Asa Macaw Review

[Prithwijit]

Introduction

“A lot can happen over coffee” screams the tagline of Café Coffee Day which is a renowned café chain in India. While I may not know much about what else can happen over coffee, I am about the narrate the story of a pen that came into being thanks to a little chit-chat over the brew.

It all happened when I had a business trip to Chennai which necessitated a stay over on Friday night. I opted for a late morning flight back home on Saturday and called up Mr. Subramaniam of ASA pens to set up a meeting in the early morning. The gentleman that he is, he couldn’t refuse my intrusion into his serene morning and we caught up over delicious strong filter coffee at his place.

We discussed a lot of pens and I showed him the picture of a few orange coloured pens with the suggestion that he consider them for production using the orange acrylic blank that he had recently procured. Unknown to me, his mind was already on the job and a week after the meeting he surprised everyone in the “Fountain Pen Pals India” WhatsApp/Telegram group with a picture of a new prototype pen using a combination of orange and deep navy blue coloured acrylic material. Needless to say the pen looked beautiful and all of us wanted him to ensure that the pen goes into production.

There was one small hitch though. The deep navy blue acrylic material used was from some vintage material stock he had and he had exhausted all of them. Only bits and pieces were left and it was not possible to make more than ten pens of that design. A mad scramble ensued and within thirty minutes all ten were booked. Since this colour combination was unlikely to be ever repeated, we decided to brand it as a Limited Edition (LE) and number code each pen. A lottery was conducted and I was lucky to get pen number 01.

A number of suggestions were made for naming the pen. Fellow FPNer Kapil Apshankar (@springrainbow) shared the picture of a tropical paradise with an extremely attractive model at the beach with a Macaw on her shoulders. The picture must have been really good since I have no recollection of noticing the Macaw. Other group members who had better control over their hormones noticed how closely the colour of the pen matched that of the Macaw and voted to name the pen after the bird.

Design

The Macaw has a classic design in terms of simple straight lines with only a slight tapering of the barrel and the cap towards the end filial. The top of the cap and the bottom of the barrel are flat and polished. The body of the barrel and the cap are polished smooth and shiny. The section design is a homage to the traditional sections made by Indian hand-made pen makers – a simple straight section tapering slightly towards the nib and ending with a small ridge where it ends. It’s not my favourite design but does the job nicely. The pen comes with a plated beak shaped clip which is only fitting for a pen called Macaw.

The highlight of the design is obviously the colour combination of the material used and how the colours have been used. To the best of my knowledge there are not too many pens with Orange and Blue colour combinations out there. The Macaw has attempted to use this unique combination and in my opinion has come out brilliantly successful. Essentially, the pen has a solid orange body and a solid blue cap. The monotony is broken by the usage of contrasting colours in the end filial of both the body and the cap. The colours complement each other and harmonizes the design. Whether posted or unposted, the interplay of the colours comes out very nicely yet subtly.

 

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Size and Balance

There is no beating around the bush that it is a large pen at 151mm capped. The shape of the pen also seems to accentuate the feeling of heft. But once you take it in hand and start writing you realise just how comfortable the pen is. Maybe because the material used is so light, that despite the length and the diameter of the barrel, the pen hasn’t really been penalized in terms of weight or balance. Needless to say, the pen is well balanced and provides comfortable writing for extended periods.

Nib

The pen comes fitted with a #6 Schmidt steel nib with paired Schmidt feed and sleeve (Model FH 452). There was a choice to go for either polished steel or gold plated model and I chose the latter and opted for a medium tip.

 

I must mention here that this is a design that I believe would have greatly benefitted from a larger #8 nib. There is enough clearance in the cap to accommodate such a nib and the relatively larger diameter of the pen and the section would have matched nicely with a large and wide nib. Unfortunately going for Bock or Jowo #8 in gold would have made the pen prohibitively expensive and using the Ambitious 40mm nib would have meant that the pen becomes an eyedropper. So in hindsight, I believe going with the #6 nib was the right choice although I wish that in the marketspace there were options for economical but good #8 sized steel nibs as triple systems with standard international cartridge and convertor support.

