Fountain Pen Revolution In India

[a_m]

 

 

Fountain Pen in India is a cherished possession. Whether it be rich or pelbian everyone expects something from their fountain pen - whether it be writing for long duration (primarily Indian pens) or a flourished signature or just a status symbol (mostly from brands like Mont Blanc, Pelikan, Sheaffer etc).

While the fountain pens from India hold another kind of fascination as being utilitarian but are always applauded for their design, craftsmanship and build quality (and also for relatively inexpensive price). Some from outside India even happily pay upto 800% premium on ebay to buy Indian pens.

Despite all these the Indian fountain pen leaves something to be desired.

The established "brand" manufacturers with pan India market shares are happy with attracting customers with the appearance of pens and have done little with the quality of its heart & soul- the nib.

 

 

 

The reasons for dissatisfaction is invariably the heart of the matter - the nib often does not match up. The embellishment were often on outside, rather than quality of the soul (ie. nibs) on inside. There are scores and scores of posts on FPN applauding Indian fountain pens but with the caveat of change in nib by the user.

 

As nearly all the fountain pens are friction fit, the majority of users / buyers are happy to experiment. They swap nibs from other foreign pens (old Sheaffer etc.) or nibs from chinese pens and use them with their Indian pens. Infact, for some (as I learnt on FPN) such challenge is a matter of pride (!) - after all for these enthusiasts, a fountain pen is not just a pen - but a writing instrument subject to foibles of human imperfections !

 

In general, overtime, the fountain pens made in India went for the easy method of eye-droppers and friction fit nibs - as perhaps they were easiest to make & also satisfied the experimental minds of scores of FP users.

 

 

 

Generation One - One size fits all

Like the Ford T model, this generation of fountain pen (for different brands) can be characterised by - "one size fits all". This is the usual omnipresent fountain pen that is found - and I believe this will continue to exist and remain most popular. We all love friction fit nibs & love to fiddle with them a bit to adjust them to our needs as well as it gives us an ego boost that we can also be an "expert" at fountain pens !!! Even popular fountain pen manufacturers like Airmail/Wality and Camlin Kokuyu etc continue to stick to such a mindset.

Generation Two - Various nib options

Those hooked to fountain pens - the advanced users - are not really content with a single nib option. They want variations in nib in the friction fit configuration. Often, the "experimenters" took it on themselves to grind the stock nib to customise it in terms of their requirements or fit another nib or send it for grinding to some nibmeister.

 

 

 

In such a situation, it is quite a welcome measure that ASApens.in has taken the initiative to do something positive in this direction.

While it was quite clear that ASApens was upto something on the nib issue the details were not exactly clear. There were however some posts on FPN previously that ASA was going to introduce the Jowo/Meisternibs nibs - but when the Pens would roll out was still a mystery.

ASA has the method of suddenly coming out with something - like the magician bringing out the rabbit from hat.

 

 

 

I understand, ASApens.in was formed with the very purpose to provide high quality fountain pens to pen lovers at a reasonable cost - eliminating unnecessary costs like - the middlemen commission (like of ebay) and also the profiteering mentality found among various other sellers of fountain pen.

Such an outlook was a real positive in the scenario, where (keep aside professional sellers) even the pen enthusiasts fall into the trap of skimming profits rather than sharing the fruits of their passion.

Once an FPN member from outside India wrote to me his frustration ruing the fact that even amateur pen enthusiasts were selling Indian fountain pens on FPN at 400% of their price.

Its good to see that ASA has bypassed such mentalities, and rather preferred to share the joys of happiness among the Fountain Pen users and enthusiasts.

 

 

 

Generation Three - The ultimate - Threaded Nib variety with nib option

Usually pens with threaded nibs are considered "high end". Most of the high end pens of western origin are threaded nibbed and invariably very high priced.

