Ranga's Mr. Kandan Does It Again

[prasadvenkat]

Hello all,

Another wonderful product made with the amazing support of Mr. Kandan of Ranga pens.

There has been a lot of posts commanding his customer service and I want to mention it again. He is just a pleasure to work with.

I decided to have myself a calligraphy xmas.

I had Mr. Kandan make a dip pen with a feed for me which accepted a G nib a while back, so I contacted him and asked if he could modify his existing fountain pens to accept a pointed flex nib.

It worked, not in time for xmas but just in time for a wonderful new year.
He turned a couple of basic holder blanks also, for me.

I got my pens in a wonderful velvet gift box. Extra feeds also given by him to fiddle around with different nibs.

http://i.imgur.com/kXng1mD.jpg
Gift box - totally excited to open it

http://i.imgur.com/BXaYetj.jpg
my treasure :-)

http://i.imgur.com/3A2uU1O.jpg
The fountain pens. The Ranga Ebonite 4C (left) and Ranga Thin Bamboo (right)

http://i.imgur.com/4F6EzWp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/i2XVoQu.jpg

The 4C with a Tachikawa G nib and the Bamboo with a Leonardt Principal EF.

These are full ebonite pens, eyedropper filling with ebonite hand cut feeds. The pens needed a little tinkering to write smoothly. Main tinkering was heat setting the feeds to the nib and adjusting the how far the feed covered the eyelet on the nib. Took a few attempts to get it just right and the results were lovely.

http://i.imgur.com/iRtY3Ya.jpg

Please don’t judge the writing. Was way too excited to focus on letterforms. Just wanted to fill the pens and scribble away :-)

With the LP EF I can get a flex width of 2mm with hardly any railroading. But have to write at the same speed as a dip pen, slow and steady.

With the Tachikawa nib, the writing can be a little faster but obviously it does not flex as much as the LP.

Mr Kandan has done it again. :-)

-Prasad

[hari317]

wonderful! thanks for sharing and you have a nice hand!

[flummoxed]

They look really good, may I ask where you sourced those nibs from?

 

Also, nice script, is that your everyday writing?

[prasadvenkat]

They look really good, may I ask where you sourced those nibs from?

 

Also, nice script, is that your everyday writing?

 

Pointed pens nibs are difficult to get in India. Ebay has some listings for the G nibs (these are Japanese nibs that are used by them mainly for drawing) and the Leonardt nibs are sourced from the US.

The problem is the shipping cost. Average is about $20 to $30, so unless you are ordering a lot of calligraphy material, just a few nibs work out very expensive.

If you are not into pointed pen script and want to just try it, I could send you a couple of nibs to try.

 

If you are into it and want to stock up, then the below sources are great

 

Paper and Ink Arts

http://www.paperinkarts.com

 

Based in the US and a great resource for all things calligraphy.

 

These guys are based in Kolkotta. I have ordered from them and they are prompt.

They stock Gillot nibs

 

Again, no affiliation with these stores or people.

 

This is my writing when I use a pointed nib. Can't do this with a fountain pen I started learning copperplate and that script has to be written slowly. There are some other scripts like Spencerian and Palmer's Business writing that is written with pointed pens and can be written faster.

 

 

wonderful! thanks for sharing and you have a nice hand!

Thanks Hari

[Cryptos]

What are the prices for these beauties? And how difficult would it be for someone overseas to acquire something like this?

[prasadvenkat]

What are the prices for these beauties? And how difficult would it be for someone overseas to acquire something like this?

Hi Cryptos,

Mr.Kandan has the prices for these on his eBay webstore.

 

http://www.ebay.com/usr/rangahandmadepens?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

 

There are 2 options for each of these. The more expensive one is with a JoWo german nib and convertor which you will not require if you want to use it as a flex pen.

You could email him and ask him what he would charge to modify the pen for you. They are just his standard pens, but instead of a 6mm feed that he normally uses, I asked him to make the pens with a 5mm feed. I am not sure what the pricing would be for New Zealand as his eBay prices include the shipping costs too, which are negligent for India.

 

Again, as he is not a calligrapher nor does he make these pens as standard he would need a nib to ensure good fitting. Also, this means that it is not an "out of the box writer". It does take some tinkering of heat setting nibs and adjusting the feed to nib position.

 

Apart from the nib issue, it would be no problem for you to get one of these and my experience in dealing with Mr.Kandan has been perfect. He is a true joy to deal with. If you do decide to order a pen, ask him to co-ordinate with me (mention Prasad Venkatraman from Pune) and I can send him the nibs to fit out.

I have G-nibs, LP EF and Vintage Gillot 404 nibs. These are the ones that have worked for me. Unlike the other 2, The G-nibs are chrome plated and don't rust. You will wear out the nib before it rusts. The others however do rust and that is the only drawback using this kind of arrangement.

-Prasad

Edited January 11, 2015 by prasadvenkat

[Sridhar]

Great handwriting!

[Cryptos]

Prasad, that's very kind of you, thank you sir. Incidentally, I share an office at the moment with an Indian academic who is also called Prasad. Coincidence!

 

Actually I was more interested in the oblique holder in the picture. I am guessing that it uses a standard size fitting for the dip nibs to go in but I do not see this model on the website.

[pelman]

Beautiful pens Prasad. Lovely handwriting as well. Enjoy your treasures.

[prasadvenkat]

Prasad, that's very kind of you, thank you sir. Incidentally, I share an office at the moment with an Indian academic who is also called Prasad. Coincidence!

 

Actually I was more interested in the oblique holder in the picture. I am guessing that it uses a standard size fitting for the dip nibs to go in but I do not see this model on the website.

