Jump to content

The Ranga Model 2C, An Excellent Pen And An Excellent Value


phillieskjk

Recommended Posts

This review and others can also be found at my website: www.pensinksandpaper.com

The Indian fountain pen market is an interesting dichotomy between cheap, largely unreliable pens, and gorgeous handmade pieces of ebonite that are a joy to write with. This pen falls firmly into the latter category.

fpn_1486955611__img_5191.jpg

Appearance & Design (9/10)

The Ranga is absolutely gorgeous in a way no picture I could take will ever convey. There’s something about rippled ebonite that even the most experienced pen photographers (one of which I am most decidedly not) cannot convey in their work. If you have never seen a pen made from rippled ebonite in real life before, go buy one now. I promise you it will not disappoint. The size is perfect for what I was looking for, and Mr. Kandan (the pen turner who created this masterpiece) was very cooperative in making sure the design was perfectly made to my tastes. There was a slight communication error in ordering a color, but it was a happy accident; I love the color I have now more than I think I would’ve liked the other and Mr. Kandan helped to rectify the situation almost immediately with a partial refund. (Which I naturally used to help fund another Ranga… I couldn’t help myself.) The only flaw in the design of the pen is the cap posting. It does post, but not very securely, and the pen feels awkwardly long when posted. Otherwise, the design is flawless; this is a truly gorgeous pen.

Construction & Quality (10/10)

You can’t beat handmade. The pen was obviously crafted with great care, and there is an undeniable beauty to having a pen made from a single piece of material with no seams or manufacturing nicks to be found. Although the 2C is the lightest and smallest Ranga available, about the length of a Lamy Safari and a bit thinner, it feels solidly made, and the ebonite of the pen is smooth and well finished. Handmade pens are always special in my opinion, and this one is no exception. They are made with special care and attention that no mass-produced pen can be, and the results are magnificent.

fpn_1486955696__fullsizerender_2_copy.jp

Nib & Performance

The nib section of this review is where my experience may vary from that of others who use this pen, so I will refrain from giving a numbered score in this section. I set the stock nib aside almost as soon as I received the pen, and had replaced it before I inked it up for the first time. I did this because I use this pen for small annotations and Calculus, so I replaced the nib with an Extra Fine from JOWO of Germany. The 2C fits a number five nib perfectly as a replacement for its original nib. This is different from most Rangas, which accept number six nibs. The nib I swapped in was purchased from fpnibs.com, who also provide excellent service as well as a variety of affordable nib services.

Filling System & Maintenance

The 2C is an eyedropper filler, so for a small pen it has a significant ink capacity, around 2-2.5 mL. This becomes especially significant (and useful) when you use an extra fine nib. I have not experienced any issues with burping, and the pen is relatively easy to clean.

Cost & Value (10/10)

A handmade ebonite pen for $18 is unbeatable value. Mine came to a total cost of $28, including shipping, if you factor in the JOWO nib, but when you think about it that is an incredibly low price. It’s a handmade ebonite pen with a very nice German nib used in much more expensive pens smoothed by a nibmeister for the same price as a Kaweco Sport. (I have nothing against the Kaweco, it just happened to be the same price and a good comparison) At that price, the Ranga 2C represents an incredible value and I’m glad I purchased one.

fpn_1486955736__fullsizerender_copy.jpg

Conclusion (9.67/10)

The Ranga Model 2C is both a gorgeous pen and a fantastic value. Mr. Kandan is pleasant to work with, and happy to answer any questions. Should anything go wrong, he rectifies the situation almost immediately. The pen itself writes beautifully, and is both reliable and well made. It has been one of my daily writers since it arrived, and I can’t see it stopping in the near future.

Edited by phillieskjk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 7
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • dinuraj

    1

  • fountainpagan

    1

  • visvamitra

    1

  • phillieskjk

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Nice pen. This is one Ranga that I don't have. Will get one sometime in the future. All my Rangas are very well finished and nice to write with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks this is a great review. i love Ranga pens. I have not got any of the mass produced pens but all my handmade Indian pens from Ranga, ASA, Guider and Ratnamson have all been very reliable and are excellent value for money. Plus not many people have them in the UK so they are unique!

