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Sharing the pictures of my new Deccan Author Red Ebonite eyedropper pen. There are 2 previous posts discussing about the acrylic versions of this pen: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/216836-deccan-aurelius-author/https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/224094-the-deccan-aurelius-aka-the-author/I bought the eyedropper, ebonite Author in red colour, with Deccan stock fine nib. Overall design: It is a simple and elegant design. The colour appears more brownish-red than bright red that is seen in images with light. The clip appears slightly off the center (but it doesn't matter to me). There were small fragments of chipped off ebonite material in the barrel. The cap opens in exactly 2 turns. With cap posted: Barrel is quite thick and the pen looks very sturdy: Nib: The junction of nib/feeder and section is beautiful. Deccan logo (stylized D with stars): It is quite comfortable to hold in hands while writing. I will use the pen for a couple of weeks and follow-up with how the nib writes. My favorite writing style of nib is a fine nib that puts down a wet line. I will do whatever tuning it takes to suit this pen to my regular writing need. Please share your pictures of this pen if you have.

So, it is your first purchase from an Indian company (other than fountain pen revolution which you didn't like very much) and you are looking at the these 4 big names: Ranga, Wality, ASA, and GAMA. Which do you buy to ensure a wonderful writing experience? An experience that will keep you coming back for more. How much is too much for an ebonite pen? If you want a eye dropper that you can carry and won't leak and it seems that ASA's Athlete looks like the best option with its particularly long feeder, but does it really matter? Do you prefer (like me) to grip the pen rather high or rather low? If given the option between nib makers JoWo, Schmidt or and generic, which do you choose? And finally, if you have the option to upgrade the pen (and thus the price) into a converter/cartridge, do you? Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer these burning questions Ideally, you have had some experience with more than 1 of these companies' pens so as to be able to make a comparison, but if not I am still interested in your experience any of the pens!

The ASA Athlete was my first ebonite pen. Purchased in mid 2015 from the ASA pens website, it has me hooked onto Indian ebonite pens since then. So what do i love about this pen- the light weight: despite its large size the pen is actually very light to hold and one does not feel it's weight at all when writing- the lovely green color of the pen. The pen is a regular in my pocket and has been a great conversation starter every single time i meet new people. - the super smooth and sharp nib. The nib is a total pleasure to write with. In fact far superior to any other pen i use- the huge capacity of the ED body. Despite my heavy use, the pen easily lasts me 2-3 weeks (about 50+ A4 sheets)My only real complain with the pen is the challenge with most India ED pens - it is occasionally susceptible to leaks and overflow from the nib. Despite all my love for the pen, I have to switch to a ball pen or a Parker when I need to sign a document or fill important forms. Hopefully once i get my hands on some silicone grease this issue would be resolved. Overall I would give this pen a 7 out of 10.

As you all know Dr. Sreekumar is a nibmeister extraordinaire from Kerala, India. I saw some of his works here in FPN and was introduced to him by an Indian FPNer. I had bought a bunch of pens from him earlier. S-K generally sells Kim pens with tuned nibs, but occasionally turns some beauties. I had already reviewed one of them- the vaib pen (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/293684-sreekumars-vaib-pen/) This is another one of his creations, which he calls the EVO . The Evo pen is a minimalistic design in Black ebonite. It is a ED pen, fitted with a Bock/Conklin B nib. The design is almost Lamyesque. DESIGN: The pen is a minimal cylinder design. It has a tapered section, which is small for the size of this pen. It has a screw-on cap which opens in 4-5 turns. The threads have a tight tolerance and they are not sharp at all. The pen can be posted, but not recommended. It is a decent size pen and has perfect balance. NIB AND FEED: The pen is fitted with an ebonite feed and a Bock/Conklin B nib. The Kim feeds are modelled on Sheaffer NNS feeds, so the burping problem is almost nil. The nib is one of the smoothest I have ever used and is a pleasure to write with. The B nib writes a wet line, giving a fat medium/ thin broad width. WRITING SAMPLE: COMPARABLE PENS One of the designs that is most similar to the Evo is another great pen from ASA, I can. The I can is a larger pen with a hourglass section which is the most comfortable for me. The I can is also similarly priced to the Evo. One another pen of the same size is the Fosfor Bombay. CONCLUSION If one wants a no-fuss pen which can get the job done, consider the Evo. It has been reasonably priced and finishing is good. And you get a nib tuned by a nibmesiter.

