Asa Maya

[Scribblesoften]

A new pen is on offer from ASA pens. Has anyone ordered one yet? It looks quite nice.

 

http://asapens.in/eshop/asa-maya-beautiful-matt-black-ebonite-fountain-pen-india-online

 

 

[ak2k5]

Yes looks good.. ordered an eyedropper version

[gopool]

Ordered an ED version a few days ago. A beautiful pen at an attractive price.

[mhguda]

Same here. If I remember correctly their stock nib is Ambitious, so it should be very nice. And you cannot beat the ED price!

[Scribblesoften]

I am interested myself but with Christmas looming, I fear that my funds for pens will be limited. When you receive your pens please share the experience. I will have to see if there are any still available early next year.

[richofthetower]

Looking forward to some reviews! 😊

Edited December 8, 2016 by richofthetower

[bobje]

Classic, attractive pen design. Looking forward to Maya reviews from the fine folks on this thread. Form is similar to the Kaweco Dia2, which itself is also a take-off on classics.

[Helen350]

With an ASA Popsicle on order, and a decision regarding the Red Urushi, my pen buying funds are finished for this year! Nice looking pen!

[Sagarb]

Same here. If I remember correctly their stock nib is Ambitious, so it should be very nice. And you cannot beat the ED price!

No, it has Mr. Subamanium is giving ASA nib #6 nib which is very good.

[gillum51]

ASA has added two new colors for the Maya, teal green and a cocoa brown. The only thing holding me back before was the color, so i ordered one in cocoa immediately. ASA puts out a good product and has been good to deal with in the past. I look forward to receiving their latest model.

[ak2k5]

its a good pen.had some problems with burping and other feed issues which has been solved by Mr Subramanian.

 

imo the only improvement would be making section matte too as it would fit the aesthetics better .

[mhguda]

I like the polished section contrasting with the matte body. I guess there's no pleasing all of us with the same pen...

[SpecTP]

that's a lovely looking pen in teal. just ordered mine.

[BRBA]

its a good pen.had some problems with burping and other feed issues which has been solved by Mr Subramanian.

 

imo the only improvement would be making section matte too as it would fit the aesthetics better .

Can you share how the burping issues were resolved? It seems to be a perennial problem with Asa pens?

[fb1949]

I have had burping problems with a Maya pen. The duct hole in the section was not round ! Mr Subramaniam had to make a new pen, as hand made parts don't fit from one pen to the other.

[BRBA]

I have had burping problems with a Maya pen. The duct hole in the section was not round ! Mr Subramaniam had to make a new pen, as hand made parts don't fit from one pen to the other.

 

Good to know that you got a replacement (hope you didn't have to spend anything from your own pockets). Has the burping stopped now?

One more question: would this (duct hole not being round) be considered as a design issue that should have been detected at the time of the inspection of the pen before dispatch?

[Fuellerfuehrerschein]

ASA Maya 3 in 1 review

 

Introduction

I was looking for a modest sized ebonite “3 in 1 filling system travelling pen” and saw the ASA Maya on the FPN. Its general form factor is alike my jumbo-sized Gama Supreme daily writer.

 

 

After an email enquiry regarding the possibility of omitting cap bands, I ordered a semi-custom Maya without such bands with the grip section prepared for JoWo #6 nib units.

 

After the arrival of the Maya I gave it a thorough cleaning and installed one of my German JoWo #6 nib units, a Schmidt K5 converter and inked it up with Noodler’s Black ink. The nib unit quickly started to write.

 

 

What I noticed

The pen is made from black ebonite, feels light and well balanced in my hand and is just large enough for me to hold and write with as I hoped. What I consider a “modest sized travelling pen” frankly is a normal full-sized pen for most people.

I like the omission of the standard cap bands. Without these the pen looks more businesslike for me and maintaining the matte longitudinally brushed ebonite cap and pen barrel surfaces with a Scotch Brite pad will be easier.

The barrel/grip section threading is properly executed for traditional Indian eye dropper use.

The ASA branded clip is springy and features a teardrop shaped ending. The underside of teardrop ending is made up out of 5 metal flaps.

For storage ASA Pens provided a fabric pouch that exactly fits the pen.

 

Cap with a nice twist

During capping, it takes about 2 revolutions the close the pen. Other ebonite pens from India often require more revolutions before they are ready to write.

 

Eyedropper mode test

According to my syringe the barrel has approximately 3.4 ml ink capacity. I filled the barrel up with soapy water instead of ink to prevent potential drama. The pen passed the test.

 

International cartridge mode test

I tried to fit an empty Waterman standard international long cartridge (holds about 1.5 ml ink according to my syringe) instead of a Schmidt K5 converter in my 3 in 1 ASA Maya. I did not properly work as the Waterman cartridge is wider at its base compared to the Schmidt converter.

 

The pen accepted an empty international short cartridge without any problems. A Schmidt K5 converter and international short cartridges have similar ink capacities, so using refilled international short cartridges in this pen does not make much sense.

 

Modern age suggestion

Why a 2016 pen design only relies on (silicone greased) fine threads in eyedropper mode for sealing eludes me somewhat.

 

 

For future 3 in 1 and eyedropper designs, using modern JoWo nib units, I suggested ASA Pens to add cheap ISO conform O-rings and machining the appropriate grooves for them. Such gaskets are successfully used to waterproof products like diving watches that encounter more extreme conditions than pens. I know that not only relying on greased fine threads might not be a traditional method, but gaskets will yield extra insurance against ink leaks. When applied right such gaskets will be visible only when a pen is disassembled.

[fb1949]

Good to know that you got a replacement (hope you didn't have to spend anything from your own pockets). Has the burping stopped now?

One more question: would this (duct hole not being round) be considered as a design issue that should have been detected at the time of the inspection of the pen before dispatch?

Yes, the default should have been detected by inspection before despatch. I did not have to spend any money, of course, but to insist quite a bit to get a new pen, yes. No burping on the replacement one. It was not a design issue, certainly a result of the huge model success, too many orders at the same time leading to the necessity of a faster "mass" production.