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First I would like to thank Hari for sharing details about his bespoke Sandalwood Fosfor. His post was the push I need to go ahead and take the plunge. I have been an avid follower of Manoj's work from the beginning and now this pen is a thumping confirmation for me that Fosfor pens have arrived! I received it today and here are a few pictures made in receding light; cannot wait to ink it up.... http://i.imgur.com/Mlbybvx.jpg?1http://i.imgur.com/16rVQ42.jpg?1http://i.imgur.com/AfxEasS.jpg?1http://i.imgur.com/1aZ9gJE.jpg?1http://i.imgur.com/52lF4qN.jpg?1

A pen or a stick? A Seaman's 'stick' pen that belonged to my wife's grandfather. At least 50 years old. Compared with a 'tiny' M200 Opened up to reveal 2 pens Nib has the following - "M?HATRE", "WRITE" & "TIPPED 1CP????" The brand name faintly inked on the body Body is in good condition. One of the nibs is in excellent condition but the feed is damaged. The other, mostly the black ink side is badly corroded and the feed is also damaged. Any idea of the feeds that may fit this?

Unique Pens recently came out with new fountain pen which is a quite subtle design. I quickly grabbed the pen as soon as Mr. Subramanian of ASA Pens shared the image of the same with me. Below is my review of the pen which i have been using for past 2 weeks. Click Piston Filler Design & Built: I purely bought this pen for its looks and after my first demonstrator which was Galactic, i wanted to explore the territory of demonstrator pens. This pen is a small sized sleek piston filler pen. It comes in 5 translucent colors, Clear, Blue, Red, Green, & Brown. Out of all those Clear looks the best because it shows you the actual color of the ink sloshing inside the pen. It also comes in solid colors by the name of Tulip. The pen is made of ABS plastic which is quite okay. it is an elegantly designed little pen which will be suitable for people with small and regular size hands. The pen is prone to smudges if you have oily hands. Click Majestic - Uncapped The cap has metal gold plated crown shaped cap which is quite firmly placed on top of cap. Top of Cap There is center band with 2 grooves also running around again in golden color. There is also inner lining of plastic inside the cap, probably to keep ink from drying out. Click Majestic - Cap with Gold plated clip The pen opens in 2-3 turns and top of grip section also has gold plated metal ring which ads to the beauty of pen. The only let down i see the gold paint over the engraving done at the barrel which doesn't appeal to me. Barrel and Piston Filling Mechanism Also in above image you might see one more gold plated band which separates the barrel section from the piston filling mechanism. I must tell you that i love the piston filling mechanism better than eyedropper. This pen can be easily cleaned as it can be easily dismantled into individual parts. The build quality of pen is just okay as the ABS plastic used looks flimsy even though it might take lot of falls and has certain bit of flexibility also. It gives you a feel that if you try to manhandle the pen it will come apart. So i did not messed around with the pen. Uncapped Pen Close up of cap opening and Nib Would request you to please go further on webpage CLICK MAJESTIC for detailed review including handwritten review and samples.

Hello everyone. I am a young fountain pen user from Mumbai, India, and this is my first post. Being in Mumbai, my first encounter was with the Airmail pen company, already well documented here, especially by Hari317. Their factory is my second home-I am there every week, looking at how stuff is made and going through all the pens they have. Although I now know everyone there, I am closest to Mr. Nirmal, who humbly tells me he knows less than half of what his brother does! Very often, we talk for hours over 'chaai'. Recently, while we were discussing Deccan pens, he removed a very old box of ebonite pens made by them, and I am going to document this pen. It was made entirely on a lathe machine in two colours-brown and green. The pen has been out of production for many years, and I got what were the last few pieces. I have requested Mr. Nirmal to make these pens again, and it should be available to everyone soon(but in very small quantities). If not, I have the last few models and will consider myself very lucky! These pens have the standard monotone yellow wality nibs, tipped fine. They are average nibs, and usually require minor adjustments. After scraping the feed channels with a pocket knife, and aligning the tines, this pen writes decently well, putting down a wet, fine line. It does have a fair amount of feedback, which, to be honest, I do enjoy sometimes. Whenever I want a buttery smooth pen, I always have my Deccan and Kim Jumbo! As compared to other Indian pens(Gama, Deccan and Kim), this is actually a small pen. I like the size, and find it to be perfect, comparable to the medium sized pen by Prasad Pens(Tenali-documented by shrujaya) Along with this, I have a few other wality pens that are quite rare, and I will document them soon. I hope you enjoyed this post. Please excuse my horrible photography and any other mistakes I have made, as I am fairly new to this forum. Do take time out to appreciate the effort that has gone into making this pen-it was made ENTIRELY on the lathe, by hand. I have seen the making of the 69A(documented by Hari), and boy, it is a time consuming process.

This is one of my favorite pens. It is an Indian Handmade Acrylic pen from Gem and co. The pen is called Gama Acrylic Demonstrator. Hope you enjoy the review The three gamas: Kuyil, Acrylic, Ebonite Jr. More images of the acrylic demonstrator Note that a full transparent pen is also available where one can see the nib and feed fully. I however chose a semi-demonstrator pen where the section is black. I do intend to buy the full transparent one later since I love this pen so much.