 

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Filling Mechanism

I prefer pens that accept standard international cartridges and compatible convertors. I find them to provide the best proposition around value, system longevity, convenience and widespread compatibility. The ASA Macaw has the aforesaid filling mechanism and comes with a Schmidt K5 convertor out of the box.

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Build Quality

This is definitely one of the better handmade pens I have received from ASA. The fit and finish and the tolerances are fine for a handmade pen. If you look closely where the end filial meet the barrel and the cap you can hardly make out that there is a joint there. Only the contrasting Orange-Blue colour gives it away. That’s a testament to the quality of finishing and the amount of time spent in polishing and buffing. This is one handmade pen where you can risk calling it an injection moulded pen based on exterior finishing as it appears to the naked eye. Only the design and shape gives an indication that it’s something different and has not come off an assembly line.

 

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Writing Experience

Schmidt FH 452 is a very well known, popular and renowned nib and its merits are well known. Out of the box it is a very smooth writer laying down a nice wet line. I won’t call this nib as soft or flexible however and it is a simple honest nail. This was my first Schmidt medium nib and compared to the many Jowo and Lamy medium nibs that I have, the line width on this one seems to be a tad bit thinner. That does not however take anything away from the quality of the pen but is just a characteristic of the nib design. Should you need a nice wet line like a good Jowo medium, I suggest you consider a Schmidt broad instead.

Price and Value

The ASA Macaw was sold to us for a price that is comparable to the prices of recently launched pens of the ASA Stellar collection. In my opinion that is amazing value since we are getting a quasi-custom pen offered at a price that is at the value spectrum of handmade pens.

Specifications

I will put in my usual disclaimers here. I don’t have access to precision measurement instruments such as Vernier calliper and you would have to settle for the approximate measurements I made using a normal ruler and my eyes which means there might be a little bit of deviation due to parallax effect. However, given these pens are handmade and there are small piece to piece variations anyway, the measurements I am providing should give you a clear indication of what to expect from the pen.

Length (capped) – 151 mm
Length (uncapped) – 137 mm
Length (cap) – 69 mm
Length (section) – 19 mm
Maximum width – 16 mm
Minimum width – 11 mm
Maximum section width – 12.5 mm
Minimum section width – 11 mm

Conclusion

I am extremely happy with this pen. It started as a coffee table discussion and ended as a limited edition. Everybody who has this pen have been extremely impressed with its balance, comfort and writing experience. I would request Mr. Subramaniam to consider launching the pen as a regular model with other colour combinations with an option of having an Ambitious 40mm nib in eyedropper combination or with a #6 nib in cartridge-convertor version.

[Sanjay13leo]

Very Nice Blog and wonderful clear professional pictures to describe the tiny details, well captured. Wonderful color combination pen again from ASA, kudos on the beautiful creation. Very well worded clear and crisp Blog sir, wishing you the best.

[visvamitra]

Great review but I do agree that such small nib looks ridiculus

[vig2432]

Nice review. Lucky to be a part of group to get this pen

[Prithwijit]

Great review but I do agree that such small nib looks ridiculus

 

The nib is actually not small at all. Its a #6 nib with approx 25mm exposed length. So it is slightly bigger than the nib in Sailor 1911 large or MB 146. But as I mentioned, the design benefits from having even larger nibs.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

[Sudhir]

Awesome pen and an equally awesome review PC dada.

But why do you keep tormenting us mere mortals with pens that we may never be able to buy?

 

Just kidding...

 

Cheers

Sudhir

[mhguda]

Awesome pen and an equally awesome review PC dada.

But why do you keep tormenting us mere mortals with pens that we may never be able to buy?

 

Just kidding...

 

Cheers

Sudhir

He does it so we can torment mr Subramaniam to bring the pen in regular production... maybe a slight alteration but essentially the same pen... Are you reading, mr S?

[Sagarb]

great review. thanks for sharing ...

[vig2432]

He does it so we can torment mr Subramaniam to bring the pen in regular production... maybe a slight alteration but essentially the same pen... Are you reading, mr S?

Could me done with orange and black acrylic colors. Probably could be a variant of popsicle

[Prithwijit]

Awesome pen and an equally awesome review PC dada.

