Fosfor Pens - Custom 1

March 14, 2016

Introduction.

It all started when I got intrigued by JoWo nibs, reading that they make nibs some for bigger names in the Fountain Pen industry. So I just set about trying to get the cheapest JoWo Gold Nibed pen.

Having seen/read a lot of About Fosfor Pens, I contacted Mr.Manoj by the end of December inquiring about JoWo gold nibs and after sorting out some details, advance payment for the Nib, My nib arrived by the Middle of January.

Putting all the faith in the Nib,I selected one of the Many Polyresins from the Fosfor Pens site,nothing special here and Sketched a rough drawing of my pen, I’m not a very artistic person.

And after a wait of 1 month, I finally received my Pen in the 2^nd Week of March.

The Pen

As seen by the above sketch, the dimensions and shape is pretty accurate.

Weight wise, I find it perfectly balanced in the hand and sits perfectly in my hand.

When capped, it is top heavy, thanks to the Silver Clip.

When uncapped, there is a slight shift of weight towards the barrel end helping it settle well in the finger web space.

The cap takes 1 ¾ turns to uncap. I had specifically asked Mr.Manoj for the least number of turns.

The section has a bit of a concave to it and forms the perfect diameter for my gripping style.

Alternate Grips:

My handwriting changes considerably based on where I grip my pens, but it’s not always comfortable with all pens bodies. Fortunately this pen body works well with all my pen grips giving each a characteristic flow.

Filling is done by a Schmidt converter but I guess it can be turned in a E.D.

The Nib

Coming to the thing that started this 3 month long journey, It’s a JoWo #5 18k Broad nib…

… and man is it worth it!

Amazingly smooth, Amazing Spring and the broad tip has a stub like quality to it.

Getting some impressive Line variation considering it’s a Broad. This has made me want to order a Fine and see how much variation that’s going to give! Or maybe I’m one of the lucky ones to get a springy nib.

Only gripe is that I didn’t opt for the #6 Nib as I feel it would have suited this size of pen better.

I was told the nibs come as a unit and I find that the feed keeps up well with ink flow.

Cost:

The total cost of the pen was Indian Rupees 6520, or just below a USD.100.

I have always been an advocate of the philosophy “ An item is worth what you are willing to pay for it” so I will leave the cost factoring upto the reader.

Alternative gold nib (new)pens at this price:

Platinum PTL-5000

Platinum 3776

Platinum Balance

Considering this one is “one of a kind”, handmade, customized to your specifications/ inputs I’d say the price is well worth it.

Conclusion:

Honestly I’ve been a silent spectator of the Fountain Pen scene for the past 3 years (when I first got re-introduced to Fountain pens) and never Felt like doing a Review of a pen.

This was until my Interactions with Mr.Manoj Deshmukh of Fosfor Pens.

The whole process of discussion, planning, waiting has completely changed my opinion of the workmanship that goes into producing each one these pens.

That may not be the case with Larger Manufacturers where all the interaction you have is going into a Boutique, dipping a pen and scratching something down on paper. But in there Internet-days even that is a novelty.

But when you are associated with an item from Day 1 of its Conceptualization, it truly is an amazing experience. And I fear it’s going to be Addictive.

So at the end of the Day I have a beautiful writing instrument.

Tomorrow is a new day and a New Sketch for Mr. Manoj.