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The Ranga Cruiser - A Review


Jamerelbe

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To get the obligatory acknowledgments out the way first of all, this pen was provided to me free of charge in return for an honest and impartial review, by Kevin of the JustWrite Pen Co (www.JustWrite.com.au). Let me confess up-front, at a going rate of AU$36.95 it’s not a pen I had considered purchasing – but I was sufficiently impressed that I went out and ordered (at my own expense!) its ‘big brother’, the Ranga Duofold. So I guess you can consider this Part 1 of a two-part review – with my evaluation of the Duofold to follow in a separate posting.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gemsZix.jpg[From top to bottom (for size comparison): the Ranga Duofold; a TWSBI Diamond 580; and the Ranga Cruiser]

 

According to the blurb on the JustWrite website, the Ranga Pen company has been manufacturing fountain pens for around 50 years (and counting) – crafting each pen individually in their workshop, from ebonite rods which they have also made themselves. The Cruiser I’d characterise as a small-to-medium pen, while the Duofold is a bit of a monster (in a good way). The most outstanding feature with both pens is the immaculately finished and beautifully polished ebonite, which feels wonderful in the hand; while the potential weak point (unfortunately) is the nib – but more on that later. I really like both of these pens – they won’t appeal to all fountain pen fanatics, but I’m very pleased to have them in my collection.

 

So, without further ado, to the review proper:

 

______________________________________________________________________

 

1. Appearance & Design (7.5/10) – A Beautiful Dark-Green Ebonite – but sadly let down by the clip.

The first thing I noticed about this pen was the beautiful green-and-black swirled ebonite the entire pen is made from (i.e. cap, barrel AND grip section), polished to a high sheen. The pen is warm to the touch, and despite the high gloss surface is not at all slippery to hold. I like the contours of the pen, too: the cap just slightly wider than the barrel, thus avoiding a big step down to the grip section; the tapering of the pen towards top and bottom; the rounded-off edges, both on the cap and the end of the barrel. Under the cap, the grip section is slightly tapered, flaring out again just before the nib – while the nib in turn is a good size for the pen.

http://i.imgur.com/DVIAcez.jpg

The one thing that marred the appearance of the pen – sadly, because it’s really such a minor thing, and so easy to get right – is the clip. It’s twisted slightly off perpendicular – and I’m reluctant to try too (much) hard(er) to straighten it, for fear of making things worse. If it weren’t for that, this pen would get a 9/10 ranking from me (yes I am an easy marker, at least when it comes to pens – if like it, I like it!).

 

2. Construction & Quality (8/10) – An impeccably machined, beautifully finished pen

Having taken marks off for the clip already, I’m not going to do so again – and everything else about this pen is great. The threads on this pen are immaculate; the hand-machining of cap, barrel, grip section and feed I cannot fault; the whole thing comes together pretty well flawlessly. My one quibble is a very small one – the very small ‘breather hole’ in the cap. I understand this may be necessary, to avoid a partial vacuum being created when the cap is threaded on, that causes ink to be sucked out when the cap is removed… but in some of my other (cheaper) Indian eyedropper pens, the breather hole allows for evaporation, which in turn means inks growing darker and darker over time.

http://i.imgur.com/ulDbtiO.jpg

 

3. Weight & Dimensions (7.5/10) – A lightweight, small-to-medium pen

If I had smaller hands, this would get a higher rating – again, that’s the subjectivity of this kind of marking system! The Cruiser is about 137mm long when capped, 118mm uncapped, and 155mm posted. Problem is, the cap doesn’t post securely on the rear of the pen (unless you want to ram it on and ruin the finish). The pen is more than long enough to clear the webbing between thumb and forefinger – it’s a more than adequate length – but I tend to prefer my pens just a little bit longer.

At its widest point, the pen barrel is around 11mm diameter, while the grip section tapers down from ~10mm to 8mm. Again, that’s pretty comfortable for me – but I like my pens with just a little bit more girth, and tend to end up holding the pen on the cap threads (which are not at all sharp). The weight of the pen, unfilled, is around 13.5g – which in my books is pretty lightweight, ideal for long writing sessions!

http://i.imgur.com/ACUciBD.jpg

As I write with this pen, I find myself wishing it was just a little bigger – more like its ‘big brother’, the Duofold. To be fair, though, there’s nothing wrong with this pen in the hand – it’s longer and ‘girthier’ than most of the ballpoint pens I used to write with, back in the day. It simply boils down to personal preference – I’ve found myself gravitating towards slightly larger pens.

