The ‘Himalaya’, From Fountain Pen Revolution

[sdbruder]

My first 2 Himalaya pens arrived, one extra fine and another stub.

[truthpil]

  On 3/12/2018 at 1:59 AM, sdbruder said:

 

My first 2 Himalaya pens arrived, one extra fine and another stub.

 

 

So you're the guy who bought the last of the saffron ones!

I'm waiting for them to restock and go on sale again. These pens are fantastic!

[sdbruder]

  On 3/12/2018 at 2:02 AM, TruthPil said:

 

So you're the guy who bought the last of the saffron ones!

I'm waiting for them to restock and go on sale again. These pens are fantastic!

 

 

Heh, sorry

Only inked up the XF one (exactly the saffron), really liked it, normally I dont like XFs because its common for them to be too toothy, but I liked how it behaved until now.

[Jamerelbe]

  On 3/12/2018 at 2:59 PM, sdbruder said:

 

 

Heh, sorry

Only inked up the XF one (exactly the saffron), really liked it, normally I dont like XFs because its common for them to be too toothy, but I liked how it behaved until now.

 

I never used to recommend the FPR Extra-fine nibs - unless you knew how to smooth them yourself - because my experience was that they tended to be a bit sharp. The last few EF's I've ordered though (both the #5.5s in the Himalaya and, more recently, the #6s in the Darjeeling and redesigned Triveni) have been beautifully smooth and wet. In fact, I'd almost say I favour the EF for the Himalaya (unless you want flex): it seems to do a great job of 'taming' the otherwise wet ebonite feed...

[Arkanabar]

I now have three Himalayas -- green ebonite stub, green acrylic stub, brown ebonite flex.

I don't use flex much, and I don't do pointed-pen calligraphy. When I flex my brown Himalaya, I get railroading within one or two letters, and it's a bother to get ink flowing again. Furthermore, the flow is inconsistent. It starts out firehose wet, and will dry up over the course of a page or less of writing. I tend to think it's a feed issue. My stubs both write really well, and I have an extra stub and feed sitting around that I plan to try in it after Lent. Or maybe I'll try a different ink.

[Intensity]

Have you done a very thorough cleaning of the nib and feed of any machining oils remnants? I’ve heard that might help. Ink choice is important too. I’d try some Sailor and J. Herbin inks, for example.

[A Smug Dill]

The other thing to look at is heat setting the ebonite feed. Maybe it's a little bit off as-is.

[Intensity]

My Himalaya in brown ebonite arrived! It's my first full ebonite body pen and my first modern "flex nib" pen in one.

 

I am so impressed! The pen has an understated beauty and is comfortable to hold: just the right size to not be too thin or too small. Lightweight and thus easy to hold for a long period of time.

 

But the nib! Wow. I've used a few vintage pens with highly flexible nibs and currently only have one: a needlepoint-like XXF Wahl Eversharp, but I baby that pen due to its excellent condition and the fact that it uses a sac. I wouldn't put just any ink into it. Enter FPR Himalaya with its easily user-replaceable plunger fill converter and overall low cost. On top of that, the nib is really the star of the show--it's about as good as honest-to-goodness flexible vintage gold nibs I've used. Excellent pen and nib combination for when one wants to add some greeting card decorative touches or for page titles.

 

I've read about the strong recommendation of flushing this pen really well to clean it from machine oils, so I soaked my pen in gentle detergent solution for a couple hours, including converter cleaning and using a soft clean toothbrush to scrub with detergent between the nib and the feed. Absolutely no flow issues with my pen, writes really juicy like a good vintage pen--bonus for inks with good sheening properties. The nib itself is smooth and is very easy to flex without overstressing. Quick cell phone snap of my initial enthusiastic tests with Krishna Vaikhari ink:

 

 

The base line is about Lamy Safari Fine in thickness. The nib can write upside down quite well in an XXF line--mine happens to be not scratchy when writing upside down.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Intensity

[mouse2cat]

I just picked up a black Himalaya with the EF Ultra Flex nib. I think this is it. This is the pen I was looking for. 