Spear is an Ebonite fountain pen by a Chennai(India) based company ASApens. I purchased it from their website.Like my two previous purchases of the same brand I am quite pleased with it. This is a review and not an eulogy, but all things said and done I really liked the pen. What I am going to do here is to review the pen and also compare it with Athlete side by side.Please pardon for the poor photographs. It is a German twin of Athlete, better educated, better trained and better skilled with almost the same height and personality. Hand crafted with Ebonite, the pen, like Athlete is a pleasure to hold with almost perfect balance, practical average sized section and nice length. The cap of both the pens flush in the Barrel and it is difficult to see the line where the cap and the barrel touch. The clip of both the pens is supported by top cap screwing in. The finger stopper is present on section in both pens. In looks they differ in two things. First the ASA engraving on the barrel is far more pronounced in Spear. Truly speaking it is visible but not aesthetically as pleasing as was in case of Athlete.Secondly in spear the pen takes a larger number of turns to come out. Which is something that I don't like. But it is a minor issue with an otherwise wonderful pen. You will pay 25$ for an Athlete and 35$ for the Spear. For this difference of 10$ you will get a qualitatively different nib and feed system. Athlete has simple IPG marked, Iridium tipped monotone steel nib. This nib was apparently made in Taiwan or somewhere near I guess.It has a fairly simple ebonite feed and an eyedropper filling system. A few FPN members had issues with the nib. Though most of them reported that the issues were easily resolved. Personally, I loved the nib and it has been my favorite for the sheer simplicity, efficiency and elegance. But, the Spear offers 10 breather hole German Jowo nib and a Jowo feed and Three in one filling system. The nib looks more like a space gadget with 10 holes than a spear. The nib attracts the attention of bloody everyone around. No one has seen such a thing. It looks sci fi. I don't know why Jowo thought it proper to use 10 holes and not our old favorite one hole but I am glad that they thought something like it. Man, it looks cool!!! Holding a fountain pen sometimes, in this age of Rollers and ballpoints looks antediluvian, having a pen with 10 breather holes always help. I have used this pen with the converter and as an Eyedropper. So the filling system pretty much works. Now, I will discuss the most important part. The writing experience. The Jowo nib is shorter to Athlete #6 nib. So you will have to hold the pen a little higher depending upon the hand stance you use. The nib is sturdy and has been very securely fit. It can not be removed with normal force. I hate using abnormal force. So I have not yet been able to disassemble the pen.The tines, like all Jowos have been so properly placed that the chances of their alignment getting disturbed are pretty low. Athlete has always proved to be a wonderful writer for me though the nib needed a little tweaking every now and then. Spear has its own advantages. It is smoother. Typical Jowo smoothness. The nib is M but with Pilot blue I use, it wrote more of a Lamy F and less thicker than Schmidt M. However what I found was, surprisingly, that the Athlete is a lot wetter than Spear. Thus if you try to draw a very fast straight line you will find no skipping in Athlete but in Spear you may find some skipping. Having said that, I conclude that the nib is superb. I loved writing with the pen given its great balance and superb smoothness. Would you prefer Spear or Athlete, the choice is yours to make. Personally, I liked the spear a lot, I mean for say 1200/-INR I got a lot. I have paid more and have been lesser satisfied. But, for me, its a personal opinion, the pen does not threaten to push the Athlete in oblivion. Perhaps someday I will fit a Bock/ Jowo Friction fit with my Athlete and it will become my dream pen. But till that day comes, Athlete is,for me, as precious as the Spear. Edited to add some better pics.

