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Kim and Co. is an optician in the city of Calicut in the state of Kerala in India. The shop also sells pens. Their pen turner was Mr AC Ramachandran known fondly as ACR or simply Master to his students. Sadly, he passed away in Dec 2024. Link His pens were fundamentally well made plain eyedroppers. The hallmarks of his pens include triple start cap barrel threads, an in-situ machined air tight inner cap, heavily finned ebonite feeder to mitigate the effects of low ink volume link, inherently moderate ink capacity and depending on the size of the pen; ample proportions. Most of his pens had his signature wide spade clip installed. In addition to Kim and Co, ACR used to make pens for a few other shops in Calicut and Mangalore as well. Fortunately for the pen community, the legacy of ACR lives on. Two enthusiasts from Kerala; Saji S and Dr Sreekumar have trained under him and learnt his art of pen making. Saji is the owner of kiwipens located at Trivandrum and he still has some inventory of the pens turned by his master ACR. In mid May 2025, I contacted Saji using the email address on his website, enquiring reg the possibility of purchasing an ACR pen. The correspondence started. I finalised my preferred color in June 2025 and the pen was made ready and despatched to me in end of August 2025. I chose solid black color for the pen, BB point Kanpur writers nib and requested the original ACR feed. Saji was kind enough to agree and here are the results. The much anticipated package was extremely well packed for the journey. Opening it revealed a host of surprise gifts and a lovely handwritten note. In addition to the ACR pen, Saji sent me some samples of the multi-finned feeders that he had painstakingly developed with a machinist which required several iterations to perfect. He also sent me one of his early self made pens that he had turned using off cuts remaining after his master ACR had turned the pens. Saji’s pen has the same features found on his master’s pens including the triple start cap-barrel threads. The nib on this pen is a lovely OBB stub, I will cover this pen in another topic. Onto the main pen of this review: Saji buffs and polishes the pens made by ACR and his labour of love shines through. This ACR is easily the best finished ACR among the several that I own. Uncapped: The Saji tuned BB nib: The original ACR feed: The tell “tail”: The ample proportions that I was talking about, however I have some ACR pens with even thicker barrel walls: Saji has polished even the mouth of the section to a glossy shine. A feature previously seen only in P Prabhakar Chari garu’s Woodex creations amongst the Indian hand made pen makers: Some other jumbo pens from the Indian hand made pantheon: L-R: Woodex 63 Std, ACR jumbo, ACR flattop, Guider Zimbo. The dimensions of this ACR: Capped: 178mm Uncapped: 130(body)+ 23(nib) Cap dia max: 19.4mm Barrel dia max: 17.4 mm Section dia: 14 min -15 max. Saji has tuned the nib really well. It’s a wonderful writer. Thank you Saji. Reg cost, I paid INR 11,500/- in total which included the freight, nib option etc. Some older posts on KIM ACR pens: Link1 link2 I am really happy that I could add another Kim ACR to the flock. The superb finishing and nicely tuned nib with the original ACR feed are the highlights. Cheers Hari

Hi All, Kanwrite Heritage Piston Filler pens are now available at www.kiwipens.com Please see the link below: https://www.kiwipens.com/collections/other-pens Thanks -saji

Hi, Few rare Paper Mate PhD Mechanical Pencils - 0.5 mm - Black Body (Made in Japan) are now available at www.kiwipens.com Please see the link below: https://www.kiwipens.com/products/paper-mate-phd-mechanical-pencil-0-5-mm-black-body-made-in-japan?_pos=1&_sid=297725434&_ss=r -saji

Hi, V’Sign Stride Fountain Pen (with Vintage Semi-Flex Nib from Navy Pen Co. Japan) is now available at www.kiwipens.com Please see the link below: https://www.kiwipens.com/collections/handmade-pens/products/v-sign-stride-black-fountain-pen-with-vintage-semi-flex-nib-navy-pen-co-japan Thanks -saji

Offer Free 7 ml. Ink Sample of Bril/Camlin on every pen purchase. Colours available : Blue, Black, Green, Red Offer valid till 30th November 2018. https://www.kiwipens.com/

50% off on Vintage Sheaffer NO NONSENSE Fountain Pens https://bit.ly/2z6fp9C

30% off on Vintage Sheaffer NO NONSENSE Fountain Pens https://bit.ly/2z6fp9C

Hi FPNers, I have been a member here a for a long time. My passion to fountain pens took me to launch a new website, which sells Indian pens (mainly KIM ACR Handmade Ebonite Fountain Pens). Please visit http://www.kiwipens.com and get the website launch offer (up to 15% off). Thanks -saji

KiwiPens offer up to 15% discount for all pens. This offer is valid for all handmade Indian Pens and other pens and accessories. The offer valid till 19 October 2018. https://www.kiwipens.com/