solid Pink Blue Green Orange Swirl Solid Orange All these pens are all handmade. And payments will be made only via paypal for international customers. In case of any query or pen related issue kindly PM me or MP Kandan FOR SHIPPING WITHIN INDIA, PLEASE PM ME

Dear All After the successful group buy of RANGA BAMBOO MODEL & RANGA MODEL 4C This is a group buy effort for the Ranga Model 3 which will be available only till 25th September. Kindly register at the earliest. Details of the pen in Four options are as below: Ranga Model 3 (Eye Dropper Version) Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option - White or Gold Colored Clip or Clip-lessNib Option : Wality F Gold Colored, Dual Tone Medium Nib (Indian Make), Upgrade of Bock in Chrome Finish (With Conklin imprinted) M or B is available at extra US $ 9.Default settings: Wality Fine nib & Gold Colored Clip PenShipping: Included and is through Registered Post. Takes 2 - 4 weeks for delivery. Price includes shippingPayment: Via Paypal to paypal account mpkandan@gmail.com Ranga Model 3 (Cartridge/Converter Version) Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option - White or Gold Colored Clip or Clip-lessNib Option : JoWo Nibs ​​/ Schmidt NibsConverter : Schmidt K5 ConverterJoWo Nibs options : Gold Color Mono tone F, M or B nib, Dual Tone F, M, B (Steel Nibs),Chrome Mono Tone F, M, B Nib.Schmidt Nib options: Gold Color monotone F, M, or B.Default settings: Schmidt Gold Colored monotone F nib with Gold Colored ClipShipping: Included and is through Registered Post. Takes 2 - 4 weeks for delivery.Includes worldwide shippingPayment: Via Paypal to paypal account mpkandan@gmail.com Color Available : Regular Ebonite (as per first two images below)​Brown Ripple Green Ripple Olive Ripple Blue Ripple Bright Green Ripple Yellow Ripple Burgundy Ripple Green with Orange Ripples and black specks Light Yellow with Light Green Ripples and black specks Mottled Brown Black Mottled Olive Brown Matte Black Color Available : Premium Ebonite (as per image below)​Solid Orange Solid Green - Will be shipped after 18 days after order Solid Pink Solid Blue Blue/Pink Swirls Blue/White Swirls Blue/Green/Orange Swirls Yellow/Black Swirls Red/Black Swirls Yellow/Green Swirls - Will be shipped after 18 days after order Please note that the Group Buy (Discounted) International prices are as below: Eyedropper Normal ebonite - 28 USD (Regular Price is US $ 35 to US $ 45) Eyedropper Premium Ebonite - 39 USD (Regular Price is US $ 55) German nib Normal ebonite - 55 USD (Regular Price is US $ 68 to US $ 80) German nib Premium ebonite - 69 USD (Regular Price is US $ 88) Please note that you can also have Model 3 Ball Pens with Cap / Roller Ball Pens with Cap in this Group buy. The prices of Ball Pens/ Roller Ball Pens are same as Prices of Model 3 Eyedropper pens. This would come with Parker refill.

