How to pay pen makers in India?

[K Singh]

1 hour ago, Brian C said:

I have since managed to contact Ratnam pens. They will only accept payment by Western Union and will only ship to India, but thanks to a kind FPN member in India, I now have a few of their pens heading my way.

Happy to hear that you are finally able to get these pens.

 

And Woodex pens are wonderful. Their Model 39 is my favorite.

[matteob]

I'll check out Woodex sometime. I too as said found Ratnam unwilling to do business so shrugged and moved on. It was Ratnamson which was the really desirable pen for me anyway because of the in house 14k nibs.

[hari317]

14 hours ago, Brian C said:

Hari, thanks to that post I have contacted Narsimha from Woodex. He is an absolute gentleman. I now have five of their pens which are top notch. My model 40 has been used daily since it's arrival.

Really happy to hear that👍

[matteob]

Guider are worthy of your custom too: a great range of pens and materials and the owner pleasant and easy to deal with and will ship abroad too. Only think that is misleading is that he says you can specify gold nibs but this does not mean 14k nibs like Ratnamson. I think he just means gold colour.

 

http://guiderpen.com

[hari317]

On 2/7/2022 at 8:34 PM, matteob said:

Only think that is misleading is that he says you can specify gold nibs but this does not mean 14k nibs like Ratnamson

Guider did offer handmade 14k nibs till recently. But they no longer have the skilled labour to make them anymore. His website is archaic with vestiges of the past. He’s not trying to mislead or con anyone  I just wanted to make that clear. He does not sell from his website. He’s no time or utility for keeping it up to date. His domestic sales follow the phone order WhatsApp route.  He’s fully loaded at the moment. 
Also as a general note and to no one in particular, we must appreciate that English is not even their third language. Still they make efforts to communicate in a foreign language. If some seller wants no truck with overseas sellers, it’s their call. They are probably overloaded with domestic orders and don’t want the hassles of international transactions and what not. after all EBay is full of uk only and conus only listings. 
 

[matteob]

I was not saying he was dishonest but could be clearer. I tried to order a 14k from him but couldn't. I have several of his products and they are good. As to the pressure from domestic purchasers I am surprised. I read that national interest in Indian ebonite fountain pens was minimal and that it was a dying cottage industry and that the renewed interest from abroad was a lifeline. That was a while ago and maybe word of mouth. Maybe word of mouth has revitalised the industry and if so good.

[hari317]

3 hours ago, matteob said:

I was not saying he was dishonest but could be clearer. I tried to order a 14k from him but couldn't. I have several of his products and they are good. As to the pressure from domestic purchasers I am surprised. I read that national interest in Indian ebonite fountain pens was minimal and that it was a dying cottage industry and that the renewed interest from abroad was a lifeline. That was a while ago and maybe word of mouth. Maybe word of mouth has revitalised the industry and if so good.

Everything we read online need not be true. I see some nonsense on this forum and Especially on some external blog posts with bombast and hyperbole. Guider has been around from 1946. They’ve seen ups and downs  they are in the second generation. Ratnam/son since 1932 in the third generation. These companies have managed to survive. 
 

[matteob]

I don’t get the Ratnam Ratnamson thing. Their catalogues look the same but i think they are different? Might be offshoots of same family?One I contacted was not interested; the other was fine and I got a lovely litle gold nibbed pen. I was a student so could not afford the bigger ones. I guess it is a collectors piece if they no longer make the gold nibs. For a man in his 80s to forge and then put an iridium tip on a small nib is remarkable. 

[hari317]

7 minutes ago, matteob said:

Their catalogues look the same

Only Ratnamson ( Ratnam ball pen works) has a catalog with model numbers etc. I haven’t seen that with Ratnam. They name their pens as “Tarpoda” in different sizes and some other models with vague generic descriptors. Probably it works for them. Do you have an example of the Ratnam( KV BRAHMAM and BROS) catalog which is similar to the Ratnamson one? I’d love to see it. 

 

[Paul-in-SF]

To the original question of this thread, if it's still of interest, a US pen retailer I have been in communication with said they use Zelle to pay Ranga and have for years. I don't know if other Indian pen companies would want to use that service as well. Apparently it's not supposed to be used for business, but at present they don't seem to be trying to enforce that. 

[matteob]

@hari317not on me just from what I remember on the internet. I guessed they were from same family but split. My pen says Ratnamson on clip and KV Ratnam and Sons on box.