Flair Inky And Cello Fountain

[sajiskumar]

This is my first (short) review and is about two new Indian fountain pens, Flair Inky and Cello Fountain. I write a single review because both the pens have many similarities.

 

Appearance & Design:

 

Both the pens looks almost similar and comes in blister packs with two free “jumbo” cartridges. The visible difference between the two is in the barrels. The barrel of Cello Fountain is painted with Disney Comic Characters, while that of Flair Inky is painted with plain silver . So the Cello Fountain seems more attractive than of Flair Inky, at least to Indian children. The pens look more like a ball or gel pen

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/flair_cello_1.jpg

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/flair_cello_2.jpg

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/flair_cello_3.jpg

 

Both the pens are designed for rough use by kids, with a click on cap and available in many colours. All parts are made with clear plastic, except the clip, crown, bottom crown and feed, which are made with single colour plastic.

Construction and Quality: Both the pens are made with plastic, but well made for rough use of children.

 

Weight and Dimension: Both are very light weight pens and are comfortable for writing long duration

 

Nib & Performance: The steel nib of both the pens write very smooth and wet, compared to the other Indian pens and gives a Fine to Medium line width. The other side of the nib also write quite good with a fine line, with some feedback. I mostly use the other side for finer line width. The Cello Fountain writes bit finer than Flair Inky. Both the pen writes flawlessly, without skipping,even after long time (4-6 weeks ) of keeping unused.

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/flair_cello_4.jpg

 

Filling system & Maintenance: Both are cartridge pens, but not with the standard international cartridges, The "jumbo" proprietary cartridge holds more ink than a standard small international cartridge. The Pens are available only with blue cartridges and the ink is very good quality. No feathering or flow problems.

I tried Parker long cartridges, it exactly fit into the pen, but the barrel cannot hold the long cartridge. May be a small Parker cartridge will suit.

 

Conclusion:

Both the pens good value for the money. A must try pen. I have been using both these pens for last many months, and am fully satisfied with their performance. Both are very practical pens, even though the looks are aesthetically not so attractive. To me these pens are Indian Preppies.

[hari317]

Interesting, the feeds seem to be quite sophisticated. Have you tried using them as ED pens? The cartridges look peculiar, can you take a pic of the carts outside the blister pack?

 

Thanks!

hari

Edited April 28, 2012 by hari317

[Uncle Red]

Thanks for the review. If you can use them as ED's then they are Indian Preppies. It's always amazing how good a writing instrument these school pens can be.

[watch_art]

They look like the Pilot Varsity or the Bic disposable.

[sajiskumar]

Interesting, the feeds seem to be quite sophisticated. Have you tried using them as ED pens? The cartridges look peculiar, can you take a pic of the carts outside the blister pack?

 

Thanks!

hari

 

short international vs.flair/cello jumbo vs. long international.

 

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/cartdrige_comparison.jpg

 

Sorry for the poor image quality. just learning..

[sajiskumar]

Thanks for the review. If you can use them as ED's then they are Indian Preppies. It's always amazing how good a writing instrument these school pens can be.

Just removed the cartridge from Flair Inky, which I am presently using, and filled the barrel with water. No O ring or silicone grease, but no leaks. Seems this pen will work as an ED too.

[hari317]

 

short international vs.flair/cello jumbo vs. long international.

 

 

Thanks Sajis. Looks like they have evolved a proprietary cartridge.

 

Hari

[The Royal Pen]

One in the middle looks like the cartridges for Zebra pens.

 

They're cool though!

[Uncle Red]

Thanks Sajiskumar, that's good news about an ED conversion.

[fncll]

They also make a pen called the "Fantasy" that has a narrower section. I haven't found anyone who sells them in the US--or even that will ship to the US!

[Aman Syed]

Thanks.... Awesome review! Keep it up!

[sajiskumar]

Last week I got a new version of Cello Liquid Fountain. the new pen looks more attractive to me than the Disney version. Here are some images:

 

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/DSC03858_crop.jpg

 

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/DSC03857_crop.jpg

 

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n489/sajiskumar/Fountain%20Pens/DSC03852_crop.jpg

[manupandeyji]

Sajiskumar.

 

I tried to fill the Cello Disney with Parker Quink ink, but all ink flows out from the nib side portion and doesn't remain in the barrel. Though, no leaks from the barrel side.

 

Really new cello pen is more attractive than previous one. It's better to use in college or workplace without any hesitation while previous one gives little bit kid's pen type feeling. How much it cost you in INR.