I am wondering why eye-dropper pens seem to be so common from India? I that the main pen style used there or just the main type for export? Thanks for any info you can provide. Dave

Hello, I've been looking for a good FP to help with my gesture sketches for a while now. I tend to hold back with pencil/charcoal as a medium mostly because I know I can erase/redraw easily with them. I figured an FP will help increase the surity of my lines and reduce the hesitancy that is visible with the lines. I ordered a couple of FPs from a manufacturer/brand called Khyati from Rajkot (Gujrat, India). They market the pens as sketching pens and as made from "ebony" (which I'm guessing is ebonite). The pens are priced at ₹80 (approximately 1.3 USD) per pen, I bought two of them that were sold as a pack on Ebay India. The pen comes with a generic iridium point golden coloured nib and lays down a thin line. So far, I've been using the pen as a dip pen, there have been no issues with the drying up or stoppages. I'm not sure if the nib is a medium or a fine, it lays a relatively dry line, which is how I like it for gesture sketches and quick sketches. I can definitively say that these pens are remarkable at their price point! They are eyedropper pens, which makes them brilliant perfect for long sketching sessions without having to worry about ink problems. The pen is relatively light wihtout posting and fits well, it is about twice the thickness of the Sheaffer Fashion and thinker than the Ranga Bamboo. They screw mechanism seems fairly well made and the cap has a breather hole too, I will field test it in a couple of weeks for leaks and other problems with carrying them around. Here is a quick rendition of the Fellowship based on pre-LOTR movie sketches, I'd say it is a steal at this price point, I will test the pen further out in a few weeks. Edit: Added pen weight and thickness.

Hello fellow FPN members! This is a documentation as well as "questionnaire" post on one of the pens in my collection. The Mebsons Arfa. I have not heard of this fountain pen brand and also my internet search did not yield any credible results as well. I have two of mebsons pens of which i am sure about one that it is an ebonite pen, but the other, that is the one i am talking about right now; i am confused whether if it is an ebonite or a plastic pen. I purchased both the pens from an old shop back in vadodara, Gujarat, India. Here are the pictures of the Mebsons Arfa, i will post the pictures of the other one in a follow-up post. I will be really pleased if i could get some help in identifiying the company as well as the pen itself.

I have been meaning to get some celluloid pens from Guider Pen Works of Rajamundhry, India. I finally ordered and got these a few days back. However, this post is not about celluloid pens, but about a nice surprise I got. I ordered 2 celluloid pens and just for fun, I also ordered a Guider Baby pen in Yellow Acrylic. Expecting 3 pens in the box, imagine my surprise when out fell a fourth pen. At first, I was not even sure it was a pen because it was so TINY. But further examination revealed that not only was it a fountain pen, it was a fully functional eyedropper with a pretty good nib. I have named this pen the Guider Nano (for want of anything more creative) and here are some pics and comparisons with other small pens I have. Please excuse the picture quality - I had to make do with very average lighting. So, here is the Guider Nano with some of its contemporaries. From Top to Bottom Kaweco Sport, Guider Baby Acrylic, Guider Nano, Deccan Lilliput. By itself, the pen looks pretty good. Some measurements to give an idea of how these compare. Please take these as ballpark figures. I have tried my best to be accurate with the tools I have, but YMMV, so please excuse me in advance if someone has other figures. Though I think they should be in a similar range. Kaweco Sport: Length Capped = 106.1 mm. Weight Un-inked 13.00 gms (with the clip) Deccan Lilliput: Length Capped = 110.5 mm. Weight Un-inked 13.90 gms Guider Baby Acrylic: Length Capped = 103.6 mm. Weight Un-inked 11.29 gms Guider Nano: Length Capped = 78.5 mm. Weight Un-inked 4.71 gms As you can see, it is a really tiny pen. Kaweco Sport Deccan Lilliput Guider Baby Acrylic Here is the Guider Nano: Then, just for fun, I decided to compare this pen to two absolutely huge pens - The Varuna Gajendra and the Gama Supreme White Acrylic. Measurements. The Gama and Varuna lengths were visually taken with a plastic scale as the sizes were beyond the scope of my callipers. Gama Supreme Acrylic: Length Capped = 164 mm. Weight Un-inked 40.08 gms Varuna Gajendra: Length Capped = 178 mm. Weight Un-inked 41.02 gms I must really thank Shri Lakshmana Rao of Guider pens for sending me this tiny, but unique surprise package. In my experience, this is the tiniest functioning pen that I have seen and used. I would love to hear from others about such tiny pens. Has anyone else used such a tiny pen, or maybe something even tinier? I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed posting it. Cheers Sudhir

