Group Buy International - Ambitious Nibs - Made In India

[taike]

Nib-o-rama - The Nibs of the Ambitious Nib Group Buy

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The Ambitious Nib group buy proved to be a real treasure trove and a great experience personally in trying out different nibs.

The Pens

The Ranga Model 3c was a perfect platform for the larger 40 and 35mm nibs. They fit comfortably and the ebonite feed worked well across the board. 5 stars.

For the #5 nibs, I choose a FPR Guru piston filler which also has an ebonite feed. I've liked this pen from the first time I tried it and it acquitted itself admirably.

Ink and Paper

The project was also a chance to use a couple of the inks that Vaibhav kindly included in the package: Bril Royal Blue and his personal blend of Camlin Scarlet Red and Camlin Blue. The paper was a TSWBI notebook which worked nicely with both inks. The paper is cream colored.

40mm Ambitious Gold Finish

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The 40mm Ambitious nib is clearly the granddaddy of the group and is a nib I've been wanting to try out since I first heard about it.

Fortunately, the nib fits my Ranga Model 3c - even capped! I unscrewed the finial and found it to be a very tight fit but still OK!

The nib wrote a pleasantly smooth and wet M line straight away. It's a winner and found it way back into the Ranga at the end of the project where it remains still. I think eventually I'll wind up using a 35mm nib in the Model 3c but for now, I'm happy to admire this colossal nib when I write.

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35mm Ambitious Two-toned Finish

The bottom line is that the 35mm nibs are probably a better fit for the Ranga Model 3c. They are certainly a good match for the pen. The two-toned nib is sturdy, stiff, high-quality and attractive. It writes with a MF line that is equally suited for jotting notes and more expressive writing.

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35mm Ambitious Chrome Finish

Interestingly, the chrome version of the nib wrote wetter than its two-toned sibling. Most likely, that can be chalked up to tuning but it was interesting to see. I preferred the wetter line and, given that the trim on my Ranga Model 3c is chrome, I'd likely choose this nib to go with the pen. It is an excellent fit.

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No. 6 Ambitious Chrome Finish

I wish I had more experience writing with flex nibs but I certainly enjoyed messing about. This nib is a dead ringer for the nib on my Noodler's Ahab so I assume there's some relation there. For me, the great pleasure was in seeing how well the Ranga Model 3c performs with a flex nib and enjoying the subtle shading of the Bril Royal Blue ink. That and getting in a flex state of mind...

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No. 5 Ambitious Chrome Finish

For the remaining nibs, I switched to a FPR Guru pen and the homebrew Camlin Scarlet Red + Camlin Blue that Vaibhav included in the package. A very nice reddish purple!

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The smaller version of this flex nib performed as well as its big brother. The Guru is a great pen for this type of writing.

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30mm Vintage Flex Nib - Made in Japan

This nib proved the softest of the three flex nibs in the group. And fortunately, the feed on the FPR Guru kept up nicely. Unflexed, the nib is fine so the range of line widths was impressive. I was very tempted to keep this nib in the pen.

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No. 5 Serwex, Gold Finish M

The Serwex nib was a very nice fit for the FPR Guru and felt close to the stock FPR nib that comes with the pen. It was nicely wet, smooth and pleasant to use.

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No. 5 Hero, Gold Finish F

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One of the "bonus" nibs included in the package turned out to be a Hero F nib. It looked a little funny to me at first glance with tipping that's narrow but taller than I can recall seeing, so I wasn't expecting too much.

Boy was I wrong. This nib turned out to be a smooth and super wet, nearly a gusher. It was a marvel from the get-go. And is still in the pen. Wow. You never know until you try!

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That was fun. All the more so thanks to the bonus nibs and ink in the package. Thanks to Vaibhav Mehandiratta for making this possible and to you for reading.

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Edited November 13, 2015 by taike

[amarjit]

reviews is great and informative.

[Fuellerfuehrerschein]

I received the well packaged nib consignment today.

Thank you Mr. Mehandiratta for your effort and the bonus nibs and inks.

[mhguda]

Thanks taike for the report especially on the 40mm nib - this is what I want to do. I'm still waiting for mine and am expecting a similar result to yours. I have a Ranga model 8 with a 40mm Ambitious (I got the nib from a friend) and it too works fantastically. So I am very optimistic.

[Random_idiot]

Hey mehandiratta.

 

Got my nibs yesterday! Thank you so much. Put one in my x450 just so i could use it all day at work

Works great !

Will be changing out all my disappointing nibs on the weekend for yours. Might even have a few spare for some restorations i do.

 

Cheers !

[mehandiratta]

I am happy to see people receiving the nibs and package...

[mhguda]

My package has also made it safely to my door. Thank you for the little extras: nibs and ink samples. There's been a slight spill of ink so I haven't opened it yet, but it looks like most is still in the vials. Will post once I've had a chance to try them in a pen. What are they, though? if you remember...

[mehandiratta]

My package has also made it safely to my door. Thank you for the little extras: nibs and ink samples. There's been a slight spill of ink so I haven't opened it yet, but it looks like most is still in the vials. Will post once I've had a chance to try them in a pen. What are they, though? if you remember...

three inks

bril royal blue

camlin scarlet red

and homebrew mix of camlin royal blue and camlin scarlet red...

[mhguda]

Thank you!

[gopool]

The people who took part in this group buy are probably swimming in nibs right now, but is there any chance for those of us who joined the forum after the group buy ended to get some of those awesome Ambitious nibs?

[sillyman]

I second that. I'm interested too!

[mhguda]

Try dropping mr Subramaniam at Asapens an email or PM - he is on FPN and participates regularly. His username is Subbu_ASApens

Several of the pens I've bought from Asa recently have had Ambitious nibs installed. If it's not an option offered when you buy you can always inquire.

(coming up for air after diving in the sea of nibs...)

[mehandiratta]

I am. Trying to arrange a group buy soon.. As I have received requests for more...

[gopool]

I am. Trying to arrange a group buy soon.. As I have received requests for more...

 

Awesome. Looking forward to it. Do you have a time frame in mind? Just so I don't miss it.

 

Cheers!

[mhguda]

Awesome indeed. And even I got mine! (from India to the West Indies... I guess the mail won't make Columbus' mistake anymore...

[mehandiratta]

 

Awesome. Looking forward to it. Do you have a time frame in mind? Just so I don't miss it.

 

Cheers!

1st week of feb

[L.Velvet]

Cant wait

[bonsaiboy]

These nibs seem like awesome performance and value. I would also be interested in a group buy. Can't have enough spare parts right?

[anjan_sarkar]

1st week of feb

I am really looking forward to this. I am in the market too for some flex nibs.

[mehandiratta]

I am really looking forward to this. I am in the market too for some flex nibs.

This will be delayed by a week or two