There are some dresses you would like to wear to a party, others to a friends marriage, but will you wear those dresses in your apartment. I guess not! In your home, you would perhaps seek something comfortable, something that you could wear for a longer time and still feel at ease. It may perhaps not look too savvy but it should be comfortable, easily washable, and quite durable to withstand routine wear and tear. This pen serves the same function in your pen collection as your jockeys and T-shirts in your wardrobe. It doesn't look awesome. It has its manufacturing and design cons. It's an eyedropper which may start to burp if you let the ink levels fall too low. But, and its a capital BUT, this pen is so comfortable to write with that you could use it for hours and hours without fatigue. It is, for me, one of those rare fountain pens which can be used for daily writing purposes. Mind it, it is that sort of pen which you would always want to keep inked. A pen, which you would like to keep in your pen stand and use it once you are tired of showing off your Pelikans and Montblancs. A pen which is so competitively priced that it can be used for experimenting, changing nibs, fiddling with the slit, if you are into that sort of thing, though I think you would never need to do so. Part 1: The Built & Looks :- This pens boasts of a clear demonstrator barrel. A silver-colored clip is attached to the cap marble, cap marble can be screwed in the cap and in this way supports the clip. Cap also uses a cap ring at the bottom. Cap is built of plastic. As the photographs show, there are some serious aesthetic issues with the quality and built of the cap and the clip. The color of the cap is not too fancy and the nib which says 'DOCTOR' is also not exactly eye catching. But, hey , we don't expect a lot from an under 3 dollar pen. I got the pen with the smell of the plastic. The barrel is clear, so when I put some red or other attractive colored ink in it, it looks nice. But when you see it without ink, you would find that the barrel is not as 'clear' as you would expect. However, the pen appears strong and sturdy. It won't crack upon falling. It is built to withstand normal use and accidents. Thus considering it's price, I am inclined to give it 2.5/5 for its built and looks. Part 2: The Balance:- The pen is light weight. Its a large pen and for normal male hands and large female hands it should provide good grip width. I have large hands and I personally found balance and the grip amazingly good. I was amazed because I have often paid a lot and found this balance lacking. It is a fairly large size pen and fitted perfectly in my large hands. The pen was a pleasure to write with, whether the cap was posted or unposted. I felt as if I could fill page after page with this pen. Very good weight , balance and ergonomics. For the price I paid, I should give it 5 out of 5 in this respect. Part 3: The nib and the feed:-The nib and the feed are the soul of the pen. Imagine a pen where every thing is par excellence but having no nib or feed. The pen uses a Doctor brand gold-plated iridium tipped nib. The feed material is apparently ebonite. Its a typical non finned, two channelled old style feed. The pen is, as already said, an eyedropper. The well laid channels on the feed ensure plenty of ink supply and the carefully designed nib gives a very smooth fine writing experience. Since, the pen is an eyedropper, its ink capacity is somewhere like 2-3 ml. I am not sure about that, but one thing that I am sure of is that the capacity is at least 4 times a standard international cartridge. When ink reaches 1/3rd mark, the chances of burping increase. Though the design of the nib and the feed is simple, but it is efficient and job oriented. They have been designed to write for long hours. The barrel acts as a large reservoir, the feed ensures consistent supply and the nib smoothly puts the ink on the paper with a style. For its price, I would give the nib and the feed a 4 out of 5. Part 4: The writing:- This pen delivers where it is most important to do so. Where writing is concerned, the pen hits a home run. It writes a fine line. Nib is very smooth and the there is no skipping, rail-roading, difficult starts etc. Rather, I found the writing is pleasurable and non tiring. Nib is stiff but one can definitely see some line variations. The nib is a joy to write with. It kind of made my hand writing look good. Its a note taking pen, one can carry to his college. I felt as it I could write faster with this pen, than with many other fountain pens in my collection. Writing experience was akin to that of a good ball pen minus the pressure. Loved it. Since the balance and the weight are optimal, the pen delivers a superb writing experience. For its price, the writing experience deserve a 9 out of 10. I have allotted 10 marks to the writing because I consider it at least twice as important. That's what pens are made for, aren't they? I got it from ASApens with a combo set. They have another pen on their site with the same name. I am not very sure if its the same pen.This pen looks different from that one. Though the nib and the feed of the pen I got and the pen they have on their site looks same. I was informed that the pen I got was even cheaper. However since the nib and the feed are the same, most of what I have said about the writing experience of this pen should hold good for that. pen too. I think that pen is basically this pen - quality issues Conclusion. A reliable pen made for daily use. One of those under 3 $ pens you would want in your collection. A smooth and fine writer and comfortable grip and balance. (Score 20.5 / 25).Great value for money. I recommend it..

Ganesha also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon, The God bearing the Elephant head is the most loved and worshiped amongst the Hindu gods. Its a fact that a small prayer to Ganesha before beginning of any activity, ensures success and glory. The symbol "Omkar" and Swastik are very auspicious to Hindus and often represent Ganesha. Presenting, the Jinhao "OM", (model-303), an exclusive fountain pen made by special order with Jinhao for Indian Market is a Speacil Edition. Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy them