Among the Indian FPs, one does not come across any threaded nibbed FPs in the market. As such, the threaded nibbed FPs are not new to India - and fountain pens like Chelpark Sona and Lincoln Beena were produced over 20 years back with threaded nibbed sections.

Its heartening that now the Fountain Pen revolution has occurred in India.

The revolution brought by ASApens.

These pens brought out by ASApens come with the German Jowo / Meisternibs threaded nibs - which are used on many of the "high end" fountain pens manufactured in western countries and whose quality is much spoken about on FPN. I read somewhere that JoWo (pronounced “yo-vo”). produce some of the best nibs on the planet (!)

Interestingly, such threaded nibbed FPs are made by brands like Mont Blanc and Pelikan. And I havn't heard such FPs from Sheaffer, Waterman, Pilot among others. Though American pen makers like Edison and Newton do use the same threaded JoWo nibs in some of their pens that is used in the FPs issued by ASApens

 

 

 

And it is good that ASA is making its own revolutionary contribution in making of the high standard fountain pen in a substantive manner.

With its tieups with JoWo (of Germany) and Gems (of Chennai), it has created a real fountain pen revolution in India. It is a treat for the fountain pen users that such high quality fountain pens are gradually coming to existence as part of regular production in India and at moderate and reasonable prices. And the initiative taken in this direction by ASA is commendable.

 

 

 

World class Quality, Reasonable Pricing and High on Value - is the real revolution. Gama Revolution, along with Brahmaputra and Himalaya Top are first of the regular production JoWo threaded nibbed FP to roll out of ASA. These are an excellent blend of professional Indian craftsmanship and German nib technology. As of date, I can say, these are the best fountain pen available in India. And I guess, gradually many other models of fountain pens are also going to be released with this threaded nib feature.

 

It has come out initially with three models: Revolution, Brahmaputra and Himalaya Top. While Revolution is a bit smaller and slimmer than Hawk. The Brahmaputra is similar to Hawk - however, my Brahmaputra that came was a bit larger in size than the Hawk. The Revolution and Brahmaputra are in black color only. While choice of colors are available in Himalaya Top.

 

The nib - In the JoWo nib - the German engineering works quite good to give it a smoothest run - encouraging and inspiring one to write. Besides, as its threaded nib - one can easily fit different types of nibs on the pen. Here I may add, that the threaded nibs have been very securely put on the pen. And I could not open it with normal force. I was told that I should apply a bit more force without any problems - but discretion took the better of me, and I have kept it in the configuration that I had asked for.

 

I really enjoyed writing with the F and M nib which are very smooth and the ink flow is exactly as required. The F nib I did feel a very little bit of feedback (but no tooth) - but something, which I guess is characteristic of the Fine nibs - yet enjoyed writing with it.

 

Infact, if you see the writing samples, the difference between the F nib and M nib is not much perceptible. Maybe with writing for some days, the tines would open and show their true colors !

 

The Broad nib, which I do not really use, but got for this pen was super-super smooth - it sort of glided. The smoothness was not due to any excessive ink flow, which do characterise some of the Broad nibs found.

 

Ink Flow. Ink flow is instant

 

Filling Mechanism The filling mechanism is marketed as triple fill - converter, cartridge, eye dropper (yes!) - but, I am told, it can also take a fourth one - the aerometric filler (!). Though its not piston filler, in my view the filling configuration is superior to the piston fill. The reason is while at normal times one can fill the tank, its easier to carry cartridges in times of desperate needs - rather than carry an inkpot (which is inevitable if the FP is piston filler), So in my view, the ink filling configuration of Revolution is quite a plus.

 

What was really the most positive is that I filled the Revolution less than half - the nib and ink performed flawlessly. No issues as we witness with friction fit nibs. I understand, all these threaded nibbed models would/should have no problem using till the last drop, when used as ED.

 

For now, these outcome of the fountain pen revolution in India - Gama Revolution, Gama Brahmaputra, and Himalaya Top are perfect embodiments of the fusion and smooth blend of quality of professional Indian craftsmanship, German engineering, and high standards of service quality of ASApens !