[rexunm]

I got the cello fountain and I have used it very regularly, it has given me a good experience. It is a cheap and value for money pen. Also the ink cartridges are pretty good. it can hold exactly 1ml of ink which exactly same to what the Parker Quink cartridges hold, and it goes through 2 weeks for me considering that I write a lot. So if anyone asks me, I would surely recommend this pen to them.

[madzaxmax]

Quick question, though.

 

Are these pens manufactured by Cello/Flair in India or are they imported and re-branded products (possible from China)?

 

Even Bril has started marketing "Bril" branded fountain pens. I am waiting for a full set and I will post a review in the forum. However, I did confirm from them that the pens have been sourced from an Indian manufacturer.

Edited March 12, 2013 by madzaxmax

[sajiskumar]

The same pen is marketed by different pen companies like Cello, Flair, Reynolds, Link, Todays,etc, with almost the same price tag.

 

I guess one company(probably Chinese, but I am not sure) is manufacturing for all these companies. But the pen is a workhorse and providing good value for the money.

[a_m]

I have both Flair Inky and the Cello FP

 

Firstly the grip section of these FPs are too thick to be held properly by its target segment (ie. children, assuming the cartoons printed on such FP).

 

Secondly, the nibs may seem smooth to those who are not advanced users of FPs (ie dont write much with FP). The nibs simply drag when used for continuous writing. Though nibs are of steel, its not really enjoyable to write with these pens. Moreover the quality of the nibs are not uniform - one may write good the other may not write good - its that simple.

 

Yes these can be used as ED (but some wax / vaseline would be needed)

 

The whole feed inside the section can rotate 360 degrees when the pen is in good condition.

 

The reason that these pen would start everytime even after being kept for extended period of no use is its feed - its more like the sketchpen feed. (see image)

 

The feed / nib are fused and cannot be taken out except by the pen getting damaged ! I was trying to "adjust" the nib of one of the recalcitrant pen and it simply broke.

 

The only reason I bought these pens was that in one of the brands (I guess its Flair Inky), its written something like "Rediscover the Joy of Writing". But found no joy with these FPs.

 

(btw, the best FP for children I have found to be the Reynold pens - there are two of them one is called Reynold Inkpen, the other is called Reynold Grippy. Both have same nibs, but the ED of Grippy is more innovative.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2013 by a_m

[basterma]

I have one of these pens and its a good writer, but the grip is a bit large as stated above. I found a pen in a German Euro store that was unbranded, but had the same nib and feed, but without the felt strip. It also had more spring than the Liquid Pen shown here. Someone certainly makes them for others, but I don't know who.

 

Can you use Parker or Lamy cartridges with these pens?

[mohan]

According to the shop owner , from where I bought these pens they are made in china and rebranded.

Dear basterma,

they do not take parker or lamy catridges. But can refill catridges as these catridges are made very good. But feed gets clogged very easily making it nonusable.

Edited June 12, 2013 by mohan

[hypro999]

I have both Flair Inky and the Cello FP

 

Firstly the grip section of these FPs are too thick to be held properly by its target segment (ie. children, assuming the cartoons printed on such FP).

 

Secondly, the nibs may seem smooth to those who are not advanced users of FPs (ie dont write much with FP). The nibs simply drag when used for continuous writing. Though nibs are of steel, its not really enjoyable to write with these pens. Moreover the quality of the nibs are not uniform - one may write good the other may not write good - its that simple.

 

Yes these can be used as ED (but some wax / vaseline would be needed)

 

The whole feed inside the section can rotate 360 degrees when the pen is in good condition.

 

The reason that these pen would start everytime even after being kept for extended period of no use is its feed - its more like the sketchpen feed. (see image)

 

The feed / nib are fused and cannot be taken out except by the pen getting damaged ! I was trying to "adjust" the nib of one of the recalcitrant pen and it simply broke.

 

The only reason I bought these pens was that in one of the brands (I guess its Flair Inky), its written something like "Rediscover the Joy of Writing". But found no joy with these FPs.

 

(btw, the best FP for children I have found to be the Reynold pens - there are two of them one is called Reynold Inkpen, the other is called Reynold Grippy. Both have same nibs, but the ED of Grippy is more innovative.)

 

 

c1.jpg

 

 

c2.jpg

 

 

c3.jpg

 

Yea, I've noticed that when I write with this pen, it gives the same feel as a fibre-tipped pen, making it ineffective to call it a fountain pen.

I also own the reynolds grippy and I am shocked that even though it is quite inexpensive it writes amazingly well, and has no leakage problems, the grippy is truly brilliant. The Reynolds ink pen however, will create MANY leaking problems....

 

P.S. The grippy and inkpen as much of children's fountain pens as a parker frontier.... meaning that they really aren't. The cello fountain pen is definitely a children's fountain pen.

Edited January 19, 2014 by hypro999