Which Is The Best Indian Fp Maker? Especially Eyedropper.

[brerlapine]

So, it is your first purchase from an Indian company (other than fountain pen revolution which you didn't like very much) and you are looking at the these 4 big names:

 

Ranga, Wality, ASA, and GAMA.

 

Which do you buy to ensure a wonderful writing experience? An experience that will keep you coming back for more.

 

How much is too much for an ebonite pen?

 

If you want a eye dropper that you can carry and won't leak and it seems that ASA's Athlete looks like the best option with its particularly long feeder, but does it really matter?

 

Do you prefer (like me) to grip the pen rather high or rather low?

 

If given the option between nib makers JoWo, Schmidt or and generic, which do you choose?

 

And finally, if you have the option to upgrade the pen (and thus the price) into a converter/cartridge, do you?

 

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer these burning questions

 

Ideally, you have had some experience with more than 1 of these companies' pens so as to be able to make a comparison, but if not I am still interested in your experience any of the pens!

[ian1964]

I can not speak highly enough for ASA pens. I recently received 2 Trans Nauka Demonstrator Eye Dropper pens. The quality is outstanding. Both write like a dream. Both can also be used with converters or cartridge. JoWo stub nibs on mine. Outstanding pens.

 

Ranga do make good pens but I have been unlucky with the reliability meeting specifications on both my orders. I won't be ordering another Ranga sadly.

[mhguda]

It depends a little on what you are prepared to spend. Ranga (and Fosfor, whom you don't mention) provide handmade pens, basically luxury items. I have several of both; and am very happy with both. Fosfor started as a hobbyist (manojd is a fellow FPN member) but may be scaling up his operation...

Asa, while providing quality items, are a little less of a luxury offering, but still very good pens. I enjoy every one of the ones I have! And they also provide the service of customizing your pen. I don't think the other two on your list, Gama and Wality, do that.

 

But there are others. You don't mention Guider, or Deccan, or Oliver, or Click... and those are just the ones that come to my mind now. There are others... I love my Guiders and Deccans especially.

Good luck on your journey of discovery. And don't limit yourself to ebonite...

[J_MM]

I have good pens from ASA, Gama, Wality and Ranga and a few others whose name I do not recall. I find Ranga to be the best in consistently delivering a very good product.

[sciumbasci]

Aren't ASA and GAMA the same?

[deepak23]

Aren't ASA and GAMA the same?

Nope. Both are based in Chennai, but are two different brands.

 

To the OPs question, if we set apart the hand made pens, then the best pen body is made by Wality, but the nibs are sub par. The best Indian nib maker is Kanwrite (who incidentally make the pens for Noodlers). All my Walities note sport Kanwrite nibs and they write as good as pens that cost 10 times that amount.

[Wolverine1]

Well, growing up in India, all Indian made pens were of real poor quality, basically junk. After I moved to the USA, I bought only pens from American or German manufacturers. But, in the past fw years, I have got a couple of pens made by Ranga Pens from Peyton Street Pens, and I have really been impressed. I have 2 of the Model 5 pens, and Terri and her staff at her company, make sure that each pen is checked out and tweaked, ready to write. Try out a Ranga pen from Terri at Peyton Street Pens. You wont go wrong.

[brerlapine]

Thank you all very very much!

 

I was glad to learn the Kanwrite makes the pens for Noodler's. I haven't had the best experience with Noodler's pens (Ahab, Konrade, and The Charlie). In my opinion, and it is very subjective, Noodler's pens smell bad and no amount of cleaning can remove that smell. The smell gets into my skin with any amount of aqueous substance that comes into contact, say sweat, and invigorates the smell. Also, I have had horrible experiences with leaking. They are the reason I am worried about eye droppers!

 

I was hoping that ebonite pens would be different. Any experiences?

 

As far as nibs go, I figure I can switch out any problematic nibs with extras that I have about. I really enjoy the Noodler's nibs and FPN nibs with flex and bought a ton extra.... Can't really beat that price.

Edited October 25, 2016 by brerlapine

[flummoxed]

Ebonite does have a distinct smell but not necessarily the hydrogen sulfide-like smell from some resins. There are more than a few posts on this forum about the experience of using ebonite. Personally, I do not like metal or resin when I write, I prefer wood or ebonite. It seems warmer in the hand when I write without feeling cold when I begin to use it, or becoming really warm like metal after some time. Well-made eyedroppers do not leak and the problem of leaking can be fixed by a small amount of silicon grease at the threads to seal the section and body tightly. The other option is to use a cartridge/converter as a filling system to avoid problems of leaking or burping that people talk about with eyedroppers. I have only faced problems of burping when there is a gap between the nib and the feed (rather than the low ink problem as I tend to keep them full or move them out of rotation before they reach the burping point-so to speak).

