General Enquiries about Indian Handmade Pens

[adichew]

Hi all

 

Recently, I have read a number of forum posts and articles about Indian hand-made pens by Ratnam, Ratnamson and Guider etc. I find them to be rather interesting, especially the hand-crafted and customisable aspect and the celluloid materials. From what I read, the quality and reputation of these brands also does not lose out to the major international players. Only the designs appear a little on the traditional side, and so I have to choose design carefully.

 

I am particularly interested in getting myself one of these pens. I have looked at the Ratnam catalogue in 1 of the posts and it appears that even the top Supreme model is affordable in comparison to international makes such as Pelikan etc. I am not sure if the slightly larger than standard "Supreme" model would be too hefty for me--if so, I intend to get a slightly smaller model, perhaps a 42 or a 32, which also has its clip higher up on the cap, so that the pen will not stick out as much. I intend to order the version with gold nib, which I read is handmade in-house. Are these good choices of model?

 

Does every pen that is ordered from Ratnamson go through the personalisation treatment, or is it by request only? According to another forum post the poster's pen was customised for colour of material, size of nib (in measurements), and even to engrave the poster's 1st name on the nib. If this process is by request only, does it cost extra and if so, how much? If the personalisation process is available, is it therefore possible to construct a pen entirely based on personal choice of material and nib, specification of dimension etc?

 

Also, I have friends from Delhi and Hyderabad, who will be going there sometime in June. I intend to correspond with Ratnamson via one of my friends' father, and ask the pen to be mailed to his/her address, so that he/she can pick it up and pass it back to me when he/she returns (to Singapore). Is this a feasible idea? How long is the waiting time for such a pen with and without personalisation?

 

Lastly, I am a student intending to use the pen for school/daily use. It will ride in my front shirt-pocket and might be dropped occasionally. How durable/not is celluloid, or hard rubber? If not durable, is it possible to use modern acrylic/resin to make the pen instead? Also, I have heard that some eyedroppers leak ink when exposed to temperature changes, such as that when one enters an air-con room from hot weather, or when the pen is heated up due to prolonged writing. Is this true in the case of Ratnamson? I am particularly worried about this effect, as my pen is to be used daily.

 

Thank you for your patience. Please enlighten me.

 

Adi

[hari317]

I am not affiliated to these pen makers, but i have bought many pens from them so i will try to answer to the best possible.

 

 

I am particularly interested in getting myself one of these pens. I have looked at the Ratnam catalogue in 1 of the posts and it appears that even the top Supreme model is affordable in comparison to international makes such as Pelikan etc. I am not sure if the slightly larger than standard "Supreme" model would be too hefty for me--if so, I intend to get a slightly smaller model, perhaps a 42 or a 32, which also has its clip higher up on the cap, so that the pen will not stick out as much. I intend to order the version with gold nib, which I read is handmade in-house. Are these good choices of model?

 

In my experience, models below the 302 are not very well made, see Abhik's post about the smaller models with Gold nib.

 

Does every pen that is ordered from Ratnamson go through the personalisation treatment, or is it by request only? According to another forum post the poster's pen was customised for colour of material, size of nib (in measurements), and even to engrave the poster's 1st name on the nib. If this process is by request only, does it cost extra and if so, how much? If the personalisation process is available, is it therefore possible to construct a pen entirely based on personal choice of material and nib, specification of dimension etc?

 

Yes, you can get a pen made to personal specs if you are able to supply a drawing and if possible explain it to them over the phone. Every gold nib can be personalised with initials and line width.

 

 

Also, I have friends from Delhi and Hyderabad, who will be going there sometime in June. I intend to correspond with Ratnamson via one of my friends' father, and ask the pen to be mailed to his/her address, so that he/she can pick it up and pass it back to me when he/she returns (to Singapore). Is this a feasible idea? How long is the waiting time for such a pen with and without personalisation?

 

Perfectly feasible, expect 3-4 weeks for a gold nib pen to be delivered.

 

 

Lastly, I am a student intending to use the pen for school/daily use. It will ride in my front shirt-pocket and might be dropped occasionally. How durable/not is celluloid, or hard rubber? If not durable, is it possible to use modern acrylic/resin to make the pen instead? Also, I have heard that some eyedroppers leak ink when exposed to temperature changes, such as that when one enters an air-con room from hot weather, or when the pen is heated up due to prolonged writing. Is this true in the case of Ratnamson? I am particularly worried about this effect, as my pen is to be used daily.