 

Because this is such an affordable pen. I can just let it knock around and not feel precious about it. 

 

I don't do flex writing. As a lefty with a hook hand position it just doesn't work well for me. I mainly collect pens for drawing and the flex is excellent for that. 

 

For my normal, no pressure writing on my crappy notebooks with my pigment based, bleed prone inks. (Look, I like troublesome inks for my watercolor stuff.) The line is delicate enough that I am getting substantially better performance and less bleed/feathering than most of my nibs. While not actively flexing the pen it still has a nice bounce feel and a more dynamic line. I would compare this to the line weight of my Twsbi EF. 

 

For drawing though this can really hit the range of line weights I was looking for without being fatiguing on my hand. Of course, I have no problems with bleed and feathering while drawing on watercolor paper. It took less pressure to flex this pen than what I felt with the Falcon, I got to test both at the shop I went to. 

 

I thought this would be a good drawing pen, but I didn't expect it to be a nice general writing pen too. Maybe I'm in a honeymoon here. I will have to see how I feel a year from now after using it more but as for first impressions I really like this pen. 

 

Since people have had theirs for a while, how do you all feel about this pen now? Still a favorite? Prefer the V2 model more? 

[Nurmister]

  On 4/25/2021 at 9:21 PM, mouse2cat said:

I just picked up a black Himalaya with the EF Ultra Flex nib. I think this is it. This is the pen I was looking for. 

 

Because this is such an affordable pen. I can just let it knock around and not feel precious about it. 

 

I don't do flex writing. As a lefty with a hook hand position it just doesn't work well for me. I mainly collect pens for drawing and the flex is excellent for that. 

 

For my normal, no pressure writing on my crappy notebooks with my pigment based, bleed prone inks. (Look, I like troublesome inks for my watercolor stuff.) The line is delicate enough that I am getting substantially better performance and less bleed/feathering than most of my nibs. While not actively flexing the pen it still has a nice bounce feel and a more dynamic line. I would compare this to the line weight of my Twsbi EF. 

 

For drawing though this can really hit the range of line weights I was looking for without being fatiguing on my hand. Of course, I have no problems with bleed and feathering while drawing on watercolor paper. It took less pressure to flex this pen than what I felt with the Falcon, I got to test both at the shop I went to. 

 

I thought this would be a good drawing pen, but I didn't expect it to be a nice general writing pen too. Maybe I'm in a honeymoon here. I will have to see how I feel a year from now after using it more but as for first impressions I really like this pen. 

 

Since people have had theirs for a while, how do you all feel about this pen now? Still a favorite? Prefer the V2 model more? 

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I was one of the first customers of FPR -- I've had my prototype version of the Jaipur (which is very similar to the Himalaya, but with a Piston filler) for five years now. It's stood the test of time, and everything still works well. The nib punches above its weight, and I'd consider this a wonderful starter pen, if you can take the plastic's smell. I think the Himalaya in acrylic/ebonite won't suffer from that, so you're good there.

 

If I wanted to make this pen wetter, I would use one of Flexible nib factories 2/3-slit feeds. I have a Darjeeling for which this would be useful, but my Jaipur is fine.

 

[mouse2cat]

  On 4/25/2021 at 10:24 PM, Nurmister said:

 

I was one of the first customers of FPR -- I've had my prototype version of the Jaipur (which is very similar to the Himalaya, but with a Piston filler) for five years now. It's stood the test of time, and everything still works well. The nib punches above its weight, and I'd consider this a wonderful starter pen, if you can take the plastic's smell.

 

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Awesome! I'm glad it's holding up for you. I find it's just the converter that smells bad. But the plastic body seems fine. I can't smell anything unless I unscrew the body. 

 

This nib is freaking delightful. The body is just a nib delivery unit as far as I can tell. lol

[Nurmister]

  On 4/25/2021 at 10:30 PM, mouse2cat said:

This nib is freaking delightful. The body is just a nib delivery unit as far as I can tell. lol

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Haha, I get what you mean. FPR feeds are really great given their access to Indian ebonite. Unfortunately, though, I don't think the Himalaya's converter is interchangeable with a standard international converter. It's that funky vegetable-based plastic that FPR uses -- it still smells after half a decade. 

