Custom Fosfor Tikona With Pelikan Nib

[spaceink]

I've been a fan of Indian fountain pens for a few years now. My first was a beautiful ebonite Ranga, followed by a few fine pens from ASA. It must have been through visits to FPN that I first learned about Fosfor. I admired from afar the pieces that Manoj created and customized, including his most well known design, the Islander, done in beautiful acrylic he'd cast himself, and other pens made with blanks from the now defunct Conway Stewart's inventory or from exotic woods that he was able to procure.

The pen that I began to shape in my mind was the Tikona. I'd never owned a pen that had a triangular body, and inspired by the Nakaya pens, I wanted a clipless version, to take full benefit of the pen's natural no-roll shape. Also thinking along the lines of Nakaya, I'm a fan of the urushi look but I also did not feel the urge to spend a grand amount of money on a single pen. Something with a nod towards the color and transparency of urushi would have to do.

The nib would also be an important consideration for me. I like the usual German Bock and Schmidt nibs found on many of the higher-tier fountain pens from India, but I wanted another level of quality. As a fan of Pelikan nibs, I wanted to be able to use an M400 14K nib on a Fosfor pen.

I reached out to Manoj, not quite sure if he'd be able to accommodate. To my delight, he had Pelikan M400 and M600 nib units on hand and would be able to use them to customize a Tikona for me. He suggested that his "root beer" resin would be the closest to the reddish urushi look that I coveted (we both understood that no acrylic resin pen would come quite close to emulating the intricate handbrushed layers found on Nakaya urushi pens).

Satisfied, I asked him to move forward with the pen, splurging a little with a fast-tracked order so that I wouldn't have to wait behind 18 others. Less than a month later, a pen arrived to me.

 

 

 

I held off on a review for another four weeks, so that I can get to truly know the pen before I give my thoughts.

 

Material and Construction

I love the feel of the polycast resin that Manoj used to make this pen. It's sturdy but not too heavy. Twice already, I accidentally dropped the pen from a few feet in height, and fortunately it remained firmly intact. The surface is smooth, albeit without some imperfections, a few nicks here and there, I believe from the hand-turning process, but barely noticeable. Being a fan of wabi-sabi, I actually kind of like it that it's not a hundred percent smooth.

Most of all, the color is gorgeous, dark reddish brown, almost black in most parts, but with subtle lighter colors, too. Especially in the thinner part of the cap, light passes through, giving the pen a wonderful variation to the dark reddish brown.

Design and Shape

The pen certainly invites looks. Sitting down at cafes, I've noticed people nearby glancing over, curious what this triangular obelisk on my table might be. My pen kimono complements it nicely.

Again, I love the triangular shape of the Tikona, and am very glad to have asked Manoj for a clipless version. It doesn't roll when I put it on my desk, and the cap, with some care and mindfulness, can also function as a temporary pen rest.

Much like many other pens, including Nakayas that I admire, there is a step, and depending on how you write, you may or may not brush your thumb against the edge of the barrel. If you do hold your pens in a way that may cause this to affect you, talk to Manoj to see if he can change the shape of the pen to better suit your grip. I do sometimes feel the edge, which can feel a little sharp, against my thumb but not so much that it prevents me from writing for a long time with this pen.

Another caveat, owing to the triangular shape of the pen, is that there is some trickiness every time you unscrew the section from the barrel. Chances are, you'll have to spend some time giving the barrel a little turn back and forth until the section allows for the cap to properly align with the barrel. It used to take me a few minutes, but having had it for nearly a month, I'm pretty adept at knowing the right positions of the barrel, cap and nib unit (the last only takes one initial adjustment, with slight turns). A proper alignment now takes me no time to achieve, ten or fifteen seconds, tops.