Dear All After successful group buys of BAMBOO MODEL & RANGA MODEL 4C & Model 3 & Model 5 & Zeal & Model 8. This is a second round of group buy effort for the Ranga Bamboo Model for year 2016. This is the best opportunity to get Ranga Bamboo at discounted price in 2016. This Group buy will be available till 07th August 2016. The manufacturer has been kind enough to give best possible prices. Regular Size - Barrel has 16 mm dia & Length is 5.75 inches when capped Giant Size - Barrel has 17 mm to 18.75 mm (depends on ebonite rod colour) dia & Length is 7 inches when capped Details of the pen in 4 options are as below: RANGA BAMBOO REGULAR (ED Version) REGULAR EBONITE : US $45PREMIUM EBONITE : US $60DEMONSTRATOR : US $50RANGA BAMBOO REGULAR (3-in-1 Filling Mechanism) REGULAR EBONITE : US $80PREMIUM EBONITE : US $90DEMONSTRATOR : US $85RANGA BAMBOO GIANT (ED Version) REGULAR EBONITE : US $55PREMIUM EBONITE : US $80DEMONSTRATOR : US $70RANGA BAMBOO GIANT (3-in-1 Filling Mechanism) REGULAR EBONITE : US $90PREMIUM EBONITE : US $110DEMONSTRATOR : US $100 Finish - Polished or Matte (Bakul)Clip Option - Clip-less or Gold Clip or Silver ClipNib Option : For EyedropperWality F Gold Coloured (included in price)Two Tone M Nib (included in price) Bock (With Conklin imprinted) M or B is available (extra @ 9 USD)Ambitious Nib 35 mm - Fine Nib - Dual Tone ( extra @ 3 USD)Ambitious Nib 40 mm - Wet Medium Nib - Gold Tone ( extra @ 4 USD)Ambitious Nib 35 mm Flex - Chrome Tone ( extra @ 5 USD)Nib Option : For 3 in 1 filling Mechanism (with Schmidt K5 Converter)JoWo #6 Nib Options (included in price)Fine Nib - Gold ToneFine Nib - Silver ToneFine Nib - Dual ToneMedium Nib - Gold ToneMedium Nib - Silver ToneMedium Nib - Dual ToneBroad Nib - Gold ToneBroad Nib - Silver ToneBroad Nib - Dual ToneExtra Fine Nib - Dual Tone1.1 Stub Nib - Dual Tone1.5 Stub Nib - Dual ToneSchmidt #6 Nib Options (included in price)​Fine Nib - Gold ToneMedium Nib - Gold ToneBroad Nib - Gold ToneShipping : Via Registered Post which is included in Price and takes 2 -4 Weeks. COLOURS AVAILABILITY: Ebonite Colours for Regular Size (Images below are only for colour reference) Special New Ebonite Colours (SR Series) Pink Dark Green Ripple (not available)Green Pale Yellow RippleBlue Orange RippleBlue Red Ripple (Not Available)Yellow Black RippleBlue Yellow RipplePink Yellow RippleBlue Olive RippleRed Black RippleGreen Yellow RipplePink Olive Ripple (Not Available)Green Pink Ripple (Not Available)Blue Black Ripple Regular Rippled Ebonite Colours ( RR Series) Brown RippleGreen RippleSolid Black PolishedOlive RippleBright Green Ripple Burgundy Pink RippleYellow RippleBlue Ripple Regular Mottled Ebonite Colours (RM Series) Mottled BrownMottled GreenPolished BlackMottled Olive BrownBlack Bakul (Matte) Clear Acrylic Demonstartor (AC Series) Matte Finish with Polished Finials Complete Matte Finish Imported Premium Ebonite Colours Solid Pale GreenSolid OrangeSolid BlueSolid PinkWhite Blue SwirlBlue Pink SwirlBlack Yellow SwirlBlue Green Orange SwirlPale Pink Black Swirl (Not Available)Green Yellow Swirl Ebonite Colours for Giant Size (Images below are only for colour reference) Special New Ebonite Colours (SR Series) Pink Dark Green Ripple Green Pale Yellow RippleBlue Orange RippleBlue Red RippleYellow Black RippleBlue Yellow RipplePink Yellow RippleBlue Olive RippleRed Black RippleGreen Yellow RipplePink Olive RippleGreen Pink RippleBlue Black RipplePlain MaroonPlain Green Regular Rippled Ebonite Colours ( RR Series) Brown RippleGreen RippleSolid Black PolishedOlive RippleBright Green Ripple (Not Available)Burgundy Pink RippleYellow RippleBlue Ripple Regular Mottled Ebonite Colours (RM Series) Mottled BrownMottled GreenPolished BlackMottled Olive Brown (Not Available)Black Bakul (Matte) Clear Acrylic Demonstartor (AC Series) Matte Finish with Polished Finials Complete Matte Finish Imported Premium Ebonite Colours Solid Pale GreenSolid OrangeSolid BlueSolid PinkWhite Blue SwirlBlue Pink SwirlBlack Yellow SwirlBlue Green Orange SwirlPale Pink Black Swirl (Not Available)Green Yellow Swirl Please pm me for shipping within India.

Ranga Pen Company (Ranga Handmade Pens) founded by MS Pandurangan in 1970 in Thiruvallur has been producing quality fountain pens, rollerball pens, and ball pens. They use ebonite, acrylic, and also used to make pens from cellulose nitrate in past. There were recently a lot of group buys on Fountain Pen Network where new ebonite rods were introduced which I took an opportunity to photograph. Available Colours are as follows: New Regular Ebonite Colours (SE Series) Solid Forest Green Forest Green - Black Ripple Forest Green - Honey Ripple Forest Green - Khaki Ripple Forest Green - Mustard Yellow Ripple Forest Green - Teal Blue Ripple Teal Blue - Black Ripple Teal Blue - Khaki Ripple Mustard Yellow - Black Ripple Khaki - Black Ripple Solid Cherry Red Rose Red - Black Ripple Rose Red - Mauve Ripple Rose Red - Blue Ripple Rose Red - Forest Green Ripple Rose Red - Bottle Green Ripple Rose Red - Mustard Yellow Ripple Brick Red - Khaki Ripple Brick Red - Black Ripple Teal Blue - Orange Ripple New Regular Ebonite Rods – Top View New Regular Ebonite Rods – Lateral View Following are the youtube video links: Hope this post helps you in making an informed decision while purchasing fountain pens from Ranga Pen Company.