 

That said, I believe the Himalaya can be eye-droppered if you are feeling brave enough (and have silicone grease to seal the threads).

[mouse2cat]

  On 4/25/2021 at 10:44 PM, Nurmister said:

 

Haha, I get what you mean. FPR feeds are really great given their access to Indian ebonite. Unfortunately, though, I don't think the Himalaya's converter is interchangeable with a standard international converter. It's that funky vegetable-based plastic that FPR uses -- it still smells after half a decade. 

 

That said, I believe the Himalaya can be eye-droppered if you are feeling brave enough (and have silicone grease to seal the threads).

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I do have a little bottle of silicone grease. But I like to try out a lot of different inks so the converter may be a better fit for the time being. It looks like they do sell a replacement screw on converter for this pen so incase it leaks or cracks. 

[Jamerelbe]

  On 4/25/2021 at 9:21 PM, mouse2cat said:

I just picked up a black Himalaya with the EF Ultra Flex nib. I think this is it. This is the pen I was looking for. 

 

Because this is such an affordable pen. I can just let it knock around and not feel precious about it. 

 

I don't do flex writing. As a lefty with a hook hand position it just doesn't work well for me. I mainly collect pens for drawing and the flex is excellent for that. 

 

For my normal, no pressure writing on my crappy notebooks with my pigment based, bleed prone inks. (Look, I like troublesome inks for my watercolor stuff.) The line is delicate enough that I am getting substantially better performance and less bleed/feathering than most of my nibs. While not actively flexing the pen it still has a nice bounce feel and a more dynamic line. I would compare this to the line weight of my Twsbi EF. 

 

For drawing though this can really hit the range of line weights I was looking for without being fatiguing on my hand. Of course, I have no problems with bleed and feathering while drawing on watercolor paper. It took less pressure to flex this pen than what I felt with the Falcon, I got to test both at the shop I went to. 

 

I thought this would be a good drawing pen, but I didn't expect it to be a nice general writing pen too. Maybe I'm in a honeymoon here. I will have to see how I feel a year from now after using it more but as for first impressions I really like this pen. 

 

Since people have had theirs for a while, how do you all feel about this pen now? Still a favorite? Prefer the V2 model more? 

Expand  

 

I'd still rate the original Himalaya highly - it's such a reliable pen, and so easy to swap nibs in and out of (including Jowo #5s).

 

I like the added spring of the #6 ultraflex nibs, and find the look of the Himalaya V2 more aesthetically pleasing, but it's a harder pen to maintain because the nib and feed are jammed in so hard. Then again, I got my V2s very early on, and I understand FPR had some teething problems with them. I like the look and feel of both pens in action. 

 

The Jaipur V2 is a much bigger upgrade over its predecessor, and in my books might be the best pen FPR have designed. 

[mouse2cat]

Jamerelbe, do you ever stick the FPR nibs in other pen bodies? Because it looks like he sells the nibs with ebonite feeds on their own so I could see myself modifying some of my boring basic pens to be flexi. 

[Jamerelbe]

  On 4/26/2021 at 4:56 AM, mouse2cat said:

Jamerelbe, do you ever stick the FPR nibs in other pen bodies? Because it looks like he sells the nibs with ebonite feeds on their own so I could see myself modifying some of my boring basic pens to be flexi. 

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The ebonite feed has a squared off back-end, that won't fit into most fountain pens (at least those that are designed to take a regular plastic feed!), but the #5 nibs are reasonably versatile.  I've managed to cram them into a few different species of Jinhao pens, and they're a pretty close fit in a Jinhao nib unit.  Just tried swapping one into a Bock (076) nib unit, and there was a big gap between nib and feed that will certainly affect ink flow.  

 

It's a few years ago now, but I think I *did* manage to transplant a FPR#5 nib into a TWSBI Diamond Mini.  Unfortunately it didn't work for the Eco - as with the Bock nib units, it sat too far proud of the feed, and prevented ink flow.

