Jump to content

Getting To Know Indian Fountain Pens

IvoryParker

By IvoryParker
in India & Subcontinent (Asia)

 Share

Recommended Posts

IvoryParker Mint

IvoryParker

Posted
Posted

Namaste

 

I want to get better acquainted with Indian fountain pens. Where should i start? I love the appearance of the wality/ airmail eyedroppers with clear barrels.

 

Guidance will be appreciated.

 

Thanks Shakti

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • mehandiratta

    3

  • matteob

    2

  • amk

    1

  • Seele

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

sciumbasci Vintage

sciumbasci

Posted
Posted

ASA Pens is an excellent starting point.

Although with little to no online representation, I believe Ratnamson (Ghandi had a Ratnamson) are excellent pens.

 

Otherwise, Fountain Pen Revolution

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Seele Vintage

Seele

Posted
Posted

IvoryParker,

 

I think it is easiest to make a rough distinction between two classes of Indian pens: the classic hand-made ones from quite small makers, and quantity-produced ones using some degrees of mass-production methods.

 

When India started the pen production industry, many small firms produced pens using relatively simple machines: basically a lathe was quite sufficient: these pens are usually made by turning ebonite rods and employ the simplest eyedropper filling principle. Scores of firms came into being, and a few of them survive to carry on making pens this way. Ratnamson has already been mentioned, others include Ratnam, Guider, Deccan, Gama, Kim, Ranga, and others; newer firms are turning up as well, often with more advanced ink supply systems and perhaps modern screw-in nib units.

 

The mass producers such as Airmail-Wality, Camlin, Kanwrite, Click, and countless others, tend to cater for the mass market now, and generally more affordable, but many of them are very competent as well.

 

Airmail-Wality's clear barrel eyedroppers are indeed very attractive, but I am aware that some users have reported the less satisfactory performance of the nibs. That said, I have always been able to get Airmail-Wality nibs tamed with a bit of careful smoothing, so it's no big deal for me.

No, I am not going to list my pens here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mehandiratta Donor Pen

mehandiratta

Posted
Posted

I would recommend you to start from Either of the following :

Airmail / Wality, Gama, Ranga, Deccan, Ratnam, Ratnamson, Guider, ASA & Fosfor....

 

ASAPENS stocks Gama, Oliver, Doctor, Airmail/Wality and their own in-house brand, ASA pens also ... The waiting tomes can be sometimes frustrating but its worth it ... Do avail the option of FP Testing which he provides free of cost before dispatch... wherein he checks the nib before dispatch... He is also the distributor of JoWo nibs in India....

 

Ranga Pens offer some beautiful ebonite rods premium ones which are imported ... He is got some beautiful designs and I have done a lot of group buys of his pens... He replies really quick and is also present on the FPN and quite quick in his replies... You will not be disappointed with his pens... I am simply more inclined to his pens...he can be contacted here : link

 

Deccan Pens are also one of the oldest pen manufacturers in India and are based out of Hyderabad... They have been selling the pens these days via WhatsApp

 

Fosfor .... Most expensive of the lot but worth every penny... Monoj of fosfor pens will deliver whatever you want... he is a one-man show... a pen turner himself...Some people call him pen wizard... he creates his own pen material... and feeds... has made piston fillers... he also makes a pen from exotic wood...

 

Ratnam/Ratnamson/Guider the trio from Rajahmundhary in Andhra Pradesh are one of the most famous pen manufacturers. Ratnam Being the oldest and Ratnamson being an offshoot from Ratnam and is owned by one of the sons of Ratnam Pen.

 

Guider is owned by Lakshmi Rao who used to be part of Ratnam pens and now has his own firm... He is one of the best when it comes to finishes... and has got hell lot of different acrylics and ebonites... his sad parts are nibs... though last I heard he is now making the pens with Schmidt Nibs... you can also supply nibs and material to him and he will make the pen for you....

 

 

Lastly, I recommend you to choose anyone of the above but go via CC mechanism route ,... Eyedroppers although cheap are quite fussy and I believe are for advanced users...