 

 

 

 

 

I am simply happy that such pens are now available even in India :-) and also happy for all FP users and enthusiasts throughout the world who wish for a high quality FP without bartering a fortune.

The website of ASApens : http://asapens.in

My images are below. For better quality image, you can check them out at http://asapens.in/eshop/asa-first

 

 

The pens capped. Top to bottom- Himalaya-Top, Brahmaputra, Revolution

 

 

The pens uncapped. Top to bottom- Himalaya-Top, Brahmaputra, Revolution

 

 

 

The three types of nibs -

 

 

The pens come with converter (international converter)

 

 

 

The backside of feed Revolution vs Hawk. Hawk has friction fit nib

 

 

 

The etching seems to have changed. The top is the Revolution, the bottom one is Hawk

 

 

The Revolution does not have the "window" of the Hawk

 

 

 

The pens with different ink filled options. Revolution has been used as ED,, Brahmaputra with converter, and Himalaya-Top with Pelikan cartridge

 

 

Top to bottom, Sheaffer Prelude, Lamy Safari, Gama Revolution

 

 

The three pens L-R, Revolution, Safari, Prelude

 

 

 

[ArchiMark]

Quite a write-up, Anup!....

 

Very interesting to read about the evolution of Indian fountain pens and where things stand now.

 

Appreciate all the info and photos....very helpful!

 

Thanks.

 

Mark

[Algester]

I have always wanted to get a Gama Kuyil... but I'm not sure how the pen would feel to me since I normally am the type of guy who tries to hold the pen before purchasing... hahaha

[drvishal]

Nice review

[a_m]

  On 6/23/2014 at 4:05 PM, ArchiMark said:

Quite a write-up, Anup!....

 

Very interesting to read about the evolution of Indian fountain pens and where things stand now.

 

Appreciate all the info and photos....very helpful!

 

Thanks.

 

Mark

 

Thanks Mark. :-)

[a_m]

  On 6/23/2014 at 4:58 PM, Algester said:

I have always wanted to get a Gama Kuyil... but I'm not sure how the pen would feel to me since I normally am the type of guy who tries to hold the pen before purchasing... hahaha

 

I dont have Kuyil. But I can say the ebonite pens have a very good feel in hands. The Kuyil is an ED and does not have the triple filler + Jowo nib. Though even among the EDs, I enjoy using my Hawk & Popular.

 

However, these three - Revolution, Brahmaputra & Himalaya Top beside being JoWo & Triple filler does away with the the ED issue of ink burping when the ink level drops. In these, if they are used as ED, one can write till last drop.

 

And even if used as C/C, they take international cartridges - compared to most of the FP brands like Sheaffer, Lamy, Parker - who take only their proprietary cartridges.

[a_m]

  On 6/23/2014 at 7:07 PM, bahekarvishal said:

Nice review

 

Thanks Vishal :-)

[Algester]

  On 6/24/2014 at 3:15 AM, a_m said:

 

I dont have Kuyil. But I can say the ebonite pens have a very good feel in hands. The Kuyil is an ED and does not have the triple filler + Jowo nib. Though even among the EDs, I enjoy using my Hawk & Popular.

 

However, these three - Revolution, Brahmaputra & Himalaya Top beside being JoWo & Triple filler does away with the the ED issue of ink burping when the ink level drops. In these, if they are used as ED, one can write till last drop.

 

And even if used as C/C, they take international cartridges - compared to most of the FP brands like Sheaffer, Lamy, Parker - who take only their proprietary cartridges.

