A visit to the Airmail Pen Company, Mumbai, India

[amarjit]

Take it back to the shop and discuss with dealer. The nibs might need some tuneup/replacement which they will do.

thanks

[abkudva]

Thanks! I am glad you found this report useful even several years after it was written. They might sell you a pen or two. But, their dealer is P. Vrajlal & Co, on AR street. You can read about them here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/60720-mumbai-pen-shops/

hi Hari,

I called Airmail on their factory contact available on their website. They just confirmed they have pens available to purchase at their Vile Parle site. I will visit them sometime this week and confirm back if I could actually buy there.

Meanwhile any specific models you would reccommend to try/buy?

[amarjit]

hi Hari,

I called Airmail on their factory contact available on their website. They just confirmed they have pens available to purchase at their Vile Parle site. I will visit them sometime this week and confim back if I could actually buy there.

Meanwhile any specific models you would reccommend to try/buy?

What i came to know from them is they do not sell directly to customers. I asked specifically for Airmail 69 A and it is not available even in their factory

[hari317]

Meanwhile any specific models you would reccommend to try/buy?

71J, 69T and 71JT are the standard models I would recommend. Ask for their medium nibs to be fitted.

[abkudva]

What i came to know from them is they do not sell directly to customers. I asked specifically for Airmail 69 A and it is not available even in their factory

possible. When I called them and enquired about some specific models he said not available but did clearly say that other transparent models are available and that I can buy from them in Parle. I will go today and check.

 

71J, 69T and 71JT are the standard models I would recommend. Ask for their medium nibs to be fitted.

many thanks Hari!

[amarjit]

possible. When I called them and enquired about some specific models he said not available but did clearly say that other transparent models are available and that I can buy from them in Parle. I will go today and check.

 

 

Do post pics of pens you buy from them

[abkudva]

71J, 69T and 71JT are the standard models I would recommend. Ask for their medium nibs to be fitted.

hi Hari,

Any specific reason for recommending the medium nibs? Most of my Indian pens are with Medium nibs, hence was looking to try some Fine nibs. Or are medium nibs the common nibs across Indian manufacturers?

[hari317]

hi Hari,

Any specific reason for recommending the medium nibs? Most of my Indian pens are with Medium nibs, hence was looking to try some Fine nibs. Or are medium nibs the common nibs across Indian manufacturers?

The M will tend to be smoother than the stock fine. That was the only reason for my recommendation. You can try the stock nib first and if you find it is suitable for you, you may drop the idea of getting a M fitted.

Edited July 16, 2015 by hari317

[amarjit]

The M will tend to be smoother than the stock fine. That was the only reason for my recommendation. You can try the stock nib first and if you find it is suitable for you, you may drop the idea of getting a M fitted.

I bought M nib from airmail for 71JT, using it for past 4 days still it is screechy

[hari317]

I bought M nib from airmail for 71JT, using it for past 4 days still it is screechy

It might remain scratchy. Maybe time to check the nib alignment etc, lots of resources on the internet to guide you, google is your friend. or else, simply take the pen back to the shop till you get a satisfactory nib.

 

BTW, Is this different from the M nib you said you ordered two days back from ASA?

 

Mr. Subramiam replied to my email and he suggested to try dual tone wality m nib and if i still wish to try ambitious nib he can send it too.

 

so i will be buying both nibs now Thanks hari and vaibhav

Edited July 16, 2015 by hari317

[amarjit]

It might remain scratchy. Maybe time to check the nib alignment etc, lots of resources on the internet to guide you, google is your friend.

 

BTW, Is this different from the M nib you said you ordered two days back from ASA?

 

Mr. subramiam replied my initial email and when i asked him to give details of bank account so that i can transfer the nib charges and postage charges he stopped responding. The Nib i got was from Mr. harenbhai.

[hari317]

Mr. subramiam replied my initial email and when i asked him to give details of bank account so that i can transfer the nib charges and postage charges he stopped responding. The Nib i got was from Mr. harenbhai.

Oh ok. Harenbhai is a wonderful person, just explain your problem to him and select a good nib from his box. BTW, the M nib should say Tipped Medium on it. There is a batch of mislabeled nibs floating around which says Medium on box, but the nibs are all fine...

[amarjit]

Oh ok. Harenbhai is a wonderful person, just explain your problem to him and select a good nib from his box. BTW, the M nib should say Tipped Medium on it. There is a batch of mislabeled nibs floating around which says Medium on box, but the nibs are all fine...

Actually i bought that one which say medium on box but was given was tipped fine. harenbai told me that it was some mistake by airmail and nib are actually medium

[hari317]

Actually i bought that one which say medium on box but was given was tipped fine. harenbai told me that it was some mistake by airmail and nib are actually medium

Did you notice any difference in writing between your previous nib and this nib?

[amarjit]

Did you notice any difference in writing between your previous nib and this nib?

It seems to me much better than the default nib which was their with wality

[hari317]

look for the nib with this imprint:

 

http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t543/hari_317/Wality52OD/IMG_8944.jpg

[hari317]

It seems to me much better than the default nib which was their with wality

good only, with some tune up, it might become even better. good luck!

[amarjit]

good only, with some tune up, it might become even better. good luck!

attach writing samples

[hari317]

attach writing samples

looks nice!

[abkudva]

Success! visited the Airmail factory at Vile parle an hour ago. I met Nirmal Mirchandani - one of the owners. He was extremely nice and welcoming, especially after I mentioned I got reference from Hari

 

I bought a couple of pens - the 69T and 71JT (both transparent (T) and the later a Jumbo(J)).

 

I had not read Hari's post before leaving about the Medium nibs, but have maintained the default Fine nibs on both pens to try them out. I specifically asked him about coming back again to buy more pens, he was happy to oblige but did mention they may not have models available here easily. He mentioned they have multiple distributors in Mumbai, but all are in South Mumbai. He is also on this forum, though not a very active participant. For those of you looking to visit their factory, I strongly recommend calling in advance to check if your desired model is available (images of all their models are on their website).

 

I choose what was available today (and luckily two of Hari's recommendations were available!)

 

Just before I left Nirmal remembered and gave me an eyedropper. The eyedropper looks quite different from my regular one - he mentioned it exactly fills each pen (have not confirmed yet) and also has 'ml' measures on the side. BTW normally I use a syringe to refill my eyedroppers - larger capacity and easier

 

overall a nice productive visit thanks to this 7 year old thread! I will write a review of both pens once I have inked them over the weekend.