I have just had an opportunity to ink up a fountain pen produced in India that only days ago came out of the prototype stage and is now available to the public in limited numbers. It is a stunning innovation in Indian pen design and manufacturing, and very well executed. Best of all, its price is affordable for the overwhelming majority of fountain pen enthusiasts. The pen is a Guider "Twins." Designed independently and placed into production by Mr. Lakshmana Rao, the respected head of India's Guider Pen Works, it features two nibs, each with its own ink reservoir, at opposite ends of a black ebonite body. For all its 6.25" (15.8cm) length, the Guider "Twins" is lightweight, a special quality of ebonite, which is the characteristic material of quality Indian pens, and widely used by American fountain pen manufacturers until they switched to plastic in the 1940s. Each reservoir holds approximately 1.35ml of ink. That amount -- 30% larger than what many cartridge converters hold -- is more than adequate for average writing purposes, while serving to mitigate against ink "burping," a well-known feature [not a bug; hat-tip to Microsoft] of eyedropper pens. ("Burping is generally explained as the result of heat from your hand being transferred to the ink reservoir, which expands the volume of the air pocket in the reservoir as the amount of ink draws down and the amount of air exchanged into the reservoir grows in size by replacing the ink.) The smaller volume of ink which each reservoir of the Guider "Twins," and thus the ultimate size of the air pocket, bodes well for overcoming the "burp" phenomenon. The body, caps and sections of the pen are all ebonite. The caps are flat. One cap, however, is topped by a round, flush disk composed of acrylic. (The disk on the one I acquired, shown above, is white; another version of the same pen sports a red acrylic disk.) Against a ground of highly polished, lustrous ebonite, this end piece lends a sleek, dramatic flair to the pen's design. It also serves a welcome functional purpose: to remind you, if you use many inks, that one end of the pen holds a different color or brand of ink. (Of course, it's up to the user to remember which end holds which color/brand of ink.) Filling each reservoir with a different color of ink is extremely useful not only to ink enthusiasts, but also to writers (like myself) who are now able to devote one end of the pen to writing first drafts, and the other end to mark up revisions -- without having to rummage through their fountain pen collections, trying to remember which pen is inked up with what color. With this pen, both colors are right at your fingertips. Of course, if you fill both reservoirs with the same color, you'll be carrying close to 3ml of ink -- nearly three times as much as a cartridge converter, with the added advantages that you'll be twice as likely not to burp as you write that long journal entry, love letter or next chapter of your novel. The Guider "Twins" nibs are iridium-point Guider nibs. Both nibs are fine, in both senses of the word: line width, and smoothness. Each provides a touch of feedback on Clairefontaine paper, but so little that it's not distracting. Fountain pen users familiar with micromesh and lapping film will be able to fine-tune their nibs with a few brief twirls of the tines. For the rest of us, these Guider nibs will be perfectly respectable "right out of the box." Here is a writing sample, made with two different inks: Two features of the "Twins" are of note: First, there is no clip. Something had to give in designing a pen with two nibs, and apparently it was the clip. That said, it is probably wise not to attempt to carry this peen loose in your shirt or blouse pocket. At 6.25", it is likely to fall out in a moment of rash movement (think: bending over to retrieve a paper clip), and it would be a shame to mar the highly polished finish of this pen. Rather, it would be best to carry it in a pouch (I am making one of leather at the moment), and even better, a pouch with a built-in clip that can be slipped over the fabric of a shirt or blouse pocket (a task beyond my current leatherworking skills). Another reason to acquire and use a pouch is that the designer and manufacturer have fashioned it from an ebonite rod that has been machined to be as perfectly round as possible. Set it down on its side, give it a gentle nudge and, absent a cap clip, it will roll -- and once it runs out of writing surface and gravity takes over, the next stop is usually the floor, and all too many of us are familiar with the consequences. A second thing to note is that the cap threads at each end are closely machined and not interchangeable, as a way to make sure you don't mix up which ink is where. Each cap is designed to thread easily and securely on its designated end of the pen. My suggestion is that if you inadvertently mix up the caps, be attuned to any possible resistance you may encounter as you replace the cap. If you sense resistance, try putting the other cap on that end, and chances are you will not meet resistance. Moreover, note that the caps unscrew when turned counterclockwise. When recapping, it is always good practice to first turn the cap in a clockwise direction until you hear a gentle "click." That means that when you then turn the cap counterclockwise, the threads will be properly engaged, and you'll be less likely to strip the threads. The Guider "Twins" just recently went into production and is available in limited numbers from FPN member Mesu. Her ad in FPN Classifieds displays the pen in higher-quality photos than I've been able to take. If I sound enthusiastic about this pen, I am. (Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with either Guider or Mesu, other than having previously purchased a Guider Marala through Fountain Pen Revolution, and this pen through Mesu.) I own a good number of Indian ebonite eyedroppers, including the ones just mentioned, and a Guider super-mini, a Ranga Duofold Model 3, a Ratnamson No. 15, and a Gama Supreme. The design of this Guider "Twins" pen promises to give Indian pen design and manufacturing a shot in the arm, and to boost Indian ebonite eyedroppers from a niche market to a real contender in the global pen market. Innovative design and attentive, handcrafted production make this a desirable pen in any collection.

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.

Below is my attempt at reviewing together the four pens made by the Ranga Handmade company that I own. [i will also put up a copy of this review on my blog fpensnme.blogspot.in]

So, I did not know where else to post this, so i will post it here. I yesterday Got a bunch of pens, Some of them in ebonite. Was very happy to have these good pens. So i filled them up in the night, Checked them and kept them in my carry case for the next day. I inked the two Kim&co. pens with black and blue inks and that is what i use the most in office. came to office today. Took out the black pen and well it didn't write, gave it a tap, shook it.... and still nothing, so i open up the pen and to my surprise the pen is empty. Then I picked up the blue pen because i needed to take notes, and it doesn't write as well, Shook it, tapped it, failed to write, then opened that too and whooooaaa..... its empty too. Two fully filled ED, with decent capacity, completely dry overnight with no signs of leakage whatsoever. So out of surprise i took out my Ratnam and sons and Gama (filled at the same time, and both ebonite as well) to see if they were dry too..... but to my surprise they were still full. So, i suppose the Kim's i have are just thirsty and drank up all my ink..... Just wanted to share this experience to see if someone else has had such a thing happening to their pens. Sorry to make it so dramatic... Its more fun to write this way.... Let me know what you people think might have happened. And If you have had such experience.