I know I know but Im not sure about the girth and weight of the pen combo if it will be fine with me this is to consider that I'm already fine with a TWSBI mini in terms of feel and weight I mean there's also Lamy 2000 a bit over the top but still fine

Edited June 24, 2014 by Algester

[a_m]

  On 6/24/2014 at 5:59 AM, Algester said:

I know I know but Im not sure about the girth and weight of the pen combo if it will be fine with me

 

If you are not sure of the girth - and if you are not particular about the matt finish, I would suggest you try the Revolution. You would really love it. I am finding it to be an excellent FP. Its section width is similar to - if the Lamy Safari would have had a circular section. And ebonites are sort of weightless ! The Kuyil section and pen (both) are definitely much thicker.

[Algester]

hmm if not I'll probably contemplate on the raja or kuyil... hmmm is it possible to get a Raja in clipless I wonder...

[a_m]

  On 6/24/2014 at 9:55 AM, Algester said:

hmm if not I'll probably contemplate on the raja or kuyil... hmmm is it possible to get a Raja in clipless I wonder...

They do make clipless on order. Even i hv been thinking of such a thing for another FP.

[vikramguliya]

The review is really nice but its quite big to read in single view. The reviews flow is making it more interesting!

[a_m]

  On 6/24/2014 at 11:54 AM, vikramguliya said:

The review is really nice but its quite big to read in single view. The reviews flow is making it more interesting!

Thanks. Yes i agree that review is bit long. The development in FP scene in India deserved a better treatment than putting up few pics & describing the pen.

[WDP4BAAZ]

Nice pictures and gr8 information .

 

Thanks,

 

BAAZ

[a_m]

  On 6/24/2014 at 12:49 PM, WDP4BAAZ said:

Nice pictures and gr8 information .

 

Thanks,

 

BAAZ

Thanks BAAZ :-)

[a_m]

I discovered that my Himalaya Top is larger than the Supreme !!

 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2014 by a_m

[parnesh]

  On 6/30/2014 at 1:58 AM, a_m said:

I discovered that my Himalaya Top is larger than the Supreme !!

 

IMG_20140629_133439.jpg

 

IMG_20140629_133703.jpg

 

 

Thanks. I will be getting a Brahmaputra once my funds replenish. The Himalaya needs a #8 or #9 (is there such a thing?) nib. The #6 is just too small...

[a_m]

  On 7/1/2014 at 6:41 AM, parnesh said:

 

 

Thanks. I will be getting a Brahmaputra once my funds replenish. The Himalaya needs a #8 or #9 (is there such a thing?) nib. The #6 is just too small...

 

#8, #9, #10 nibs all exist. Though I have used the #6 max - its a 35 mm nib length. While in friction fit setup, there is no standard of setting nibs up - and everyone sets the nibs in their own sweet convenience. However, in these threaded nibs - they being correctly fit - I think, the hands can be comfortable with max #6 nib length so that fingers dont tire out.

 

Width of nib may not be an issue, but In my view longer than #6 size nib would make the distance between grip and paper uncomfortable.

 

btw, I heard that the Himalaya Top sold out (on phone & email) even before listing - the reason it has not yet been listed on the ASA site !

Edited July 1, 2014 by a_m

[Alex2014]

Very interesting, thanks a lot. My interest for Indian FP's was stirred by Varuna/Ranja hand-made ebonite pens. I bought a Varuna Gajendra and I could say I liked it.

I posted a photo here.

 

The market of hand-made pens could be more interesting for an European. Of course, there are still some thighs to improves (the finishing is not of the same quality as the Japanese FP's), but the prices are unbeatable. Gajendra is a huge pen and with a JoWo nib it could be used as ED, CC or with cartridges. The stainless JoWo nibs are very smooth and pleasant, you are right. I don't know anything about Indian nibs, but I suppose that the German ones are a good solution for rising the quality of the Indian FP's.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Alex2014

[parnesh]

  On 7/1/2014 at 9:00 AM, Alex2014 said:

I don't know anything about Indian nibs, but I suppose that the German ones are a good solution for rising the quality of the Indian FP's.

 

 

Fair point. Except Jowo nibs are nails from my limited experience. Unfortunate.