Any Different Feel For Ranga Premium Ebonite Vs. Regular Ebonite?

[hu-327]

Thinking of making a purchase, but unsure which to go with.

Edited May 15, 2019 by hu-327

[Jamerelbe]

Not really: there are differences in appearance, but not in feel, unlesss you want to go for a 'bakul' (matte) finish, which is only available with the regular ebonite. I get the impression that the rubbers they use are a little different - but by the time they've hardened into rods, then been turned into pens, that doesn't seem to translate to the 'feel' of the pen, at least not for me.

[gillum51]

i would largely agree. the primary difference I can tell is the appearance. the pens do not feel different in the hand. the only small difference I have noticed is that the premium ebonites tend to be a bit thicker in the cap, and that may just be variations in individual pens since they are handmade and not anything to do with the material. It just come down to if you like the particular premium ebonite enough to pay extra for it.

[Dupontdelamare]

I wonder whether the Premium ebonite might not be a little more dense and so heavier, than Regular? Please consider this as a question, however, as I dont have Premium and Regular ebonites on the same models.

I can say that I enjoy the feel of Bakul ebonite and I love looking at the Premium ebonite, so there is pleasure in both.

[s_t_e_v_e]

Most regular ebonite I've used have a few tiny pits in them. These pits are not very obvious and very few and far between. But on close inspection, you can find them. Maybe the premium ebonite don't have such pits in them? I haven't used Ranga's premium ebonite, so I don't really know if that is the case.

[sansenri]

I wonder whether the Premium ebonite might not be a little more dense and so heavier, than Regular? Please consider this as a question, however, as I dont have Premium and Regular ebonites on the same models.

I can say that I enjoy the feel of Bakul ebonite and I love looking at the Premium ebonite, so there is pleasure in both.

 

Yes, I would say that's true, premium does feel more dense, but I would expect not sufficiently to really make a difference in weight that you could feel the difference, ebonite is a very light material.

Also true what you say about appearance and feel, although also premium ebonite has a particular feel, it's sort of silky.

When in bakul finish, the feel, which is sort of satin, can be slightly different depending on the type of regular ebonite used, I have some pens in bakul which are very smooth (brown ripple) others that are coarser (red ripple, olive ripple). It's as though you can feel a greater porosity of the material.

With premium ebonite colours are more pure, with regular ebonite however the ripples have that classic traditional Indian look. It's nice to have lots of variants!

 

@hu-327, buy the one you like most, you'll get the other finish soon anyway...

Edited May 31, 2019 by sansenri