Hello Cryptos,

happy coincidence, and just read your profile, I too practise Chen style Taijiquan.

 

He won't have the oblique on his website. I sent him a drawing and asked him to turn the blanks for me. He does not attach the flange for the nibs either. I do that myself. I have started making my own oblique holders, but I don't have any turning tools, so mine are mainly carved or filed into shape. I wanted 2 that were just turned and he was able to do it for me.

 

http://i.imgur.com/t4oyFqy.jpg

 

 

3 of them on the left are blanks turned by him. One on the right is made by me and flange attached by me. Do you know how to attach or make the flange?

 

Once again, if you send him the drawing of the holder, he can turn it for you. I can send him a couple of flanges which he can ship to you along with the holder. You could fix it once you get it. Fixing the flange is pretty straight forward and if you want I could mail you a pdf with instructions. Just needs a cutter and some superglue.

 

Or, if you use it as a straight holder, just ask him to drill a hole to the dia of the ferrule flange. I think those should be available freely where you are.

 

-Prasad

Edited January 12, 2015 by prasadvenkat

[Cryptos]

Hi Prasad,

 

Once again thank you for all this information. I am going to have to have a think about it!

 

Love the carving, you have real skill.

 

Beautiful work there, from both parties in fact!

 

I don't have any flanges, and cannot get them here (not even the straight ones) so I would have to order them in from overseas anyway. As for cutting the groove to fit the flange, what tool do you use? I thought ebonite was tricky to cut with breaking it.

 

I have been in two minds for a while concerning ebonite pens. Perhaps I should just jump in and buy one!

Edited January 12, 2015 by Cryptos

[prasadvenkat]

Hi Prasad,

 

Once again thank you for all this information. I am going to have to have a think about it!

 

Love the carving, you real skill.

 

Beautiful work there, from both parties in fact!

 

I don't have an flanges, and cannot get them here (not even the straight ones) so I would have to order them in from overseas anyway. As for cutting the groove to fit the flange, what tool do you use? I thought ebonite was tricky to cut with breaking it.

 

I have been in two minds for a while concerning ebonite pens. Perhaps I should just jump in and buy one!

The flanges for Oblique will not be available anywhere. You have to make those yourself.

Couple of links to making the flanges are given below.

 

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1735.0

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1877.msg26027#msg26027

 

But my offer still stands. I have a carton load of oblique flanges made. It's absolutely no problem to send you 3 or 4 along with Kandan's holder.

 

Cutting the ebonite is quite easy, it's not as fragile as people think. In fact I use files and sandpaper to shape the holders and it behaves like hardwood.

to cut the groove for the flange I use a simple hand saw like the plumbers use for cutting plastic pipes. (about 15cm in length)

http://i.imgur.com/1JJZP3A.jpg

It works beautifully.

 

Ebonite fountain pens are really wonderful. All my FP's are ebonite. You get a nice warm feel when writing and it gets better with age.

Edited January 12, 2015 by prasadvenkat

[Cryptos]

Alright, let me have some time to think about all this. It's certainly tempting!

[flummoxed]

Thanks for the detailed response, I might order a couple from the Calcutta based company for drawing (with a dip pen and otherwise). I'm beginning to love the feel of using Indian ink on paper, although, I'm not a big fan of water colours.

 

Thanks for all the links once again.

[hari317]

Prasad, that carved piece made by you is wonderful so are the other pieces made by Kandan's father, really wonderful!

[prasadvenkat]

Prasad, that carved piece made by you is wonderful so are the other pieces made by Kandan's father, really wonderful!

Thanks Hari,

 

Now I am trying to see if I can do some of that work on a fountain pen too.

lets see how it goes

 

-Prasad

[mpkandan]

Thanks very much Mr.Prasad Venkat Sir. You deserve an appreciation for your patience and design.

I just bridged you and my father.

Thanks very much Mr.Hari for your nice words.

 

Regards,

Kandan.M.P

Ranga Pen Company

[discopig]

I just want to add to this review by saying that after reading prasadvenkat's review, I decided to go ahead and purchase a similar pen from Ranga Pens. He was very helpful and accepted to send the required G nib to Ranga Pens (sending from where I am would have taken 3+ weeks and been a lot more expensive).

 

I've just received the pen today and I am very happy with it. I've tried it with Nikko, Zebra and Tachikawa nibs and they all work great, I didn't even need to heatset the feed, and they keep up with very flexy lines without railroading or leaking.

 

This pen is definitely a good alternative to Desiderata pens (Which are a bit too expensive for me, this was less than half the cost and seems much higher quality).

 

I will definitely get more custom pens from Ranga in the future, they are great pen makers.

[mpkandan]

Thanks Mr. Discopig Sir for your nice words. Thanks Mr. Prasadvenat Sir for making it happen.

 

Regards,

Kandan.M.P

Ranga Pen Company

[PrestoTenebroso]

I just want to add to this review by saying that after reading prasadvenkat's review, I decided to go ahead and purchase a similar pen from Ranga Pens. He was very helpful and accepted to send the required G nib to Ranga Pens (sending from where I am would have taken 3+ weeks and been a lot more expensive).

 

I've just received the pen today and I am very happy with it. I've tried it with Nikko, Zebra and Tachikawa nibs and they all work great, I didn't even need to heatset the feed, and they keep up with very flexy lines without railroading or leaking.

 

This pen is definitely a good alternative to Desiderata pens (Which are a bit too expensive for me, this was less than half the cost and seems much higher quality).

 

I will definitely get more custom pens from Ranga in the future, they are great pen makers.

 

"less than half the cost and seems much higher quality"

How do you mean? I'm interested.