I have already posted a written review for the pen here:https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/267666-pierre-cardin-masterpiece-fp-review-with-pictures-a-mont-blanc-for-the-starters/ But now as i have also done a video review which i think is better, I thought of sharing it! Do share your views and comments and also like it if you find it useful or fun! Here is the link: http://youtu.be/OJ7gQu2Ogps

I bought this from JK pen stores (Abids, Hyderabad) this afternoon. He has a got a new stock of fountain pens of all sizes and makes - ebonite and acryllic. There were some which looked exactly like The Gama Supreme Jumbo (flat top), but they did not have Gama engraved and he told me that it was Swarna manufactured locally in Hyderabad. This one, he told me, is from Swarna - black matte. Jumbo size. http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_170144.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_164919.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_175536.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140518_225306.jpg

Among all Indian Fountain Pen Brands I own (Deccan, Ranga, Gama, Ratnam & Sons, Wality, Pierre Cardin) there is only one brand that interests me: The gama (pens) from Gem and Co. Over a period of time, the owner of Gem and Co. - Mr. Pratap has come to know exactly the kind of pens I love and use. Being a mathematician/ researcher all I do is work with pen and paper... fountain pen ofcourse. I have figured out that larger pens with fatter nib sections suit me better. I can forget that I am writing and really focus on the problem at hand. Hence most of the pens that I buy are bulky and heavy. My parents live in Chennai and I in Bangalore. Every time I visit them I call up Pratap in advance and he picks out the pens that he thinks I'd like. Invariably I end up buying a pen or two. I get my old pens cleaned and serviced while we (me, my wife and Pratap) chat away the hot Chennai afternoon at his shop on NSC Bose Road. These are a few pens that I acquired this time around. I'll probably get around to writing a detailed review later for each of them (once I use them long enough). I just could not wait to show these ones off. As all the pens are gamas I'll only use the product name (if it has one). All the pens are eye-droppers. All the pens have IPG stock nibs. However the nibs are all uber-smooth and the feed keeps up with fast, continuous writing. From left to right: Hawk, Mayil, Piston filler, Italic with sheaffer nib and feed The Hawk in the company of the Mayil (Peacock) Closes up of the sheaffer 1.7mm cursive italic nib and feed Italic Pen Gama Piston Filler Hawk Mayil Writing Sample

Bought this from JK Pen stores in Abids, Hyderabad. He had a bunch of fountain pens in a box. Many were missing sections, nibs.. among them were few pens which looked in good shape, this being one of them. The nib was, at first, very scratchy. It felt like a shard of glass or sand being stuck between the nib tines. I washed it throughly and that made it a little less scratchy. Then one day, when scribbling, I heard a crack and then... buttery smooth writing http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140426_180156.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140426_180321.jpg

I bought this from JK Pen stores located in Abids, Hyderabad. He had a bunch of them in medium and jumbo size. This one is a jumbo. The nib has "Ambitious" engraved on it. http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/20140426_122204-1.jpg http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii616/rakshitpai/swarna-nib.jpg

This is my review of the Gama Mayil. Sadly, Prataph tells me that they are no longer in production. May be the community can pester him to produce more of these beauties. He told me that people hated the color combination. I think it is bold and deserves attention. Moreover, the acrylic barrel and the ebonite nib section produces a strangely perfect balance (for me). Hope you all enjoy the pictures.

SHORT EBONITE PEN. Please see my latest ebonite pen. Inspired by the shape of an old Indian pen – Oliver Bauna – A short stout “ egg “ shaped pen. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3700/12379095953_f834886640.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/12379096453_4976d543c3.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3718/12378939415_f4ae263a5f.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/12379383544_3350290899.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/12379383184_f85a43fc00.jpg Ambitious Medium nib kindly contributed by Kevin of Fountain Pen Revolution. Filling - Tank. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7406/12378941505_06dbb11a20.jpg OLIVER BAUNA. Comments/ Suggestions highly appreciated. Sreekumar.

The gama kuyil is an ebonite pen from Gem and co. based from Chennai, India. The deccan ambassador and the gama kuyil. A minor diversion: Among the deccan pens I prefer the Deccan Advocate Sr. and Jr. models. My wife prefers the Deccan Bullet Sr. My wife trying out the Kuyil From left to right: Deccan Advocate, Deccan Ambassador, Gama Kuyil, Gama Acrylic Demonstrator, Gama Ebonite Jr. A note on the Indian Ebonite pens I own: Since these pens are hand-made and the quality control is not supreme the same model can vary in quality across pens. If one reads the above review it is clear that I am not satisfied with my Deccan Ambassador. The reason why I have openly expressed my distaste for the brand is because I used a Deccan Ambassador of another fellow pen collector and found similar issues while using it. I know of a few people who use Deccan pens who have a similar opinion and I thought I could voice it. I purchased other pens from the company before coming to the following conclusion (Please bear in mind these conclusions are from using the pens that I have encountered from Deccan and are entirely personal): The deccan pens are in general over-priced. I have no problem with the price if the quality is good. I bought a white deccan masterpiece and sold it to my friend because I hated the aerometric converter and because the nib was OK at best (I admit it looked pretty and that was the only reason he bought it off me). I have no problems with the Advocate pens. Although I still think the pens are over-priced. I don't use my deccan pens as much as, say, my Wality or my Gama pens. Whenever I give these pens a try I just end being disappointed. I prefer the Wality Jumbo to the Deccan Advocates (don't get me wrong the ebonite is nice to touch). Again, these are my personal experiences

