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Magna Carta Elements (Earth) This pen is an entry level offering from Magna cart pens from India. Me, being from India and with an eye for new innovation came across this pen and the company during one of my searches on Facebook. It was instant Bollywood style love at first sight with this instrument. The price quoted on the webpage was around INR 10,000/-. So with a few bucks to spare for the month and making up my mind with self justification of the purchase, i took the leap through the Rabbit hole. I contacted Mr. Hardik Kanakarra of Magna Carta through mobile and the order was placed with no hassle. The pen was shipped and delivered in pristine condition. First Impressions The pen is made with Resin and the variant i chose was the earth, the black cap with the green barrel. The build was sturdy with an apt weight and size for my medium sized hands (Glove size 7.5). A screw type cap and the bottom of the pen comes with a blind cap which leads to the pneumatic filler. A long brass plunger with a hole in the top enclosing a silicone sac (Claimed Capacity - 2ML) within the barrel connected to the nipple of the nib section reminds the Sheaffers of the pre touchdown era. The pen is equipped with a size 6 in-house Magna Carta gold plated steel nib with ebonite feed, enclosed within a Bock threaded ebonite housing. Over all a posh looking and definitely an eye catcher pen. First Write After the initial admiration of this exotic beauty, it was time to put into test. The ink is fed into the pen via the pneumatic mechanism i.e negative pressure caused by pushing the plunger with the top hole closed and opening the hole after the plunger is totally inside the barrel. One can hear a satisfying POP on the removal of the filler suggesting the opening of the sac and ink gushing into the silicon sac. Little tricky but an interesting and fun way to fill ink. The initial stroke of the pen on the paper was flawless. The fine tip nib that i ordered did justice to the word "fine tip". First Problem The first problem encountered was the in-house nib. The tipping of the nib was amazing, however the skips by the nib was unbearable not to mention the drying up of ink even on short storage. Every time the pen had a troubled start. After running out of ink and when trying to refill, There was no POP and to make things worse the ink gushing out of the rear hole of the plunger. A messy outcome on the second fill. A search on the web revealed the problem to be an alleged ruptured sac. The problem was confirmed on opening the nib section after soaking the pen in lukewarm water for a few hours. Another minor issue being the cross threading of the cap during closing of the pen. Final Word No doubts a great looking pen. Hats off to MAGNA CARTA for taking the step towards making the fountain pen interesting and offering a premium product from India. However the problem arises with the performance of the pen. A pen is judged by the way it writes and the major flaw with this pen is the skips during writing. I've swapped with a compatible Bock nib and the writing is flawless. Magna Carta elements is good but far from perfection. Rating Looks - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Build - 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ Nib - 2/5 ⭐⭐ Value for Money - 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ As an EDC - 👍 (After the nib swap).

PLP are the initials of Mr. Poona Lakshmi Pathi, An age old name in the handmade pen business from Hyderabad India. He has been OEM for various pen manufacturers across the Indian subcontinent. Currently him along with his son Mr. Satish Kumar has entered into the Indian pen market with their own brand ‘PLP Pens’. My Introduction to the Brand It was during one of my casual surfing in the “Fountain Pen Club India” group in Facebook, I bumped across this pen and the brand. A few user reviews and the pictures posted in the group were enough to convince me to go for this pen. I contacted Mr. Satish Kumar via WhatsApp and received the pictures. After ogling at the selection of pens made by the father Son duo, I decided on procuring a couple of eyedropper pens both with size #35 friction fit Ambitious nibs on ebonite feeders. One was a yellow capsule shaped acrylic and the other was a green bi-flat Indian ebonite costing INR 2200/- and INR 1400/- respectively. The pens were shipped on the promised date and the shipping details were shared on WhatsApp. Overall a hassle free buying experience. First Impressions The pens arrived in a couple of PLP plastic boxes. Though I am a die hard fan of the ebonite eye droppers, it was the acrylic pen that won my heart. The pen was solid built and was perfectly balanced with an impeccable finish. Both the pens came with chrome finish clips with “PLP” engraved at the top. During the side by side comparison of the two pens, the acrylic pen was short by few millimetres compared to its ebonite counterpart. On trying to clip both the pens in the shirt pocket the acrylic pen sat sung compared to the ebonite. Both the pens sported a tapered section with the acrylic pen sporting an additional step up at the end of the section. Overall both the pens were well crafted and were ready to be inked. First Write After drooling over these well crafted beauties, it was zero hour. Time to fill the tank and take the first baby steps on the paper. Though both the pens had a slim variation with regards to the dimensions, both had a barrel capacity of 2.5 ML approx. The choice of ink was a concoction of epitome royal blue and aqua blue which I call “Brilliant” (Named after the brilliance in the hue of the final product). A “juicy imprint” is