Pen Review - Asa Viraat

[mehandiratta]

The review is about my second oversized pen ASA Viraat that i bought along with the Gama Supreme which i will be reviewing later.

The detailed review is posted on my wordpress blog here : ASA Viraat

This happens to be custom job that he did for me and supposedly upcoming model in growing list of ASA Pens.

My other review of ASA pens are as follows:

1. ASA Spear
2. ASA Galactic
3. ASA I-Can
4. ASA Porus
5. ASA Patriot

DESIGN & BUILT: 4.5 / 5

This pen comes in two ebonite colors like black, light brown rippled, dark brown rippled. The pen in review is light brown rippled often called as White Tiger Ebonite.

ASA Viraat – Top View

ASA Viraat – Uncapped

Built wise its a amazing, thick and the quality of the ebonite used is top notch. No qualms about it.

Also there are two option of finishes available for this pen, Polished and Matte. Matte being new finish on the colored ebonite from ASA Pens. I am using the Polished version which can be seen in the image below.

ASA Viraat – Polished version. Look at the shine

The thickness of material is amazing. Its built like tank. Throw it here and there and forget. No damage will happen to this tank like built pen. The pen is fat and average thickness of pen is 15 mm, with maximum thickness at 16 mm around center of barrel and then barrel tapers down to bottom to 14 mm.

ASA Viraat – Capped Pen View

Compared to Gama Supreme it is smaller by 4 mm in length. The pen is around 160 mm in length which is quite big.

The cap is @17mm dia at bottom and @16mm at cap finial. The clip is quite stiff and sturdy. Also there is a band at the edge of bottom of cap called lip band. All the trims are in silver chrome finish.

I personally don't like the lip band but that doesn’t discount from the fact that it is well executed pen. Some people may like this some may not.

ASA Viraat – Cap with silver trims

ASA Viraat – Inner Cap View

The grip section length is small though. The pen is flat top and bottom design with certain amount of tapering towards at either ends.Overall its a simple design for a pen but in big proportions. Quality is top notch.

ASA Viraat – Flat Top and Bottom

ASA Viraat – View of Grip Section and Cap Bottom

Below are the few images showing its comparison with other pens.

ASA Viraat vs Gama Popular vs Oliver F27 vs Parker Frontier

ASA Viraat vs Gama Popular vs Oliver F27 vs Parker Frontier – Side View

ASA Viraat vs Gama Popular – Barrel Thickness

Few vitals are that the cap opens in 4 turns and the grip section is 13 mm thick.

BALANCE: 4.5/5

The pen of these size are generally heavy but being ebonite its light weight. But because of its size there is just a little amount of welcome heft which make you feel that you are actually holding a big pen.

The cap posts securely at back but i don’t think that is required.

As mentioned earlier the grip section is small though and might be hassle for some. who hold the pen a bit higher.

ASA Viraat – Writing without cap posted

ASA Viraat – Writing with cap posted

As you can see the pen is quite big, thus no requirement of posting the cap at back. Also you can see the grip section being small in length and my grip touching the threads which actually are not sharp and provide slip resistance. Actually this thick section takes some time getting used to.

NIB AND INK FILLING MECHANISM: 05/05

Now the pen is fitted with Broad Bock nib. Oh man l love this nib. Lovely. Lays down perfect wet line that broad nib is supposed to do.

ASA Viraat – Nib Unit Top View

ASA Viraat – Nib Unit Side View

ASA Viraat – Nib Unit Bottom View

ASA Viraat – Nib Unit Angled View

Pen is an eyedropper filler. And hold approx 5 ml of the ink. Feed is made of ebonite. And following nib options are available.

1. Bock Fine Nib
2. Bock Medium Nib
3. Bock Broad Nib
4. Ambitious 35 mm Medium Nib
5. Ambitious 40 mm Medium-Broad Nib

ASA Viraat – Pen taken apart

ASA Viraat – Ebonite Feed

Below is the handwritten review showing the writing sample and ink drying tests.

Conclusion:

This pen is for the serious buyers who actually are on lookout for oversized beauties. And this is one of them.

Edited September 14, 2015 by mehandiratta

[sannidh]

Thanks for the wonderful review Vaibhav.

I might not like ebonite EDs much, but your repeated reviews kind of make me try one or two more.

 

I would add : "Virat" got its roots from Sanskrit & even though in common Hindi it might mean "Huge" (like the pen itself), its true root meaning is "great" or "brilliant"

Edited September 14, 2015 by soniknitr

[mehandiratta]

Thank you for the explanation of VIRAAT for fellow users.

 

You should try ebonite with C/C... And i would recommend you to start with patriot.

