Wality Pens

[hari317]

It was nice to read on Richard's interesting blog that he found the Walitys had good potential. It would be really a nice thing if the Walitys are made even better as is being planned. Some things on my wishlist are:

1. Divide the ink chamber into two compartments like in the Pelikan Level to take care of overflow problems along with a safety shutoff like the Japanese EDs?
2. Have a lucky curve kind of arrangement to solve the blobbing problems and also to make the pen flight safe.
3. Have a gold nib as an option.

what is your wishlist?

 

Best,

Hari

 

 

 

 

[Jimmy James]

That reminds me that I need to clean the devil ink in my collection (PR Grey Flannel) out of my Wality and fill it up with an ink that lubricates better.

[Sallent]

What on earth is a "Wality" and who makes them. All i know is that the original post here had the word "Pelikan" next to Wality and that was enough to capture this Pelikan addict's short attention span.

Edited April 6, 2008 by Dr Ozzie

[Jimmy James]

Wality is, IIRC, an Indian brand of fountain pen. They seem to come in eyedropper or piston fill. I got mine with another pen for a few bucks on the Marketplace.

 

The only place I have found to buy them is retrodesk.com, but I can't vouch for that site having never bought anything there.

 

[FrankB]

If it were not for FPN I would also not have a clue what Wality pens are. When they are discussed here, the consensus seems to be that they are nice pens and they are very well priced. If the manufacturer is going to improve the design or quality, then so much better.

 

Hari, I do not have a Wality pen so I cannot answer your question. But I will rely on impressions from you and others who use the pens as to their improvements. I hope to get a Wality eventually since I am always curious to try new (to me) pens.

[hari317]

I hope to get a Wality eventually since I am always curious to try new (to me) pens.

 

You must try out the Wality ASAP, you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Regards,

Hari

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Hughes]

Good enough for me. I just ordered one from Retrodesk. I'll let you know what I think after I see it.

[kudzu]

Someone gave me a new Wality pen last year and I really like mine. I would say the nib is a Western Medium, and smooth, too. It's a bit larger than I like (I have small hands) but it writes great! No problems with blobbing, leaking, etc. The pen is a dark blue and I keep PR Midnight Blues in it - great combo. I really like the large clear ink view window.

[skipwilliams]

A gold nib would be nice. But only if it offered some softness.

 

The three Wality's that I have are superb pens, well engineered and nice writers. (52, 69L, black 69L); all from Retrodesk.com

 

In fact, I've got Omas Americo Vespucci Red in my 69L this week

 

One issue that I had with my 52 a couple of weeks ago: It burped on me after an airplane flight, spilling ink out all over the section inside the cap. That's not terribly unusual for FP's, but was pretty irritating.

 

Skip

 

 

It was nice to read on Richard's interesting blog that he found the Walitys had good potential. It would be really a nice thing if the Walitys are made even better as is being planned. Some things on my wishlist are:

1. Divide the ink chamber into two compartments like in the Pelikan Level to take care of overflow problems along with a safety shutoff like the Japanese EDs?
2. Have a lucky curve kind of arrangement to solve the blobbing problems and also to make the pen flight safe.
3. Have a gold nib as an option.

what is your wishlist?

 

Best,

Hari

 

[mysta rave]

I have had terrible experiences with Wality. I bought an eyedropper Wality, which kept leaking and dropping blobs of ink. I thought this was a defect in my pen, but the replacement sent to me had the same exact problem. It's a good pen in theory, I suppose.

[WillSW]

I was thinking of buying a 69L, and if I didn't like the nib I could practice my grinding skills. The eyedropper was attractive, because I don't have any eyedroppers and it would be really easy to clean (it could be my ink-tester), but it seems that it has more consistent problems than the piston. Is this true, or do the pistons have leaking problems as well?

[scribbler77]

I was thinking of buying a 69L, and if I didn't like the nib I could practice my grinding skills. The eyedropper was attractive, because I don't have any eyedroppers and it would be really easy to clean (it could be my ink-tester), but it seems that it has more consistent problems than the piston. Is this true, or do the pistons have leaking problems as well?

 

I can't speak for the ED fills, but I have two piston fills and I like them both. I have had no problem with either, but I have not taken them on airplanes.

 

The ones I bought from ISellPens were remarkably cheap (under $10.00 each), but he no longer offers them.