I recently came across a box of this very interesting pen. Its vintage and were produced about a decade back, Though not much is known about this brand, any views or information, please feel free to add. I thought must share this with the forum and also record the existence... The pen is a full metal pen, with a shiny chrome finish. The finish has withstood the age and is in mint condition. The Clip designed after the Parker 75 Clip, with a scew type crown & bottom button. The pen is knock-off of Parker 75 from outside. Once you open the pen, it sports a nib section like the Parker 45. Probably the designer wanted best of 45 & 75!! The pen is a aerometric fill, was working perfectly even after decade + years. The pen had a Youth brand nib, which I changed to a gold plated wing-sung nib. Its writing excellent. So here are the pictures. The pen The Section the Pen opened The Nib (Parker 45!!) Please do share any other information of this brand or line up. Thanks for looking.

I thought it would a good idea if I wrote the review and posted the picture. I remember another member do this although I don't remember his name, I liked the concept. Cheers. I used an online picture optimizer to get a smaller size. Let me know if anyone wants a high quality picture.

Guider Glass ebonite and glass fountain pen (this pen came with a fine Guider nib... more on that in a minute) It occurred to me to drag this pen out and work with it when I read shrujaya's recent threads titled, "Meeting Mr Lakshmana Rao Of Guider Pens" which is in four parts (so far: 1,2,3,4). I've been carrying the pen with me for a couple of weeks now (this is the second time I've added it to my secondary pen case -- the first was when I bought it about a year ago). Here's my general impression: this pen is better than the sum of its parts. This is a fact which makes it difficult to review fairly. It is also a frustrating pen in that it is deeply flawed. I bought my example from Kevin at Fountain Pen Revolution (it appears that he his since stopped selling it). Before going any further, I want to say that Kevin is absolutely wonderful to deal with and I have no hesitation recommending him and praising him to the sky. He bent over backwards to help me. His customer service is another thing that makes this review difficult to write. In looking at other reviews of Guiders already on FPN, I found coffeetoofull's review of the Marala very fun because it has such great pictures of Guider's shop. LedZepGirl also has a good review of the Mani. However, the review I think has most baring on what I'm going to write is hari317's review of the Guider Jumbo. Hari really outlines the pen well and my review is going to be in almost complete agreement. Now down to glass tacks: Fit & Finish: 4/10 Ok, so here's the thing... this pen doesn't really hold up well to the standards of other, modern, pen makers. Not even for the price. When I write the "Fit & Finish" rating, I usually feel like I'm nit-picking. Not in this case. My Guider Glass wrote terribly "out of the box". It has bubbles where the ebonite end cap is glued in to the glass barrel. Not little bubbles but big ones, like when someone has tinted their own windshield... without a razor. The clip was misaligned (though I bent it a little and it's somewhat better now). There are deep cuts in the ebonite on the cap... not just scratches. The gold coating on the clip is just hideous. I mean... what parts of the pen does that leave? The nib? The nib, the section and the barrel looked free from manufacturing defect when I got the pen. Also, the seams where the various parts join are surprisingly smooth. For the record, I do NOT believe this pen was used -- I think it was new when I got it. Style: 7/10 The subject of the clip came up already, and it was even discussed in one of Jai's 'meeting' threads, which I referenced above. It's really such a shame this cheap-looking clip is used. It's just a big weird thing. To me it looks like some kind of utensil. Of course, the gold dipping combined with the letters for "GUIDER" stamped on it are the worst part. I also think it's ridiculous that the ball of the clip is created by bending the metal like origami. It makes it look like something that belongs in the shed. But enough about the clip. Otherwise, the pen is not unpleasant. First off, the ebonite has a lovely texture, and it's pretty amazing to have the barrel made out of actual glass. It's cool to the touch and it feels both unusual and really nice. The silhouette isn't what I would call "classic" but I like it. I really like the texture of the materials and the way the pen feels in the hand. If it weren't for these factors I probably would have gotten rid of it right after buying it. You don't see 3ml of ink sloshing around in a glass tube every day, and that really adds a lot to the experience of using this pen. In terms of a demonstrator, this is one of my favorites. I'm going to reserve discussion of the fact that it leaks for the filling system part of the review. In terms of style, it looks super cool, and it's a lot of fun to play with. It makes a great demonstrator. C/C Design / Filling: 5/10 It's an eyedropper. Did I mention it leaks? Yes, I used silicone grease. No, the leak isn't all that bad. By the end of the week, after carrying it in my secondary case, the ink works its way to the end of the threads. There's also a little nib creep. The upside is it holds a ton of ink (3ml, as I said) and it is super super easy to clean. Silicone is absolutely required to seal it, which means you have to wait until you're home to do anything relating to ink. I hypothesize that the seal is worse because of the different materials and the hardness of the glass. Because of this, I'm not entirely comfortable carrying it. I do plan to try using an 'o'-ring at some point but I haven't located one that fits. I'm not sure if that would be better or worse though. Nib: 4/10 The nib this pen came with was not usable for me. I messed around with it quite a bit, including heating and bending the feed to get it to fit better. It's, at best, a scratchy uninteresting nib, and at worst; it has a hard time delivering the ink from the feed to the paper. I basically found the Guider fine nib unacceptable. I also want to point out at this point that Hari had some of the same complaints, so I don't know if it was just that I got a bad nib. Either way, I ended up taking apart a wrecked Wearever I had sitting here, and using the gold nib from that pen with the Guider feed. This, I must say, worked surprisingly well. That's why I gave a "4", because the feed supported this other nib, and I include the feed in this part of the review. The addition of that old nib absolutely transformed this pen from something that arrived at my doorstep unusable, in to a pleasure to write with. One note is there is an occasional drip of ink after the pen has been sitting for a while, specially if it sat with the cap end down. Price: 5/10 I paid $39. That seems like a lot considering the build quality and the nib, but the actual materials are quite nice. So it's a little hard to say. I would not say it's a deal when there are quite a few pens at this price point which are far superior. But, again, I'm giving it a '5' because the quality of the materials is so high. GLAMAH SHOTS (we bring out your best... then we take your picture): Notice the bubble by the end cap; it's very visible in this photo: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_1.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_2.jpg This is with the Wearever nib: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_3.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_4.jpg Here's the underside of the clip and one of the cut marks on the cap. http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_5.jpg Couple of writing samples. Don't be a hater. First one is on Clairfontaine, and second is Tomoe River from PaperForFountainPens.com http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_7.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_6.jpg Guider Fine vs. my old Wearever 14k (sorry for the poor focus): http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_8.jpg Along side the donor pen that saved its life: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_9.jpg Compared to another Indian pen, and then Pilot Limited Edition Custom Heritage 91 (read Custom 74 with flat ends) and my Omas Milord Cruise: http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_10.jpg http://www.suramar.org/fpn/guider-glass_11.jpg Conclusion: I would not suggest you buy this pen unless you have a nib that needs a home. It's a shame because the Guider Glass has a lot of upsides. The glass eyedropper setup is really cool -- holds a ton of ink and looks great. The materials this pen is made from are really nice too. The Ebonite is warm and soft and contrasts with the cool glass in an interesting way. The ebonite feed also seems pretty darned good for what it is... especially considering the fact that I bent it and played with it. However, again, if it weren't for the fact I had another nib, I wouldn't have kept this pen. I also don't think that it's worth $39 to just get an eyedropper pen body, essentially without a nib.