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
amk Collectors Item

amk

Posted
Posted

+1 to everything Vaibhav says. I have very happy experiences with Fosfor, ASA and Ranga, dealing over the internet (I live in Europe). I've also dealt with Fountain Pen Revolution who have some nice pens, and still have stock of the Guider Zimbo - they're very fast to ship and easy to deal with.

 

I also have a number of other Indian pens, Ratnam, Ratnamson, Guider, Deccan, Airmail, Mohi and Oliver, bought from other FPN members or on the road in India, and a few vintage Indian pens (many looking uncannily like Parker Vacumatics from the outside).

 

If you like the Airmail, you'll find a lot of other transparent pens available - the transparent Nauka and the demonstrator Ranga bamboo (look at recent group buys in the PIF forum to see some pictures) have been very popular.

 

I would say if you love Indian pens it's worth getting used to eyedroppers, and also getting used to doing a bit of work on nibs and even swapping nibs around. Maybe not at first... but once you have a few, it will be time to start!

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mehandiratta Donor Pen

mehandiratta

Posted
Posted

I would say if you love Indian pens it's worth getting used to eyedroppers, and also getting used to doing a bit of work on nibs and even swapping nibs around. Maybe not at first... but once you have a few, it will be time to start!

 

that's so rightly said...

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jjlax10 Vintage

jjlax10

Posted
Posted

I love all these brands but I will say that some are difficult to purchase from in the States because they do not take paypal and money transfers can be very expensive.

President, Big Apple Pen Club

Follow us on Instagram @big_apple_pen_club

 

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."

 

J.J. Lax Pen Co.

www.jjlaxpenco.comOn Instagram: @jjlaxpenco

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
matteob Extremely Rare

matteob

Posted
Posted

I would give a big heads up to both ASA and Guider. Guider will only take a bank transfer but I am lucky and use an online money transfer firm that only charges £1 comission (TransferGo recommended if in UK). I think the Guider finish is excellent. I have his CC medium pen which has a Schmidt nib and writes well. I have ordered an eyedropper from him now too. I hope the nib isn't as bad as Vaibhav says!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mehandiratta Donor Pen

mehandiratta

Posted
Posted

I would give a big heads up to both ASA and Guider. Guider will only take a bank transfer but I am lucky and use an online money transfer firm that only charges £1 comission (TransferGo recommended if in UK). I think the Guider finish is excellent. I have his CC medium pen which has a Schmidt nib and writes well. I have ordered an eyedropper from him now too. I hope the nib isn't as bad as Vaibhav says!

 

 

Guider Finish is best...

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
matteob Extremely Rare

matteob

Posted
Posted

Maybe we can do a group buy with them sometime! They certainly are nice people. I receive an email almost every day telling me the status of the pen.The finish as you say lovely with extra details like metal bands. A few little flaws like odd tiny white mark on ebonite but it is a handmade item.

 

Waiting on the Ratnamson I have paid for. Money taken but no contact direct from Dr Ramana Murthy at all. His nephew runs his Facebook. I am trusting he is homourable...I am sure he is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
antichresis Extremely Rare

antichresis

Posted
Posted

Is there a clear frontrunner for best writer and/or best finish amongst the mass produced brands?

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
siamackz Collectors Item

siamackz

Posted
Posted

I've only just started collected but I must say that my Indian pens are by far the best writers I have!! And I'm comparing them to Sailor, Pelikan, TWSBI, etc. These are all great pens, but the Indian eye droppers I have thus far - the Gama Eyas and Krishna Lyrebird - are waaaaay cheaper and much better writers (with stock Indian nibs).

 

I am so impressed, that I have a Ranga 4CS and a Guider Ebonite Zimbo on the way!

 

After that, my wish list has an ASA (Himalaya, Daily, or Sniper) and a Deccan Advocate (if I can somehow source this one).

 

I am super proud of our Indian penmakers!

My Vintage Montblanc Website--> link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26771
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...