Ranga's Mr. Kandan Does It Again

March 6, 2015

"less than half the cost and seems much higher quality"
How do you mean? I'm interested.

How do I mean what? It cost me $49 including shipping, the body is full ebonite, the feed is hand cut ebonite and the pen is great quality. Having handled both Desiderata pens and Ranga pens I can say I much prefer Ranga's pens.

They are a very good alternative to Desiderata pens, especially for those who don't have $100+ to spend on a pen and still want high quality and fine craftsmanship. The bang for the buck is definitely higher with Ranga.

Edited March 6, 2015 by discopig

March 6, 2015

How do I mean what? It cost me $49 including shipping, the body is full ebonite, the feed is hand cut ebonite and the pen is great quality. Having handled both Desiderata pens and Ranga pens I can say I much prefer Ranga's pens.

They are a very good alternative to Desiderata pens, especially for those who don't have $100+ to spend on a pen and still want high quality and fine craftsmanship. The bang for the buck is definitely higher with Ranga.

Specifically what pen of mine did you handle, and what did you not like?

When you say "half the cost and better quality", I, as the person who made the pen in question want to know why you feel that way. I'm not going to justify my prices here, but I am curious specifically what you think should have been done better for the price.

Are you comparing the Ranga pen to my ebonite Daedalus? If so, at last availability, my ebonite pens sold at $75. Hardly double the price.

Edited March 6, 2015 by PrestoTenebroso

March 6, 2015

I can’t speak for Discopig and what he means by that, and I am sure he will explain in more detail.

I have been working with Mr.Kandan on various small projects for using pointed nibs for over a year now.

It started with dip pens with a feed, moved on to ebonite holders for obliques and finally fountain pens that can accept pointed nibs.

There are a couple of more options on which I am working with him and will post them on here once they are successful.

On the comment about ”half the cost and better quality” I just wanted to highlight the differences of the pens that I have.

I have a Desiderata Sleek ( Review is here. ) and the Ranga 4C and Thin Bamboo.

I am just listing the differences between each of the pens based on my use and experience. Wether one is better than the other is a call you guys can make.

Body: Sleek is Delrin and acrylic. Ranga is full ebonite available in Matt or Mirror finish and numerous colours.

Finish: The Sleek section and cap have a lot of the lathe lines still visible on them. More so on the section than the cap. Shavings of acrylic were there where the section threads into the barrel.

The Ranga pens have no scratch marks, on either the matt finish or the Shiny mirror finish.

I don’t know if Delrin can get a shiny finish, as I have not used anything with this material. I also don’t know if the lathe lines can be polished off on Delrin. I can only say that they are very visible on the section.

I know the ebonite is very susceptible to scratch and lathe lines. I use ebonite rods to make oblique dip holders and even a 320 Grit sandpaper will give scratches. But as you use finer sheets for polish, they go away.

Feed: Both come with Ebonite feeds. The Ranga pens have fins cut into the feed and the Sleek does not.

I do not know how this makes a difference.

Both pens write as well with a Zebra G nib with no railroading. So the feed keeps up with the writing unless you write too fast and flex a lot.

Ink Capacity: They are both eye dropper filled. Sleek has the option of 2 nibs and so the ink capacity is obviously lesser on each side. The Ranga pens are full sized and take a LOT of ink.

Nibs: The Sleek can take a Zebra G nib and a regular fountain pen nib like the the Goulet, Pilot and Nemosine nibs. I have tried other G nibs like the Nikko and Tachikawa and it does not fit perfectly on the Sleek.

The Ranga pens were made to take pointed nibs. The feed is a 4mm feed that heat sets very easily to accommodate a variety of nibs. I have used it successfully with all G nibs that I have (Nikko, Tachikawa, Zebra and vintage Massag)

I have also used it with Leonardt Principal EF and Gillott 404 Vintage.

I have not used Fountain pen nibs on these pens as I have other Ranga fountain pens for that.

In both cases, Sleek and Ranga, you need to adjust the feed to Eyelet of the nib distance, alignment to get a smooth flow of ink. This takes a little practice and varies from nib to nib and writing styles.

One side of the Sleek wrote immediately out of the box with no need for adjustment. The Ranga pens needed adjustment to work. Once adjusted, they both write the same.

You have to heat set the Ranga feed if you change from one nib type to another.

Using any nibs, other than the chrome plated G nibs, means you have to remove the nib and store it separately, or it rusts (very fast). The chrome plated nibs may last longer, but I remove them off the pen when it is not in use.

Price : I get 2 Ranga pens for the price of 1 Sleek.

On the Sleek I get 2 ink colour options in the same pen, but only 1 type of nib. (I am not considering regular FP nibs here as that defeats the purpose of buying a pen suitable for pointed nibs)

On the Ranga, for the same price, I get 2 pens (so 2 ink colour options) and the option of a variety of nibs.

Availability: A large number of models are available with Ranga and custom pens can also be designed if you send your options to Mr. Kandan. They have a lot of experience in fountain pens, but are not into calligraphy so any pens involving that will mean detailed design explanations by the customer. But once understood, they Deliver.

Desiderata has a lesser number of models available and not all at the same time. The Sleek is no longer available for order (as of today).

As mentioned by Pierre, he is a one man show who designs and manufactures all of it himself.

Final thoughts:

The Ranga pens have a better finish (could be material dependant)

The Ranga pens take a greater number of nibs with the same feed.

Ranga pens are 2 for the price of 1 Sleek.

The Sleek wrote better “out of the box” than the Ranga.