1. Appearance & Design = 7 To me, this pen looks like an homage to the Parker Duofold, but on a minimal scale. Gama did not do straight line knurling on the cap or bands at the tail of the pen, like the Duofolds have. Gama also used a generic big-ball clip, similar to a Pilot clip. It's derivative and economic, but still classic.The material is a beautiful beige/black mottled ebonite, not as glossy as acrylic but very glossy by ebonite standards. The seams between the different pieces are very smooth, although the hardware (clip and cap bands) leave something to be desired.The Gama name is engraved on the side of the barrel. The engraving does not appear to be from a laser, but a machine, and it is subtle but well done.It came with a generic two-tone nib, which I replaced with a Knox two-tone nib and a later overfeed modification. The overfeed detracts from the aesthetic, but I'm leaving it in place because it is practical.I deduct 3 points for the sloppy cap bands and clip attachment. If those could have been symmetrical and flush like the other joints on the pen, I think the appearance would have been a perfect ten.2. Construction & Quality = 8 The execution of the cap bands is sloppy, with one side being too deeply inset, while the other side sticks out quite a bit. The attachment of the clip piece is also asymmetrical. Capacity seems to be a hair over 3mL.With some eyedroppers the section can fit too tightly, but Gama made this pen just right. As a result, I don't have any trouble removing the section to fill the barrel, and there is no danger of leakage.The ebonite is of very good quality, and has held its luster very well over the first month or so of my usage. The gold coloring on the clip will eventually wear off, but it seems to be holding up pretty well for now.Threading seems to be good--only 1 to 1.5 turns to remove the cap. However, I have noticed the cap will go on slightly crooked unless I leave it 1/8 turn looser than its tightest position.I already deducted points for the sloppy cap band and clip attachment. The section shape is comfortable and well proportioned, and the threads do not bother me when gripping the pen.I deduct two points for the crookedness when the cap is closed.3. Weight & Dimensions = 10 I don't have a digital scale, but I'd say the weight/size is comparable to a Ranga Model 3 or a TWSBI Vac 700. It's a large pen with a medium weight--not as nimble as a Parker 45, but there's no filling mechanism so it's fairly light and balanced toward the nib.Dimensions:Length capped: 145 mmLength of cap: 67 mmLength uncapped: 132 mmSection at narrowest: 11 mmSection near barrel: 13 mmBody at widest: 14 mmBalance is very good. This pen could post, but I don't think it's necessary. Unposted, this could be a very good session writer.No points deducted here.4. Nib & Performance = 8 The original nib wasn't bad. It was a generic two-tone steel fine nib with very good flow. It was a little scratchy, but smoothed out with only a couple minutes of tine adjustment and circles on my buff stick. I've become a medium and broad nib convert, so I ordered a Knox B steel nib (size K35, comparable to a #6) from xfountainpens.com (no affiliation) and was able to do a very easy swap because the feed is somewhat loose-fitting in the section. I think this helps the ink flow, but it also means I didn't have to get the hair dryer to get the new nib in place. I was even able to squeeze an overfeed in there with some effort.Flow is 10/10. It's a firehose. I'm using Diamine Ancient Copper in this pen because the saturation looks so good--almost as dark as oxblood red.The Knox nib was very smooth when I received it, but I had some baby bottom issues. I had to press the nib somewhat firmly on the first stroke to get the ink flowing, and had lots of skipping due to the nib (remember, the flow was more than adequate). Baby bottom is hard to fix, but I think I've just about banished it. The Knox B is stubbish and a little springy, making this a very pleasurable session writer.I deduct two points for a scratchy nib out of the box, but I won't deduct any more because the fit of the feed and rate of flow are remarkably good.5. Filling System & Maintenance = 9 There's no better scenario than a generously flowing pen with a generously sized reservoir. This one holds about 3 mL and fills as an eyedropper.I deduct one