Arihant, An Indian Made Piston Filled Pen.

[hari317]

WDP4BAAZ has already reviewed this pen here. A kind FPN member decided that I must have this pen and sent me one. I received the pen today.

 

Arihant literally means "the vanquisher of enemies".

 

The pen is heavily influenced by the Pelikan. It is a piston filler and features a beak clip.

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8878.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8879.jpg

 

The clip:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8882.jpg

 

The cap imprint:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8883.jpg

 

This company has taken the trouble to get nibs made with their name on it, better than slapping on a generic nib in my view.

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8884.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8885.jpg

 

Ebonite feeder:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8886.jpg

 

I found the piston action very smooth, it appears to have been lubricated with silicone grease, also i can see three lips in the seal:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8887.jpg

 

The piston threads:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8888.jpg

 

Comparing with a Pelikan M405:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8881.jpg

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8880.jpg

 

Writing:

 

The pen writes quite well. Nice wet line Fine point not butter smooth but pleasant with some feedback. No tuning done to nib.

 

Customary writing sample:

 

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/ArihantPiston/IMG_8889.jpg

 

I am not aware of the cost since the pen was a gift, but I expect that it should be in line with other Indian student pens meaning less than 2-3USD in retail.

 

The chrome plated cap and the cap finial are nice touches.

 

I hope you enjoyed this review.

 

Regards,

Hari

 

 

 

 

 

[WDP4BAAZ]

Greetings Hari ..

 

Thank u again for a detailed review and cool pictures as usual ..

 

Regards ,

 

BAAZ

[hari317]

Thanks so much Baaz.

[Aramchek]

A pen that good and that cheap would vanquish my attempts to not buy it if it was available to me. I wonder whose enemy that means I am?

[hari317]

A pen that good and that cheap would vanquish my attempts to not buy it if it was available to me. I wonder whose enemy that means I am?

[Seele]

Shiny steel cap too; very pretty! Now I am tempted to track one down...

[hari317]

Shiny steel cap too; very pretty! Now I am tempted to track one down...

I pretty much hope someone or the other will soon start offering these pens on FPN or ebay. These pens deserve to be available more widely.

Edited August 28, 2013 by hari317

[Seele]

I pretty much hope someone or the other will soon start offering these pens on FPN or ebay. These pens deserve to be available more widely.

 

Yup; the main thing is to ensure a steady supply; there is an international demand for these things, it's just that the manufacturers seem to prefer not to know. We both know that, of course: I can mention just three letters: H... M... T. Enough said!

[hari317]

 

Yup; the main thing is to ensure a steady supply; there is an international demand for these things, it's just that the manufacturers seem to prefer not to know. We both know that, of course: I can mention just three letters: H... M... T. Enough said!

Arihant is a private sector product, I am sure the manufacturer, whoever they are, will be interested to hear from people/international distributors who have the means to carry a large stock to make them available easily and steadily to the international audience. FPR, Ashishwakhlu for example seem to be doing a great job in this regard.

[shrujaya]

Nice pics and review, Hari...i would like to have one...I think Arihant has a considerable FP presence in Tamil Nadu...I had visited my brother while he was posted in Tirupur (a small city in Tamil Nadu) and had randomly visited a small stationery shop and found Arihant pens there, and bought a model called Arihant 47...red plastic body and steel cap with red cap top...an ED filler, it has a small translucent red ink window and a hooded nib, and Arihant 47 is ink printed on the barrel, on the cap lip and only Arihant on the clip...I tried opening the hood to see if Arihant is also inscribed on the nib like the present pen, but couldn't open it...didnt want to break anything trying to do that, so I did not try further...

 

Also, when I visited Coimbatore later, I notices my nieces writing with fountain pens and was surprised...I asked them and they said that it has been made compulsory in schools in Tamil Nadu...I visited the main market place in Coimbatore and was again surprised to see a couple of shops owned by Rajasthanis, stacked to the roof with fountain pen boxes...there could be more such Rajasthani owned shops... I asked them to show me some and they were all basic inexpensive plastic models...Arihant was one of the brands...incidentally, Arihant is a Jain theological concept, referring to the pre-final level before attaining the final step of enlightenment...the Arihant vanquishes 'inner' enemies like anger, greed, ego, etc., before reaching the final stage...so, considering all this, my guess is that the manufacturers of Arihant are Rajasthani Jains...I wouldn't know where these pens are manufactured...but again, I do not know whether the pen under review and my pen were made by the same manufacturer...they do serve a need in Tamil Nadu at least...let me check with my brother who is now posted in Salem, another city in Tamil Nadu...and see if there are Arihant FPs in Salem...

 

Regards,

 

Shrujaya

[hari317]

Thanks for the background information Jai. In fact, many pen manufacturers in Mumbai are from the Jain-Marwari community, I feel this pen is also a Mumbai product, but I don't want to even find out. If I do, then I will be tempted to buy boxes of this stuff, then sell them, all the hassle. As you can see, l I am long away from the Arihant stage of awareness.

 

Best

Hari

[archat68]

Seems great pen!! But how can I get one?

[joly1]

I want one too

[harshgagwani]

Indian Manufacturers always bring in new and quality products in the market but the main problem we are getting is the value. good to hear that people appreciate their product in these forums