Before going into the actual review of the pen, I would like to recap part of my experience with fountain pens. I used to write with fountain pens from secondary to high school and I ceased when I started attending university, for sake of ease (that is what I thought those days). I still remember my green Pelikano and red Auretta, the short blue cartridges and some questions about their mutual incompatibility ... I started again some years ago out of curiosity and since then I have focused on affordable pens: in spite of the fact I am a product manager in a high tech company (... sort of ...), I use to write down notes by hand, so a pen is first of all a work instrument, then it must be reliable, available and cheap. My search of the perfect balance of quality, functionality, features and appearance has not yet finished and never will, of course. On the contrary, I learnt a lot of things that I am more and more fascinated by, like construction materials and technologies, filling systems, behaviour of different combination of inks and nibs and so on. And knowledge of product increased too: I started from the "classic" manufacturers and I bought an Aurora Ypsilon, a short afterwards I got a black Lamy Safari as an everyday writer, since I felt the former being too ... luxurious (but I do like a lot my Ypsilon!). Then came Chinese products and converters: a Baoer 79, some Baoer 388, a Baoer 100 (my first review: see here) and many more. Then, looking for a cheap piston filler (a Lamy 2000 is definitely out of budget) I discovered Fountain Pen Revolution and I became a loyal customer. Indian pens are joys and sorrows, their average quality is lower than Chinese products, but I feel the latter soulless and the former more related to me, and they can hold surprises for you, like the Serwex 962. Today I own four Serwex 962: a red, a dark blue, a green and a black one and I first came into possession of the black one as a bonus pen, added to an order from FPR that included a Camlin 47, a Serwex 1362 and a couple of Serwex 362. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8523/8679638356_db97dcbb27_z.jpg Array of Serwex 962 di S.R.GE, su Flickr I was happy of having the opportunity to try that pen: I had already noticed it on FPR site and I read an internet review of it, together with its big sister, the 362. My first impression was quite positive: the pen is small and well proportioned, even if its design is quite linear and simple, so I bought three more, to complete the colour set. Let's go into details. Appearance & Design: 6/10 First of all, Serwex 962 is a piston filler: a solution that is rarely found in this price range. General aspect of this pen may be defined utilitarian: sleek and linear when capped, a bit less harmonious when uncapped. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8256/8679641042_83f3546312_z.jpg Serwex 962 di S.R.GE, su Flickr The cap is satin-finished metal, while the body is plastic with smooth finish and pleasant feel; barrel and section are separated by a yellow transparent plastic segment, that acts as ink level check window - in the later part of the review, I will refer to the ink window as part of the section. The nib can be really defined as minimalist, as it is really small, but linear, tidy and somehow elegant. Cap is screw-type and has a most linear clip, whose colour can change depending on sample, from gold yellow to steel grey; the former is a better solution, since it couples very well with the standard golden nib. On the thread side the cap has smooth finished band where brand name SERWEX is engraved: the band finishing stands out on the cap, a quite sophisticate detail that I would not expect from a pen that is made to be simple (but not easy, indeed ...!). http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8678527565_da92fcb69f_z.jpg Serwex 962: cap comparison di S.R.GE, su Flickr When uncapped, the pen seems a bit rough: although it is overall slim, section and barrel have different width and being the section very thin, the edge between the two has a noticeable width, that breaks body's harmony. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8532/8679640426_d6beec44f2_z.jpg Serwex 962 uncapped di S.R.GE, su Flickr Construction & Quality: 6/10 The Serwex 962 is a simple pen and it has an overall sturdy appeal, and indeed no remarks can be done to construction of pen's body: the piston knob is perfectly connected to the barrel and when the former is well tightened in working position, it almost disappears. I may have some concerns about plastics, that have a cheap look and feel and the typical smell of Indian pens! Quality of material seems to vary from sample to sample, in fact my black one has a failure into the ink window, as shown in the picture below: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8400/8678526923_22c7990acc_z.jpg Serwex 962: section defect di S.R.GE, su Flickr