[Tsujigiri]

I can vouch for the abovementioned retrodesk, at least in my experience. They were more expensive than isellpens, but isellpens doesn't have them anymore. Mine came with its own Wality pouch, and is a decent pen, although there's a crack in the inner plastic (doesn't seem to have caused any leaks). The coolest thing about the Wality (mine is a 69) is that you can take everything apart easily: feed, nib, blind cap, body, plunger and all. The nib writes ok, and I have not experienced too many blotting problems, although it is a problem.

What I would change would be to make the plunger rubber or some equivalant; the hard plastic they use doesn't seal against ink well enough. And although the ebonite feed is supposed to be a good feature, I hate seeing them in pens. They are too shallow, with slits on the sides, so they don't hold very much ink for safety, and you can't see how much ink is in it. I'd go with the typical plastic model. They could also make the pen wider, and make the ink window an array of slits instead of a clear ring (I know they've done this with some of their pens). Then, you'd have the perfect MB 149 alternative, which is what I bought the Wality for in the first place.

They do seem to have a lot of potential, though. If Wality can make them for that cheap price, I'm sure they could make a few improvements.

[Robert Hughes]

Now that I've used my new Wality 69L a few days I'm liking it more and more. At first I didn't like the large size, but am getting used to the fatter diameter - and I don't post it, of course, as it becomes quite back-heavy. I did have to soak it in soapy water for a few hours before it would write consistently, and it's just gotten better and better as I use it. I'm starting to see what all the buzz is about with this manufacturer. This might be the modern manufactured equivalent to the cheap pens of yore, like the Esterbrooks.

[cheepgary]

Now that I've used my new Wality 69L a few days I'm liking it more and more. At first I didn't like the large size, but am getting used to the fatter diameter - and I don't post it, of course, as it becomes quite back-heavy. I did have to soak it in soapy water for a few hours before it would write consistently, and it's just gotten better and better as I use it. I'm starting to see what all the buzz is about with this manufacturer. This might be the modern manufactured equivalent to the cheap pens of yore, like the Esterbrooks.

 

 

I decided last week to try my piston-fill Wality (don't know the model) as a back-up pen carried clipped to a pocket of my photo vest. We've had some changing temps and humidity levels since, and I might have over-filled and not "burped?" a few drops of Noodler's North Sea Blue before capping.

 

So this afternoon I arrive at a newspaper photo shoot, and the community college president asks to borrow a pen. You guessed it-- bright blue fingers on both of us!

 

I can't say I blame the Wality entirely, but others getting accustomed to the pens might take care in similar carrying situations.

 

Cheep Gary

Edited April 29, 2008 by cheepgary

[Lifesaver]

I just got my first Wality today. I ordered it from Retrodesk. I have not inked it yet. The one I got was the clear demonstrator with the burgundy cap. I really like the look of it. Of course, writing with it will be the acid test. I hope I am not disappointed.

[aunt rebecca]

i just received my wality. i forget the number--but is the only all black pen--including the black nib. it is a piston fill and the only medium nibbed pen offered on the retrodesk site--they were excellent sellers. quick delivery. i am very happy with the pen. the nib reminds me of a lamy left handed nibs. no blobs, writes well, all in all worth the money.

 

thanks hari137 for the tour of the factory. a pen made by hand is unusual and the price is right. i think i would like a shorter pen--and i would love colors!! but kudo to the airline/wality pen company for the reliable pen.

[Robert Hughes]

Two weeks later, the pen gets daily use at work. I am more comfortable with this instrument every day, even writing with it posted sometimes - though now I hold it farther back on the body, above the threads. It starts up promptly, gives an even line, and is comfortable to use. All in all, a fine pen at any price, and remarkable pedigree.

[tandmark]

Hi,

 

Writing with my Wality has been like dining with a guest who has Tourette's Syndrome. You know, the brain-wiring glitch that causes uncontrollable outbursts of loud cursing? The pen writes extremely well until suddenly it drops a huge glob of ink onto the paper for no obvious reason. 

 

Clearly anyone's success with one of these pens is going to be a matter of luck. Keeping a log of which weather conditions the Wality likes & doesn't like might help.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[kudzu]

I wonder if there's a greater likelihood of an eye-dropper having those fits than the piston fill. Mine's piston - and it performs flawlessly. But why should that make a difference? I keep saturated Noodler's and PR inks in my Wality and other modern pens.