17 replies to this topic

[Tintafuego]

A months ago I saw descriptions of the ASA Athlete and it called my attention the looong section and feed, and the reports of it helping to counter ink burping and leaks of eyedroppers. I asked Mr. Subbu of ASA Pens if it was possible to get one in a clear version, since I already had another pen on the way and it would be easier to distinguish one from the other. Besides, demonstrators are cool! After an interruption in our communications, wich I now know were because of the heavy rains in Chennai and subsecuent energy supply problems, we started to talk again, and this images were sent by Mr. Subbu. The pen is not even on its way to me, and fellow FPNers from or closer to India than me could probably receive one before, but I just had to share the pics. Tell me what you think, and if you have any experience with the regular ebonite versions.

 

 

[MissChief]

That is stunning. I like demonstrators, too, but I much prefer the ones like that. They look like they're made of ice. Love it!

[mhguda]

What a great idea. I never thought of that! and I have two regular ebonite Athletes, and they are among my favorites, usually inked and in use. One black, one mottled brown. I think it's true about the burping - never happens. As a matter of fact I am now in the process of writing the brown one dry, and it never burped or even showed increased flow - it just writes until the barrel is empty... so, can these be ordered from the Asa website, or does one have to write to mr Subramaniam to ask for it? because now of course I too must have one...

[dinuraj]

Looks very beautiful. 

[lazzycoderr]

_{Love that. I have an order ready for Mr Subbu.}

[Tintafuego]

What a great idea. I never thought of that! and I have two regular ebonite Athletes, and they are among my favorites, usually inked and in use. One black, one mottled brown. I think it's true about the burping - never happens. As a matter of fact I am now in the process of writing the brown one dry, and it never burped or even showed increased flow - it just writes until the barrel is empty... so, can these be ordered from the Asa website, or does one have to write to mr Subramaniam to ask for it? because now of course I too must have one...

 

As a quick glance at the ASA Pens site will show you, the translucent Athlete is not even listed yet (I feel like such a Fountain Pen Big Shot giving you the exclusive by the way  ), but if you email Mr. Subbu he will fix you up.

In my case, I didn't ask for the Jowo nib and section option, and asked him ebonite feeds and regular nibs. I already have a wonderful vintage Waterman that will be perfect for a feed like that. I'm really into frankenpens, and I love to tinker and experiment with feeds. It will be my first vintage flex experience by the way, and what better that having that awesome nib always kind of visible with cool inks in a barrel moving around?

[Jobesmirage]

I love the way it looks!

[mhguda]

 

As a quick glance at the ASA Pens site will show you, the translucent Athlete is not even listed yet (I feel like such a Fountain Pen Big Shot giving you the exclusive by the way  ), but if you email Mr. Subbu he will fix you up.

In my case, I didn't ask for the Jowo nib and section option, and asked him ebonite feeds and regular nibs. I already have a wonderful vintage Waterman that will be perfect for a feed like that. I'm really into frankenpens, and I love to tinker and experiment with feeds. It will be my first vintage flex experience by the way, and what better that having that awesome nib always kind of visible with cool inks in a barrel moving around?

I'm sure you ARE a fountain pen big shot. It's a great feeling! Anyway this gives me a little more time to consider and reconsider...

If I do get my own I will also ask for an eyedropper one with friction-feed pen, and likely will take it with a stock Ambitious #6 nib. AFAIK they don't do stub nibs in that size... which is what I would really like.

[Tintafuego]

I'm sure you ARE a fountain pen big shot. It's a great feeling! Anyway this gives me a little more time to consider and reconsider...

If I do get my own I will also ask for an eyedropper one with friction-feed pen, and likely will take it with a stock Ambitious #6 nib. AFAIK they don't do stub nibs in that size... which is what I would really like.

You know, coincidentally, and in trying to dive more deeply into my frankenpen and nib tinkering agenda, I was going to try to make a cursive italic out of the stock Ambitious nib that will come with that ASA. This is one of the things I like the most about indian fountain pens: they are so perfect for the curious mind. And as a note: I have looked more reports about the long feed feature to counter burps, ink flow increases and leaks (the common problem in eyedroppers when your ink leves are low), and it calls my atention that this develoment hasn't got more praise. Anybody knows why?

