A Word On Airmail 69T

[JDHudson]

I thought I would start a little thread on the Airmail 69t. This is a pen from India, and is my first foray into that particular area of manufacture. I have had it for a day or so, and filled it with Robert Oster Crimson ink after unpacking and cleaning it. This is an eyedropper, and mine is a demonstrator with a clear body. So far I am very pleased with the performance of this pen. It has a nice heft, and does post (this is important for me, as I tend to lose caps). My purpose for this pen was as a cheap note taking pen for class. I can say that it fills the bill admirably on the price point, but it does not have the feel of a cheap pen. For a hair over sixteen dollars, I ordered this from Fountain Pen Revolution, and I love the semi-wet line that it puts down. For notes I use a fine point, and I have had a lot of trouble finding one that was not scratchy or had a lot of feedback. I prefer a smooth nib with minimal feedback. This little pen has done wonders in that department.

I am attaching a couple of photos. Please forgive the penmanship. I have been writing quite a bit today, and my arthritis has started acting up. I write with my weak hand as well, since arthritis has made my thumb pretty much useless on my strong hand.

I hope this helps folks looking for a reasonably priced daily user.

[displacermoose]

I have several Airmails and find them quite lovely. I'm glad you're enjoying yours! I also have arthritis and find that light, fat pens are the best thing on bad days. My 71J is pretty much perfection under those circumstances, although I have had to fill 2/3ds of the body with candle wax to cut back on the burping. Now it only holds 2.5 ml of ink.

[antichresis]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on an uncommon pen! I have some experience with Wality nibs and they are good. It's hard to describe the feedback they give but I would call it "dull in a good way". Some nibs are incredibly sharp like Japanese EFs and untipped Esterbrook fines while some are very glassy smooth (Faber Castell, a gold Japanese broad) while this one is much closer to what a pencil feels across paper after a long math assignment.

 

It might help future readers to take a photo of the pen beside the 69T to give them a better idea of the heft/size of the pen before buying (since you can't try this out in a store first).

 

nb. do report back what the ink level is before you experience burping! These indian feeds always have that problem

Edited April 11, 2017 by antichresis

[gillum51]

I have had this same pen for about 4-5 months and it has been a consistently good writer. I have yet to have any burping issues, but with the transparent barrel, one can tell when this may become an issue. I have a Airmail 71JT and it behaves well also, just a bit bigger, a plus for those of us with larger hands.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I would hate to have to learn to write left handed....my writing is bad enough as is.

[rwilsonedn]

Congratulations on finding a pen you love!

Just a suggestion for the near future: once the pen gets down to about half full, you might get in the habit of holding the pen, nib-up, in your hand and letting the barrel warm up for a minute or two before you start writing. This gives the air in the barrel a chance to expand out through the feed without having to push ink out onto your paper. With some pens, you can accomplish the same thing just by carrying the pen clipped in a shirt pocket for a while before writing. For many Indian eyedroppers and vintage pens from anywhere, this can eliminate or greatly reduce unwelcome ink drops on your manuscript.

Enjoy!

ron