Edited by matteob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This review and others can also be found at my website: www.pensinksandpaper.com

The Indian fountain pen market is an interesting dichotomy between cheap, largely unreliable pens, and gorgeous handmade pieces of ebonite that are a joy to write with. This pen falls firmly into the latter category.

fpn_1486955611__img_5191.jpg

Appearance & Design (9/10)

The Ranga is absolutely gorgeous in a way no picture I could take will ever convey. There’s something about rippled ebonite that even the most experienced pen photographers (one of which I am most decidedly not) cannot convey in their work. If you have never seen a pen made from rippled ebonite in real life before, go buy one now. I promise you it will not disappoint. The size is perfect for what I was looking for, and Mr. Kandan (the pen turner who created this masterpiece) was very cooperative in making sure the design was perfectly made to my tastes. There was a slight communication error in ordering a color, but it was a happy accident; I love the color I have now more than I think I would’ve liked the other and Mr. Kandan helped to rectify the situation almost immediately with a partial refund. (Which I naturally used to help fund another Ranga… I couldn’t help myself.) The only flaw in the design of the pen is the cap posting. It does post, but not very securely, and the pen feels awkwardly long when posted. Otherwise, the design is flawless; this is a truly gorgeous pen.

Construction & Quality (10/10)

You can’t beat handmade. The pen was obviously crafted with great care, and there is an undeniable beauty to having a pen made from a single piece of material with no seams or manufacturing nicks to be found. Although the 2C is the lightest and smallest Ranga available, about the length of a Lamy Safari and a bit thinner, it feels solidly made, and the ebonite of the pen is smooth and well finished. Handmade pens are always special in my opinion, and this one is no exception. They are made with special care and attention that no mass-produced pen can be, and the results are magnificent.

fpn_1486955696__fullsizerender_2_copy.jp

Nib & Performance

The nib section of this review is where my experience may vary from that of others who use this pen, so I will refrain from giving a numbered score in this section. I set the stock nib aside almost as soon as I received the pen, and had replaced it before I inked it up for the first time. I did this because I use this pen for small annotations and Calculus, so I replaced the nib with an Extra Fine from JOWO of Germany. The 2C fits a number five nib perfectly as a replacement for its original nib. This is different from most Rangas, which accept number six nibs. The nib I swapped in was purchased from fpnibs.com, who also provide excellent service as well as a variety of affordable nib services.

Filling System & Maintenance

The 2C is an eyedropper filler, so for a small pen it has a significant ink capacity, around 2-2.5 mL. This becomes especially significant (and useful) when you use an extra fine nib. I have not experienced any issues with burping, and the pen is relatively easy to clean.

Cost & Value (10/10)

A handmade ebonite pen for $18 is unbeatable value. Mine came to a total cost of $28, including shipping, if you factor in the JOWO nib, but when you think about it that is an incredibly low price. It’s a handmade ebonite pen with a very nice German nib used in much more expensive pens smoothed by a nibmeister for the same price as a Kaweco Sport. (I have nothing against the Kaweco, it just happened to be the same price and a good comparison) At that price, the Ranga 2C represents an incredible value and I’m glad I purchased one.

fpn_1486955736__fullsizerender_copy.jpg

Conclusion (9.67/10)

The Ranga Model 2C is both a gorgeous pen and a fantastic value. Mr. Kandan is pleasant to work with, and happy to answer any questions. Should anything go wrong, he rectifies the situation almost immediately. The pen itself writes beautifully, and is both reliable and well made. It has been one of my daily writers since it arrived, and I can’t see it stopping in the near future.

Thanks a lot Sir for your nice review, words and pictures.

We are very happy to hear positive things.

 

REgards,

Kandan.M.P

Ranga Pen Company

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That looks just great.

 

Anyone know how we can get them in the UK? It seems to be difficult, unless I've missed something.

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


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33474
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26573
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      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
      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
      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
      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
      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...