I have stocked up lot of inks, especially inks like Chelpark, Camlin, Bril and Sulekha. All these are region specific like Chelpark is easily available in North India and Bril's availability is limited to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, and Sulekha only available in Kolkatta that too few colors against 11 colors listed on webpage and lastly Camlin is available pan India. The review is about the Bril Royal Blue Ink, which happens to be my first ink review. And before I go further I would really like to thank Visvamitra and Lgsoltek, whose ink reviews I personally like a lot and is the inspiration for the ink review. Bril inks are one of the most used and admired inks in India. Bril has been in existence since 1964 and are based out of Bangalore. Bril Royal Blue is one of the most used inks in India after Camlin Blue and it is priced at Rs. 15 (US $ 0.25) for 60 ml glass bottle. INK SPLASH Ink Splash on Bilt Matrix - 70 gsm Ink Splash on Century Copy Paper - 70 gsm Drop on Paper Napkin Color Match Writing Samples Bril Royal Blue – Writing Sample on Bilt Matrix (70 gsm) using 3 pens of varying nibs width Bril Royal Blue – Writing Sample on Camlin School Notebook using 3 pens of varying nibs width Bril Royal Blue – Writing Sample on Century Copy paper (70 gsm) using 3 pens of varying nibs width Ink Swabs Bril Royal Blue – Ink Swab Sample on Bilt Matrix (70 gsm) – 3 swabs, 2 swabs and 1 swab from Left to Right For further details and waterproof test, please visit my blog LINK

KRISHNA GOLD RUSH The review is simultaneously posted at my blog here : LINK In Indian Fountain Pen industry or Circles, Dr. Sreekumar is quite known for his hand-turned fountain pens and almost 20 types of nib tuning. However recently he has shelved in to making fountain pen inks under the brand name of KRISHNA. These inks are sold on eBay India Page for Rs. 550 (8 USD) each for 5 Nos. 30 ml ink bottle plus shipping. NOTE THAT NEW GLASS BOTTLES HAVE ARRIVED AND THIS WILL RESULT IN BIT OF PRICE INCREASE. However old plastic bottles still remain in stock while the stock lasts. The inks that are being produced are currently limited to 27 nos. (28 earlier) : GOLD RUSH MEADOW GREEN BLUE MAGIC AFTER DARK SAPPHIRE BLUE LAKE BLUE BRONZE LEAF ORANGE CRUSH AUTUMN SINDHOOR GLORY VINE DARK ROSE NJAVAL WILD CHERRY PURPLE PEACOCK YELLOW VALLEY MELLOW BLUE VIVID VIOLET ORCHARD LILY DARK CHOCOLATE COOL BREEZE SILENT NIGHT SKY FORGET ME NOT SKY BLUE GHAT GREEN PUMPKIN GIRL PINK / BARBIE PINK (discontinued) Krishna Inks – Color Chart 1 Krishna Inks – Color Chart 2 I would like to thank Dr. Sreekumar for sending me the samples and also for the effort that he has put in. I will be reviewing all one by one. This review is about GOLD RUSH ink from KRISHNA. This is actually like yellow golden colour. And I do like it. It does amazing job in broad nibs. Krishna Ink comes in plastic bottles in 30 ml quantity and new lot with INCREASED PRICES will come in glass bottles now. INK SPLASH Krishna Gold Rush – Ink Splash on JK Cedar 100 gsm Colour is beautiful with no sheen and very little shading. DROP ON PAPER NAPKIN Krishna Gold Rush – Ink Drop on Paper Towel COLOUR MATCH Krishna Gold Rush – Color Range WRITING SAMPLES Krishna Gold Rush – Writing Sample on JK Cedar 100 gsm Krishna Gold Rush – Writing Sample on JK Cedar 100 gsm – Angled View The ink is legible even in Japanese fine nibs but perform well in Broad nibs INK SWABS Krishna Gold Rush – Ink Passes on JK Cedar - 100 gsm Krishna Gold Rush – Ink Swab on Jk Cedar - 100 gsm Krishna Gold Rush –Scribble on JK Cedar -100 gsm WATERPROOF TEST Krishna Gold Rush – Waterproof Test Ink when rubbed with water gives away the colour easily and is not at waterproof. INK DRYING TIMES Krishna Ghat Green – Ink Drying Times Ink drying are better than other Krishna inks I reviewed earlier. BLOW UP WRITING SAMPLES Krishna Gold Rush – Blow up Writing Sample on JK Cedar 100 gsm There is no feathering of this Ink as you can see from this close-up. CONCLUSION: I like the colour of the Ink. It can also be used as highlighter Ink. Performs best in Western Broad and Medium nibs along with the Calligraphy Nibs The ink has amazing flow properties and is moderately lubricated. Following are the summation of ink properties: Feathering : NoSheen : NoShading : LowLubrication : ModerateFlow : GoodWater Resistance : BadDrying Times : AcceptableNib Creep : NoneClogging : NoneOdor : NoneInk can be bought from : LINK (Ebay India Store)