But why do you keep tormenting us mere mortals with pens that we may never be able to buy?

 

Just kidding...

 

Cheers

Sudhir

 

Hi Sudhir,

 

I get interested in getting pens done that suit my taste and or whim & fancy. Hence you may find some off beat pens in my collection some of which have an element of customization.

 

Many of you have collection of expensive and renowned pens which are considered stalwarts or grails within the community. I have neither the means nor the interest to pursue my hobby in that direction. I am more happy with a small eclectic set but each having a story associated iwth it.

 

Regards,

 

Chaki

[Prithwijit]

He does it so we can torment mr Subramaniam to bring the pen in regular production... maybe a slight alteration but essentially the same pen... Are you reading, mr S?

 

+1

 

I have been encouraging Mr. Subramaniam to diversify and enrich his catalogue of pens for long. While I appreciate that being in India may have some challenges around material and component availability, I still feel that there is immense potential to explore further.

 

The Macaw for instance has nothing unachievable about it. While the specific colour combination may be not possible, a host of other colours are available and possible. Some of the options are -

Orange - Light Blue

Orange - Black

Orange - red

Red - White

White - Blue

Ivory - Light Blue

 

etc. etc.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

[mhguda]

Why stop there?

Red & dark blue

turquoise & dark blue

dark blue & green

black & ivory (think of Paul McCartney there...)

red & pink

green & black

the combinations are endless... Just thinking about a pen like this has me salivating...

[Prithwijit]

Why stop there?

Red & dark blue

turquoise & dark blue

dark blue & green

black & ivory (think of Paul McCartney there...)

red & pink

green & black

the combinations are endless... Just thinking about a pen like this has me salivating...

 

While you are right, I was restricting myself to colours for which ASA already has blanks available. Basically any combination of colours in which ASA Popsicle is currently available is a possibility.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

[burhanj13]

Thank you Prithwijit for that wonderful review of the pen and the clear pictures.

Thank you and Mr S for coming up with this pen.

And I'm one of the lucky few to get the pen, mine is No.02. I will be receiving my pen soon with

my other orders, and cant wait to start using it after reading your review.

ASA MACAW fly to me soon.

[mehandiratta]

great review.... i don't think the nib looks small.... it looks good in actual ... its a personal preference though....

 

BTW amazing review Prithwijit.

[Forsooth]

Great review, photos, and specs of a large, no-step pen (my favorite type of pen). I do not think that the #6 nib looks "ridiculous" - I think the nib looks proportional. This color design is a good choice alternative to the lava swirl colors.

 

Question: The threads -- Are they bothersome (call attention to themselves) or do they feel OK when you write? Just wondering, as this must be a challenge for pen makers - turning threads that are bold enough to secure the cap, yet meek enough to not annoy the user.

 

Thanks!

[Prithwijit]

Great review, photos, and specs of a large, no-step pen (my favorite type of pen). I do not think that the #6 nib looks "ridiculous" - I think the nib looks proportional. This color design is a good choice alternative to the lava swirl colors.

 

Question: The threads -- Are they bothersome (call attention to themselves) or do they feel OK when you write? Just wondering, as this must be a challenge for pen makers - turning threads that are bold enough to secure the cap, yet meek enough to not annoy the user.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,

 

The #6 nib is certainly not ridiculous. All I meant was that a #8 nib is likely to look even better matched with the design.

 

Since the section is close to 20mm long, there is ample space to grip the pen without the threads coming in the way in any form or fashion.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

[Forsooth]

 

Hi,

 

The #6 nib is certainly not ridiculous. All I meant was that a #8 nib is likely to look even better matched with the design.

 

Since the section is close to 20mm long, there is ample space to grip the pen without the threads coming in the way in any form or fashion.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

 

Right, I was responding to Vismamitra's comment. I love the big, flared nibs, too.

 

Thanks for commenting on the threads.

[J_MM]

Nice pen. Nib size looks reasonable.

[avoiceinthedistance]

Great review on a stunning pen. That blue is the perfect complement to the orange. If Mr. Subramaniam were to come up with more of that deep navy blue acrylic, I'd sure like one.

 

Cheers.