Beena Magic - Nos W/ A Retractable Nib

[taike]

 

This is a fun, diminutive-sized writing instrument, with a twist. The nib retracts. It's proving to be a pleasant alternative to the larger pens I've been enjoying lately. I can see it as a take-along pen for notes or general writing duties any day of the week.

 

The Beena Magic was manufactured in the late 1980's. It’s available from ASA Pens. They’re sold in sets of 2 pens.

 

Retractable Nib

You turn the end cap to extend / retract the nib unit. It takes about 3/4 of a turn to complete the action. The motion is smooth and easy, if a little loose. I thought the nib might shift or wiggle, but that's proven to be largely a non-issue.

 

 

Construction

The brushed silver cap is plastic like the rest of the pen. It's positive and well engineered. It snaps on and off with an easy click that's crisp and definitive. There's no chance of the cap coming off accidentally. The pen takes international ink cartridges. It doesn't come with a converter.

 

Posted, the pen is a bit smaller than a Jinhao 992 or the Jellyfish series (绘境 026). At just over 15g, it is nicely lightweight.

 

 

Writing

The No. 5 nib writes with a fine line bordering on medium. It's reasonably wet. I didn't experience any skipping.

The pen feels good in the hand and was smooth right from the start. It's a natural for posting which is clearly how it was meant to be used.

 

 

It’s hard to say how long the stock of Beena Magic pens at ASA will last. If you're interested in a bit of friendly Indian pen history, I can recommend you get yourself a pair. The second pen could make an excellent gift to a friend.

More comments and photos here.

 

[mhguda]

I got one of these with my purchase of my blue transparent Nauka. It seems the same pen as one I had bought locally about 10 years ago called Tsunami. That one came in a nice wooden box paired with a ballpoint pen. Slightly more robust than the Beena. I still have it. Alas no longer available in that shop

 

Forgot to say they're very nice pens and my experience mirrors the OP's.

Edited April 15, 2018 by mhguda

[dwwst12]

Just got a couple of these recently -- very serviceable, fun little pocket pens that you don't need to worry about at $6 each!

[Sagarb]

9 hours ago, dwwst12 said:

Just got a couple of these recently -- very serviceable, fun little pocket pens that you don't need to worry about at $6 each!

Nice review, thanks.

[Savit]

Nice pen.

Click Torpedo is another pen that looks exactly the same, without retractable nib. It also writes quite well.

[Sagarb]

13 hours ago, bestillmysoul said:

Nice pen.

Click Torpedo is another pen that looks exactly the same, without retractable nib. It also writes quite well.

Yes, I had Click Torpedo sometimes ago, it's a good writing instrument.

[cvk]

What is the function of the retractable nib in the Beena Magic? Is it like a safety feature for the pen ? If the nib is retracted and the pen turned upside down while uncapped, what happens? 

[mhguda]

59 minutes ago, cvk said:

What is the function of the retractable nib in the Beena Magic? Is it like a safety feature for the pen ? If the nib is retracted and the pen turned upside down while uncapped, what happens? 

I will admit I have no experience there, not being in the habit of dropping my pens... and my thinking is it's mostly a gimmick. I do not find it protects against drying out very much. But who cares? I love it that they can give me a pen with retractable nib at this price!

[hari317]

1 hour ago, cvk said:

What is the function of the retractable nib in the Beena Magic? Is it like a safety feature for the pen ? If the nib is retracted and the pen turned upside down while uncapped, what happens? 

It’s just a gimmick. It’s nothing for function like the Waterman’s safety pen. Magic allows you to even cap the pen with the nib extended. It’s just a nice toyish feature to keep the school kids excited about their new pen which has apparently no nib. Their classmates are flummoxed.  Twist the end and the nib appears. Yay! The pen is easily available for purchase through Beena BTW. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by hari317

[cvk]

7 hours ago, hari317 said:

It’s just a gimmick. It’s nothing for function like the Waterman’s safety pen. Magic allows you to even cap the pen with the nib extended. It’s just a nice toyish feature to keep the school kids excited about their new pen which has apparently no nib. Their classmates are flummoxed.  Twist the end and the nib appears. Yay! The pen is easily available for purchase through Beena BTW. 

Oh I see Thanks so much! 

[Penguincollector]

  I was just given one of these fun pens yesterday. The retractable nib is a hoot. It’s a cute little pen that is nicely weighted in hand.