Asa Maya: A Review Of A Dream Pen

[Aeltar]

My ASA Maya arrived last week. It came with the ASA B nib. It is very wet and per Mr. Subramanium stated earlier on, it is quite broad (1 mm).

 

Interestingly, it come with the "flat" feed and I guess the ink is almost running out (used as an eye-dropper), and there must be burping as ink was all over my fingers.

 

In the package, Mr. Subramanium also kindly included separately the round feed (shown in the picture by the OP) with the tiny plastic tube.

 

I wonder if the feed is friction fit, so I can jut pull out the flat one and inserted the rounded one with the nib? Would this avoid ink burping?

 

Many thanks, ben

That is exactly what I did. It took a little bit of force - I ended up putting the body end of the feed on a table and pressing down and it pushed out eventually. I didn't want to damage the fins so instead of pulling harder I just pushed on the part that's harder to damage.

 

The round feed is working well for me. No hard starts and it hasn't run dry. No burping, either, which was a concern of mine with the eyedropper model.

 

I did overfill it at first Ink was slowly seeping out from the threads between the section and the body. I applied silicone grease, removed a tiny bit of ink, and no problems - just user error.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Aeltar

[Benpiggy]

Thank you. Will try this week

[Georges_S]

My ASA Maya arrived last week. It came with the ASA B nib. It is very wet and per Mr. Subramanium stated earlier on, it is quite broad (1 mm).

 

Interestingly, it come with the "flat" feed and I guess the ink is almost running out (used as an eye-dropper), and there must be burping as ink was all over my fingers.

 

In the package, Mr. Subramanium also kindly included separately the round feed (shown in the picture by the OP) with the tiny plastic tube.

 

I wonder if the feed is friction fit, so I can jut pull out the flat one and inserted the rounded one with the nib? Would this avoid ink burping?

 

Many thanks, ben

 

I received my asa Maya a month ago but there was not the round feed (shown in the picture by the OP) with the tiny plastic tube, only the flat one inside the pen and nothing more ;(

 

To the people who received their Maya, did you all get that round feed in your package ? Mine is the maya ED also.

[mhguda]

I think I received mine about the same time you did. It was equipped with the round feed with the tube in it.

I had asked - as I always do when ordering from Asa - for the pen to be tested. Maybe that makes a difference?

However, I have many other Asa pens, all EDs, and all others have the standard flat ebonite feed. Most have no flow issues at all. Did you have flow issues with yours?

 

BTW I am very happy with my Maya, it is a beautiful pen and I love the ASA engraved on the nib! Way to go!

[Georges_S]

I think I received mine about the same time you did. It was equipped with the round feed with the tube in it.

I had asked - as I always do when ordering from Asa - for the pen to be tested. Maybe that makes a difference?

However, I have many other Asa pens, all EDs, and all others have the standard flat ebonite feed. Most have no flow issues at all. Did you have flow issues with yours?

 

BTW I am very happy with my Maya, it is a beautiful pen and I love the ASA engraved on the nib! Way to go!

It is a very nice pen, i like it very much, it works very well but i plan to use it a lot this summer, especially outside, and im very concerned about burping issues that eyedroppers may have, as i understand, the round feed with the tiny plastic tube helps to prevent against that..

 

Of course i had asked for the pen to be tested, but when i opened the pen to wash it with water and then fill it with ink, at first i was surprised that it had only the flat feed in it, not like the one in the photo of the review, well, it was working great so i didn't pay attention to it, but after reading recent posts on this thread i am worried because some customers received it and not mine...

 

Well, as i said i like this pen so much that this week i have ordered an other one but this time a 3 in 1 with Threaded in JoWo F nib unit (just to complete my collection of maya) and i asked too if they could send me the missing round feed with the tiny plastic tube for my first one inside the package.

 

And you are right, it is really a beautiful pen

Edited February 22, 2017 by Georges_S

[mhguda]

On rereading my text I think maybe I was not clear: I mean most of my Asa pens don't blurp, even though they have only the flat feed. And I do take mine out of the house (in my puse so they do get bumped around) and into my air-conditioned workspace. Outside in the summer, I think you should be fine; I am in the tropics so what you would consider high temperatures basically year-round. And pretty high humidity also.

If the pen is about to blurp, you do get some signs: the flow increases slightly before actually blurping. So as long as you do not have the round feed, you could be on the lookout for that.

Anyway I am glad you like your pen and have even ordered a second one, they should look very nice together... and I expect you will soon have your round feed with tube, do let us know if it makes any difference in how the pen writes.

[Georges_S]

The pen is really well made, like you said i don't think too i would have burping issue with the flat feed but having the round feed would make me feel more secure.

 

i have sent a mail to mr. Subramanium, I hope too they will send it to me through my new order so i can let you know if it makes a difference in how the pen writes.

Edited February 22, 2017 by Georges_S

[JakobS]

I got my Maya about a week ago. It has a standard Asa M nib. I asked for it to be tested before shipping, and only received the flat feed as well. If I understand the process, when they test the pen, a decision is made on which feed will work for it the best, and thus instead of both feeds you get the one that tested the best.

 

I have been using it almost everyday since I received it, and though I don't think I have reached a point where the ink is low enough to start showing signs of burping, I have been very satisfied with its behavior. The nib is smooth, with a medium wetness using KWZ IG Red #3. It is light in my hand, truly possessing a classic look that had initially attracted me to it.

 

The only negative against it, would be the unscrewing of the cap. There is a point where it feels like the cap threads get caught on the body threads for a single turn, but then unscrews smoothly afterward. Though it being an ED helps reduce this, it appears the cap screws on tight enough to minimize the nib drying out over a period of days. At least with an IG ink, oxidation does not appear to affect the ink in the pen body as it does with other pens.