Filling Method
It appears that my pen had been made to be an eyedropper, but because I'm leery of the spills and leaks that can come from air bubbles, I decided to investigate other options. A converter would not fit, but a more pliable pre-punctured international mini cartridge could be easily squeeze into the section. It sometimes needs a few shakes, but on the whole, the flow has been mostly constant for me, with few hard starts. I usually have a few pre-filled cartridges at the ready, each sealed with a dot from the hot glue gun.

Nib

What can I say? I'm truly delighted Manoj was able to customize the section to take Pelikan 200-600 nibs, The vintage M400 14K nib I put in is a pleasure to write with, every time. Smooth, with subtle line variation from the springy nib. I was more than impressed by his lack of hesitation in completing my request.

 

Overall Thoughts

Manoj is a rising star in the Indian custom fountain pen scene, and I could easily see why with my Tikona. His craftsmanship is superior, with stunning precision for pens that are handmade. He's truly an artistic problem-solver who'll work with his customers to bring a concept to completion.

From the start of the process, he replied promptly and thoroughly to my questions (usually within a day or two), and even sent me preview photos of my pen before he shipped it.

I lucked on being able to procure a second Fosfor custom pen, right here in the U.S. It's also a lovely pen, and it affirmed to me that I hadn't simply lucked out with my one Tikona order. I don't believe it will be my final Fosfor acquisition.

Edited September 1, 2016 by spaceink

[prashant.tikekar]

Congratulations on your gorgeous new acquisition. Thanks for sharing a detailed review with stunning photographs.

[dinuraj]

Really nice. The colour of the pen is awesome.

 

Mr. Manoj is working on a blue Tikona for me now. Looking forward to handling it.

[bobje]

Spaceink,

Wow, that is one gorgeous pen. Really enjoy the translucence of the material and the triangular design.

Bob

[da vinci]

Nice pen, and a fantastic review. Look forward to the next one

[avoiceinthedistance]

That's a great-looking pen, spaceink. And a really nice review. Thank you.

[mehandiratta]

This is awesome...

[flummoxed]

Manoj is a wonderful pen turner! Congratulations on the lovely looking pen.

[Prithwijit]

Lovely pen Bharat. I have an open order for a root beer Tikona with Manoj, but for whatever reasons, I keep pushing it out in favour of other pens.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit

[ak2k5]

its an amazing pen..i also covet the said colour of nakayas..what is the exact name of the resin used?

and can we use convertors for tikona or is it too small to accommodate one?

[dinuraj]

its an amazing pen..i also covet the said colour of nakayas..what is the exact name of the resin used?

and can we use convertors for tikona or is it too small to accommodate one?

Tikona is not a small pen. I find it to be a chunky and heavy pen. Mine came with a standard Schmidt converter.

 

Mr. Manoj casts his own resin blanks for this pen. So, the colour is customisable. I wanted a deep blue translucent pen. He had to couple of iterations to get the right colour.

[spaceink]

Mine is root beer, but I specified to him the kind of dark/light red-brown that I'd like, and he was able to pull through.

 

My customized version for Pelikan nibs doesn't have a nipple or enough room for a converter, which is why I'm using a mini cartridge that I refill by syringe or filling it as an eyedropper (when I feel brave). Not sure what kind of filling system his normal Tikona orders usually have, but I believe they might take a converter with a Schmidt nib unit.

Edited September 20, 2016 by spaceink

[ak2k5]

Mine is root beer, but I specified to him the kind of dark/light red-brown that I'd like, and he was able to pull through.

 

My customized version for Pelikan nibs doesn't have a nipple or enough room for a converter, which is why I'm using a mini cartridge that I refill by syringe or filling it as an eyedropper (when I feel brave). Not sure what kind of filling system his normal Tikona orders usually have, but I believe they might take a converter with a Schmidt nib unit.

 

thanks...from the pics he certainly has pulled it off..

it could be passed off as a nakaya ,atleast thats what i think from the pics...

 

im on the verge of placing a similar order ..for another model maybe

[Sagarb]

Very nice review..and the pen is amazing..

[KaB]

what a beauty!