point for the eyedropper filling because there is no ink window, and it can be a little messy.However, this pen deserves a solid nine because an ED requires almost no maintenance and delivers a lot of ink. I use an ink syringe for better control when filling, and I think I can fill it just as fast as a piston filler.6. Cost & Value = 10 I received this from a friend here on FPN, and "free" is always the best price. I think these go for around $50-70 on eBay. Edit: At about $23 on asapens.in (no affiliation) this is a steal. The equivalent Ranga is closer to $40, but I think the Gama has a nicer finish. This ebonite holds its gloss very well, and it's nice to have some accent hardware (even if they're attached somewhat askew) and a clean engraving of the manufacturer name.The machining is very good. Fit of threads is also better than the Ranga Model 3 pens I've handled, so I think that's worth the extra cost. But, the selling point for me is the flow. Gama's feed manufacture is simple, but well executed. Again, the attachment of the hardware is somewhat sloppy, but it's not a deal breaker, in my view.This is a pen that will hold up well because of negligible maintenance, provides a very good experience for long session writing (size, balance, medium weight, and ebonite material), and can be fitted with any #6 nib to suit your tastes.7. Conclusion = 52/60 Overall, I feel this is a very enjoyable pen to use and I really did not expect it to be such a wet writer. At $70, would I buy this pen? Yes--entirely because of the wet feed. Did I get lucky? I don't know. Maybe other Gama customers will weigh in on how the flow and setup was on their pens. To me, this particular pen is very worthwhile in the sub-$100 category. Edit: Available from asapens.in for $23 under other names. Very good value.I'll bring it with me to the upcoming pen show. If you'd like to test it out, just send me a message or find me in the crowd.If you're looking for a large session writer that won't fatigue your hand, and if you have even a tiny bit of ingenuity when it comes to adjusting or replacing a nib, this is worth a look. The following photos were taken with my iPhone 5c, using HDR mode. For the closeup shots, I affixed a loupe, which gives a slight fisheye effect, but provides the best level of detail. What I received from my friend: Gama two-tone, Ratnamson no. 32, and Oliver 81. A very kind gift. The original nib. Not much to look at, but it was okay. Buddy shot with the Ratnamson no. 32. Note the difference between the two ebonite samples. The Gama is swirled with a rich black, and shows more depth. Learn more about my R32 project, including some discussion of the overfeed modification, here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/261306-ratnamson-no-32-with-kaweco-sport-nibfeed/ Beautiful material. Another view of the ebonite. Where the threads meet the section. Note how the threads are smoothed toward the body. The section is not concave, that's just an effect of looking through the loupe. Note the size of the step at the end of the grip, which provides a comfortable and secure hold. My overfeed isn't pretty, but it fits very well. You can see how the DAC has oxidized around the overfeed. The nib underneath is quite pretty, with a little lion and everything, so I'm sorry you don't get to see it. Note the chamfer at the opening to the section. This makes it super easy to fit the feed in place. The ebonite feed is handmade, and somewhat crude, but well executed. Here you can see how flush the endpiece was finished. Another view of the endpiece. That tiny gap where you see the glue is impossible for me to feel with my fingernail. I didn't even see it until I looked at the pictures. The Gama name engraved on the barrel. Perhaps carved by a CNC machine? Doesn't look laser-etched. I kind of like it. The ball is formed from folded steel--very shiny. This is the side of the cap bands that is too deeply inset. The other side of the cap, where the bands are not inset deeply enough and do not match each other. Here you can see the side of the clip attachment ring that sticks out from the finial slightly. And here, the side of the clip attachment that is too far in. Other manufacturers create a seat so this isn't visible, but Gama took a shortcut on this part. It ruins an otherwise flawlessly flush finish on the rest of the pen.