 

4. Nib & Performance (7.5/10) – A smooth writing experience – but required a bit of ‘help’ to get there!

The gold-coloured steel nib in this pen is stamped with the word ‘Fellowship’, and a logo that looks like a couple of doves in flight together. It’s not much to look at – understated would be one word for it; unimpressive another. My overall impression of Indian nibs (apart from the Fountain Pen Revolution range) has been pretty hit and miss – no, I’m being too kind, in my limited experience I’ve found Indian nibs to be pretty scratchy and horrible. This nib, though, was an exception to the rule – it may not be much to look at, but I’ve found it very pleasant to write with.

http://i.imgur.com/clP1AqQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EUOEenM.jpg

I did have a couple of problems with the nib, right out of the gate though. The nib and feed were slightly misaligned, and needed to be removed and re-seated together; and the tines required a bit of adjustment too. But all of that was fairly straightforward – and before long I was up and running with a nib that wrote surprisingly smoothly, especially given the fine line. There’s no line variation to speak of: this nib is a ‘nail’, albeit a nail with a smooth flowing tip…

http://i.imgur.com/DPq4drP.jpg

 

5. Filling System & Maintenance (9/10) – A straightforward eyedropper filling ‘mechanism’

Filling the Cruiser is easy – unthread the barrel from the grip section, fill to the base of the threads, and screw the section back in again. The pen is supposed to have an ink capacity of 2mL, but I think 1.5mL is more realistic – either way that’s a pretty good capacity for a small-to-medium pen.

You may be wondering, though: why such a high score for such a simple filling ‘mechanism’ (if you can call it that)? Two reasons: First, because it is so simple – which makes maintenance and cleaning a breeze. Secondly, because the tolerance on the (many) threads is pretty tight – I’m not sure this pen really needs the threads to be coated with silicone grease to prevent leakage, though I won’t be taking the risk. I’ve not been a fan of eyedropper-filled pens, historically – but with this pen, I feel pretty safe keeping it in my pocket.

http://i.imgur.com/jiLjGIF.jpg

One caveat here: I’ve read a few complaints online to the effect that Ranga pens can be prone to ‘burping’ ink from the nib and/or feed. I haven’t experienced that personally, but can’t rule out the possibility that it could become an issue during extended writing sessions, especially as the ink levels drop and the volume of air in the barrel increases with use.

 

6. Cost & Value (7.5/10) – A beautiful pen, but I’m a cheapskate!

Priced at AU$36.95 (plus postage), this pen is somewhat pricier than the cheap Chinese pens I tend to gravitate towards – but given the material it’s made from (ebonite), and the very high quality of workmanship, I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I just wish a little more attention had been paid to fit-and-finish when it came to the clip – and a little more care to ensure that the nib was ready to write from the word ‘go’.

7. Conclusion (Final score [sUM/6]: 7.8333)

I’ve tried to be honest about the shortcomings of the Ranga Cruiser – at least, the particular pen I was given to review – but I hope it’s also clear that I really like this pen. True, it’s just a little small for my taste, but that’s no great failing – and it won’t dissuade me from keeping it in my regular rotation. It’s just such a shame that the ‘trim’, the metal parts of the pen (clip and nib), don’t match up to the exquisite workmanship of the ebonite cap and barrel – that’s all it would take for this to be a truly wonderful small-to-medium pen. So, thanks to JustWrite for giving me the opportunity to review it.

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Thanks for your interesting review. I'm going to have to look into that Duofold version. I actually have the Ranga Cruiser also but in the aerometric version and with the Eversharp 14K flex nib. The nib is a bit small for the pen, but it writes with a very vintage-y flair that I like, and I've matched the green of the pen with Noodler's Army Green ink which is an excellent combination.

 

The aerometric filler (Chinese), when used in the normal fashion (i.e. pressing on the metal spring on the side of the ink sac), is pretty useless. So I just pull the metal cage off the sac and squeeze the sac. Then it works fine. It's my only ebonite pen, and I'm looking around for another one. I'm looking forward to your Duofold version review.

http://i59.tinypic.com/ekfh5f.jpg

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Thanks for your interesting review. I'm going to have to look into that Duofold version. I actually have the Ranga Cruiser also but in the aerometric version and with the Eversharp 14K flex nib. The nib is a bit small for the pen, but it writes with a very vintage-y flair that I like, and I've matched the green of the pen with Noodler's Army Green ink which is an excellent combination.