Edited February 22, 2017 by JakobS

[Georges_S]

I got my Maya about a week ago. It has a standard Asa M nib. I asked for it to be tested before shipping, and only received the flat feed as well. If I understand the process, when they test the pen, a decision is made on which feed will work for it the best, and thus instead of both feeds you get the one that tested the best.

 

I have been using it almost everyday since I received it, and though I don't think I have reached a point where the ink is low enough to start showing signs of burping, I have been very satisfied with its behavior. The nib is smooth, with a medium wetness using KWZ IG Red #3. It is light in my hand, truly possessing a classic look that had initially attracted me to it.

 

The only negative against it, would be the unscrewing of the cap. There is a point where it feels like the cap threads get caught on the body threads for a single turn, but then unscrews smoothly afterward. Though it being an ED helps reduce this, it appears the cap screws on tight enough to minimize the nib drying out over a period of days. At least with an IG ink, oxidation does not appear to affect the ink in the pen body as it does with other pens.

It makes sense, well, i'm still waiting for mr Subramanium's answer to my mail, but i guess this is the answer.

 

About the unscrewing of the cap, mine does the same too, you are right, it is probably to prevent the ink from drying out if unused after a while.

 

By the way, a few minutes ago, i just saw that Maya has now 2 more colors avalaible, they were not there yesterday when i ordered my second one, well, i like black a lot so it is ok

Edited February 22, 2017 by Georges_S

[JakobS]

It makes sense, well, i'm still waiting for mr Subramanium's answer to my mail, but i guess this is the answer.

 

About the unscrewing of the cap, mine does the same too, you are right, it is probably to prevent the ink from drying out if unused after a while.

 

By the way, a few minutes ago, i just saw that Maya has now 2 more colors avalaible, they were not there yesterday when i ordered my second one, well, i like black a lot so it is ok

 

 

I noticed too that he now describes the feed differences for ED's in the feed material description.

 

The new colors looks cool. I am drawn to the Cocoa Brown...

Edited February 22, 2017 by JakobS

[Georges_S]

You are right, the answer about my concern is on the asapens website in description : "...ED pens use special Indian highly finned Sheaffer NOS type feeds OR Regular Ebonite Indian Feed, based on best performance during testing."

 

Oh well, i'm very satisfied with the configuration of my Maya ED as it is right now, it has been very well tuned and the actual feed fits very well, so i dont want to touch it except for extreme cleaning. About burping issues this summer, as for all eyedroppers, i will just need to be cautious about how much ink i have left inside it.

 

Ebonite is awesome.

[Benpiggy]

I did not experience any burping since last time. My ASA Raja burps a lot when ink is low.

 

I am not very good in pulling things in and out. At this time, I will wait and see before I put in the rounder feed.

 

I did receive the rounder feed, with the flat feed installed.

 

I forgot to ask Mr. S to test the pen, however the pen arrives is wet and smooth.

 

If Mr. S is producing his own nibs, I hope he will make some BB nibs in the near future

 

I like the matt colour, I like the teal one as well.

 

Best wishes.

[Angel91]

Hello! Received mine, it looks great. I ordered it to fit a JoWo threaded unit (I already had), but it doesn't sit perfectly, there's a small step from nib to section. Should I try to keep turning it with more force? I feel like I'll break it.

 

Will it leak if I leave it like taht?

 

What do you guys think?

[subbucal]

Hello! Received mine, it looks great. I ordered it to fit a JoWo threaded unit (I already had), but it doesn't sit perfectly, there's a small step from nib to section. Should I try to keep turning it with more force? I feel like I'll break it.

 

Will it leak if I leave it like taht?

 

What do you guys think?

Please show a picture if possible.

 

Also, which model of JoWo unit is it?

[Angel91]

Will do as soon as i can, its a jowo 6 nib. I just don't manage to take it out either. Did I have to grease the threads before?

The pen is working anyway... I'll post some photos soon.

Thanks for the quick reply.

[subbucal]

Will do as soon as i can, its a jowo 6 nib. I just don't manage to take it out either. Did I have to grease the threads before?

 

The pen is working anyway... I'll post some photos soon.

Thanks for the quick reply.

My pleasure sir

 

There are 2 models with different housing actually, with different sleeve design, however thread pitch is same though, because of design it will not sit completely .. You may PM me for any support here..

[Jamerelbe]

Hi Mr Subramanian, I have just sent you an email about this - I've ordered a Maya pen to house my spare JoWo screw-in nibs, but didn't know till just now that they have two models. I'll hope to hear back from you via email, but thought it was worth asking here too: would you be able to show a picture on this thread of the nib unit model(s) you design these pens for?

[Anne-Sophie]

 

Thank you Sagarb for the beautiful review of the Asa Maya!

 

It is a wonderfully classic and classy pen.

 

Much appreciation for sharing the picture of this memorable meeting!

[Angel91]

This is how It looks: 1) at first try, 2) after putting some silicone on the threads.

 

It doesn't go any further. I'm satisfied anyway. I think it's a great pen.

[Fuellerfuehrerschein]

In February I ordered a semi-custom JoWo #6 nib unit compatible Maya. I am waiting for the pen to get shipped and am confident my standard JoWo #6 nib units will fit perfectly.

 

Have a look at images and technical drawings of two dimensionally differing JoWo #6 nib units:

The standard #6 nib unit http://www.fpnibs.com/en/jowo-steel-nibs/281-steel-nib-unit-size-6-polished.html#/

The #6 BF nib unit http://www.fpnibs.com/en/size-6-jowo/55-steel-nib-unit-size-6-bf-polished-steel.html

 

Besides looking for the 2 exterior "indentations" that can be seen in the housing of standard nib units, with a good caliper you should be able to determine if you are dealing with a standard or BF nib unit.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Fuellerfuehrerschein