What Indian Pens Are You Using Today?

[jvmadhavan]

 

 

I had provided you with mobile number some weeks back - if you look at your FPN inbox.

 

I buy from ebay, because these FPs are not available at my place. Those living in metros may refer to shops selling these. I understand that while Fellowship FPs may be easily available at local shops, the Ritter may not.

 

For example, at my place the only brand available is Camlin - however at times one may find Fellowships also.

 

If you see at my website at: http://indiapoint.net/archives/2013/05/26/review-schneider-base-fountain-pen/

 

in the images, where FPs are compared, the transparent one is Fellowship that I bought in my city.

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful

[Ally1205]

Does anyone know if Fountain Pen Revolution are ever likely to replenish their stocks of the Serwex MB pen? I tried asking FPR via their website contact form, but got no reply....

Edited July 15, 2013 by Ally1205

[ashishwakhlu]

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031/Round%20Nib%20Brahmam/Picture681.jpg

 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031/Round%20Nib%20Brahmam/Picture682.jpg

 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii313/Ashish_031/Round%20Nib%20Brahmam/Picture683.jpg

 

This pen from Deccan, 14ct gold nib, a cross between an MB 149 and a Sheaffer. Pressure bar filler, very smooth fine nib.

 

best

 

Ashish

[de_pen_dent]

Right now, I have 3 inked:

 

- Ranga Vishal ebonite in bakul black finish, filled with Diamine Asa Blue. This has a B Jowo nib and an international converter, supplied by me. The fit and finish of the pen are absolutely top-notch - were this made in the US, this pen would easily sell for $300 or more.

 

- A Deccan Advocate, in glossy black, with the stock Deccan nib. Hari is right - Deccan is probably one of the best pen-makers in India. This is an ED pen, and has had no leaks or ink burps so far. And it puts together an absolutely divine wet, fine line, with just the right amount of paper feedback. If you put a gun to my head, I'll probably choose this pen over a Sailor F purely on the basis of how it writes. The fit and finish, as with the Ranga, are absolutely top notch. Another pen that would not be out of place selling for 3-5 times its street price.

 

- A small Guider acrylic pen. I have around 12-14 Guiders, and stock, they've been more miss than hit - but after a bit of nib work (mainly, increasing ink flow), they've all started to write really well. The bigger ones are prone to a bit of ink burping, however. This little guy is one of the best of my Guiders, in terms of writing - and I needed to do no work on it. Another wet-fine writer, with some paper feedback but no resistance.

 

The other pens I have inked right now are a Visconti Wall Street LE and a Gates City Postal Jr. These pens fit right in, in terms of how well they write.

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img196/6411/tei7.jpg

[hari317]

This pen from Deccan, 14ct gold nib, a cross between an MB 149 and a Sheaffer. Pressure bar filler, very smooth fine nib.

 

best

 

Ashish

love this pen Ashish.

[rwilsonedn]

love this pen Ashish.

+1. That is a beautiful pen, and I especially like the nib. I've not seen anything like that on an Indian pen before. And it's a Deccan!

ron

[hari317]

+1. That is a beautiful pen, and I especially like the nib. I've not seen anything like that on an Indian pen before. And it's a Deccan!

ron

Dear Ron, that is the typical Indian avatar of the Triumph nib but mounted unconventionally on a flared section. I have tried an identical pen at Deccan but could not afford the price asked at that time. I always have some heart problems after visiting deccan. haha.

[mhphoto]

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t595/fivecatpenagerie/CD54DE07-69AE-49E5-BBB9-6242CF41BEAA-5657-000000E234B2B5DF_zpsd31ed2c3.jpg

[rwilsonedn]

Dear Ron, that is the typical Indian avatar of the Triumph nib but mounted unconventionally on a flared section. I have tried an identical pen at Deccan but could not afford the price asked at that time. I always have some heart problems after visiting deccan. haha.