Again, the cap of the black one has a manufacturing flaw: the rim of the opening has a kind of crack as shown below: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8260/8678525443_c2bbf1bdf1_z.jpg Serwex 962: cap defect di S.R.GE, su Flickr Such defects do not appear into the other three units, indicating some variability in quality of materials and workmanship. Weight & Dimensions: 7/10 First of all, some figures: the pen capped is 135mm long, 116mm uncapped, the maximum diameter is 10mm and 8mm at section and it weights about 13g filled. Being the cap screw-type, it will be unlikely used posted, also considering that inner threads could damage barrel plastics; this is not a problem for me as I hardly write with fountain pen posted. Nevertheless, I feel Serwex 962 very nimble, light and, in a word, handy; as I said in a previous review, I am not for bulky pens, especially at work, but I think this pen could not be comfortable for everyone, since it can be felt as really thin, also because the section is thinner than barrel. Nib & Performance: 7/10 Serwex 962 comes with just fine nib and it can hardly be replaced with a different one, being it so small. The nib is a standard design, gold plated unit, even if very thin and carries an incision saying "IRIDIUM POINT" (uh ...?), while "SERWEX" is engraved on the feed below, even if is very hard to be seen. Here again there is some variability from sample to sample, both in line width and in tactile feeling. Common properties are: nib rigidity, direct consequence of its shape and size, the substantial wetness of flow and prompt start. The line is fine, a bit wider than expected from such a slim nib. What is different: the black and green samples have a thinner markthe blue and green sample have some slight skipping, especially when performing close curves and more evident in the blue onethe blue sample is slightly more scratchy than the other threethe blue sample has a sort of square line, while the other three are more smooth.As a general consideration, this model has a pleasant behaviour, with partial exception of the blue one: I tried a bit of tuning with partial success, aligning tines and enlarging them a bit, but without grinding, a technique I do not like, since tailors the nib too much to my hand. Here below a writing sample of the four pens - I apologise for my bad writing. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8538/8679636468_babee312cb_b.jpg Serwex 962: Writing Sample di S.R.GE, su Flickr Filling System & Maintenance: 8/10 As anticipated, this sleek pen is a piston filler; ink capacity is limited by the reduced section, but arguably it can hold more ink than a couple of short cartridges and definitely more than a Chinese or Indian standard converter. The piston works well, but as always, performances and quality are not homogeneous: the green one is hard to push down and the black one presents a potentially defective gasket, because moving the piston up and down after having emptied the pen, it does not perfectly clean ink from the check window as expected, but actually I have never detected ink leakage from piston knob as predictable in case of infiltration through the piston. Filling operation is very easy, the system sips ink quite up to full capacity and very few cleaning is needed at end. I noticed a slight tendency to blot when the pen is almost empty; I think the cause may be similar to what happens to eyedroppers in the same condition: probably because barrel is quite thin, the hand warmth could heat the air inside, making it expand and eject the ink. Maintenance is limited to the nib, that is easy to be extracted, being friction-fit. I saw on Fountain Pen Revolution site the pen completely dismantled, piston mechanism included, but at moment I have not been able to figure out how to remove piston, worm and knob. I noticed on the back of the knob a sort of round seal, maybe it is a cap for a screw, but I have not had dare to try. Cost & Value: 7/10 As told, I received the first sample new as bonus pen from Kevin at Fountain Pen Revolution, but its price is 7$ on that site: buying a bunch, the 2$ of shipping cost can be easily amortised (actually, I recently noticed shipping at FPR is now 3$ ... after all I am a Genoese: very, very worst of Scots!). Anyhow, even 10$ for a piston filler is worth to try: the result is a reliable, sturdy pen for every day use. Conclusion (Final score: 39/60) My final verdict about Serwex 962 is a mixture of positive and less positive opinions, but no really negative issues arise. The pen writes well after all and it needs less tuning than other cheap pens I tried, in fact I bought four for every day use. Its look is sleek and unbalanced at same time, cheap, but with sophisticated solutions. What I like is its linear appearance, especially when capped, its handiness and nib performances in most cases. In few words: simple, not easy, but handy.