The Manojd Handmade Plunger Fountain Pen.

[hari317]

Manojd is a pen enthusiast and a hobbyist pen maker who turns pens for personal pleasure. He is based in Pune, India, the city I have fond memories of, having grown up there. He has shown some of his creations in the pen turning forum. The pen in this review is a Plunger filler pen, designed and totally hand made by him, down to hand cutting the feeder from a piece of ebonite.

 

The pen has a breather tube and a rear knob that has to be first unscrewed and then pumped a couple of times to fill the pen.

 

The pen capped: Simple cylindrical shape:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7034.jpg

 

Uncapped:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7035.jpg

 

Plunger knob unscrewed and pulled out:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7036.jpg

 

Hand cut ebonite feeder:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7038.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7039.jpg

 

Size comparison with a 149:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7040.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj582/hari-317/ManojD/IMG_7037.jpg

 

A 35mm Indian made steel nib has been used on this pen. The pen is a superb writer which has been expertly tuned by Manoj. The pen approximately holds 2.5ml of ink. I am planning to find a nice accomodation clip for this pen so that I can proudly carry it in my shirt pocket. Thanks Manoj!

 

Cheers!

Hari

[georges zaslavsky]

interesting review, it looks like a kind of modified syringe filler

Edited May 4, 2012 by georges zaslavsky

[rwilsonedn]

That really is an interesting filling mechanism. Thanks for the description and photos!

ron

[watch_art]

That looks awesome! And that feed is fantastic! Wow he did a great job with that one!

[jandrese]

Wow, that's great, thanks for sharing.

[Uncle Red]

What a fascinating pen! It looks like the pen fills on the back stroke like a Dunn or Ahab, right?

[manojd]

Hari,

 

Thanks for this review and in fact many thanks for sending a few nibs for my personal experiments. Those nibs are great. I have been turning pens in my spare time, however, it is becoming increasing challenging due to work etc. Although one more interesting piece coming up soon.

 

Your pen in particular is one of my favourite designs, mainly because of its filling system.

 

Hope you enjoy it Hari.

 

Thanks.

[manojd]

What a fascinating pen! It looks like the pen fills on the back stroke like a Dunn or Ahab, right?

 

It fills like a syringe, if that's what you call a back stroke. But, unlike a syringe, the breather tube allows some air to flow out when you plunge it.

[hari317]

I am enjoying it very much Manoj. Thanks for writing here, some members have expressed curiosity over the operating principle of your filler. I feel it is on the principle of a diaphragm filler with breather tube as found on the Bulb fillers and Parker Vac. Maybe you can shed more light on this matter.

 

I will be waiting to see more of your creations.

 

Regards,

Hari

 

ETA: I just saw that you have already replied.

Edited May 6, 2012 by hari317

[Uncle Red]

Nope, neither answer help me understand the filler but that's ok.

[manojd]

Nope, neither answer help me understand the filler but that's ok.

Let me try one more time.

 

There is a gasket on the end of the barrel which creates a vacuum when the end cap is pulled out. The end cap is rather large and covers more than half of the barrel. The barrel itself is a single piece, but has the ink compartment and the extension which hold the end cap. A hole drilled through the extension which allows the end cap to pull in ink.

 

I can't do better than that to explain the system. But I hope this helps.

[ticoun]

Nope, neither answer help me understand the filler but that's ok.

It's basically the same as a Vacumatic, but instead of a diaphragm, it's a sleeve that's used to pull the ink in and push the air out.

[Essensia]

Hari and Manoj, thank you for sharing this. What a beautiful instrument: Straightforward and functional, yet with a very different, intriguing, and appealing look. It has my favorite filling system, similar to my Gate City Belmont pen.

 

Hope to see more of Manoj's creations.

[Abhik]

Interesting! Thank you Hari for sharing a new pen from Pune.

[Uncle Red]

Thank You Manojd, that's really like a Dunn filler.

From Richard Binder's site

 

Dunn Design: Pump. A plunger draws in ink when raised and expels air through the breather tube when depressed. The downstroke expels air instead of ink because the air in the barrel can travel down the breather tube more easily than ink can flow down the feed channels. The “piston head” is only a guide and a retainer to keep the plunger from being pulled out of the barrel, and it does not seal against the barrel. In order to facilitate the flow of ink from one side of the head to the other, the head in some pens is relieved to give it a square shape, while in other pens there are holes in the plunger shaft near the head.

 

To fill: Unscrew the “Little Red Pump-Handle” (the red knob) until it moves freely. Immerse nib and part of section in ink. Pull the knob out to extend the plunger, drawing ink into pen. Wait two seconds. Press knob down, smoothly and fairly rapidly, to expel air. Repeat extending and pressing the knob until no air bubbles appear during the downstroke. Remove pen from ink, screw the knob down, and clean.