ANOKHI'S - BAHI KHATA NOTEBOOK The review is simultaneously posted at my blog here : LINK Well there are someday when you are shopping with your wife with not so much interest. Going from one store to another and yet she has not been able to find her perfect match for clothing. And you are dragged like anything and there is nothing which interests you and all you keep thinking in mind is : “I wish it was a stationary shop”. Certain such instance almost happened when I was moving from one Retail store to another but hey I was not bored this time. The store that we went to was “ANOKHI“to shop for traditional Indian ethnic wear. It had notebooks made out of traditional block printed cloth cover and hand sewn. I was happy but not my wife as she did not like anything to her liking there that day. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – So this is what I came out with ANOKHI’s origins can be traced to Jaipur and is traditional craft based Apparel brand. Jaipur is famous for many crafts among which two famous crafts are Blue Pottery and Hand Block Printing. The brand has essentially revived the traditional hand block printing craft and they use vegetable dyes only. The first Anokhi store was opened in 1984 and have grown manifolds with not just stores in India but also stores in USA and also many distributors in Europe. Hand Block Printing So this review is about the Notebook from Anokhi which they call “Bahi-Khata” which actually means Ledger – Book in Hindi Language. DESIGN & BUILD : Here it is all about Design. The notebook is beautifully designed has a sewn cloth cover over a paper board. First the cloth is pasted and then sewn for giving it strength. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Front Cover The notebook comes with different cloth covers and patterns and has string which makes the perfect case for Journal as sometimes lot of loose paper are kept inside notebook and string takes care of that when you close it. This notebook is medium size which is equal to B5 size. Though I also saw lot of other smaller sizes also. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Rear Cover The front and rear cover are made of same cloth and finishing is quite nice apart from the certain niggles at the centre sewn part inside. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Paper Torn at Joint. I will probably paste a cloth here also. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Corner Detail – Very Neat Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – String Sew and and same string extends for wrapping around Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Bottom View I picked this from store and it was all in display and thus there was no packing. Thus nothing much to say here. PERFORMANCE / QUALITY : Now the real part. As I have mentioned earlier and I believe most of us all know that the quality of paper as far as using with fountain pen is concerned is dependent on lot of parameters like ink resistance, shading, sheen, feathering, bleed-through, paper colour, smoothness or texture and few others. Few properties are also dependent with ink properties like shading and sheen. There is a bright white thick paper when you open the notebook with Lord Ganesha imprinted. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – First Page The writing paper inside is not super white, and is just leaning a little towards grey. There is no mention of quality of paper so I have no Idea of gsm of the paper. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing Paper leaning towards grey colour The paper is quite smooth and is has no texture. Love the feeling when pen touches the paper it is quite smooth. The paper is lined and also comes in blank page format. Really love the feel of those top two green line at top as a Header. All pens and inks performed really well, whether be it Italic nib or fine point nib. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing on it – Front side Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing on it – Rear side Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing on it – Close Up – 1 Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing on it – Close Up 2 Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – Writing on it – Close Up – Rear Side As visible from above images it is quite clear that the paper has performed surprisingly really well. There is no feathering and bleed-through and even some inks like Diamine Majestic and Iroshizuku Yama Budo showed Sheen which my camera was not able to capture. It has performed really really well. I though still feel the sewing and punching of notebook could be improved. Performance summary is as follows: Ink Resistance : HighPaper Texture : SmoothFeathering : NoneBleed-through : NoneShading : HighSheen : Medium VALUE : The B5 – Medium Size notebook with 100 pages was bought by me at MRP of Rs. 150 ( US $ 2.22 at today’s exchange rate of 1 USD = Rs. 67.47). There is no mention of paper quality or no. of pages, though there are 100 leaves after my count. Anokhi Bahi Khata Notebook – No mention of Paper Quality and Nos. Though date and place of manufacturing are clearly mentioned. CONCLUSION : I was on lookout for the Journal for a long time and this has fulfilled all my desires. Both sides of paper can be used for writing. And all the inks and pens have performed flawlessly. I wish the paper could have been a bit brighter though and the quality of thread stitching can be improved but @Rs. 150 I should not be complaining much. I will recommend this to all Journal lovers to at-least try one. Trust me you wont be disappointed with the paper. Oh by the way it is not available online, only in their Retail stores.

Oliver pens is one of the prominent manufacturer/distributor of pens in India. The name though is not known to all people. I am in love with my Olivers. I hereby give shout to all people to show their Oliver Pens