 

Hardrubber is very Durable. Only Guider still offers celluloid, that too only in small size. All these pens viz. Ratnamson, Ratnam and Guider will have excess breather holes in the cap, you can explicitly ask them not to make many holes. All the ED pens will suffer from the atmospheric effects you mention. The solution is a good finned feeder, you might want to supply them a nice feeder, say from a sheaffer no nonsense or a vintage balance, they will integrate that with your pen.

 

 

Best,

Hari

Edited March 23, 2010 by hari317

[adichew]

Hi

 

Thank you very much for the reply.

 

I think I will get either the supreme or 302, as they are not that much bigger than standard. I believe hard rubber and resin tend to be light. As for style, form comes second to function.

 

I have an otherwise useless Sheaffer cheap pen that looks like the calligraphy pen but with a standard nib. I think it is a variant of the nononsense. It has a finned (but plastic) feed that is identical to the one on the prelude. I think this feed will be good enough, just that I cannot get it out of the pen section. I will ask my friend to try.

 

Is it possible to specify any form of convertor filler for ratnamson pen? What if I have an old section that I dont need? If I were to send them the section, would they be able to design a cartridge/convertor filler based on that? Also, is there any detriment of having no breather hole in the cap? I heard that it is just because young kids can choke on the caps somehow, and I dont think I count as "young kid", and will not swallow the cap.

 

Will update the progress in this thread. What is the typical line width for Western (German, USA) fine?

 

Thanks

 

Adi

 

I am not affiliated to these pen makers, but i have bought many pens from them so i will try to answer to the best possible.

 

 

I am particularly interested in getting myself one of these pens. I have looked at the Ratnam catalogue in 1 of the posts and it appears that even the top Supreme model is affordable in comparison to international makes such as Pelikan etc. I am not sure if the slightly larger than standard "Supreme" model would be too hefty for me--if so, I intend to get a slightly smaller model, perhaps a 42 or a 32, which also has its clip higher up on the cap, so that the pen will not stick out as much. I intend to order the version with gold nib, which I read is handmade in-house. Are these good choices of model?

 

In my experience, models below the 302 are not very well made, see Abhik's post about the smaller models with Gold nib.

 

Does every pen that is ordered from Ratnamson go through the personalisation treatment, or is it by request only? According to another forum post the poster's pen was customised for colour of material, size of nib (in measurements), and even to engrave the poster's 1st name on the nib. If this process is by request only, does it cost extra and if so, how much? If the personalisation process is available, is it therefore possible to construct a pen entirely based on personal choice of material and nib, specification of dimension etc?

 

Yes, you can get a pen made to personal specs if you are able to supply a drawing and if possible explain it to them over the phone. Every gold nib can be personalised with initials and line width.

 

 

Also, I have friends from Delhi and Hyderabad, who will be going there sometime in June. I intend to correspond with Ratnamson via one of my friends' father, and ask the pen to be mailed to his/her address, so that he/she can pick it up and pass it back to me when he/she returns (to Singapore). Is this a feasible idea? How long is the waiting time for such a pen with and without personalisation?

 

Perfectly feasible, expect 3-4 weeks for a gold nib pen to be delivered.

 

 

Lastly, I am a student intending to use the pen for school/daily use. It will ride in my front shirt-pocket and might be dropped occasionally. How durable/not is celluloid, or hard rubber? If not durable, is it possible to use modern acrylic/resin to make the pen instead? Also, I have heard that some eyedroppers leak ink when exposed to temperature changes, such as that when one enters an air-con room from hot weather, or when the pen is heated up due to prolonged writing. Is this true in the case of Ratnamson? I am particularly worried about this effect, as my pen is to be used daily.

 

Hardrubber is very Durable. Only Guider still offers celluloid, that too only in small size. All these pens viz. Ratnamson, Ratnam and Guider will have excess breather holes in the cap, you can explicitly ask them not to make many holes. All the ED pens will suffer from the atmospheric effects you mention. The solution is a good finned feeder, you might want to supply them a nice feeder, say from a sheaffer no nonsense or a vintage balance, they will integrate that with your pen.

 

 

Best,

Hari