Hari:

I am just lucky that the Deccan store is half a world away from me. I could never resist.

ron

[Aramchek]

Currently the only Indian pen I have inked is a Fellowship black bird eyedropper in mottled green plastic (not black!) I inked it yesterday and so far I'm certainly pleased. It is a smooth reliable writer with Parker Blue and seems well made, with two exceptions: the ink windows are partially covered with material from the barrel - this does not seem intentional. Also, there are two curved lines on each side of where the clip comes out that is probably either some production artifact or scratches but might be cracks. They where already there before I inked it.

[mhguda]

Reviving this thread, one of my favorites here...

 

I have a number inked, however I wanted to talk especially about my three new additions to the hoard herd: three lovelies from Kim & Co. My interest in those was sparked in one of the many threads about Indian fountain pens, and I'm happy to say that a friend from the forum has been wonderful enough to send me, not one, but three new pens from Kim & Co.

Here they are:

I really like these pens so much.

They are all relatively large pens, all ebonite, with cigar shaped bodies and nibs that fit their size, and feeds that complement the nib. They keep up very well, and even though I filled them up with relatively dry Montbland Mystery Black, I have had no flow issues whatsoever.

The barrels are thicker than usual, I think, so while the pens are big and they hold a lot of ink, it is not overmuch, and more importantly, I have not seen the effect of the pen burping when the ink level goes down.

All three nibs had a slight stubbish character (is that even the correct expression?), which I found I like a lot and wanted to emphasize a little. The Jumbo wanted a short session with silicon carbide paper and is now exactly as I want it. The "small" black Kim just needed to be passed over glass to make it a slightly more pronounced stub.

 

I also like the very subdued design of these pens. No furniture except for the clip, and the ebonite warm and solid in the hand, yet not too heavy. They are polished but not too shiny, not plasticky. All in all, another reinforcement of my slowly developing love affair with Indian fountain pens...

[Seele]

FPR Dilli (clear) fitted with a GSP Golden Star Peking steel nib; works very well indeed.

 

http://1.ccker.com/gbw/Mon_1310/2_4859_11106d9b7f421f9.jpg?86

[Aramchek]

Two currently, neither of which are among the better Indian pens I've tried:

 

Hamraj 96: I noticed (after filling!) that the nib and feed are misaligned and an attempt to pull them out only resulted in Quinky fingers, but to my surprise, it seems reliable in spite of that, and very rarely skips. Unfortunately, what looked like it was designed to be an ergonomic grip on the section turned out to be quite uncomfortable, and while the nib is not scratchy it just doesn't feel good. I expect that I will, once it runs dry, try to force out the nib and feed from the inside and try to fit the feed and some decent nib in the Harmraj Max, which does have good ergonomics but a non-working feed.

 

Camlin 2: Smooth nib, as I've grown to expect from Camlin. Very obvious that this is a cheaper pen than, say, the Trinity or the Elegante, with a cheaper type of plastic seemingly being used and not as well finished. Skips occasionally which is not something I expect from Camlin.

[mohan]

dear mhguda,

happy to know that you like Kim pens. For all modern pens service is free whether you bought directly or through some other person. If you ask they can custom grind nibs for you.

I can pm contact details for any assistance needed.

[mhguda]

mohan,

Very good, thank you! If via email, yes I would like the info, although so far, I am happy with what I could do myself. I guess it is one of the additional reasons I like Indian pens so much: they are built in a way that the user can do a lot of customization and troubleshooting themselves (with a little help from our friends on FPN, naturally).

I think it was your post about them that first piqued my interest, IIRC.

Beautiful and yet sturdy pens that you can take on the road and use.

[mohan]

dear mhguda,

email and contact numbers are send.

[Hema]

A "Swan" Warwick made in India.

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Swan%20Warwick/IMG_1880.jpg

 

Hari

Where are these pens from Hari? What are they like? Are they available anymore?

[hari317]

Where are these pens from Hari? What are they like? Are they available anymore?

Hema, you can read more about these pens here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/68229-swan-warwick-ed-pen/

 

TTK used to market them in India and these pens were made in Mumbai...

Edited October 6, 2013 by hari317

[mhguda]

mohan,

 

Received the info, thank you.

[Hema]

Hema, you can read more about these pens here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/68229-swan-warwick-ed-pen/

 

TTK used to market them in India and these pens were made in Mumbai...

Will do... thanx