 

The aerometric filler (Chinese), when used in the normal fashion (i.e. pressing on the metal spring on the side of the ink sac), is pretty useless. So I just pull the metal cage off the sac and squeeze the sac. Then it works fine. It's my only ebonite pen, and I'm looking around for another one. I'm looking forward to your Duofold version review.

 

Appreciate the feedback - I didn't know Ranga used aerometric filling systems! Duofold version will be up in the next half-hour, hopefully - working on it now!

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Nice pen but the clip is quite boring

 

Can't disagree with you - boring AND bent off-centre. But it writes well, so... no point complaining!

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Hi,

Thanks for that review. My experience and assessment of the Ranga Cruiser are similar to yours, in that I too had to do some slight adjustment of the nib and feed. I found the nib as supplied a bit boring (mine too is a Fellowship nib) and so gave it a little more character by passing a few figure 8s over 1500 grit sandpaper. It's better now, with some subtle line variation. On my pen, the clip is straight, BTW. And, major feat: it writes equally well until the ink is all gone and it dries up - there is no burping when the ink reaches the 1/3 or 1/4 or 1/5 mark, as with larger ED pens, where usually the flow seems to speed up when the ink is almost gone, and you can get burps. Not this one. I suspect this is because the diameter of the barrel is relatively small - the volume of air available to push ink out through the feed is not enough to cause burps.

One nice thing with Ranga - I got both of mine directly from them - is they supply an extra nib and feed so you can experiment a little. On my second Ranga (no name but it's number 8) I found a Wality F nib, also not the smoothest of nibs but easy to tune; and I find I like that one better than the Cruiser...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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Hi mhguda, thanks for sharing your experience with the Cruiser - I got a spare nib with the Duofold but not the Cruiser, though I think my supplier has spares if needed. I have found the nibs on my other Indian pens to be very variable in quality - never unwriteable, but often very scratchy. I think the Fellowship nibs may be a step up from the cheap Serwex nibs I'm more accustomed to seeing - in the end, for me, I'm happy if it writes well.

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For a smallish pen like the Cruiser, I think Fountainpenrevolution (no affiliation, but a satisfied customer) has replacement nibs that are a step up from the stock Serwex nibs. Try their own, FPR nibs, in three flavors for a real treat: regular, flex (well... sort of) and fine stub (yes!), or the Montex they also have for nice replacements for your Cruiser. Or if you have a spare #5 from a Chinese pen lying around that would also fit, I think.

And those are usually pretty smooth.

Good luck with the Rangas! They are really beautiful, and can be made to write very nicely.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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For a smallish pen like the Cruiser, I think Fountainpenrevolution (no affiliation, but a satisfied customer) has replacement nibs that are a step up from the stock Serwex nibs. Try their own, FPR nibs, in three flavors for a real treat: regular, flex (well... sort of) and fine stub (yes!), or the Montex they also have for nice replacements for your Cruiser. Or if you have a spare #5 from a Chinese pen lying around that would also fit, I think.

And those are usually pretty smooth.

Good luck with the Rangas! They are really beautiful, and can be made to write very nicely.

Thanks for the suggestion - I already have a few spare FPR nibs, and had considered trying to fit one into the Duofold - but they'd be far too small for that! I think you're right, they'd be a better fit in the Cruiser. I might wait just a little while, though - I understand FPR have bicolour nibs on the way, which would be a better fit cosmetically. In the meantime, I'm pretty happy with the performance of this nib - it writes pretty smoothly now that I've adjusted the tines.

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  • 4 months later...

Does the Cruiser use a standard size nib ( #5, #6, etc.)?

 

I'm thinking about buying one of these, but would like to be able to just swap nibs if I don't care for the one that comes with the pen.

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

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Does the Cruiser use a standard size nib ( #5, #6, etc.)?

 

I'm thinking about buying one of these, but would like to be able to just swap nibs if I don't care for the one that comes with the pen.

 

Hi, sorry for the slow reply: the "Fellowship" nib that came with this pen appears to be a #5, a very similar size (and curvature) to the nibs from www.fountainpenrevolution.com. The only reason I haven't tried swapping it out is that the stainless steel nibs from FPR wouldn't match with the gold 'furniture' (essentially the clip and integrated band) of the pen. As mentioned in the review, I had to make some adjustments to the nib to get it to write nicely - but a few months on it's still going strong.

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Thanks for the reply.

 

Yeah, a stainless steel nib on a pen with gold trim would bother me, too. I think Knox makes some two tone nibs that might be an option.

 

Glad to hear that the pen is still working well a few months on. The temptation is building...

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

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