Pens From India

[cjabbott]

Hello All!

 

This has probably been covered, but I would like to know what experiences, good and bad, people have had with Indian pens. Particularly, what are some particularly smooth writers?

 

Thanks!

[alexander_k]

I've got a few (via FPN) and I'm in the process of getting to know them. They're all interesting and well made but don't expect the smoothness of e.g. a Pelikan. I must add that the ones I've got have steel nibs and are all eyedroppers.

[Brian C]

I've had two, a Guider Jumbo and Ebonite Supreme. I traded the Guider as it was too large for me but wrote well. The Ebonite Supreme is a very smooth writer. For the price they are great.

[Namo]

I have two Varuna, the Vishal and the Rajan. Very nice pens for the price! I did use the two "standard" nib Steve offers: the Wality nib draws a very fine, crisp line with some tooth. If you like responsive nibs, it is a valid choice, although I am not sure the coating is of very high quality. Varuna also offers a very good German Iridium Point, IMHO far better than the Wality, that drwas a very smooth line. The nib is rigid and the line is thiket than the Wality's.

 

You can also order your pen with a vintage nib. Didn't try it, but might be worth the try.

 

Cheers!

[greencobra]

Have a Wality 69L, the eyedropper version. For an $18 pen it's fantastic. You don't get the glam packaging or a super finish on the pen but you do get a nice writer and that's what you buy it for. There was only a choice of a medium nib when I got mine and I don't know if that's all they use or an importer thing. The nib is stiff. But, my nib is extremly smooth on any paper. Ink flow is super as is the quality of the line it puts down. Nothing on the nib tells me what the country of origin of the nib is. I've had $400 pens that didn't write this well out of the box.

[tonybelding]

I've had some of the Wality eyedropper pens. They are quite nifty and I could even say a bargain at the (very low) price. However. . . They're not totally reliable, as I've found some incidence of ink blurting out onto the page. The feed is too small and inadequate to handle surges caused by air expanding in that big reservoir. The manufacturing quality, and fit-and-finish, are actually pretty good. It's just a design flaw.

[rwilsonedn]

I've seen some Indian pens with very good IPG nibs, and some with very good domestic Indian nibs. Almost all have been very smooth out of the box, and the ones that weren't responded quickly to being aligned and smoothed.

ron

[greencobra]

I've found some incidence of ink blurting out onto the page.

 

Tony, you know...you're spot on. I'd forgotten this, what I call a "burb", happening on more than one occasion.

[Aysedasi]

I have a clipless Varuna Vishal with a CI nib ground by Oxonian. It is a beautiful pen, in my opinion worth many times what I paid for it, both for the fabulous looks and the writing experience. It is a c/c pen though, as I've a wierd distrust of EDs.

[jimhughes]

Cory:

I've got 2-3 Varuna's from Steve Braun, here on FPN. All are ED's with Standard fine nibs. Also have an Indian ED Steve put a Sheaffer LT nib in for me. All write great w/o too many issue's. You do have to be aware of the typical ED burps from time to time. I like the Sheaffer Nibbed one best of all, but I think that has more to do with my Sheaffer affliction than it's a better nib. Got a couple of Advocates from Hari 317, IIRC, equally good writers, especially for the price. If you come back this way from Cali, give me a ring and you can come by and try them out in the flesh, so to speak. Nice inexpensive ED pen, IMHO, Jim

[Dr Watson]

Hi,

 

I'm from India and would like to add my perspective.

 

When I was in school, it was mandatory for students to use fountain pens after a certain class with only blue, blue black and in some cases black ink. Red was reserved for teachers and green for principals and such senior academicians. Many schools today have relaxed their rules and allow the use of ball pens and felt tip pens.

 

Almost all stationary shops sell fountain pens. They however are of the inexpensive ED kind along with a few converter, cartridge or piston fillers (All with steel nibs). There are many inexpensive brands that write well e.g.- Camlin, Chelpark, Reynolds, Flair etc. Many students consider Hero pens (which are also commonly available) to be a good brand.

 

Most would not even dream of spending more than INR 50 on a daily writer and INR 100- 200 on a 'good' pen.This is mainly because we are a nation obsessed with getting value for the money we pay. A few brands considered to be good and in the 'higher price range' are Parker (widely available) and Pierre Cardin. A range of Chinese made pens are also available; though they are more of a hit or miss.

 

Most people who use FPs do not use brands like Guider, Rathnam or Brahmam. I myself heard of them only recently.

 

I currently have two Camlin pens as my daily writers. I have ground the nibs myself to a medium italic and they serve me well.

 

Dr. Watson

[Sagar_C]

Is anybody having any problem with leaking (eyedropper) Varuna pen? Speacially at the end of nib?

[diezysiete]

Hi, I have a pair of Montex demonstrators. They had cost me less than a dollar each one and come with piston conversor. Very good writers, decent pens for this price. Regards!

Rodrigo

[Silvermink]

I've had pretty good experiences with Wality - my Wality 71JT (big honkin' demonstrator eyedropper) is a really nice writer, though it's not buttery-smooth - it has a bit of texture à la Aurora, which I personally like. My Wality 74 (hooded nib) probably needs a little smoothing but is still a good, consistent writer.

 

I haven't tried a Varuna yet but hear nothing but good things, and I do intend to get one (probably a Vishal) at some point.

[jniforat]

lincoln fountain pens are nice -- hari317 sells 'em

[Djehuty]

I have two Wality pens, both piston-fillers. One of them, with a more standard design, I absolutely love even though the piston is rather hard to get moving. It writes well (the nib is a "nail," but it's a decent nail), doesn't leak, doesn't dry out too quickly. It's a nice pen, and it only cost $5.00. The other, which looks a bit Parker "51"-ish, I have effectively discarded. It's scratchy, dries out quickly, holds very little ink, leaks (AND dries out -- I want to know how it manages that little trick!), and is uncomfortable in my hand. It cost $7.50. So I guess the lesson is, cheaper is better?

 

I don't know whether I was unlucky, or whether quality assurance is a bit iffy. But even if only half of Wality pens are any good, they're cheap enough that buying two and ignoring one didn't really hurt. And the one I like is one of my favorites -- it's ahead of every pen I own that cost less than $100.00.

[akrishna59]

i have always found indian fps to be good value for money. there are factory made mass production ones like camlin, chelpark etc. and handmade ones like ratnam etc. the handmade / custom made ones like ratnam are relatively few when compared to the mass produced ones, that is why dr. watson may not have heard much of them.

 

they are all much much better than chinese pens, if i may say so with all due respect to chinese pens. i have several indian fps with me now and they have never let me down. i also have quite a few (though not large) imported fps from different manufacturers and i have never felt that there was much of a difference in writing quality between them, excepting the vintage fps with flex nibs.

 

tks.

 

krishna.

[Sagar_C]

The manufacturer in discussion here is decent: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/182478-a-custom-made-pens-review/page__p__1838361__fromsearch__1#entry1838361