Fountain Pen India

[livefree]

Hello everyone.

i am abhishek.

i keep changing my pens. i still have few pens, but this is first time i purchased a fountain pen. (montex handy country: india). i am using parker Quink ink blue ink with it. but i am dissatisfied with this ink, the ink colour is very pale also this ink fade away with time. i want some suggestion in these two points, but please note i am middle class person so i can not purchase coslty pen and inks.

 

1) i am thinking to a new fountain pen, "ambitious caligraphy pen" ( 110 rupees price). thinking this pen will be better for good handwriting. what you guys think about this pen (see the attached image,)

 

or you have better suggestion than this one.

2) can someone suggest a better ink. or any ink mixing proportion.

 

thanks.

Edited September 3, 2013 by livefree

[saaj]

I didn't like the colour of Parker Quink as well! Check out Waterman Serenity Blue (Formerly known as Waterman Florida Blue). I have found that its colour is brighter and darker.

[livefree]

I didn't like the colour of Parker Quink as well! Check out Waterman Serenity Blue (Formerly known as Waterman Florida Blue). I have found that its colour is brighter and darker.

 

thanks waterman florida blue is available, i will try it.

[proton007]

abhishek,

 

Calligraphy pens are just for the specific purpose of calligraphy. It won't help in improving your handwriting. Its just like a tool for the craftsman to use, the skill needs to be learnt by practice.

 

However, it may help to get a better pen. Not sure about your budget. Hari317 is the expert on indian pens here, he can guide you well.

Edited September 4, 2013 by proton007

[mohan]

Dear abhishek,

Welcome to fpn. There are some good and cheap indian pens. Try Camlin elegente, or trinity which is still cheaper.

And for a blue shade ink see this thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/248286-ink-guide/?hl=%2Bink+%2Bguide

[Tresconik]

Where in India are you from?
If you're in Mumbai, try to get a Parker 45. Very smooth pen for less than 400.

If you want a new pen, get an Airmail and get 3-4 nibs.

I've heard the Elegante sometimes doesn't write well. You can test the 45 before buying it, and with the airmail, keep changing the nibs until you find the smoothest one.

Use Camlin Royal Blue. Good colour and 15 bucks a bottle. Better than the quink I used..

[mhguda]

I have several Indian fountain pens, and love them all. The Camlin Elegante is one of my favorites, but the Guiders, Serwexes, and Airmails are just as nice. At the moment I think I have about ten inked, and that is not an exceptional situation. they are good pens and if necessary, easy to tweak closer to what one likes. I envy you, that you can just go out to a store and buy some. Good luck, and let us know what you get and how it works for you!

[Simius]

I have several Indian fountain pens, and love them all. The Camlin Elegante is one of my favorites, but the Guiders, Serwexes, and Airmails are just as nice. <snip>

 

I recently acquired a couple of Airmail pens, and found them to be quite a revelation. Very nice writers, almost as good as the Camlin SD.

[dontheo]

What a perfect topic. I have been really interested in Indian fountain pens, including the history. I just acquired my second Camlin SD today. What I am really trying to find is a Ritter, no longer in business, that made pens in Bombay. I am also trying to purchase some ink, for fountain pens from India. It's almost like a seasonal thing. Do keep us posted on your finds.

[livefree]

Hi, sorry i did't reply from few days. and thanks to all those who replied.

I thought we can use calligraphy pen as everday use pens. thanks to proton for telling me the difference. otherwise i was going to order it online without seeing it. by the way i do not live in mumbai, i live in a small city. i went to 2 local shops but they have montex handy and flair fountain pen only as fountain pens are not in demand.but i will go to some more local shop after few days.

i will look for the suggested fountain pens.

 

the ink is working fine after a small amount of pilot ink added on it, as suggested in the thread (thanks mohan)

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/248286-ink-guide/?hl=%2Bink+%2Bguide

[Tresconik]

How much did the flair cost? Some are really good.

[mhguda]

Flair was discussed on this forum several times, here is one link. They seem to have some good ones. You could do worse...

[hariharan]

Airmail/Wality is an inexpensive pen to start with. However, if you hate eyedroppers, you can also try the hooded hero pens. But to be frank, except few brands like wality, most of the other pens often have very similar nibs. So the difference between the pens will not be much on the performance, but on its life. So if you can test it and finds it comfortable, you can buy any decent pen from the stationery.

 

If you can afford around Rs.1000/- never think twice and buy a camlin SD. Its far superior a pen for its price.

As its clarified, please do not buy the caligraphy pen.

 

Inks- i too had problem with quink ink in India (both black and blue). It appears too light and pale. It sometimes faded in a couple of weeks.

If you are in south india, Bril ink- royal blue is the best. (though camlin and chelpark inks are similar, i just love the brightness of bril blue). Bril black is not as great as bril blue.

 

I dont think you need a waterman ink- its Rs.400 for 30 ml bottle. For the same price, you will get around 4 litres of bril ink

[livefree]

How much did the flair cost? Some are really good.

 

Hi, flair has two models of flair inky, one cost 40 rupees and other cost 50 rupees. i have purchased the 40 rupees model today. it is a nice pen. other than flair, reynolds (60 rupees) and camlin (20 rupees) were available in shop near to my house.