[WDP4BAAZ]

Thanks Vaibhav , its a huge pen

[WDP4BAAZ]

Does it burp ? As it is having simple feeder

[kazoolaw]

Thank you for your reviews of Indian pens. The Indian pen scene looks to be very active and enthusiastic .

 

The Varaat with the Bock nib cures what is to me a common aesthetic issue with Indian pens: the size of the nibs. On this large pen the nib/barrel proportion looks great.

 

A very well done interview,

 

gary

Edited September 14, 2015 by gary

[fireskink]

Learning about Indian pens from your reviews! Lovely design to this pen - love big pens. EDIT: worldwide free shipping? Now there's a bonus for us people in other countries!

Edited September 14, 2015 by heavyhorses

[Forsooth]

Thanks for the great review. Your reviews are among the best in the land!

 

The threads on this pen do not irritate the inside of your middle finger, even in extended writing?

[mehandiratta]

Does it burp ? As it is having simple feeder

The feed fit is too tight... It did not burped once...

Edited September 14, 2015 by mehandiratta

[mehandiratta]

Thank you for your reviews of Indian pens. The Indian pen scene looks to be very active and enthusiastic .

 

The Varaat with the Bock nib cures what is to me a common aesthetic issue with Indian pens: the size of the nibs. On this large pen the nib/barrel proportion looks great.

 

A very well done interview,

 

Thank you

 

gary

 

Thank you

Learning about Indian pens from your reviews! Lovely design to this pen - love big pens. EDIT: worldwide free shipping? Now there's a bonus for us people in other countries!

ASA Pens are actually worth the money... Yes they provide worldwide shipping and they give solutions like German nibs also... Edited September 14, 2015 by mehandiratta

[mehandiratta]

Thanks for the great review. Your reviews are among the best in the land!

 

The threads on this pen do not irritate the inside of your middle finger, even in extended writing?

Not at all... They are not that sharp...

I wrote 5 pages on stretch... No problems

[sannidh]

Thank you for the explanation of VIRAAT for fellow users.

 

You should try ebonite with C/C... And i would recommend you to start with patriot.

 

I had a few ebonite EDs (not recent ones) a few years back. Gifted them away.

The pros: they came pretty cheap, however these came at a cost : that of construction & finish.

Leakage during travels, cap filled with ink, nib rusts put me away.

Feel that the situation is quite different today with renewed pen making enthusiasm, esp when there are several nib options too

I shall try one of those you have reviewed & recommended..

 

Thanks,

Sonik

[mehandiratta]

 

I had a few ebonite EDs (not recent ones) a few years back. Gifted them away.

The pros: they came pretty cheap, however these came at a cost : that of construction & finish.

Leakage during travels, cap filled with ink, nib rusts put me away.

Feel that the situation is quite different today with renewed pen making enthusiasm, esp when there are several nib options too

I shall try one of those you have reviewed & recommended..

 

Thanks,

Sonik

My recommendation to you would be for patriot ... its a regular size pen with the #6 JoWo nib options... lovely pen .... especially the minimalistic matte black pen...

 

Also there is ASA Daily with the #5 schmidt nib... try these... amazing...

[Fuellerfuehrerschein]

The ASA Viraat functional lines look quite good to me and reminds me of my daily writer the Gama Supreme.

 

What is the grip section length of the ASA Viraat?

From my experience with the slightly larger Gama Supreme I know if it is less than 27 mm my fingers would grip the pen on the threads with a 35 mm long German # 6/Indian № 10 nib installed.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Fuellerfuehrerschein

[Fuellerfuehrerschein]

.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Fuellerfuehrerschein

[mehandiratta]

The ASA Viraat functional lines look quite good to me and reminds me of my daily writer the Gama Supreme.

 

What is the grip section length of the ASA Viraat?

From my experience with the slightly larger Gama Supreme I know if it is less than 27 mm my fingers would grip the pen on the threads with a 35 mm long German # 6/Indian № 10 nib installed.

allow me time till saturday... I am travelling

[mehandiratta]

The ASA Viraat functional lines look quite good to me and reminds me of my daily writer the Gama Supreme.

 

What is the grip section length of the ASA Viraat?

From my experience with the slightly larger Gama Supreme I know if it is less than 27 mm my fingers would grip the pen on the threads with a 35 mm long German # 6/Indian № 10 nib installed.

Grip section length is 23 mm

 

Well I am sure it can be modified according to your preference....

Edited September 19, 2015 by mehandiratta

[Sagarb]

Nothing new,as usual a great review and elegant pictures by Vaibhab...

Edited September 22, 2015 by Sagarb

[mehandiratta]

Nothing new,as usual a great review and elegant pictures by Vaibhab...

Thank you sagar

[TassoBarbasso]

where can one get one from? there doesn't seem to be anything on the Asa website...