the apt word to describe these pens first letters on the paper. Both the pens were flawless, wet and well-balanced writers. The acrylic pen was the heavier among the two with a marginal yet significant difference in terms of balance. Both the pens fared well on long writing sessions with the cap posted and unposted. Among the two, my pick was the acrylic pen. The pens did not dry up on overnight storage nor burped on long writing sessions. Final Word At this price point both the pens are in my opinion a true VFM. The finish on these pens are in par with the pen offerings from major players in the Indian pen market for half the price. Though both are excellent writers my pick was the acrylic pen over the ebonite pen for its weight, built and the step up at the nib section providing a sturdy and enjoyable writing experience. Though Mr.PLP has been manufacturing pens and served as an OEM for various pen brands across the Indian subcontinent, it is only in recent times he has started selling his creation under his own banner. We Indians root for the underdog too! The Ebonite pen specifications: Total pen size is 150mm Un-Capped: 135mm Body size: 14mm Cap size: 15.5mm Section size: 12.5mm The Acrylic pen specifications: Total Length: 145mm Uncapped: 130mm Section Dia: 12.5mm Body Dia: 14.5mm Rating Ebonite Pen INR 1400/- Looks - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Build - 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nib - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value for Money - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ As an EDC - 👍 Acrylic Pen INR 2200/- Looks - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Build - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nib - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value for Money - 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐️ As an EDC - 👍 PLP pens Contact Mr. Satish Kumar +91 96522 76914

The Legacy of the Parker 51 is unmatched. The name Parker 51 has got its own volume in the pages of fountain pen history. A pen launched in 1941 marking the 51st anniversary of the company, still stands up to its marketing slogan of "the world's most wanted pen". It took eleven years for the development of the pen and sold over 20 million pens between 1941 to 1972 and returning a whopping 400 million dollars in revenue for the company. The pen was designed to resemble a jet fighter with a brand new tubular nib to fit the pen. Turning the pages of worlds history, in last century the iconic Parker 51 was used to sign the surrender of Germany and Japan in World war II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower used 2 Parker 51s to create a symbolic V for victory and the late Queen Elizabeth II preferred choice of pen. The Parker 51 has its own place in the Whitehouse. From the late US President John. F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan, Parker 51 had played its vital, final and firm role in world politics. It would be absolutely apt to call this legend of a writing instrument "The True King of Pens". Parker 51 NG The year was 2021 and the management of Parker woke up from a deep slumber and decided to live upto their legacy i.e. to introduce a pen during a worldwide crisis just like their predecessors did with the launch of Parker Vacumatic during the great depression or the launch of Parker Victory and the 51 during the second world war. Unlike their predecessors who are renowned for their innovations and novelty in launching new products and making it a phenomenal success, the sluggish, average Joe current generation planned on relaunching a neo version of an old legend and the retired legend they chose to resurrect was the Parker 51!. Hearing this I lost my sleep. Owning and using a few of the Vintage 51 myself, the expectations rose sky high. Not an exaggeration but there were so many nights where the thought of this relaunch used to be my sheep count to put me to sleep. The D-day arrived and the pen was officially launched and YouTube was flooded with reviews. Most of the reviews were for the steel nib version and I wouldn't lie, each of those reviews were a punch to the gut. All my imaginations and expectations started crumbling and let the thought of buying the pen pass. Few months later after the on and off use of the vintage 51s, I chose to revisit those YouTube reviews. An odd point stood out. Most of the reviews were steel nib and from my limited decade old experience in using fountain pens, the thought that struck me was each fountain pen has an unique character and a million dollar question of how could a renowned brand like Parker make an absolute blunder with a legend like the Parker 51. With the above justification and reasoning out a thousand times with myself to spend INR 26,500/-, I took the infamous dive down the Rabbit-hole. Placed the order for the plum golden nib through a good friend Mr. Rajesh Pillai and the pen arrived safe and sound. First Impressions The pen arrived in the box of premium standards. The pen sported the precious resin with chisel golden cap and trims. The weight was apt and well balanced pen for my medium sized hand (Glove size 7.5). The breather hole at the bottom or the side as seen with the vintage was absent. The classic cap jewel was replaced with a metal one with a gap!! Not sure if the design is supposed to mimic a propellor of the P-51 fighter jet or a very outdated and unnecessary breather hole. However I couldn't think of any use to the gap in the cap. The major design change was the screw type cap in place of the slip on/push cap and to make matters worse it was metal on resin, popping the question of lifespan of this pen. The classical hooded