[mhguda]

You know, coincidentally, and in trying to dive more deeply into my frankenpen and nib tinkering agenda, I was going to try to make a cursive italic out of the stock Ambitious nib that will come with that ASA. This is one of the things I like the most about indian fountain pens: they are so perfect for the curious mind. And as a note: I have looked more reports about the long feed feature to counter burps, ink flow increases and leaks (the common problem in eyedroppers when your ink leves are low), and it calls my atention that this develoment hasn't got more praise. Anybody knows why?

We're probably just thinking the sample is too small: how do we know this is a real improvement and not just this one pen we have that's performing great?

(Not all my eyedroppers blurp when the barrel nears empty!). So my guess would be, Not enough data. Maybe Asa should scour the interweb for reviews and comments about the Athlete, and see if there really is a trend and a case can be made for these features preventing blurping...

[rahulchandna]

looks beautiful !

[Tintafuego]

We're probably just thinking the sample is too small: how do we know this is a real improvement and not just this one pen we have that's performing great?

(Not all my eyedroppers blurp when the barrel nears empty!). So my guess would be, Not enough data. Maybe Asa should scour the interweb for reviews and comments about the Athlete, and see if there really is a trend and a case can be made for these features preventing blurping...

Please can you tell me wich pens have you found to be burp free?

[mhguda]

I'm most certain about the Asa Athletes, which so far have not blurped even when running on empty barrels, and also my custom Asa Rainbows, which I tend to think is because of the thick acrylic of the barrel. I also cannot remember if any of my four Naukas ever blurped. They also have a relatively long section and short barrel, and maybe therefore the empty part of the barrel does not rest against my hand when I write - thus no expanding air to push ink into the feed to drip...

[Tintafuego]

I'm most certain about the Asa Athletes, which so far have not blurped even when running on empty barrels, and also my custom Asa Rainbows, which I tend to think is because of the thick acrylic of the barrel. I also cannot remember if any of my four Naukas ever blurped. They also have a relatively long section and short barrel, and maybe therefore the empty part of the barrel does not rest against my hand when I write - thus no expanding air to push ink into the feed to drip...

This is good info! I went for the ASA Athlete because it was explicit in stating this feature. Now that I know that I now I will end up with a Nauka as soon as I decide wich ebonite color I like best

[mhguda]

Tinta, I hope your experience will mirror mine. Keep in mind, though, that I am in a tropical island - temperature differences are not usually very large here anyway. Especially since I don't have airconditioning in my house. so YMMV... but the Nauka is an excellent pen. Counting the demonstrator, I have four, all eyedroppers, and all in pretty regular use. And no blurping.

[Tintafuego]

Tinta, I hope your experience will mirror mine. Keep in mind, though, that I am in a tropical island - temperature differences are not usually very large here anyway. Especially since I don't have airconditioning in my house. so YMMV... but the Nauka is an excellent pen. Counting the demonstrator, I have four, all eyedroppers, and all in pretty regular use. And no blurping.

 

Well, as you may now from my profile info, I'm moving from Santiago, Chile to Lima, Peru, wich means I'm going from a city that has four seasons that are very different from one another (wich I suspect might help to induce burping and leaks in eyedroppers), to a climate that is more close to the one you have. I will report on the use of eyedroppers in different climates once I get them (on another post). And I really am amazed because before all this Indian pens induced talk I was under the impresion, like many other people I suspect, that eyedroppers = leaks or burps

[mhguda]

Leaks and blurps are not uncommon with them, but I must say I have been much less bothered than most around here, at least so it seems to me. And I think the smaller temperature variations my pens are subject to may also contribute to that. But one of my Indian friends did say that when the flow of the pen increases, you could see that as a warning that it becomes time to refill. Only with the three I named, I only saw that increased flow when the barrel would be nearly empty.

However if/when I take an eyedropper pen into an airconditioned environment, the chance of blurps does seem to increase. I've noticed this with Walitys, for example.

[gudasrinivas]

Beautiful pen. Thanks for sharing.