 

 

 

Airmail/Wality is an inexpensive pen to start with. However, if you hate eyedroppers, you can also try the hooded hero pens. But to be frank, except few brands like wality, most of the other pens often have very similar nibs. So the difference between the pens will not be much on the performance, but on its life. So if you can test it and finds it comfortable, you can buy any decent pen from the stationery.

 

If you can afford around Rs.1000/- never think twice and buy a camlin SD. Its far superior a pen for its price.

As its clarified, please do not buy the caligraphy pen.

 

Inks- i too had problem with quink ink in India (both black and blue). It appears too light and pale. It sometimes faded in a couple of weeks.

If you are in south india, Bril ink- royal blue is the best. (though camlin and chelpark inks are similar, i just love the brightness of bril blue). Bril black is not as great as bril blue.

 

I dont think you need a waterman ink- its Rs.400 for 30 ml bottle. For the same price, you will get around 4 litres of bril ink

 

 

Hi. i live in a small city in chhattisgarh.

do not worry, i remember the suggested pens to me in this topic. so i will try to purchase them too at later time. thanks for your detailed reply about inks and pen models.

[Tresconik]

Is it the Reynolds Fludo? I have one of those, and that pen is smooooth. The ink it uses is very dark and fast drying too, with a lot of lubrication.

[livefree]

Is it the Reynolds Fludo? I have one of those, and that pen is smooooth. The ink it uses is very dark and fast drying too, with a lot of lubrication.

 

 

Yes the other pen was reynlods fludo. flair's ink is also good.

[firebug]

@ Livefree, Fountain pens are an addiction. Even more addictive are the colors of Inks available in the market. Initiating with fountain pens using normal blues is kinda ok for me. I however, got hooked onto FPs partially also because of ink colors available. And try Sheaffer inks which come in brown, turquoise, black, emerald and I think are also the cheapest amongst all quality inks. You can also try Pelikan 4001 inks which have bright red (truly a bright red color), violet colors apart from the ones I mentioned for sheaffer. Then there's a portal in india which also retails diamine which are at around INR 325 for 30 ml, but diamine has amazing colors. There's a label called Private Reserve Inks, but those are expensive at around 500 bucks a bottle. They have an amazing color range, like, gold, copper, arabian rose et al.

 

That's about inks.

 

On FPs apart from the ones that you've bought, there are entry level pelikan FPs at around 400 bucks, damn neat pens and a very good brand to get indoctrinated to using FPs. Personally, I've never used Camlins or any other Indian brands and hence wouldn't want to comment on them.

 

If you stretch your budget to around 1500 bucks, there there is Lamy Safari, which generally is what people use at the beginning of their FP addiction, and then it grows onto you and hits your pocket quite often, in form of buying pens that are quite expensive.

 

FPMissile, that's what I call it.

 

However, I love your interest in FPs and trust me, it's something that's going to grow over you....

 

All the best!

[amanp]

Hi Abhishek,

Where is the Ambitious Calligraphy Pen available??

[Tresconik]

The Camlin Elegante is ok, but still, the pen with the highest value for money (durability included) is the Parker 45..

[livefree]

Hi Abhishek,

Where is the Ambitious Calligraphy Pen available??

 

It is available in pepperfry.com

http://www.pepperfry.com/ambitious-calligraphy-set-1055006.html

but i have read reviews AGAINST pepperfry like this

http://www.consumercourt.in/online-shopping/120139-pepperfry-did-fraud-eated-my-hard-earned-1-5-lakh-rs.html

 

so be careful and never place any big order from there, if you think you can take risk of 110 rupees then purchase.

 

it is also on snapdeal.com.snapdeal is safe. but snapdeal is selling 4 pens in one packet. so worthless to purchase from there.

 

 

 

@ Livefree, Fountain pens are an addiction. Even more addictive are the colors of Inks available in the market. Initiating with fountain pens using normal blues is kinda ok for me. I however, got hooked onto FPs partially also because of ink colors available. And try Sheaffer inks which come in brown, turquoise, black, emerald and I think are also the cheapest amongst all quality inks. You can also try Pelikan 4001 inks which have bright red (truly a bright red color), violet colors apart from the ones I mentioned for sheaffer. Then there's a portal in india which also retails diamine which are at around INR 325 for 30 ml, but diamine has amazing colors. There's a label called Private Reserve Inks, but those are expensive at around 500 bucks a bottle. They have an amazing color range, like, gold, copper, arabian rose et al.

 

That's about inks.

 

On FPs apart from the ones that you've bought, there are entry level pelikan FPs at around 400 bucks, damn neat pens and a very good brand to get indoctrinated to using FPs. Personally, I've never used Camlins or any other Indian brands and hence wouldn't want to comment on them.

 

If you stretch your budget to around 1500 bucks, there there is Lamy Safari, which generally is what people use at the beginning of their FP addiction, and then it grows onto you and hits your pocket quite often, in form of buying pens that are quite expensive.

 

FPMissile, that's what I call it.

 

However, I love your interest in FPs and trust me, it's something that's going to grow over you....

 

All the best!

 

thank you, It is great to know there are such colours, i can not purchase them now, but can purchase at later time, after one month.