design was replaced to a semi hood covering half the 18KT gold fine tip nib and a very noticeable gap between the tip of the hood and the nib. The resin threaded barrel again screws up to a metal nipple. On observing this all I could do was keep my fingers crossed and pray that this pen lasts for a considerable amount of time in my hands and my hard earned money that I spent on this pen doesn't go down the drain in the near future. The pan came with a conventional cartridge and a twist convertor. First Write After making the above observations it was zero hour. The time to put the resurrected legend to action. The ink of choice was Montblanc petrol blue and with the first dip and few twists the convertor was filled with a tiny air bubble. The moment of truth. the first stroke of the pen was flawless, nothing less than the vintage Parker 51. It was totally an flabbergasting experience given the thought of negative reviews racing in your head and personally observing and highlighting the flaws in the design. The wetness along with the feedback of the nib, the weight and balance of the pen vanished the fears of flushing the money spent on this pen down the drain. It was pure bliss and joy to write with this pen. Rising up to the challenge With all things said and done, it is the duty of this particular model to stand up to its predecessors glory. This pen according to me had a great challenge to face down the road. The vintage original Parker 51 had two primary objectives. One the aerodynamic design resembling a fighter jet which the 51 NG managed to achieve in its own way with few flaws. The second Himalayan task ahead was the no dry flawless writing with no skips especially on long storage which was a boasting promise of Parker on the original vintage 51. It so happened that after two days of acquiring this pen, I had to leave the country for a week for a conference. Leaving behind the 51, I flew to Japan and on coming back after a week, I could see the 51 staring at me from my pen stand. So with no further ado, I unscrewed the cap and placed the nib on my personal journal, and there was the dot of ink on the paper. The pen started to write with no skips jus like its ancestors from the last century. That was the moment my fears and doubts were completely washed away. There was no drying up issue and the NG had proven itself. I have been using it for a period of two months now, not once has the nib dried up nor had any skips during my long writing sessions. Final word It was a gutsy move from Parker to resurrect a classic successful model and kudos on the effort. Yet it was absolute ignorance, dim-witted boneheadedness to think that they could resurrect a classic from the last century with no proper R&D, using the existing parts, to tag a price that is pompous and wheedle out of the situation. The Parker 51 NG to me is no blast from the past appearance wise, however putting it to use, it is no way less in terms of performance and stands equal to its predecessors. In a profession where people judge you in a jiffy this pen can be an EDC for two reason, One not too flashy for an observer to notice and the second reason being a reliable flawless writer. This pen has been my EDC for the past two months putting my trusted Waterman Hemisphere which has been a loyal companion for a decade to rest. To conclude the vintage/original 51 Is the late Queen Elizabeth II and the 51 NG is King Charles III. I'll leave the interpretation open to the readers. Rating Looks - 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Build - 2/5 ⭐⭐ Nib - 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value for Money - 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ As an EDC - 👍

It helps to explore this yourself, revisiting once in a while if need be, and keep in mind where each of those personal info fields are entered. Don't leave it until the urge to change something specific to come upon you, and only then bother to ask the question! Invest the time surveying upfront, instead of waste it later waiting for an answer from nobody in particular. Most of the fields shown above are self-evident as to what they are. I think the only ones that could do with explanation are: Security and Privacy: There is only one setting under there, and that is a toggle for whether your online status (including ‘last active’ date or time) is visible to others Content View Behavior: That has nothing to do with what others can see about you, but only where you would like to start reading when accessing content Enable status updates: This toggle enables/disables the public feed on your profile page; if you disable it, then nobody (including you) can post publicly visible ‘status updates’ or any other message against your profile, but if you enable it, then anyone — friend, foe, or complete stranger — can post something there whenever, without waiting for you to initiate and then only reply to what you wrote Notification Settings have nothing to do with what others can see about you, and so is out of scope for this article, and I'm not going to delve into those right now. (You can look here, here, and here to wrap your head around how notifications work with respect to followed content.) N.B. There is a possibility that some of the above settings and data fields may not be available to Bronze members and/or Silver members, but I have no way of testing that or scoping it out. — • — Another way of getting to the Edit Profile dialog, and the way to change your profile photo (or ‘avatar’), is here: — • — Freeform, custom member titles that one enters for oneself are long gone, and have not been a thing since FPN came back from a long hiatus and platform upgrade late in 2020.