The Ranga has more models and better availability.

You HAVE to send Mr.Kandan the nib you want fitted to the pen. He will ensure a feed to section to nib fit.

He does not guarantee it will write smoothly (I am talking about pointed nibs NOT FP nibs)

The Sleek was made for the Zebra G nib and tested to write by Pierre.

Hope this explains some. It’s a long read but I am happy to reply to any other specific differences that may need more details.

-Prasad

Edited March 6, 2015 by prasadvenkat

March 6, 2015

I can’t speak for Discopig and what he means by that, and I am sure he will explain in more detail.

I have been working with Mr.Kandan on various small projects for using pointed nibs for over a year now.

It started with dip pens with a feed, moved on to ebonite holders for obliques and finally fountain pens that can accept pointed nibs.

There are a couple of more options on which I am working with him and will post them on here once they are successful.

On the comment about ”half the cost and better quality” I just wanted to highlight the differences of the pens that I have.

I have a Desiderata Sleek ( Review is here. ) and the Ranga 4C and Thin Bamboo.

I am just listing the differences between each of the pens based on my use and experience. Wether one is better than the other is a call you guys can make.

Body: Sleek is Delrin and acrylic. Ranga is full ebonite available in Matt or Mirror finish and numerous colours.

Finish: The Sleek section and cap have a lot of the lathe lines still visible on them. More so on the section than the cap. Shavings of acrylic were there where the section threads into the barrel.

The Ranga pens have no scratch marks, on either the matt finish or the Shiny mirror finish.

I don’t know if Delrin can get a shiny finish, as I have not used anything with this material. I also don’t know if the lathe lines can be polished off on Delrin. I can only say that they are very visible on the section.

I know the ebonite is very susceptible to scratch and lathe lines. I use ebonite rods to make oblique dip holders and even a 320 Grit sandpaper will give scratches. But as you use finer sheets for polish, they go away.

Feed: Both come with Ebonite feeds. The Ranga pens have fins cut into the feed and the Sleek does not.
I do not know how this makes a difference.
Both pens write as well with a Zebra G nib with no railroading. So the feed keeps up with the writing unless you write too fast and flex a lot.

Ink Capacity: They are both eye dropper filled. Sleek has the option of 2 nibs and so the ink capacity is obviously lesser on each side. The Ranga pens are full sized and take a LOT of ink.

Nibs: The Sleek can take a Zebra G nib and a regular fountain pen nib like the the Goulet, Pilot and Nemosine nibs. I have tried other G nibs like the Nikko and Tachikawa and it does not fit perfectly on the Sleek.

The Ranga pens were made to take pointed nibs. The feed is a 4mm feed that heat sets very easily to accommodate a variety of nibs. I have used it successfully with all G nibs that I have (Nikko, Tachikawa, Zebra and vintage Massag)
I have also used it with Leonardt Principal EF and Gillott 404 Vintage.
I have not used Fountain pen nibs on these pens as I have other Ranga fountain pens for that.

In both cases, Sleek and Ranga, you need to adjust the feed to Eyelet of the nib distance, alignment to get a smooth flow of ink. This takes a little practice and varies from nib to nib and writing styles.

One side of the Sleek wrote immediately out of the box with no need for adjustment. The Ranga pens needed adjustment to work. Once adjusted, they both write the same.

You have to heat set the Ranga feed if you change from one nib type to another.

Using any nibs, other than the chrome plated G nibs, means you have to remove the nib and store it separately, or it rusts (very fast). The chrome plated nibs may last longer, but I remove them off the pen when it is not in use.

Price : I get 2 Ranga pens for the price of 1 Sleek.
On the Sleek I get 2 ink colour options in the same pen, but only 1 type of nib. (I am not considering regular FP nibs here as that defeats the purpose of buying a pen suitable for pointed nibs)

On the Ranga, for the same price, I get 2 pens (so 2 ink colour options) and the option of a variety of nibs.

Availability: A large number of models are available with Ranga and custom pens can also be designed if you send your options to Mr. Kandan. They have a lot of experience in fountain pens, but are not into calligraphy so any pens involving that will mean detailed design explanations by the customer. But once understood, they Deliver.

Desiderata has a lesser number of models available and not all at the same time. The Sleek is no longer available for order (as of today).
As mentioned by Pierre, he is a one man show who designs and manufactures all of it himself.

Final thoughts:
The Ranga pens have a better finish (could be material dependant)

The Ranga pens take a greater number of nibs with the same feed.

Ranga pens are 2 for the price of 1 Sleek.

The Sleek wrote better “out of the box” than the Ranga.

The Ranga has more models and better availability.

You HAVE to send Mr.Kandan the nib you want fitted to the pen. He will ensure a feed to section to nib fit.
He does not guarantee it will write smoothly (I am talking about pointed nibs NOT FP nibs)

The Sleek was made for the Zebra G nib and tested to write by Pierre.

Hope this explains some. It’s a long read but I am happy to reply to any other specific differences that may need more details.

-Prasad

Thanks Prasad, for both this comparison and your Sleek review. I really appreciate them. As far as finish goes, you're right about the finish being material dependent. Ebonite is capable of being polished to a mirror finish, while Delrin is fundamentally incapable of achieving one.

My wooden pens are capable of a high gloss finish, but they are very time intensive and they are my only models over $100 (though some were capable of being had at $85), so I was wondering what Discopig meant by comparing the price and appearance of a handmade wooden pen to one made of hard rubber. Wood is a totally different animal from ebonite, and they can't be fairly compared.