 

Based on personal experience, I can definitely say I have used pens from Guider, Gama, Deccan, Fosfor, Kim (from the makers and later ones from S-K), Ranga, Ratnam, and Ratnamson and have enjoyed them tremendously. Most of them have pens that could suit your specifications or based on time and effort make one to suit your needs (budget, section thickness, pen wight balance, creating a pen around a nib, etc.).

 

I have had a hit and a miss with mass manufactured nibs, but all of them can be tweaked (some smoothing of the nib, resetting the nib and feed, reshaping the feed, etc.) in case you are adventurous or like to do it yourself if it is an ebonite feed.

[brerlapine]

Thank you flummoxed, ian1964, mhguda, deepak23, J MM, and wolverine1 for all the help!

 

Just found the best article for reshaping nibs by the master himself Richard Binder: http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

 

So the figure 8 method isn't the best!

[Samrat]

So, it is your first purchase from an Indian company (other than fountain pen revolution which you didn't like very much) and you are looking at the these 4 big names:

 

Ranga, Wality, ASA, and GAMA.

 

Which do you buy to ensure a wonderful writing experience? An experience that will keep you coming back for more.

 

How much is too much for an ebonite pen?

 

If you want a eye dropper that you can carry and won't leak and it seems that ASA's Athlete looks like the best option with its particularly long feeder, but does it really matter?

 

Do you prefer (like me) to grip the pen rather high or rather low?

 

If given the option between nib makers JoWo, Schmidt or and generic, which do you choose?

 

And finally, if you have the option to upgrade the pen (and thus the price) into a converter/cartridge, do you?

 

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer these burning questions

 

Ideally, you have had some experience with more than 1 of these companies' pens so as to be able to make a comparison, but if not I am still interested in your experience any of the pens!

 

I would like to shade some light on this matter. Eyedropper pens are tricky, some copies will invariably have leaking from the junction of body and section, some will have burping issues, etc. So whatever the company and reputation, there are bound to be some disappointments and heartbreaks for mass produced eyedropper pens. With this caveat I would like to focus on specific questions. I would start from below to clear the other questions. Indian default nibs are mostly fine grade, writes between Japanese fine and western medium, and there is lack of good quality control. So if you choose Indian generic or specific branded nibs like Gama or Wality nibs, there might be occasional duds, scratchiness, poor quality etc. Jowo, Schimdt, Bock nib units are definitely better, comes with varieties of tip options and the feeds are well tolerant to pressure and temperature changes, so the burping issues are minimal. So given the choice and expectation of getting a good nib right out of the box with minimal issues- I'll definitely go for Schimdt or Jowo nibs.

 

Then come to the up-gradation to other filling systems and my answer is a definite yes. 3-in-1 system is better than plain eyedropper and hassle free.

 

Combining the above answers its best to get either Ranga or ASA pens with German nib units and 3-in-1 filling systems. Ranga offers premium ebonites and some premium models. Also the base price of Ranga is more than ASA pens, in exchange you'd get better finish and costly looking materials. ASA on the other hand offers more affordable pens with good finish and much more approachable for customization.

 

Gama pens are solidly built and the nibs are a pleasure to use, but remember its difficult to predict which copy would turn out to be a bad copy.

 

Wality pens are a let down as far as the nib is concerned and also these pens have weird nib size, so getting replacement nibs can be real tough.

Fosfor is India's best known luxury pen producer and his pens are much more costly and regal.

 

Guider pens are well built but almost all Guider nibs requires replacement.

About how much is too much for an ebonite pen- it depends. For simple ebonite eyedropper pens with generic nibs, anything above INR 1000 (about US $ 20) is high. For a 3-in-1 filling system and other German nib units, anything above INR 2500 (about US $ 45) is costly. But add to this specific models with great craftsmanship, some intricate hand made work on the body or costly materials and the price could go up in a valid way.

 

For premium Ebonite and custom made pens, the price might be greater.

Lastly any eyedropper pen needs to be carried very cautiously for the first few days. If it leaks than bad luck.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Samrat

[deepak23]

Adding on to the previous post, Guider pens now come with the option of Schmidt nibs (#5 in most models though). This makes the Guiders the best in terms value.

[mehandiratta]

In my experience, the best Indian eyedropper pens come from Kim or lately Krishna pens because of the feed they use.

And since Krishna Pens are now making these pens with his various nib options suited according to your needs. I consider him the best for eyedropper pens. But only ebonite is available here...

 

Its Krishna Pens for me...

[daljitgroup]

any online site or webste how we can contact these?

[Pichak]

I have 5 india fountain pens but most of them are piston filler. However I have an ebonite eyedropper which I bid from eBay in quite cheap. It's a slim pen, beautiful and write well. The pen has no problem about leaking from the barrel but from its nib.

 

I am still looking for an other india ebonite fountain pen and I think I will try a Ranga.