 

The #6 nibs unfortunately aren't a good fit for either JoWo or Bock nib assemblies - the latter both tend to taper in towards the back of the nib body, while the FPR #6 nibs don't - the pictures below will hopefully tell the story!

[mouse2cat]

Ah But I do have a Twsbi diamond mini and I like it's body. So that one particular transplant would be possible for me. 

When you say #5 nib do you mean the #5.5? 

 

Thanks for the picture I can see that taper at the back. With the FPR being wider in the middle. 

 

I've never swapped out nibs before. I'd probably just pick up a second nib for this experiment and leave my Himalaya unmolested. 

[Jamerelbe]

  On 4/26/2021 at 2:22 PM, mouse2cat said:

Ah But I do have a Twsbi diamond mini and I like it's body. So that one particular transplant would be possible for me. 

When you say #5 nib do you mean the #5.5? 

 

Thanks for the picture I can see that taper at the back. With the FPR being wider in the middle. 

 

I've never swapped out nibs before. I'd probably just pick up a second nib for this experiment and leave my Himalaya unmolested. 

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I do mean #5.5 - though that's a bit of a misnomer.  FPR #5.5 nibs are pretty close in form to the #5 nibs made by companies like JoWo, Bock, Schmidt etc.  Their original, and now defunct, #5 nibs were a little shorter.  I've definitely fitted one of those smaller nibs into a TWSBI (a Diamond 580), when I managed to crunch its original nib (TWSBI kindly sent me a replacement).  I *think* I've done the same with a #5.5, but it was a long time ago, and I didn't leave it in there permanently.

 

Just a word of warning: the Diamond Mini nib and feed are *very* tightly fitted within the 'collar' that holds the unit together, and the fins on the underside of the feed are quite fragile.  It's extremely easy to bend them, or even break them off, in trying to remove them.  The TWSBI Diamond 580 is an easier pen to experiment with (likewise the Vac Mini), because nib and feed aren't jammed quite as tightly into the collar.

[mouse2cat]

  On 4/26/2021 at 10:35 PM, Jamerelbe said:

 

I do mean #5.5 - though that's a bit of a misnomer.  FPR #5.5 nibs are pretty close in form to the #5 nibs made by companies like JoWo, Bock, Schmidt etc.  Their original, and now defunct, #5 nibs were a little shorter.  I've definitely fitted one of those smaller nibs into a TWSBI (a Diamond 580), when I managed to crunch its original nib (TWSBI kindly sent me a replacement).  I *think* I've done the same with a #5.5, but it was a long time ago, and I didn't leave it in there permanently.

 

Just a word of warning: the Diamond Mini nib and feed are *very* tightly fitted within the 'collar' that holds the unit together, and the fins on the underside of the feed are quite fragile.  It's extremely easy to bend them, or even break them off, in trying to remove them.  The TWSBI Diamond 580 is an easier pen to experiment with (likewise the Vac Mini), because nib and feed aren't jammed quite as tightly into the collar.

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Interesting. It seems that this surgery might be a little more challenging than I am ready for as a novice. The FPR body is nothing to write home about but mine seems to be working fine so I won't dissect it just yet. Thanks for the details on the different fits between the different TWSBI models. It's weird that they vary so much.   

[Jamerelbe]

  On 4/27/2021 at 2:00 AM, mouse2cat said:

 

Interesting. It seems that this surgery might be a little more challenging than I am ready for as a novice. The FPR body is nothing to write home about but mine seems to be working fine so I won't dissect it just yet. Thanks for the details on the different fits between the different TWSBI models. It's weird that they vary so much.   

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I'd definitely advise going slowly when it comes to replacing nibs on the TWSBI Diamond Mini.  I had a quick go last night, though, and confirmed that my #5.5 Ultraflex nib fit fairly snugly into both a Diamond 580 and a Vac Mini nib unit.  From memory, others have had more success trying to transplant a #5.5 FPR nib into a TWSBI Eco, but I couldn't get it to work - and wasn't prepared to play games trying to remould the feed to fit the nib (my TWSBI nibs were already pretty nice anyway!).